harris
Junior Member
Posts: 65
|
Post by harris on Nov 5, 2009 11:58:24 GMT -7
what is the adjustment to set the bedroom level even lower? still pretty darn loud through my gia
|
|
|
Post by foxx on Nov 9, 2009 15:23:23 GMT -7
Seems there are some sliders on the inside of the AB, but only for some of the clicks on the dial. None for the Bedroom setting, except for the bedroom dial itself. Check out the AB manual on the Z website on how to adjust the sliders. I assume your turning the bedroom dial to MAX to get the most attunuation. The Ghia is too loud to crank it up in a bedroom, even with the AB on max. At least it hurts my ears in my bedroom that way. But, even the Mini Z is too loud to crank up in small spaces, IMHO.
|
|
|
Post by Telemanic on Nov 18, 2009 22:20:56 GMT -7
The internal adjustments are only to change the amount of db change between each click on the main knob. It will not change the overall attenuation level of the AB. Bedroom mode is perhaps a bit of a misnomer, cause yes ..... it's still not 2:00 am in your bedroom and not waking up someone down the hallway or even up/down stairs! To me the AB is almost more of a stage tool to control your stage volume in small but usefull increments.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2011 9:38:44 GMT -7
The internal adjustments are only to change the amount of db change between each click on the main knob. It will not change the overall attenuation level of the AB. Bedroom mode is perhaps a bit of a misnomer, cause yes ..... it's still not 2:00 am in your bedroom and not waking up someone down the hallway or even up/down stairs! To me the AB is almost more of a stage tool to control your stage volume in small but usefull increments. If you want bedroom levels to practice. Don't buy a tube amp. Plain and simply..
|
|
|
Post by Phil (aka Phil) on Mar 23, 2011 8:19:13 GMT -7
When I got my Mazerati GT Don and I joked that we needed to cascade two Air Brakes to tame that beast. It was still too loud for home practice even on Bedroom through a Z-Best. I ended up buying (blasphemy!!!!) a Fender G-Dec 3 Thirty for home practice duties. The tones aren't anything to write home about compared to a tube amp but the "Cliffs of Dover" preset won me over. When you play over a backing MP3 it sounds eerily like the real thing for a "cheaper" modelling amp. The high gain tones are pretty good but the medium gain and clean tones aren't nearly as good as a tube amp. However, I can play in the same room with Amy and the kids. I've also got one of those evil computerized Axe Fx units The tones on that are a quantum leap over the Fender's but it was a lot more expensive. Right now I'd say that is the ultimate low volume practice rig but you need an amp and speakers to run it through...so it's not as portable or convenient as the Fender. You can run headphones right off of the left output on the rear but it doesn't sound that great IMO. The missing component is the moving speaker "air".
|
|
|
Post by t.olsen on Mar 25, 2011 4:49:32 GMT -7
The internal adjustments are only to change the amount of db change between each click on the main knob. It will not change the overall attenuation level of the AB. Bedroom mode is perhaps a bit of a misnomer, cause yes ..... it's still not 2:00 am in your bedroom and not waking up someone down the hallway or even up/down stairs! To me the AB is almost more of a stage tool to control your stage volume in small but usefull increments. If you want bedroom levels to practice. Don't buy a tube amp. Plain and simply.. I have the same with my ZWreck but I think it is not as easy as saying "do not buy a tube amp"...the correct way would be if the manufacturer would say loud and clear that it is not possible to reach what most people understand as bedroom level instead of fooling anybody with that term. If I buy an attenuator and the manufacturer says it allows bedroom level and then it already blows my roof away if the amp is cranked at 12 o'clock I feel a little screwed over...
|
|
|
Post by Phil (aka Phil) on Mar 25, 2011 6:25:12 GMT -7
Bedroom level is a subjective thing. Is it 50dB? 60dB? 70dB? 80dB? 90dB? Do you live with a significant other who will tolerate your playing at any or all of those levels? Neighbors? What speakers are you playing the amp through...a Z-Best, two Blues or a 1X10? How big is your bedroom? The "bedroom" setting takes your amp down to something like the 1W level (I've never sat down and figured out exactly how much) but with speakers being rated at 95dB at 1W/1M and up it's already way louder than conversation level. Even a 1/2 watt or whatever the Nano is is loud through a Z-Best. For many years I practiced in-house with whatever I'd be playing live with...including amps like Super Reverbs, Mesa/Boogies, and after 1998, my Dr. Z's including stuff like my Delta 88, SRZ or original Rx. Amy was pretty good about it until the kids got old enough to watch TV and yell "I can't hear Dora!!" Then I went through the same search that a lot of players do...what tube amp/attenuator combination gives me a good sound and feel at a lower volume? I tried the THD Univalve, a Z-Vex Nano, pedals through smaller Z's like the Ghia, and various attenuators. I came to the conclusion that for me, a medium to higher gain tone for home use is better with a solid state or modelling amp than trying to neuter a non master volume tube amp down to that level. It's just a physics thing. The Z-Wreck is probably the worse case scenario because it's one of the louder amps Doc makes and the cab has a Blue and a Gold, so you're looking at probably 104dB at least. That's still pretty darn loud.
|
|
|
Post by benttop (Steve) on Mar 25, 2011 12:52:46 GMT -7
That's exactly what I was going to say. The thing is, everyone's perception is also different. What sounds fine to me might be too loud for someone else. Who's to say? And how do you measure that?
|
|
|
Post by Michael Bartee on Mar 25, 2011 14:43:06 GMT -7
The Weber Mini-Mass will bring the Ghia down to a whisper.
|
|
|
Post by Phil (aka Phil) on Mar 26, 2011 5:55:06 GMT -7
Back when that problem reared its ugly head at my house I did what I always do....research, research, research Turns out that a lot of guys had went down the same road before me. There was a ton of stuff posted back in the early-Internet newsgroup days and on more recent web sites. It turns out that psycho-acoustically the problem with low volume guitar wailing is simple: lack of "air". Human brains need to perceive the moving air from a speaker to get that "alive" sound. You can attenuate a tube amp down to a very low level but you lose all dynamics, introduce a ton of compression artifacts, roll off top end, lose the pick attack, etc. Add all that up and your brain doesn't say "Hey! That sounds just like the real thing only quieter!" Plugging headphones straight into most solid state or modelling amps isn't much better. You lose the "air" that way too. That's what you have to wrap your head around when using the Axe-Fx when you use it in some applications. It's like you're playing in the control room of a studio with your amp in the other room. If you think of the Axe-Fx as replacing all your amps, effects, mics, etc. and think of it as listening to your favorite tone as it's played back on your favorite recording, it's a stellar device. If I recorded "Eruption" (and played it correctly) on the Axe using Dweezil's Eruption patch you'd never know it wasn't the real thing. It's that good. It can simulate Ed's Variac'ed Marshall, his Palmer load box, effects after that, then into power amps, then speaker cabs, mics, the studio plate reverb and studio compression....all of it. When you play it at your house into a full-range amp or over studio monitors at a relatively low level, does it sound *exactly* like standing in the room with Ed and all that gear? No. Does it sound great, feel great, and is it fun? To me, you bet. It's just not the same as playing through a cranked amp with narrow bandwidth guitar speakers at 127dB.
|
|
|
Post by nicholas on Mar 30, 2011 18:42:39 GMT -7
All the above post's carry merit. I will add some outide of the box suggestions to your original post. But would really need some more info to really try to help. But if I may read between the lines, and assume the gia and airbrake set on bedroom are to much for you.... I will also assume you are using this in a small bedroom.
I have found by using several ways rather than just one, work best. Here are a couple ideas...
Attenuator: Shave off 2-4 DB. You already have that.
Low Efficiency Speaker: Shave off as much as 6 BD in that area alone. What speaker do you have in the Ghia?
Fix the room: A small room can sound large with the correct acoustic treatment. Check out auralex.com. This is often a neglected area for "bedroom players" and can yield the greatest result's. A little can really go a long way. But it won't help people in other rooms or adjoining apt's. Rather let you crank your amp up a bit more, and cancell opposing sound waves that make it sound louder than it actually is. It will elimate ear-fatigue in a small room, and really, in my opion, the best place to start.
If the Ghia is too loud for you, my suggestions will help. If it's too loud for your neighbors.... well then it can get tricky. But there are still options other than Line6 and the like.
There are ton's of different sound solutions. But they all cost money. Some more than others. The Ghia is a pretty kick arse amp. It put's out some volume.... but if that and an airbrake set to bedroom is too much..... a SS amp might be a cost effictive solution.
|
|
|
Post by Corey on Mar 31, 2011 4:44:44 GMT -7
Great post Nicholas.. I could probably benefit from some acoustic treatment in my 'jam room'. I do get satisfying tone and dirt at home.. using my H1 Tubby Alnico rated at 97db. I have thought about getting a 1x10 Tubby cab, which would be rated at 95db. According to how much dirt you want, changes in V1 can yield a big drop in volume. A nice 12AU7 in V1 is way less loud than a 12AX7, but it's also way cleaner.
|
|
|
Post by Phil (aka Phil) on Mar 31, 2011 5:41:42 GMT -7
|
|
|
Post by nicholas on Mar 31, 2011 15:12:12 GMT -7
My way of judging the acoustics of a small room are pretty old school. I call it the "clap test".
Close the door, and in complete silence clap your hands as hard as you can. If you hear a quick, slap back, ring or a high piched echo, in the corners of the room.......the amp, regardless of make, is gonna sound annoying quickly.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2011 16:16:34 GMT -7
That's exactly what I was going to say. The thing is, everyone's perception is also different. What sounds fine to me might be too loud for someone else. Who's to say? And how do you measure that? The ghia was the perfect home bedroom amp, for me, without the airbreak.
|
|
|
Post by Corey on Apr 1, 2011 8:01:15 GMT -7
Terry, Ghia is do'able as a bedroom amp for me too.. although, a few variables put it right back in the gigging range [in my opinion].
|
|