Old Marshalls and the Fryette PS-2

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vander

vander

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Hi Guys,

Wanted to ask any tone gods here who might have experience with this. I've been playing through 100 watt amps most of my life but don't think I have very discerning ears...so here's my question...

I have a 100 watt 1976 JMP and a 50 watt 1984 JCM 800 in my practice space at Fort Knox Studios here in Chitown. Both modded...by FJA and Amp Man Mods respectively. Running them through Marshall 1960 and Mesa 4x12's loaded with V30s and Greenbacks depending on the tone I'm looking for. I go and play occasionally at the space but mostly just use it to record and shoot Youtube videos every now and then for fun (some of which I've actually posted here) ...I share the space with two bands but I'm not part of either and have never gigged. I play a lot of styles but mainly record Dio...Whitesnake...kinda 80s music.

I've played through a Fryette power station 2 for a long time under the belief that the amps will open up when cranked (which I've always read on the forums) so I've typically had the master volume around 6 or 7 and the Fryette keeping the volume reasonable. I've always been happy with the tone...sounds great to my ears and seems to record well.

Recently I got sick of all the connections and decided to run the amps without the PS2...master volumes around 2...gets painful above that and starts feeding back. More than enough gain on tap and again...to my ears it sounds great.

I can't really discern a major difference with or without the PS2...but it constantly gnaws at me that maybe it does sound better cranked. First world problems...lol. The PS2 has been at home now for a while and I'm always vacillating about whether I should take it back and use it.

Anyone have experience with this? My goal of course is to have the best tone possible but my ears don't seem to be up to the task.

Any opinions would be appreciated....thanks!
 
If it gets painful at 2/ do you mean 2 or 2 o`clock? If it hurts your ears/ painful at# 2 on volume knob you probably need to go to a ear doctor, cause it shouldn`t.
 
Thanks Panhead....I mean pointer on 2 to 2.5. I'm generally sitting about 8 feet in front the cabs and I guess I shouldn't say painful...just irritating like tinnitus vibrations. The feedback is really the issue above that volume...even with a decimator.
 
I've been using the Fryette PS1 with my amps for years now and to my ears, any real tonal difference is negligible and can be compensated for using the Powerstations voicing switches and presence/depth controls
 
Maybe I should rephrase my question...since the amps are modded I get enough gain and distortion even at television volumes....much like an Engl. Since they are Marshall's with EL34's is there anything to gain by running them cranked as opposed to more manageable volume levels. I know 80s guys had to run them hot to get natural overdrive but I obviously don't face that challenge.
I play in front of two stacked 4x12s so sit or stand it still feeds back with my back to the amp. Maybe my Marshall's spin up faster than others but at 2 and a half on the master...you can hear the two drum kits in the room rattle and you can hear the guitar clearly 6 rooms down the hallway with the door shut.
 
Cool...thanks Devin. So if you removed the PS1 it sounds like you feel you wouldn't be missing anything major? That's really what I'm asking.
 
In my experience, probably not. High gainers tend to get really squirrely and super noisy if you run them wide open.

For recording purposes, just run it at as reasonable a volume you can

vander":2h1l11ni said:
Cool...thanks Devin. So if you removed the PS1 it sounds like you feel you wouldn't be missing anything major? That's really what I'm asking.
Click to expand...

Unless you're using the PS to really hype up certain frequencies past what the amp itself can do alone, you won't miss anything
 
I wasn't impressed with the PS and got rid of mine. Although it's not a vintage Marshall, I used it with my '82 2204. It sounds much better and more natural with the master volume on 2 with a clean boost than it did on 7 with the PS
 
I think with any tube amp that runs 34s, they will usually sound better when you turn up enough to get the power tubes to add some distortion. For me, that’s the best tone possible out of any modded or stock Marshall. My Monomyth 2204 sounds great at apt levels but sounds incredible when I get the volume up to 3-4.
 
Thanks for the responses fellas...thinking I'll be selling the PS2. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something.
 
As long as we are talking about amps that already have enough pre-amp gain / overdrive, I feel like the increase in output volume benefits the tone of the 4x12 speaker cabs as much, or more, than it helps the tone of the amp.
Gotta get 'dem speakers movin' :rock:

The other thing that can happen is that the design and placement of the master volume control can affect the operation of the tone stack at lower settings, thinning out the tone considerably. The improvement in tone as the master comes up from bedroom volumes is sometimes related to the electrical characteristics of the pre-amp circuit, and not just because you're driving the power section. I think a lot of guys would be shocked at how far you have to push a 50watt or 100watt EL34 power section before it actually starts to distort and compress. ( an o'scope is handy for this )
Dave Friedman ( among other modern builders ) seems to have found a reasonably effective solution to this issue with his master volume design.

With the non-master amps, yes you gotta get the PI & power amp going, which usually means lot's o' volume, or an attenuator.
 
I didn’t like how both the PS1 and PS2 my amps sound. Yes, they have controls to help compensate but they give every amp a certain tone that can’t be dialed out. I hear that same tone regardless the amp.
 
OP: cool guitar in your avatar. I have #1/10 regular headstock
 
Wow...awesome...Dweezil limited run signed by Mike Shannon WAY back in the day...one of the best playing guitars I've ever purchased....small world.
 
Some of it isnt the tubes, it's the speakers. They need a certain amount of volume until they start sounding good. Some speakers do better at lower volumes than others. A few practices ago, bandmate was using a 4x12 with g12-65s, I was using one with blackback 25s, he turned down and it still sounded good. I turned down to the same level and it sounded bad. Both of us were using identically set up dsl 50s.
 
I tried the PS-1 with a Marshall and hated it. Lots of artifacts in the sound that made it unusable. It was one of the biggest let downs from a piece of gear. Makes me wonder why so many people like it?
 
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