Post by Eddie on Jul 21, 2014 19:58:42 GMT -7
A couple of observations from an average guy/player. Take it with a big grain of salt...
There are a bunch of different kinds of tools for various jobs.
Sometimes, you can't do a certain job very well with the wrong tool.
The word picture I have in my mind right now is of a sledgehammer. Let say someone came out with a new model of sledgehammer and everyone wanted one because it's a super cool sledgehammer. But then we start thinking about how we might be able to use that sledgehammer for something other than driving in railroad spikes or demolishing walls. We wonder if we can adjust or modify it so we can, for instance, use it to build a dollhouse for our daughter. The kit we bought for that dollhouse includes 2,000 tiny tacks. Can we reduce the weight of the sledgehammer so it's easier to manage while we pound in all those tacks? Well, maybe. I might cut the handle off or have a machine shop mill down the head so I can hold it in one hand easily. But now, it is no longer the sledgehammer. Not really. We wouldn't say, "Hey look! Eddie is using his new sledgehammer to build Amy's dollhouse."
Haven't played one, but I'm sure the master volume on the Therapy makes it a much more versatile sledgehammer than one without a master. Anyone should be able to do more than bust up cinder blocks with a Therapy. I am sure of that because the master volume on my MAZ (which might not be as good as the one on the new Therapy's) is awesome. I can play loud and proud or soft and compressed and jazzy.
But I am equally sure that the Therapy - or ANY tube amp - will always sound best when it is cranked. Anytime the amp is not cranked... it is not cranked. You can't fool Mother Nature or your ears. If something is not actually loud, it will not sound like it is. Not really. It will be some sort of "audio illusion" (is that a thing?) of loudness. You can't get there from here. Not really. Might be better to buy a tack hammer.
I have used attenuators (Dr. Z's) and amps with master volumes, distortion and overdrives, all to get that cranked amp sound at low volumes. I have also stood in front of tube amps that were cranked way up. It's night and day because one is quiet and the other is loud. It's the difference between pink and red.
Just my opinion. And this is the opinion of a guy that plays 95% of the time at or below normal conversation level.
Eddie
There are a bunch of different kinds of tools for various jobs.
Sometimes, you can't do a certain job very well with the wrong tool.
The word picture I have in my mind right now is of a sledgehammer. Let say someone came out with a new model of sledgehammer and everyone wanted one because it's a super cool sledgehammer. But then we start thinking about how we might be able to use that sledgehammer for something other than driving in railroad spikes or demolishing walls. We wonder if we can adjust or modify it so we can, for instance, use it to build a dollhouse for our daughter. The kit we bought for that dollhouse includes 2,000 tiny tacks. Can we reduce the weight of the sledgehammer so it's easier to manage while we pound in all those tacks? Well, maybe. I might cut the handle off or have a machine shop mill down the head so I can hold it in one hand easily. But now, it is no longer the sledgehammer. Not really. We wouldn't say, "Hey look! Eddie is using his new sledgehammer to build Amy's dollhouse."
Haven't played one, but I'm sure the master volume on the Therapy makes it a much more versatile sledgehammer than one without a master. Anyone should be able to do more than bust up cinder blocks with a Therapy. I am sure of that because the master volume on my MAZ (which might not be as good as the one on the new Therapy's) is awesome. I can play loud and proud or soft and compressed and jazzy.
But I am equally sure that the Therapy - or ANY tube amp - will always sound best when it is cranked. Anytime the amp is not cranked... it is not cranked. You can't fool Mother Nature or your ears. If something is not actually loud, it will not sound like it is. Not really. It will be some sort of "audio illusion" (is that a thing?) of loudness. You can't get there from here. Not really. Might be better to buy a tack hammer.
I have used attenuators (Dr. Z's) and amps with master volumes, distortion and overdrives, all to get that cranked amp sound at low volumes. I have also stood in front of tube amps that were cranked way up. It's night and day because one is quiet and the other is loud. It's the difference between pink and red.
Just my opinion. And this is the opinion of a guy that plays 95% of the time at or below normal conversation level.
Eddie