Silvertone 1472 versus 1482

[Terry1000]

Can someone tell me the main differences between a Silvertone 1472 and a 1482 in terms of tone? I've listened to some demos and love their gritty tone when they're cranked. But I want to get that tone without it being super loud. I've read that they're basically the same except that the 1472's put out 10 watts while the 1482's put out 15. Will a 1482 be much louder to achieve the same amount of grit?

Thanks.

[nickb]

Can someone tell me the main differences between a Silvertone 1472 and a 1482 in terms of tone? I've listened to some demos and love their gritty tone when they're cranked. But I want to get that tone without it being super loud. I've read that they're basically the same except that the 1472's put out 10 watts while the 1482's put out 15. Will a 1482 be much louder to achieve the same amount of grit?

Thanks.

100 watts is considered to be twice as loud as 10 watts (10dB). 15 vs 10 watts is only 1.8 dB louder so would only just be noticeable all other things being equal.

You could try an attenuator (e.g Marshall power brake) to lower the volume but opinions do differ on how well the original tone is preserved. For example speaker breakup, if it were a factor, no longer happens when using one.

[olddawg]

A 25 watt Weber Mini Mass attenuator is inexpensive (relatively) and works great for small amps. I have the 50 watt version because it's only $20 more and usable on bigger amps too. You can even get a footswich option to turn it on and off for a lead volume level change.
http://www.tedweber.com/

[pdf64]

A 25 watt Weber Mini Mass attenuator is inexpensive (relatively) and works great for small amps. I have the 50 watt version because it's only $20 more and usable on bigger amps too. You can even get a footswich option to turn it on and off for a lead volume level change.

How is the footswitchable bypass on that implemented? I'd be wary of switching between loads on a screaming tube amp.

...You could try an attenuator (e.g Marshall power brake) to lower the volume but opinions do differ on how well the original tone is preserved. For example speaker breakup, if it were a factor, no longer happens when using one.

I think that guitar speakers distort / break-up at any power level; the 'bark' from a smooth cone flapping around at high power levels is an extreme manifestation of it.
Added harmonics due to distortion generated by the cone being a major part of why they seem brighter than PA type speakers.
It's difficult to find any hard info on this topic though - anyone aware of any?

[Enzo]

If your speaker breaks up at low levels, there is something wrong with it. The sound of an amp driving the power tubes hard cannot be had at low amp outputs, so the attenuator allows full out power production while reducing what gets to the speaker.

[pdf64]

If your speaker breaks up at low levels, there is something wrong with it.

I rang up Celestion in the mid 90s to discuss a speaker failure I'd experienced, and the re-cone options. I was lucky to chat to a technical guy and the topic of speaker distortion / cone cry etc was raised; he advised that guitar speakers have quite high levels of distortion compared to PA types, eg a V30 would be around 5% at just 1 watt.
The distortion is due to thin lightweight cones not acting as a rigid piston, but rather entering various vibration modes. Ribbing helps to control those, keeping the distortion harmonically related to the input, and hold off the gross flapping around type break up until higher power levels.
A few % distortion may not seem like much, but even that level of low order harmonics can mess up the wave.

[olddawg]

You aren't switching loads. The load the amp sees is constant. It works fine. Call them if you are interested. They are very friendly.

[Riffraff]

I've got a pair of 1482's. Here's a clip of my stock '65 with a Minimass 50 hooked up. I cut the power to the speaker about 30% and also ran the attenuator's line out to a SS power amp which I ran through a sloppily thrown together pine 212 with cheap organ pull speakers. In spite of the low budget equipment used in this the tone is unreal.

[Riffraff]

I've got a beater '67 too that I made some upgrades to (new plywood baffle, Weber SIG12A speaker, 4 & 8 ohm speaker outputs, and the usual safety related power supply mods). I like using pedals with that one. Here's a short clip I made with that one using a ditto looper and a Bogner Uberschall distortion.