"Dialing In" a Simple Vintage Tube Amp

[tru]

The mechanics and nuances escape me, as I play more acoustic guitar.

I have an early 60's Gibson GA-5T.
It has 2 instrument jacks (incidentally, I've learned that jack 1 is louder than jack 2)
It also a volume knob...and a tremolo knob.

I am playing a '55 ES-125 through it.
So the guitar has one P90, one Vol, and one Tone knob.

To make things simple, please tell me the steps you would take to "dial it in."
Assume no pedals/effects...assume amp is on with all setting at zero...both guitar knobs at zero.

Where should everything be set to start ... what steps do I take ... what am I listening for?

(again...no bass/mid/treb/OD...nuthing eklse to contend with.

How do I make this guitar play thru this amp at their best?
And no...style/lessons is not the answer, wise-guys. hahaha
I like my playing and simply want to learn more about tweaking amps' settings.

[g1]

I always start with tone controls on amp set half-way up. Volume start from zero and bring up to comfortable loudness. Adjust tone to what you like as far as how much treble. (guitar volume around 7, tone full up)

[tru]

No tone controls on amp, at all.

Start with guitar Tone at 10...guitar volume at 7 ...ok.
And then turn amp Vol up until I hear "break-up" ... ???

[The Dude]

It would help to know what kind of music you play and what tone you're after. Blues player? Clean jazz player? Metalhead?

[tru]

It would help to know what kind of music you play and what tone you're after. Blues player? Clean jazz player? Metalhead?

Let's say Blues/Old RocknRoll. After all, these are vintage components.
Not folk.
Not pop.
Not Jazz.

[tru]

I mean, are there not procedures one would go through with their guitar (and ONLY their guitar) to find where this amp sounds best?
Please...speak to me like I am a 2-year-old. Whadda I do?

[g1]

To be honest, we're much more electronics focused here than a amp user type forum would be.

[The Dude]

If you're looking for a Blues/Rock sound and have no pedals, I'd dime the amp.

[eschertron]

If you're looking for a Blues/Rock sound and have no pedals, I'd dime the amp.

+1 on that. If you are looking for the amp to speak its character then set the volume full on the amp, use the vol on the guitar to find the level or 'sweet spot' you're looking for.
One additional tweak I use is to start with the guitar's tone knob on 10. I turn up the guitar's vol until its a little more than I want, then roll off the tone knob to lower the volume and mellow the tone a bit.

Truth be told, every amp/guitar/user combination is different. Not every situation can be calibrated by the same set of rules. But starting with everything "up" except for one of the volume controls, then adjusting that to taste can get you an idea of the range of that control. Then reset and run through a different combination.

edit: tremolo is a cool effect, but it's just that. an effect. fall in love with the sound of your rig before playing too much with that.

[Enzo]

Do this: stop looking for some exact thing. It is like asking how many shakes of salt should I put on my steak? The only ears you have to please are your own. There is no right and wrong, there is what you like and what you don't like.

Only the guitar? Well it has two controls: volume and tone. Tone is basically dialing away the highs. For a given amplifier setup, plug in the guitar, and turn up its volume until it is as loud as you'd like. I'd start with tone all the way up, so the guitar is at its brightest. The I might turn down the tone until I get just the amount of edge I like. Mostly I run my guitars with the tone at max, because I like a bright guitar. My friend Scott likes really dark tones, so he rolls his tones back a lot. personal choice.

Most guitars have a couple pickups, one back by the bridge, the other up by the end of the neck. The neck pickup tends to have a fuller tone, while the bridge pickup tends to be brighter. usually a switch selects one, the other, or both. I tend to mostly use just the neck pickup, but again, personal taste. Flip the witch, decide which you prefer. Since you have only one pickup, you can skip this step.

Really, that is it, set the volume and adjust the tone to suit your ears.

Your amp has only a volume control? OK. Between that and your guitar volume control you can set the overall volume. You MAY find that turning the amp way up and the guitar down sounds different from turning the guitar way up and the amp down, for a given volume. A couple seconds spinning knobs will tell you that.

Even on amps with a full set of tone controls, I find it simple to dial in my tone. I usually center the controls. then I turn the bass up and down until I hear the level of fullness I like. Then I twiddle the treble to get the amount of brightness I like. That leaves the middles, which I bring up until it fills in nicely. All by ear, all to my personal taste. You might hate my tone, you might like it. Doesn't matter, you need a tone you like.

[olddawg]

It’s a 5 watt amp right? Everything on 10 on the amp. Bring the volume up on the guitar until you like it. Roll off the tone control if too bright. Be careful if its the original speaker. Depending on how you are playing you might want to replace it with something more robust. You might benefit from a compressor and or a boost pedal for playing rock and blues. I had a Skylark that screamed back in the day.

[Enzo]

And for a very fun experiment, disconnect the tiny speaker, and connect the amp to a 4x12 cab of your choice. Amazing.

[olddawg]

And for a very fun experiment, disconnect the tiny speaker, and connect the amp to a 4x12 cab of your choice. Amazing.

Yep.. or even a modern 1x12” closed back cab.