Power Scaling on a Mark III?

[rrhea]

I am about to convert my Mark III combo into a short head as soon as Mesa gets me my new headshell. While I am at it I plan to do the R2 volume mod.

The problem is this amp is too loud (and has always been too loud) for any comfortable use when at home. Would it be possible to do the London Power mod on this amp? Also, could the same tech person change the fixed biasing and convert it to an adjustable bias?

If any of these things are possible, who would you guys recommend to do the work?

Thanks!

Ryan

 

[psychodave]

No need to do power scaling once the R2 mod is done. Besides there is a channel volume and a master volume so you wouldnt need powerscaling anyway.

 

[ToneAddictJon]

I use my G-Major in the loop of mine and use the input/output controls to bring down the volume when needed.

 

[rrhea]

With the ultra sensitive volume pot on the amp it is nearly impossible to get a consistent low volume (what a frustrating thing to use, that volume knob). Maybe I should replace this pot with one that has a less sensitive sweep? It's not like I'll ever need the full range the current one has anyway.

My question still stands, though.... what about adding a London Power kit to the Mark III... can it be done?
RR

 

[eet fuk]

I use my G-Major in the loop of mine and use the input/output controls to bring down the volume when needed.

I used to do that, and I would highly recommend that to the orig poster. You can crank the amp a little more than usual, then bring it down to a comfortable level and have way more fine tune control, and since the actual knobs on the fx unit are what you could reach and tweak, it's just adding volume attenuators to your amp.

IMO, the master volumes are more than adequate for volume control, but if you really need ultra quiet nighttime apartment practice levels, then yeah, add the processor. Of course, it'll sound like weak ****, but if you're staring at the amp and the fingers itch, gotta do something. Then the next day, crank it to bring back the sanity and the cabinet thump reason for living.

 

[rrhea]

...if you really need ultra quiet nighttime apartment practice levels, then yeah, add the processor. Of course, it'll sound like weak sh!t, but if you're staring at the amp and the fingers itch, gotta do something. Then the next day, crank it to bring back the sanity and the cabinet thump reason for living.

If the master vol was better on the Mark III it would still sound great even at super low volumes (without the need of using the FX loop trick). Of course, physics dictates that nothing but loud, air-moving volume will cause chest thumps, but I am not looking for that when playing quietly. But retention of tone is now possible with low volume on tube amps.

I have a hand-wired boutique amp that, while not equipped with power scaling, does have the best master vol control I have ever used. I can get almost whisper volume with this thing and it still sounds great. In fact, it sounds (tone-wise) at low volume just like it does cranked up. Until you've experienced something like this, it is very difficult to believe.

I think the Mark III would be an excellent candidate for the London Power mod, and I am currently checking on this with London Power and also with the guy that built my boutique amp. Since power scaling is not the same as attenuation, the way it works is completely different and the results are much better than Hotplates and/or speaker emulators, etc. This technology is different from what we are used to for lowering tube amp volume.

I am surprised more people haven't checked into these kits for their Boogies. I think in the future most new amps will be made with kits like these already in them. They just work that well.

 

[Tuna141]

You can also try lowering the graphic EQ, if your amp is equiped with one. I find that this really allows the Mark III to oepn up and adds some nice power amp distortion at low volumes. Just lower all of the sliders. I keep mine around the 1st line on the EQ (well below the half-way point).

 

[rrhea]

You can also try lowering the graphic EQ, if your amp is equiped with one. I find that this really allows the Mark III to oepn up and adds some nice power amp distortion at low volumes. Just lower all of the sliders. I keep mine around the 1st line on the EQ (well below the half-way point).

Cool. Never tried that... I'll give it a shot.

Thanks for the advice!

RR

 

[eet fuk]

Cool, what boutique amp, and does it do med/high gain? Are you considering the psbox or an internal mod? You should check out King amplification (is that the one?), he specializes in those mods in all amps. The mkIV might be a better option for an internal mod, since the output level is in the optimum spot to be converted to a ps knob.

 

[rrhea]

Cool, what boutique amp, and does it do med/high gain? Are you considering the psbox or an internal mod? You should check out King amplification (is that the one?), he specializes in those mods in all amps. The mkIV might be a better option for an internal mod, since the output level is in the optimum spot to be converted to a ps knob.

My boutique is a Kingsley ToneBaron http://www.kingsleyamplifiers.com/tonebaron/tonebaron.html. All hand-wired and it sounds amazing. Has tons of gain, but is more of a vintage tone with tons of sag and very sweet sounding. Not at all like the Mark III (even though the Mk III is quite versatile). The cool thing about the Kingsley is that it is supposed to sound like itself ...and not like some other amp you could just go out and buy anyway (i.e. Orange, Marshall, Vox, etc.).

Cool info on King amps, thanks! So you think the Mark III would be a bad candidate for the PS kit? It's a fantastic amp for playing out and I will always use it for that, but I'd love to play it more at home, too. My sweet spot on that amp is just slightly above comfort level in the room I play in at home.

RR