Adding a MV to a plate driven amp vs volume pedal

[Nickerz]

Very green Q here. But I've got both a 5153 EL34 100w and a VTM120 I'm interested in putting a MV on. I'd like to be able to use them as slaves to other preamps. What I've noticed is I tend to like my poweramps at about noon because I play high gain metal. While they do sound better at noon than barely on, past 2'oclock I find that I find most metal preamps, unless designed for it (e.g. Plexi, 5150) are a muddled mess.

So while I have two amps with that beatiful mid friendly OT that the 5150s have thrived on all these years, sending a preamp signal right into the return sounds like a garbled mess, not to mention the speakers entering woof city. I'd like to be able to have a little less poweramp distortion so I can focus the sound on preamp gain primarily while retaining that legendary 5150 cut.

Again, for a plexi I get it. All of that comes together to make something very special.

So looking into this, a lot of people are recommending either standard volume pedals, or 1M pot volume pedals. But I'd like to do it "right." But I get the impression if none of these plate driven amps have MVs, it's because adding it into the amp really isn't a MV as we know it. I don't know enough about amps to understand this yet. I looked for some Peavey Invective schematics but couldn't find them, because this is a 5150 sister amp that has a MV, and was curious how Peavey did it, assuming they did it "right."

If I saw a 1M resister volume pedal built into the head I was ready to concede that is the correct solution, but I can't find this info. I actually want to use these power amps to track occasionally so I am concerned with fidelity. I have my doubts this solution as elequent, cheap and easy as it is, is the true correct way to control poweramp output. As far as I understand, that method will only limit how how it goes into the poweramp, but it will still be full tilt giving every amount of poweramp distortion just to a weaker preamp signal.

Again, I do want to bring down the amount of poweramp distortion.

[thetragichero]

have you ever plugged a guitar straight into the effects return of an amp? even with all the knobs wide open it's pretty weak and puny, not even close to achieving power amp distortion.
drive the power amp with a lower signal level and it won't distort

[Nickerz]

have you ever plugged a guitar straight into the effects return of an amp? even with all the knobs wide open it's pretty weak and puny, not even close to achieving power amp distortion.
drive the power amp with a lower signal level and it won't distort

I guess put another way is I'd like to be able to control THD from the poweramp side effectively, rather than controlling that with preamp input.

[thetragichero]

http://support.evhgear.com/schematics/E ... matics.pdf
the easiest solution is a 1M volume pedal in the effects loop as you don't have to open up the amp, drill a hole, etc.
you *could* replace r28 with a 1M pot setup as a voltage divider (wiper to lug 6 on the relay, one lug to effects return tip, other lug to ground) and then just plug a jumper cable between effects send and return. if you normally played with effects loop switched on, you'd then get a considerable boost with effects loop switched off
again, i would probably just be happy with volume pedal in the loop as it's reversible and costs zero seconds of your time

[Nickerz]

NM, I was wrong. Has the same issue the 5150 has.