Anyone crank their amps?

[Despot]

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.

I think I've the lower powered version of that speaker in my non-reverb Princeton ... and that's a good deal quiter than the original Oxford in the SFPR.

But yeah ... I'm careful with my hearing. I've got a ringing in my left ear thanks to a particularly heavy handed drummer in my first band (thanks Niall) and me thinking that hearing protection/ear buds were ridiculous back then. The friend I was playing with that day has clearly got some hearing issues - he always has his amps turned up a lot louder than mine, and will constantly turn mine up to the point where it's painful (not on the Princeton - but the Swart is plenty loud, and he used to do the same thing when I ran AC30s and Bluesbreakers a few years back). I used to try to fight it (and turn down again) ... but he'd just sneak it back up whenever I looked away. So now I wear ear buds when playing - I'm not going to end up with worse tinnitus than I already have just because he need to feel his guts shoved in to prove he's playing at the 'right volume'.

[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.

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.

Don't get me wrong, I think a lot of amps sound great cranked. I just don't find it's always the best option for a particular setting or application.

I don't understand why some bands feel the need to have everything on "10" when playing a little quieter would create a better mix and a more enjoyable experience for the audience. I've said it before but I've walked out of plenty of shows due to being too loud but have never walked out of a show because it was too quiet. If I were playing in a gigging band, I know which I'd prefer...

[ludobag1]

i avoid to crank my amp cause i play surf music and i love to have a clean sound ,if i want dirt i use od to avoid to be to loud (for me it is not the same as you of course ,the perception of loud differ for every one )
mine is a deluxe reverb and at the rehearsal studio we have a db meter ,i put it beetween 3 to 4 on the vib channel cause at more than 5 five it beguin to saturate
the drummer is at 96 db on the db meter when he play alone on this snare drum (the cymbale are more like 100 db mini)
the bassist at 86 88 Db more he is too loud and i need to crank my amp cause the bass frequency go every where in the studio and they are very loud when you are front of the hp
i try to stay a 96 db for my guitar alone ,not more, after it become really tiring for hear
we all use ear protector cause the overall sound of the band is 100 to 104 db (cymbale accent)
i try to play without ear plug and push down the overall volume of the band but du to the drummer we need to push the guitar and bass volume ,then need of ear plug to avoid the ear probleme when you go home and have some ringing )

if i crank the deluxe i m ok with you the volume don't go very much louder the more you increase the volume knob(you not feel it really more loud to ear but the db meter tell you the opposite ,it became real loud ),in fact i don't like the way it cranck then i prefer to use an od

i have an another amp a classic 50 it is more powerfull 50 w as the deluxe is only 22 w and i am not crank it also even if i love it cranked cause it become real loud (to my taste also)

this week end i have play on stage with a twin than the band who play after let me use to avoid that i bring my amp (a friend) i have used it a 3.5 on normal channel and i feel it real loud (on stage i don't wear ear plug) ,just to say i will never crank a twin

[budda12ax7]

Marshall 50 watt 1980 jmp head into Hiwat 4-12. I get it it up to 6 or 7. Main volume all the way up, presence all the way up, bass all the way up , mids at 7, treble at 5. Master volume up to 6 or 7. It sounds great with my jazzmasters.
I would love a Marshall blues breaker though.

[budda12ax7]

Funny, after reading the other posts...I never thought about running it clean. I always rolled off my guitar volume.

[stevejamsecono]

Funny, after reading the other posts...I never thought about running it clean. I always rolled off my guitar volume.

That's honestly something I usually did even when I had my "clean with pedals" rigs. I jump around too much to think about stepping on pedals and it's always been so.

[Maggieo]

Funny, after reading the other posts...I never thought about running it clean. I always rolled off my guitar volume.

That's what I do, too. There's a real sweet spot where the line between crystal clear and dirty is literally in my hands and how hard I hit the strings.

[Yeatzee]

Picked up my Ac10 so that I could have a small amp to be able to crank. Love it, im a big fan of power tube based edge of breakup tone.

[mgeek]

Where do people crank their amps? Rehearsal rooms? At home?

In my gigging experience cranking anything much bigger than like, a champ onstage is gonna fuck with people's monitor balances, and be completely unnecessary to get a decent sound/volume anyway.

[stevejamsecono]

Where do people crank their amps? Rehearsal rooms? At home?

In my gigging experience cranking anything much bigger than like, a champ onstage is gonna fuck with people's monitor balances, and be completely unnecessary to get a decent sound/volume anyway.

Gigs, typically. My old 18 watt head was the perfect volume for this and it through a 4x12 sounded present and big without being overwhelming. The funniest thing was when soundguys would tell me to turn it up, and I couldn't!

[Yeatzee]

Where do people crank their amps? Rehearsal rooms? At home?

In my gigging experience cranking anything much bigger than like, a champ onstage is gonna fuck with people's monitor balances, and be completely unnecessary to get a decent sound/volume anyway.

Back of the stage, facing away from everyone, on the side of the stage facing curtains to dampen it, etc.

[budda12ax7]

Where do people crank their amps? Rehearsal rooms? At home?

In my gigging experience cranking anything much bigger than like, a champ onstage is gonna fuck with people's monitor balances, and be completely unnecessary to get a decent sound/volume anyway.

you are assuming there are monitors.....lots gigs I did had no monitors and barely a PA of any kind.

[countertext]

My '67 Bandmaster is incredible cranked. It was a little iffy with the 4x10 I used for ages, but when I switched to a 2x12 a few years back, it really took off. Really velvety grind, really musical feedback.

I don't frequently have the opportunity to do it anymore. You need the right kind of stage and room to kinda muffle it, because it's fuggin loud.

[honeyiscool]

I use too have 3 15 watters because I really like cranked amp. Princeton Reverb are really fun to crank around 7-8, and even cranked, they are pedal-friendly.

At the moment, I play mostly clean stuff. I take Jazz course and I play in surf-garage band, so I sold 2 of my 3 15 watters. I only kept my Tiny Terror since I have 2 other fender amps (vibrolux and vibro-champ) and I needed cash for my es-175.

Someday, I will buy a Princeton Reverb again since they are just awesome clean... and cranked!

I like the sound of a Princeton Reverb at 10. It sounds like a mild fuzz pedal and sputters in a very fun way.

[Singlebladepickup]

I just got to crank my new princeton reverb in a band setting. I didn't get above 7 - 7.5, but I could still hear it in the mix with 2 other guitars and a bass. I sounded fuzzy and distorted but great and the reverb was very audible. Love it.