Tube amp insight

[Chuck H]

Sorry for being a smart arse,

How could I respect you if you weren't

I've always seen the circuit called "speaker driven line out" so that's what I call it. The only way a recipient transducer can drive anything would be mechanically. Or perhaps if it were falling at a high velocity.

[stokes]

the voltage divider i have on a champ type i built has a volume control on the line out.true you dont get the speaker distortion on the line out,but using it to drive a larger amp,you get a different flavored distortion.for what is is,it works fine.

[olddawg]

the voltage divider i have on a champ type i built has a volume control on the line out.true you dont get the speaker distortion on the line out,but using it to drive a larger amp,you get a different flavored distortion.for what is is,it works fine.

That was what the Hertzog was, a champ modified into an overdrive. The BTO distortion. It can get really hissy/noisy. I have a speaker driven line out on my 18 watt as well. In general, I mic an amp or I don't.

Btw my favorite gigging amp is my 18 watt variant with a massive Zenith OT. But even 18 watts dimed is too loud for a lot of clubs.... Even larger ones. It's not 1970 anymore.

[stokes]

Yeah,15-18 watts is perfect for small rooms.I got a 15 watter I built with a 10" Weber spkr that I use when we jam in a big garage sized room and it cuts thru with a drum bass and 2nd guitar.Any bigger and you wont get that sweet cranked power tube break-up.

[Chuck H]

Ah! And here is another situation where having an "OT driven line out" can really be of benefit. So there you are, honking away with your 15 watt amp clipping and distorting beautifully at a small club or practice and now it's time for that part in the song with the big clean tone!?! You roll back the volume control and it cleans right up, but it sounds too small and slightly quieter than the clipped tone. Fine for certain dynamics but it's not the big clean tone you needed. So here's what I've done. Plug the line out into an A/B pedal and then into a channel on the PA. Set up that channel to bump volume a little. Now the A/B pedal is just a volume boost pedal. Great for bumping the volume of clean tones or leads.

[Aloha_Mark]

Never in the history of amplifiers have we had as many choices as we have today. Way too many for a person to audition, and whatever choice you make will be wrong. I like inexpensive custom choices, like the offerings from Ceriatone or Alessandro-modded amps. The modern Fender amps may be a safe choice, but they could also be a bland choice. Same for Vox, and certain Marshal amps. The more boutique you get (Dr. Z, 65amps, Fargen, etc.), the more you pay for small increments in performance. Abandon all hope, pilgrim? Maybe. Try to make small tweaks, like better tubes or speakers, as the other members have suggested. Consider using good effects pedal, like those made by Wampler. Don't go overboard with an amp until you are way more knowledgeable. Two thousand dollars is a lot of money to spend. Get every cents' worth.