Possible surgey. im not sure. i need a second opinion..hell i dont even know where to

[Bumblebeetuna667]

I currently play through a bogner alchemist 1x12 combo. I LOVE IT. except for one thing. During gigs it is not loud enough. Its only 40 watts and im squeezing every ounce of juice from the little guy and its just bareley keeping up. My plan is this, becasue i love the tone of it and the setup and dont want to change anything about it becasue even the built in delay has become part of a couple of our songs. i know i could dial in the sound from a pedal but i dont have that kinda money to buy a new amp and a pedal..and i really wanna do this.

I plan on taking the Amp itself out of the combo. Basically turning it into a head.
I wanna run the preamp from the end of my effects chain into somethign like a Mesa 50/50. A tube power amp. and then im gonna run that into some kidna stack. my question is...is there any way to run the amp itself without having to have the actual speaker jack plugged into something or am i gonna need a dummy load..or is there a way where i can jsut cut out the power section of the amp completely from the operation beacuse it seems like such a waste of energy and im only after the preamp here. i know this is some heavy duty stuff but i wanna do it. this amp is an intregal part of my playing and i cant afford to jsut go pick up something bigger

I mean people have been moddint tube amps..since they were made..is there a way to jsut get more juice out of it? like more power tubes..idk. im not an electrician...i just wanna know if any of this is possible..and if not..i gotta sell this freakin thing and start over again....anyone wanna buy a bogneralchemist 1x12?

[guitarmike2107]

What speaker is in the alchemist. upgrading that may help allot. speakers make a huge difference, also have you tried plugging it into an extension cab, 4x12. more speakers also make a difference

you can remove the power valves when just using the pre amp, but it will likely raise the voltages in the which may not be safe for the capacitors.

you could also install a mute switch on the power valves. but how would you know its working if its not plugged into something.

[Steve Conner]

You say you're short of money. How are you going to afford "A Mesa 50/50 and some kind of stack"?

I agree the most cost-effective upgrade would be an extension cabinet. The Alchemist already has a Vintage 30 which is a pretty loud and efficient speaker, so not much room for improvement by replacing it. But if you add another speaker cab working alongside the internal speaker, that should get it a bit louder. With two speakers, you can angle one of the cabinets upward and point it in the general direction of your ears.

[Bumblebeetuna667]

Well it is tax time my friend and im lookin for something cheap. i was planing on hittin up the bay for most of this stuff. IVe tried running it through a 4x12 but the volumes were even quieter than when just running the 1x12. i think it was a mismatch in the ohmage or something. so thats why i figure id need more power to run the stack. so are u saying id be good with maybe just a 2x12? Im still iffy on the power situation and im not to wise about the ohmage so how would it be fine running 3 speakers...wehn it 4 was just blah? lol thanks for the infoo

[pdf64]

It may be to do with the 4x12 having a closed back but sometimes an efficient open back 1x12 can seem louder. As you like the tone, run another cab loaded with a Vintage 30, that will get you a bigger sound and another 3dB sound level, assuming that the amp can be set to 4 ohm output. Unfortunately the manual doesn't give any info on this - are alternative output impedances available? Pete.

[km6xz]

If you like your tone now, wouldn't be a lot better and cheaper to just fire the drummer so you do not have to overcome someone playing over the song? Why is stage volume so high? Absolutely, increasing SPL will not improve the sound or audience experience. Hire a jazz drummer, since they approach ensemble work very differently than rockers, he figures his job is to compliment the piece and fit in, not crush it. A Bogner Alchemist is plenty loud for any venue that does not need a large re-enforcement system.

Whenever I've been asked to give suggestions for improving performances, particularly vocals, I check out their live stage volume. Vocals improve dramatically with a more livable volume. If you are having to run on "11" to keep up with more dominate instruments, someone is just playing for ego and not the music or audience. I see groups who act more like competitors than a team. Who is overpowering you? Talk to them or fire them if they don't get it.

Loud stage SPL rant off.

[J M Fahey]

If you like your tone now

1) don't change your amp !!!!
Now that you've found good tone, the most difficult commodity in the world, don't throw it in the dumpster !
2) Your tone most definitely does *not* come from the preamp alone, you are pushing a *tube power amp* to its limits; that's about 80% of your tone now.
Even if you had that Mesa, well, that's a good amp too, but different from what you have now.
3) You like your sound? OK, fine, play with your amp as-is, speaker and all, and add any decent (over 100W) SS poweramp driving a 2x12" open box with another two Vintage30's.
Drive said poweramp with attenuated signal taken from your actual V30 speaker leads; it will include your power amp clipping, the back EMF from the speaker, your effects, the works.
You will have your exact own sound, only (much) louder and controllable.
4) The other option is playing at somewhat more controlled volume onstage and mike as needed.

That Vintage 12 has also a lot to say about this.

[Pickbass]

I would say don't change a thing. Any modification will change the sound of the amp. Most soundmen nowadays can do separate mixes for each person on stage. Why not just have your guitar signal fed back at you from the monitor? I have yet to hear a soundman say no to doing that rather than having even more stage level to work around.

[Satamax]

I would just say mike the amp!

[Jazz P Bass]

I am with "fire the drummer"