Why is my 45 watt Mesa alot louder than my 30 watt Mesa?

[longhair55]

I have a Nomad 45 1-12" Combo,and a Lonestar Special 2-12" Combo,and I've noticed that the Nomad is Alot louder than the LSS,with the controls set about the same,..is it because the Nomad's speaker is "broke in"? Or because of the one 12' instead of two?
The 15 watt difference doesn't seem to make sense,because (on the LSS) the difference between the 15 watt and 30 watt setting isn't really alot.
Maybe a dumb question,..but it's kinds bugged me since getting the LSS,since they are both EL-84's,and only 15 watt difference between them,I thought the LSS would have more volume,since it's push'in more air...it will "get loud",..I just have to crank it up quite a bit more than the Nomad.

 

[SixVeeSix]

Are the speakers identical? Some speakers are far more efficient than others. The load on the OT could be different. The taper on the pots could be different, V1 (first preamp tube in the circuit) could have substantially different gain. There may be more resistance in the input circuit that your pickups are reacting to. The Nomad is biased Class AB, isn't the Lonestar Class A? All things being equal, few things ever are!!

 

[Murphy Slaw]

I don't understand why the LSS wasn't built with a normal (non master) channel, and a gain channel. From other post I've read, there isn't much difference in the two channels anyway.

I've been on the edge of pulling the trigger on one to backup my (non master) Blue Angel, but don't have a Mesa dealer within what will be a whole day to drive up, check it out, eat, and drive home. But I'm not hearing good things about headroom, and I require a lot.

Gain "eats" volume, and turns it into "mush", that's why I like a 30/50 watt (EL84) amp with a clean channel I can crank.

I mean, with the incredible success of the Peavey classic 30/Delta Blues, Vox AC30, Dr. Z., Carvin Nomad/Bel Air, ect., to me it would only make sense that the LSS would give you that option.

But hey......

What do I know?