Anyone crank their amps?

[cpeck]

I have a late 70s Hiwatt DR-103. Last year I decided I'd try to record a song without pedals and used the Hiwatt. It was the first time I'd ever understood why people like amp distortion. I cranked all knobs and used the Presence control to dial in extra sizzle. It sounded great.

[stevejamsecono]

That's what it's all about.

Honestly, I was a "clean with pedals" guy for years and years. It took recording in a nice studio with some good amps to get into the "oh hey, if you turn them up they sound pretty good on their own" camp. Sometimes I'm tempted to go back because I feel like OD/Distortion pedals have come a LONG way in the last ten years, but I'm committed to a small pedalboard so I don't see that happening anytime soon.

[StevenO]

I rarely crank my amps. I don't always feel cranked is the best sound. I usually either turn up the volume until it sounds good or where it sits nicely in the mix.

At home, I just play as loud as I can without bothering anybody else.

I have a pedal I use for gain, when need be, but I'm usually just a Tele > Amp w/ reverb kind of guy.

[MechaBulletBill]

I cranked a 50w Selmer amp at practice today while everyone else was faffing about/yet to turn up.

It was pretty nice, even if it was louder than I'd ever need it to be. I'd love to be in Cream, on stages big enough to crank a couple of JTM45 stacks but actually, my Hudson Broadcast sounds an awful lot like a kind of cranked amp.

[Maggieo]

I'm almost always cranking my Secret Agent up all the way and just plugging straight into it. It's got a brownface Princeton circuit with a Fender stand-alone reverb built into the case. It sounds fantastic.

https://youtu.be/KUS_LRPh10w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kF92fQiChDk

[HNB]

I think I could only get away with cranked with my Princeton or my Champ. The others are just too loud even at 2 or 3 to go higher. LOL

[Despot]

I rarely get to crank my amps up at all - which is how I've sold on any loud amps I've had (AC30, AC10, Deluxe reverb, Bluesbreaker ... even a 1974x was too loud!).

I now use a Swart master combo and two Princetons. Recently (well... before Christmas) I had an opportunity to crank the Princeton with the Klon in front of it, using a friend's '61 RI SG. I've ranted long and hard about how I really dislike Classic '57 pickups, but in that Gibson they sound perfect - through a klon into an already loud/cranked Princeton ... man, that was the best sound I've ever heard come from an amp with me playing through it. We were playing Ryan Adams covers (it's the common musical ground between me and my buddy that I play with occasionally), in particular Cold Roses ... I rarely play lead (preferring rhythm), but the sound was spectacular and I just started going for it ... and it worked. In fact, my buddy turned my amp up as i was playing (I think I was at about 7 and he was pushing it close to max) giving me a big grin.

Even when I gigged as a kid in college I used a Hot Rod Deluxe and pedals to get my overdrive/distortion ... I very rarely needed (or was allowed!) to turn that amp up loud. But man ... the sound of that Princeton close to dimed, with the klon kicking it in the face ... that was so damn good it put me in a good mood that lasted at least 24 hours. Cheaper than prozac!

[stevejamsecono]

It's a really addicting sound. Sadly circumstance forces compromise on doing this most of the time because of home/venue restrictions, but when you can pull it off? Bliss.

[ifallalot]

Am I deaf or something? I really don't think a Princeton on 10 is loud, and a Deluxe Reverb isn't that much louder.

Maybe all those years of Marshall half stacks in tiny rooms and DJing surrounded by 15s did something

[wproffitt]

Ifallalot,
I hear what you're saying, but I've had sound guys make me turn my Princeton down to "2" (!!!) because it was too loud. Seems silly, right? Still, when I get a chance to go down to my practice area and crank my Princeton or even my 5-watt Marshall (I'm a dad, so the stars have to line up to make this happen) I often come back upstairs with ringing ears. These amps are plenty loud enough to damage your hearing even if you can't feel it in your gut in the same way you would with a big half-stack. For the record, I like my Princeton at about 6 or 7 when I get the chance! I'm able to control so much about the way it sounds from the guitar's tone and volume rather than running over to fiddle with knobs on the amp.

[andy_tchp]

Am I deaf or something? I really don't think a Princeton on 10 is loud, and a Deluxe Reverb isn't that much louder.

Maybe all those years of Marshall half stacks in tiny rooms and DJing surrounded by 15s did something

In all seriousness, you might have some hearing loss.

it depends on speaker efficiency too. I used a BF Princeton Reverb clone with the much loved Weber 10F150T turned up to about '6' on the back of a truck at an outdoor gig in a backwater shithole.

Aside from sounding incredible, it really was surprisingly loud.

And come to think of it that was probably the most enjoyable part of the whole experience

[Maggieo]

Oh, derp! I crank my Vibro Champ all the time!

[Singlebladepickup]

I crank my silvertone 1482, and have cranked my PR a little bit as well.

Maggieo, I'm jealous of much of your gear but after listening to that secret agent demo...wow.

[Maggieo]

I crank my silvertone 1482, and have cranked my PR a little bit as well.

Maggieo, I'm jealous of much of your gear but after listening to that secret agent demo...wow.

Thanks!

Yeah, the Secret Agent might just be the best combo amp I've ever played.

[jorri]

I rarely crank my amps. I don't always feel cranked is the best sound. I usually either turn up the volume until it sounds good or where it sits nicely in the mix.

At home, I just play as loud as I can without bothering anybody else.

I have a pedal I use for gain, when need be, but I'm usually just a Tele > Amp w/ reverb kind of guy.

yeh i never really got it either after trying it. I even prefer the master volume further down on most amps. Loudness is one thing but I prefer a bigger amp for that. With the addition of it always being too loud, or too lost in the mix live if its a low enough wattage amp, and sheer volume of course rules out a lot of miccing choices in the studio...not for me I love tube warmth as they call it, and solid states for their own thing too, and i love loud volumes but it never really hacked it having things dimed perhaps for the styles i play.