Having Trouble Getting Good Sound at Low Volume (Mark III)

[Kid Howren]

I just bought a used Mark III, and I can't get a good distorted sound unless I really push the volume. I know that tube amps sound better at higher volumes, but this is ridiculous. It has 2 6l6s in the middle and 2 El34s on the outside. A friend told me that mixing tubes might be the problem, but I thought this amp was made to be able to do that. I can't get a good metal sound of this amp for pinch harmonics and such and I know that something must be wrong. Maybe the preamp tubes? Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[MusicManJP6]

mixing tubes is not the problem. The amp will open up at a certain output level. May I suggest an attenuator? I have a TubeJuice Max50 that I bought used here on the forums for $60 shipped. It works great with my DC-3. I can use it to get a better low volume tone. You just have to get past that spot in the output level that prevents the amp from sounding full to make it sound good with an attenuator. If you attenuate too much then your high end will suffer.

 

[Tuna141]

Try running in class A. That should help you get some more power tube distortion at lower volume.

BTW - my Mark III blue stripe sounds very good at lower volumes. You may want to do some preamp tube swapping and/or replace your power tubes - you can order power tubes with earlier break-up, which would also help.

 

[edgecrusher]

I have no problem getting a good sound at very low volume either; I was playing a few nights ago in my small apartment in class A (15w) with the master volume at 0 and the lead master at 10 and it sounded fine and had plenty of harmonics and sustain, though I did turn up the gain to 10 to compensate or the low volume. I'd say change out the preamp tubes with a fresh set. I never even have my master volume above 2 at full band volume, IMO this amp does not really need to be cranked to get a good sound.

Also, what settings are you using? You want to have the first volume knob (input volume) at around 7 if you want to keep your clean sound clean, but if your going for all out crunch, raise it up to 10.

 

[gonzo]

i currently use a Weber Mass, to knock the edge off...

so far, this has been my most successful experiment to date.

 

[Kid Howren]

I've tried dozens of settings. I even have it running through a 31 band EQ and a Sonic Maximizer (and I've tried it without these as well). My friend said the power tubes look fine and don't need changing. And I'm not actually trying to play at a low volume, but I notice I can't get the distorted sound I want at a low volume (like I could with my last Mark III) and I can tell I'm not getting the distortion I want out of it at full volume either. It's just that once it's that loud, there's a lot of power amp gain so it sounds pretty good anyway. I know it's capable of more though. I can't even do pinch harmonics through this thing!

 

[MusicManJP6]

Get some fresh tubes in there...

 

[phyrexia]

you can do pinch harmonics on a tele through a twin if you want to...

are you sure the amp is changing channels correctly? What settings are you using?

 

[gonzo]

i disagree with rabies..

depending on what you're looking for out of your amp, output distortion can be a very welcome addition to tone.

i run my preamp way cleaner than is typical, and drive my master volumes much harder, and hence, get a different tone and feel than what is probably considered the 'current' trend or commonly heard hard rock sound.

my weber mass lite was only $150.
not expensive at all.

no tone suck at all, since the way i'm using, in conjunction with cleaner preamp settings, doesn't give me as much of that over-the-top volume to begin with......
and the output transformer saturation feels good....
versus the 'choke' effect i feel when running the mark2b preamp really hot, plus, i'm hitting the input with clean boosts, and this is another element that helps keep the preamp clean, yet hot.

it's all good, don't let people close your minds to alternatives, there are no rules.