Anyone crank their amps?

Make it loud here.
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Re: Anyone crank their amps?

Post by druunkonego » Mon Jun 12, 2017 2:57 pm

I blew up a couple little solid state amps as a teenager by cranking them. :D

I had one of those reissue Fender Champion 600s for a few years. I would occasionally get compelled to crank that but I never particularly liked the way that amp sounded at any volume. It was always more farty than punchy. :k

Now the Orange Tiny Terror I had (actually had two of them for a time) sounded pretty damn good but I rarely ever really cranked it. Now, if I was a more dynamic player and was better at utilizing my guitar volume knob I think I could have very easily cranked it.

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Re: Anyone crank their amps?

Post by stevejamsecono » Mon Jun 12, 2017 6:46 pm

druunkonego wrote:I blew up a couple little solid state amps as a teenager by cranking them.

I had one of those reissue Fender Champion 600s for a few years. I would occasionally get compelled to crank that but I never particularly liked the way that amp sounded at any volume. It was always more farty than punchy.

Now the Orange Tiny Terror I had (actually had two of them for a time) sounded pretty damn good but I rarely ever really cranked it. Now, if I was a more dynamic player and was better at utilizing my guitar volume knob I think I could have very easily cranked it.
That's what I have now, and cranked it's... ok? I've never been into the dark Orange thing, and as much as the Tiny Terror is in the spirit of the 1974x, my old Avatar 18 totally stomped all over it. I tried using the Orange at a gig somewhat recently and it was just a really unpleasant dentist-drilly kind of sound. May work for some, but I wasn't too pleased.
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Re: Anyone crank their amps?

Post by N0_Camping4U » Fri Jun 16, 2017 9:00 am

You dudes have.not.LIVED. until you've cranked a 61 Fender Showman. This is my life :-*
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Re: Anyone crank their amps?

Post by StevenO » Fri Jun 16, 2017 11:37 am

I've cranked my '65 Showman. :unsure:

It's my least favourite amp I own. :bored:

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Re: Anyone crank their amps?

Post by MechaBulletBill » Fri Jun 16, 2017 12:16 pm

StevenO wrote:I've cranked my '65 Showman.

It's my least favourite amp I own.
My amp envy supersedes any sympathy I could have for this :P

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Re: Anyone crank their amps?

Post by druunkonego » Fri Jun 16, 2017 12:56 pm

stevejamsecono wrote:
druunkonego wrote:I blew up a couple little solid state amps as a teenager by cranking them.

I had one of those reissue Fender Champion 600s for a few years. I would occasionally get compelled to crank that but I never particularly liked the way that amp sounded at any volume. It was always more farty than punchy.

Now the Orange Tiny Terror I had (actually had two of them for a time) sounded pretty damn good but I rarely ever really cranked it. Now, if I was a more dynamic player and was better at utilizing my guitar volume knob I think I could have very easily cranked it.
That's what I have now, and cranked it's... ok? I've never been into the dark Orange thing, and as much as the Tiny Terror is in the spirit of the 1974x, my old Avatar 18 totally stomped all over it. I tried using the Orange at a gig somewhat recently and it was just a really unpleasant dentist-drilly kind of sound. May work for some, but I wasn't too pleased.
Yeah... I suppose my caveat would be it sounded good for bedroom playing stuff. At least with the little 1x12" cab I used with it. I never tried pushing it through a closed back 4x12" or anything. Through for as much as Oranges are known for their bottom end, you don't usually hear people mentioning the TT in that conversation.
I had a similar experience the one time I tried to take it to a gig, (though I never liked the way I sounded at that particular bar/venue. It was one of those long & skinny places where there was no stage or good place to set up and everything always seemed to sound muddled and off). IDK... I suppose there were reasons that I eventually ended up getting rid of both of them.

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Re: Anyone crank their amps?

Post by druunkonego » Fri Jun 16, 2017 1:02 pm

I have a little 1x12" Mesa Transatlantic amp now that can go down to 15 watts, but even at 15 watts it's really loud... especially the non-master circuit. It gets really super punchy at anything over 3-4ish.

Considering everything I've read in this thread, I may try getting it up there on the dial a little more and try utilizing my guitar volume better. Just for a minute to see if I like it. :P

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Re: Anyone crank their amps?

Post by StevenO » Fri Jun 16, 2017 1:50 pm

MechaBulletBill wrote:
StevenO wrote:I've cranked my '65 Showman.

It's my least favourite amp I own.
My amp envy supersedes any sympathy I could have for this
Seriously, there's better amps out there.

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Re: Anyone crank their amps?

Post by s_mcsleazy » Sat Jun 17, 2017 4:30 am

i did this with my modded epiphone valve jr yesterday. it sounded good but i dont like cranking my amps to get the distortion because changing the guitar can make too much of a difference to the sound. i'll stick to having my pedals do all the work
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Re: Anyone crank their amps?

Post by stevejamsecono » Sat Jun 17, 2017 5:25 am

druunkonego wrote:I have a little 1x12" Mesa Transatlantic amp now that can go down to 15 watts, but even at 15 watts it's really loud... especially the non-master circuit. It gets really super punchy at anything over 3-4ish.

Considering everything I've read in this thread, I may try getting it up there on the dial a little more and try utilizing my guitar volume better. Just for a minute to see if I like it.
It's a lot of fun. I've been leaving my pedalboard at home lately and practicing straight into the Hot Rod Deluxe we have in the space and it's been pretty fun. Not the greatest of sounds ever, but still rocks hard enough for me.
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Re: Anyone crank their amps?

Post by Bert Camenbert » Sat Jun 17, 2017 8:30 am

I once cranked my Ampeg VT-22 combo in my garage. The walls trembled, boxes fell from shelves, windows rattled and car alarms went off. I was wearing earplugs, but the sound pressure made my vision blurry and I became a bit disoriented, so I quickly stopped playing. When the ringing in my ears finally subsided, I heard the neighbour's dog howling. I looked towards the neighbour's place, through the window in the back of the garage, and I saw that that a couple of squirrels who inhabit the tree in my backyard were passed out on the lawn. I think the poor things fell from their branches.
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Re: Anyone crank their amps?

Post by Kristerkk » Mon Jun 19, 2017 5:12 pm

I dont consider an amp mine untill i've cranked it.
I had a 1998 Orange OTR120 a couple of years back, its a variation of the OR120, and that shit was AMAZING.
JMJM -> OTR->PPC212 closed back and the low end punch nearly knocked me over!
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Re: Anyone crank their amps?

Post by redchapterjubilee » Sun Jun 25, 2017 5:57 am

I'm cranked up most all the time. Oh, so are my amps too I suppose. Band practice most of the time is through a 5E3 Deluxe clone and it's usually turned most of the way up. I also own a 63 Vibroverb reissue. THAT'S the amp that taught me about the glories of just turning it up. I dime it for recording. However, it's just not loud enough for my gigging purposes since I'm in a two guitar band that doesn't play places half the time where the band is completely mic'ed up.

I mostly gig these days with a 59 Bassman LTD chassis in a headshell hitting an efficient 2x12. That amp...it's just so easy. Turn it up to 6 with humbuckers or 7.5 with single coils and the magic sound is just there. Pull the bass down and leave everything else at noon. Simple.

The previous six years I gigged a Mesa Mark I head into a 4x10 cabinet but lately I haven't felt that amp. I suppose because the Bassman LTD just does the thing I'm after right now so effortlessly. I recently had a 1x12 made for the Mesa with a Hempdog in it and I've begun to spend a lot of time at home messing with the pots in ways that I haven't before. Diming the master and messing with the preamp values, learning where it does what it does best. Usually with it at the edge of breakup, as I find it kind of congested with the cascade preamp up too high, though I suppose I could hit the neck pickup and make the Santana toanz that way.

One way I don't use any of the amps I have is 100% clean as a pedal platform. That's just not my thing, but I know it works for a lot of people.

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Re: Anyone crank their amps?

Post by PorkyPrimeCut » Wed Jun 28, 2017 12:02 am

I crank my AC30HH sometimes. It sits on an oversized 1x12 cab (Vintage 30). It sounds amazing!

The problem is, once I get to certain volumes the windows in our spare room start to vibrate. They're old Georgian sash Windows & really rickety. If I can be bothered locating the vibration & stuff a sock in there it can be a lot of fun. This is one benefit of living on a main road in a maisonette (the amp's on the top floor so no neighbours underneath) and working from home. Everyone around our flat goes to work, or has never been bothered enough to complain.
We actually have a concert level flutist next door who practices relentlessly. I can clearly hear her but have never needed to complain as it actually sounds great. I doubt she feels the same about me but probably realises the hypocrisy in complaining.

Most of the time I just play through my RAT modded Valve Junior. It has Power Scaling so I can get plenty of natural sounding break up at a sensible volume. I don't really miss my amps natural distortion as, like Sean, I'm more of a pedals person. I'm also a shit lead player so 30 minute long, Brian May-style, wailing fretwankery is out of the question.

I'm actually wondering what our new place in Leipzig will be like. I may end up selling the AC30 and possibly finding a smaller amp, unless I find a band.
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Re: Anyone crank their amps?

Post by christophervolume » Wed Jun 28, 2017 6:50 pm

do i crank my amp??!! how else would i keep up with the drums?


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