Huge jump in volume with effects loop off

[FrankS]

Does anyone else notice an absolutely huge jump in volume when the effects loop is turned off? I know there is a lot of circuitry in the signal patch when the effects loop is engaged. When I turn the loop off I can barely turn up the volume on any of the channels. I also don't notice much difference in volume in any of the 3 wattage settings with the loop off. The amp is so much louder it seems like I could get it to bounce off the floor if I turned the volume up.

 

[bucketbot]

You need to clarify what you mean by turn the loop off? :?:

If you mean turn it off by engaging the Hard bypass switch on the back of the amp then yes you will get a very big volume jump :shock: as you are bypassing the Output & Solo knobs & your power amp is running at full tilt & the individual channel Masters are the only thing controillong the volume. :wink:

 

[FrankS]

By turning off the loop I mean switching the hard bypass on the back of the amp to off. I realize the output and solo controls are removed from the circuit, but on any wattage setting the master volume changes the volume from barely audible to incredibly loud with an incredibly small adjustment of the knob.

 

[mrodr008]

normal

 

[BrownieD2W]

Very normal. By doing that you are bypassing the Output and Solo controls and the Send Level control for the Loop itself which would be yet another increase in volume. So 3 controls to adjust volume gets reduced to 1. You guys can correct me if I'm wrong though.

 

[SteveO]

Try turning the master volume all the way up. That's essentially what happens when you hard bypass the effects loop. Loud bugger, ain't it?

 

[MBJunkie]

Yes, it is normal! It does sound great in bypass though doesn't it? Screw the neighbors - Right??

Actually, I do find a noticeable reduction in volume in the channels when switching from 90 to 45w, and a fairly significant drop from 90 to 10w in "hard bypass" with all else staying the same, and with my amp set to full power.

However, you can further tame the beast in "hard bypass" by selecting "variac power" instead of "full power" when turning on the amp. This will result in noticeably lower volume levels for a given channel master volume setting even when the channels are selected to 90W. You might give that a go if you haven't already.

BTW......I do enjoy blasting away with the amp set to full power and "Hard Bypass" from time to time, but I am certain that my neighbors are all that fond of it!! :wink:

 

[WillPlayForFood]

I did this today, it was awesome!

It felt like there was also a change in the overall tone of the amp. I mean, I had settings from "loop active" and then not only did the volume increase, I also needed to switch a few settings.

So, I set it up that way and kept the channel masters down, not sooooo loud, then re-engaged the loop active switch. I turned the output dial to about 12 and the solo knob needed to be around 3 to get a decent boost. The amp sounded great though!!

I have had the Mark V for a long time, yet had never tried the hard bypass before. I will keep experimenting and really just want to get the same monster tone in the loop active mode, if that's possible.

Would love to hear others experience...totally dig the Mark V :mrgreen:

 

[boogieman60]

It is normal. Remember when you take the loop out..you are also taking the MASTER volume out of the equasion.. So if you have your Channel Master volume up..you will get slammed. also remember to set your FX send knob to the neutral zone...(12:00). A good way to Neutralize the loop is to do the following..Set your amp up like you normally do..then A/B with the fx loop on / off switch. get the two to the same volume.. so you won't be Choking the amp with the Master volume controls. Then adjust to get the proper channel balance using the channel masters...