What's the better way to deal with a poor master volume?

[MadAsAHatter]

One of my amps has a pain in the ass master volume. It's not so much a problem with the actual volume, but more an issue of not having a smooth taper. It goes from bedroom to band to festival to arena volumes in big jumps with nothing in between.

My thoughts are to either use my attenuator (Fryette power station) or put a volume pedal in the loop. I know either one should work, but what do you think would be the better way to deal with this?

 

[Findthetone1]

Sounds like it might have a linear taper MV pot. Switching to an audio taper can help. The SLO30 I just got a few weeks ago unfortunately is part of the early run where they used linear taper pots. I'm going to switch it over to audio taper in the next week or so and see how it behaves then.

If you don't want to go through all that, look at the JHS Little Black Amp Box or an equivalent. A volume pedal will work as well.

 

[sahlomonic]

I think the Fryette would be a great solution, regardless if there's a fault with the actual volume pot. What amp is it?

 

[scottosan]

Turn it up to festival and play it like it’s rented \m/

 

[Devin]

I think everyone should own a Powerstation no matter what tbh, but you may as well try putting a volume pedal or something similar in the loop first to see if you like the results

 

[beej]

If it sounds okay with a VP in the loop, I'd think that would be more convenient. Or wire up a 25k pot in a little box to do the same thing.

 

[MadAsAHatter]

Sounds like it might have a linear taper MV pot. Switching to an audio taper can help. The SLO30 I just got a few weeks ago unfortunately is part of the early run where they used linear taper pots. I'm going to switch it over to audio taper in the next week or so and see how it behaves then.

If you don't want to go through all that, look at the JHS Little Black Amp Box or an equivalent. A volume pedal will work as well.

I'm not sure what kind of pot is used, could be linear taper. Right now I'm looking for a convenient fix before I go have stuff replaced. I've seen those amp box things. They're pretty easy to make. I have spare jacks & pots floating around, just need to dig out something that would work as a housing.

What amp is it?

It's a Crate Stealth 50 combo I converted to a head.

I think everyone should own a Powerstation no matter what tbh, but you may as well try putting a volume pedal or something similar in the loop first to see if you like the results

I just received my PS100 yesterday. Didn't get a chance to hook it up yet.

If it sounds okay with a VP in the loop, I'd think that would be more convenient. Or wire up a 25k pot in a little box to do the same thing.

I'm leaning toward making one of those volume boxes to dedicate to that amp. That feels like the more convenient option than moving the attenuator around when I want to play it.

 

[Mikeyboyeee]

Another vote for the Fryette PS. Even with decent master volumes, these let you play ANYTHING in your living room (like me

 

[napalmdeath]

One of my amps has a pain in the ass master volume. It's not so much a problem with the actual volume, but more an issue of not having a smooth taper. It goes from bedroom to band to festival to arena volumes in big jumps with nothing in between.

My thoughts are to either use my attenuator (Fryette power station) or put a volume pedal in the loop. I know either one should work, but what do you think would be the better way to deal with this?

Little Black Box by JHS. $65.

 

[TheGreatGreen]

A lot of amp companies employ misguided (or deaf) people who think "if we make our amp go from completely off to blowing your hair back with the volume on 0.002 then people will think it's SUPER POWERFUL and totally awesome!" and design a linear volume taper as basically a marketing stunt, OR there's something going on with the circuit that makes the amp extremely fizzy and thin sounding until it gets turned up loud so they design for a linear volume taper to "hide" the imperfections of that design.

Either way, you've got a couple options:

1. If the amp is entirely tonally preamp-centric, go for a volume pedal in the loop
2. Next cheapest option is an attenuator
3. Last and most expensive is the amp -> reactive load -> 2nd poweramp option, like the Fryette PS-2

 

[WarHed]

Just replace the pot with a good one

 

[NewWorldMan]

The stock pot in my ‘81 JCM 800 2203 was a little off and came on quicker than it should. I had it replaced with one that was a little smoother so it can actually do reasonable volumes now and not just off or extreme.

 

[ClintN667]

Saturnworks makes a volume pedal that's basically a pot for 25 bucks. Put it in the loop and you are done.

 

[napalmdeath]

Saturnworks makes a volume pedal that's basically a pot for 25 bucks. Put it in the loop and you are done.

That's like the Little Black Box. I have one, works pretty good! Fuck buying a $700 attenuator. Been down that rabbit hole.

 

[napalmdeath]

A lot of amp companies employ misguided (or deaf) people who think "if we make our amp go from completely off to blowing your hair back with the volume on 0.002 then people will think it's SUPER POWERFUL and totally awesome!" and design a linear volume taper as basically a marketing stunt, OR there's something going on with the circuit that makes the amp extremely fizzy and thin sounding until it gets turned up loud so they design for a linear volume taper to "hide" the imperfections of that design.

That's been my experience with nearly every Boogie I've owned, (except the Mark V 25). Even the little Mini Rectifier blew your hat off at .75. The Multiwatt, and Single Recto were like that too. No taper whatsoever. Zero, or holy shit. No in between.

 

[GOHOINC]

I've got 2 lbab s just sitting here. Need one?

 

[Mikeyboyeee]

That's like the Little Black Box. I have one, works pretty good! Fuck buying a $700 attenuator. Been down that rabbit hole.

View attachment 108968

I have that and the PS-100. They aren't comperable.

 

[MadAsAHatter]

That's like the Little Black Box. I have one, works pretty good! Fuck buying a $700 attenuator. Been down that rabbit hole.

$65 is way overpriced for a little volume box too when it costs all of $3 in parts to make; 2 mono jacks, an audio taper pot, a small project box & about 1 foot of wire. And yeah attenuators can be overly expensive too, but at least the Fryette does more than attenuate. Makes the sting of that price hurt less

Thanks for all the input everyone.
I dug out an old EQ pedal this afternoon and stuck it in the loop just to see how the volume taper worked. Was sufficient enough for what I wanted with no perceived adverse effects on sound.
I have all the stuff I need to make a volume box, just need to dig out an appropriate size housing for it. I'll put one together and compare to the attenuator this weekend.

FYI this is pretty much all those volume boxes are on the inside. Very easy to make with basic soldering skills.

 

[napalmdeath]

$65 is way overpriced for a little volume box too when it costs all of $3 in parts to make; 2 mono jacks, an audio taper pot, a small project box & about 1 foot of wire. And yeah attenuators can be overly expensive too, but at least the Fryette does more than attenuate. Makes the sting of that price hurt less

Thanks for all the input everyone.
I dug out an old EQ pedal this afternoon and stuck it in the loop just to see how the volume taper worked. Was sufficient enough for what I wanted with no perceived adverse effects on sound.
I have all the stuff I need to make a volume box, just need to dig out an appropriate size housing for it. I'll put one together and compare to the attenuator this weekend.

FYI this is pretty much all those volume boxes are on the inside. Very easy to make with basic soldering skills.
View attachment 108974
View attachment 108977

True, the JHS was much cheaper before covid and inflation. I think I actually paid about $40. Sure, it's inexpensive parts, but it's clean and tidy and legit looking. Got my money's worth in about 10 minutes.

Now, I just dial back the volume pedal on my fx unit. I crank the amp, and use the expression pedal for volume. Works like a charm.

 

[napalmdeath]

I have that and the PS-100. They aren't comperable.

I had the PS-2 twice. If you need the bells and whistles, great. But, if you're looking to JUST tame a loud amp, there's more sensible options.