PI tube saturated with Mark IV?

[bryan_kilco]

well the Mark IV gets wayyy too loud and I never go past 3 on the Output. But all amps have a sweet spot....sorta like a power band of a vehicle. Once you go past that point, you dont really gain much.

 

[trem]

Interesting. I'm more inclined to think it's power tube saturation, since the headroom (and post-clipping loudness) is limited by the power provided by the power tubes. Or perhaps past certain point they're all saturated (PT, OT, pre and power tubes).

 

[ANIMATED SUSPENSION]

Interesting. I'm more inclined to think it's power tube saturation, since the headroom (and post-clipping loudness) is limited by the power provided by the power tubes. Or perhaps past certain point they're all saturated (PT, OT, pre and power tubes).

+1

It's power tube saturation and the taper of the pot I would guess.

 

[mr_fender]

I agree with above. Probably power tube and power transformer saturation. Nearly all tube amps I've ever used behaved this way. They get louder to a certain point, then level off and just get more compressed and clipped from then on. This is one of the biggest differences between tube and solid state power amps. Tube power amps hit this threshold sooner, compress more, and clip softer. Solid state power amps usually are cleaner up to a higher threshold and then clip much harder, sounding harsh and terrible.