I understand that the trimmer setting is key to getting your desired tone. I also understand the concept of making the usable range easier to access by padding the circuit with fixed resistor values.
However, what is the difference between adjusting the signal via the trimmer and simply adjusting the input gain from the main volume control? I'm guessing that it boils down to 'resolution' and usable range but I'm intrigued to know if the same effect can be had by say moving adjusting the 'clean' volume from say 12 O'Clock to 1 O'Clock?
My opinion on this question put in simplest terms as it relates to this design.. With the trimmer external gives you complete control over the amount of gain/signal entering and exiting each gain stage (including guitar's volume control)... Applying too much gain to the following gain stage depending on of coarse how the stage is setup.. *Voltage,RP,RK,Grid resistors, Padding, and of coarse Knee..Other things to consider is gain factor of that tube, as well as it's sonic character,amount of filtering, tone cap values etc.. can yield anomalies such as loose sloppy low end, uneven breakup, and tone in general becomes un focused saturated.. On the other side not enough gain and the tone gets thin no girth sustain harmonic content etc... We've all been there.. Given the option of controlling each stage can quickly turn into a tweak monster if you don't have the tone in your head to aim for.. For me I get the best tone clairity sustain etc. if the gain stages are set up to gradually increase gain so the tube is just beginning to clip outside the curve...100k amps to my ears are more susceptible to these effects since they seem to clip faster than the higher plates placing them in a different part of the curve.. the reason for the brighter harsher OD and need to bleed off treble..Anyone have an opinion or am I pretty much reinforcing something everyone knows..If so disreguard..
talbany wrote:
My opinion on this question put in simplest terms as it relates to this design.. With the trimmer external gives you complete control over the amount of gain/signal entering and exiting each gain stage (including guitar's volume control)... Applying too much gain to the following gain stage depending on of coarse how the stage is setup.. *Voltage,RP,RK,Grid resistors, Padding, and of coarse Knee..Other things to consider is gain factor of that tube, as well as it's sonic character,amount of filtering, tone cap values etc.. can yield anomalies such as loose sloppy low end, uneven breakup, and tone in general becomes un focused saturated.. On the other side not enough gain and the tone gets thin no girth sustain harmonic content etc... We've all been there.. Given the option of controlling each stage can quickly turn into a tweak monster if you don't have the tone in your head to aim for.. For me I get the best tone clairity sustain etc. if the gain stages are set up to gradually increase gain so the tube is just beginning to clip outside the curve...100k amps to my ears are more susceptible to these effects since they seem to clip faster than the higher plates placing them in a different part of the curve.. the reason for the brighter harsher OD and need to bleed off treble..Anyone have an opinion or am I pretty much reinforcing something everyone knows..If so disreguard..
T
An internal 100k trimmer on the non-Hrm builds I'm familiar with are drastically different at 25% then 35% then 45% then 55% then 65% each adding fullness of tone as well as greater distortion(duh). Yet when you use a 50k linear pot on the panel (offset by 24k resistors at each end) it is very easy to set with out tweaking anxiety, otherwise I would refuse to do it for anybody.
So Henry are you saying that the 50k pot w/ pads opens the adjustment up a bit more to on the fly tweaks?? What are your clients saying anecdotally about the use of said pot ?
I stand by the recommendation to use 50K with no pads. Noon is 25K. 25K or so happens to be an actual setting of a grail Dumble so not just chosen at random. I have never seen over 50K on any high plate non HRM. So, you have the same resolution as the padded control, but noon is the "default".
The problem with a 24K pad on ground is that there is another grail Dumble set under 20K by Dumble. THis yields an impressive tone if cranking the input gain. Using 24K on the tail eliminates the possibility of experiencing that sound. All so you can get the 50K-74K range, which IMO is unuseable.
heisthl wrote:
talbany wrote:
My opinion on this question put in simplest terms as it relates to this design.. With the trimmer external gives you complete control over the amount of gain/signal entering and exiting each gain stage (including guitar's volume control)... Applying too much gain to the following gain stage depending on of coarse how the stage is setup.. *Voltage,RP,RK,Grid resistors, Padding, and of coarse Knee..Other things to consider is gain factor of that tube, as well as it's sonic character,amount of filtering, tone cap values etc.. can yield anomalies such as loose sloppy low end, uneven breakup, and tone in general becomes un focused saturated.. On the other side not enough gain and the tone gets thin no girth sustain harmonic content etc... We've all been there.. Given the option of controlling each stage can quickly turn into a tweak monster if you don't have the tone in your head to aim for.. For me I get the best tone clairity sustain etc. if the gain stages are set up to gradually increase gain so the tube is just beginning to clip outside the curve...100k amps to my ears are more susceptible to these effects since they seem to clip faster than the higher plates placing them in a different part of the curve.. the reason for the brighter harsher OD and need to bleed off treble..Anyone have an opinion or am I pretty much reinforcing something everyone knows..If so disreguard..
T
An internal 100k trimmer on the non-Hrm builds I'm familiar with are drastically different at 25% then 35% then 45% then 55% then 65% each adding fullness of tone as well as greater distortion(duh). Yet when you use a 50k linear pot on the panel (offset by 24k resistors at each end) it is very easy to set with out tweaking anxiety, otherwise I would refuse to do it for anybody.
dogears wrote:I stand by the recommendation to use 50K with no pads. Noon is 25K. 25K or so happens to be an actual setting of a grail Dumble so not just chosen at random. I have never seen over 50K on any high plate non HRM. So, you have the same resolution as the padded control, but noon is the "default".
The problem with a 24K pad on ground is that there is another grail Dumble set under 20K by Dumble. THis yields an impressive tone if cranking the input gain. Using 24K on the tail eliminates the possibility of experiencing that sound. All so you can get the 50K-74K range, which IMO is unuseable.
heisthl wrote:
it is very easy to set with out tweaking anxiety
I guess I need to correct the anxiety statement
Scott - I'll revisit this and try low settings at cranked volumes to see if there is value in having it available. How can I do disrespectful wankery if I can't go above 50%?
