Is the bass frequency related to the master volume?

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Staskw09

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Is the bass frequency somehow related to the master volume on tube amps?

I have a randall RD50C(supposed to be a metal amp) and I usually play with maxed out gain/volume on overdrive channel(4 tung-sols 12ax7 preamp tubes) and master volume about 10% (cant play loud at all)

I tried my old Roland Cube 15x solid state and the bass was like tripe the randall's

then

I added my MXR M116 Fullbore Metal distortion pedal to the randall's signal and the pedal's EQ seems a lot more responsive/sensitive/bass heavy (not to speak about the gain level difference...)

is it the master volume that holds the amp back???Sound not compressed???Amplifier is garbage??? :scared:
 
It totally is. Master brings up the powertubes, which adds more low end to the signal
 
crwnedblasphemy":38078viu said:
It totally is. Master brings up the powertubes, which adds more low end to the signal
Click to expand...

thnx for the info I am relatively new to tube amps

Maybe a speaker with better bass response will help,any suggestions??
 
There is actually a technical explanation for this. In a lot of master volume amps, when the master is before the phase inverter, very low master settings will cause a hi pass filter effect ( bass cut ) due to the interaction of the MV pot with the tone stack and PI. This is most commonly seen in JCM800 style amps, and a very popular mod is to add a 220k resitor to the wiper of the mater vol pot to preserve the low end at low MV settings.

In your case, the best solution would probably be a graphic EQ pedal in the FX loop. If the amp doesn't have a loop, in front of the amp would be fine too.
You can get Boss GEQ7's and MXR 10 band EQ's at resonable prices used.
 
I find with all audio devises I need to turn up the bass and treble as I lower the volume.
The master on a guitar tube amp changes the tone as much as the volume as you rotate.
 
Yeah I think you've stumbled upon the age old question of getting good sounds out of tube amps at low volumes. Suhr Reactive Load, Fryette Power Station and the Two Notes gear help here. I have the SRL and Fryette PS2 and they make all the difference in the world playing at apartment volumes.
 
stratjacket":1sz3dcbj said:
Yeah I think you've stumbled upon the age old question of getting good sounds out of tube amps at low volumes. Suhr Reactive Load, Fryette Power Station and the Two Notes gear help here. I have the SRL and Fryette PS2 and they make all the difference in the world playing at apartment volumes.
Click to expand...

I agree. People say it sucks tone and maybe it does but it's positive compromise. If you were really turning it up loud enough to push your amp like you could through an attenuator, you would probably want ear plugs, which is also tone suckage. I try to turn it up loud and attenuate the least amount I can. This topic has been best to death though.

Another awesome aspect of attenuators that I didn't realize until I got my deluxe reverb head: you have no issues controlling a non master volume amp
 
It is related with how our ears perceive different frequencies with changing loudness. The phenomenon is explained by the Fletcher Munson Curves and can be summarized as:

At low listening volumes – mid range frequencies sound more prominent, while the low and high frequency ranges seem to fall into the background.
At high listening volumes – the lows and highs sound more prominent, while the mid range seems comparatively softer.

Some links to explanations:

https://ehomerecordingstudio.com/fletcher-munson-curve/

https://www.teachmeaudio.com/recording/ ... on-curves/
 
https://reverb-res.cloudinary.com/image ... r8oor5.jpg

ok these are the knobs in my amp.I increased the MASTER volume at about 12 o clock with full gain and 10% volume on the overdrive channel,all of a sudden I have no loss in distortion and more bass frequency due to the master volume increase.So my question is which knob controls my preamp tubes is it the channel volume or the individual channel gain???

I think are both the gain knobs cause its also the only volume control of the clean channel plus the distortion levels are the same

I guess instead of

Gain:100%
Overdrive Channel Volume:100%
Mater Volume:10%

I can go

Gain:100%
Overdrive Channel Volume:10%
Master Volume:80%
 
woah man. sorry to take away from your question but metal is really hard to do with a 1x12. The bass in particular gets a little farty sounding once you start getting the volume up just a little bit
 
I tend to agree.... Without the right speakers and cab controlling the bass with the amp controls is going to be limited.

With tube amps basicly the poweramp the large tubes are running at 100% full all the time. How loud it is or tonal balance is controlled by what you put into the poweramp.

Most amps the gain staging goes ...
Drive / gain
Channel master
Master volume.

If the master is after the phase inverter or before will alter gain staging.
The effects loop is usually between the channel master and master volume.

As far as balance of treble, midrange, bass goes with any of these controls....Every amp is going to be different. Individual amps are going to have variation. All the gain stages interact. All you can do is try it and see how it reacts with the rest of your rig.
 
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