Have you gigged with power tube distortion?

[AutomationBias]

Oh yeah. I used to gig with a 1987x or a DR-504 through a 4x12 cabinet. The other guitar player in my band had a Bassman with a 2x15 cab. This is why I have tinnitus.

 

[HotRats]

Yes.

I gigged with a jtm45 (with post phase inverter master volume) and cranked the amp few times in outdoor gigs.

 

[marsonic]

Yes, but only amateur "gigs" and small amps. I've never played a MV amp I really liked or a pedal that I thought sounded even half good at providing all of the distortion.

It's one of the reasons I think my fractal is flat-out better than a real amp.

 

[Elf]

The Tinnitus in my ears tells me that maybe yes!

 

[la szum]

Small amps, yes. 30 watts and under.

Big boy amps not so much.

Have used attenuators at gigs in the past. I found those
fun with some of the bigger amps, especially ones that
rely on a TON of preamp gain. Cooking that power section
can smooth out some of that preamp fizz and harshness,
in my experience.

I do feel like there is an ideal volume/amp for every situation.
And if I had my druthers I would play on the edge of power
amp distortion all the time. Not Plexi/Superlead caving in levels,
though. Just that tipping point where you can ride your dynamics
and volume. For me it is like surfing. You want to ride that wave
as long as you can. And it is a delicate balance to achieve. In my
gig situations I have struggled more with dynamics and feel than
with tone. Not sure that gets discussed enough. I have seldom
hated my tone..... but many times when I was under/overpowered
the feel and dynamics made getting the most out of the guitar
and amp really challenging, if not impossible.

 

[Baba]

I'd be willing to bet that most guitar players haven't.

 

[EOengineer]

Princeton Reverb and Deluxe Reverb pretty regularly for a few years. Probably my old dual rec a few times back in the very loud early 2000s. I really love what the Deluxe does when the edges start rounding off. It’s a real smooth transition and feels nice under the fingers.

 

[metropolis_4]

Small amps, yes. 30 watts and under.

Big boy amps not so much.

Have used attenuators at gigs in the past. I found those
fun with some of the bigger amps, especially ones that
rely on a TON of preamp gain. Cooking that power section
can smooth out some of that preamp fizz and harshness,
in my experience.

I do feel like there is an ideal volume/amp for every situation.
And if I had my druthers I would play on the edge of power
amp distortion all the time. Not Plexi/Superlead caving in levels,
though. Just that tipping point where you can ride your dynamics
and volume. For me it is like surfing. You want to ride that wave
as long as you can. And it is a delicate balance to achieve. In my
gig situations I have struggled more with dynamics and feel than
with tone. Not sure that gets discussed enough. I have seldom
hated my tone..... but many times when I was under/overpowered
the feel and dynamics made getting the most out of the guitar
and amp really challenging, if not impossible.

I know exactly what you mean. This is why I loved Vox amps back in the day. To me they were the perfect level and responsiveness for riding that tipping point through a gig.

I used to hit the input with a DynaComp for leads and everything else was just riding the volume knob and adjusting my attack.

And there is nothing worse than feeling either underpowered or overpowered at a gig!

 

[la szum]

I'd be willing to bet that most guitar players haven't.

Definitely less and less as the years have passed. I don't even think it is debatable at this point.

 

[la szum]

And there is nothing worse than feeling either underpowered or overpowered at a gig!

Totally! It's fighting too much trying to tamp it down, or trying to squeeze more out of something that isn't going to get there.

Factor in different rooms/venues, with different soundstages, and it is the one constant that I fought more than I ever fought "tone."

That's why I ended up gigging with the Mesa Trans-Atlantic 30 more than any other amp towards the end. Multiple
power options made it super handy (40w, 30w, 15w). I had a Vox-style on Channel 1, and then a Fender-Tweed/Blackface
style on Channel 2. Run them as clean/edge of breakup pedal platforms and it ended up being my favourite tube amp
solution for gigging. I also had both 2 x 12, 4x10, and 1x12 cabs I used with the head depending on the venue.

And yeah, the compression you get from an tube amp---not too much so that all dynamics are lost, and not too little that the
amp feels stiff and unforgiving---is a beautiful thing. I want that more than anything when I am playing guitar. If I have that
I know I can figure out the rest.

 

[dronerstone]

Does a cranked AF 5W Epiphone Valve Jr count?

 

[laxu]

Now that you mention it, I never have. I've pretty much always owned amps that are over 30 watts and you aren't cranking those in most places.

The thing is, when I have had amps and tools like attenuators to use power tube distortion...I just don't actually like that sound in anything but amps that just happen to sound crap at less than loud stage volumes. Even if you compensate with less preamp gain, powertube distortion varies from "smooths things out" to "harsh and ratty" sounding.

To me having some volume and avoiding any detrimental effects of bright caps goes a long way, I don't mind it being all preamp gain. Having owned things like the Fryette Power Station (twice!), when you take the volume out, powertube distortion tends to lose its luster. The loud volume was 90% of what made the sound great.

 

[James Freeman]

Master@1

 

[megametal7]

I push my DSL with mxr gt od , dose that count?

Ive been doing that on my every gig….


Its been a while now, since my last gig and im itching like eczema out of control…


Thats the only place I find peace and when all shit goes away…

More gigs … more is more …. like Loreal says it… Im worth it..

 

[Desertdweller]

If I did, it was so damn loud I couldn’t tell and it would have been a Dual Rec. It only would have happened in some situation where my cab wasn’t mic’d and in a non-ideal spot.

From my experienece you will never push a dual rec into power tube distortion without an attenuator. Very clean power section.

I did hit power tube saturation live with a Mini rectifier once. Just sounded noisy.

 

[mk5]

If a cranked Peavey Classic 30 counts, then yes

 

[GuitarBilly74]

Currently gigging a 1976 100w Super Lead on 7. I use a Hot Plate attenuator or a Fryette Power Station to bring the overall volume down, but that's after the amp, so I'm getting plenty of power tube distortion from the Marshall.

 

[TSJMajesty]

Currently gigging a 1976 100w Super Lead on 7. I use a Hot Plate attenuator or a Fryette Power Station to bring the overall volume down, but that's after the amp, so I'm getting plenty of power tube distortion from the Marshall.

I have a buddy who runs the same rig, but uses a Marshall Power Brake, so I know that tone, and it.is.glorious!

 

[Life Eats Life]

Oh yeah.
The psycho- punk band, Battery Acid, I was in,
I always played a Dual Rec with the loop not engaged/no master.
The reason for this is to be heard over the insanity going on..I NEEDED ALL the juice that could push through the speakers.
Dual Rec’s are the most trusty punk rock amps ever made.
Raw mode and the loop/master off

 

[LeftyLoungeLizard]

JCM 800 2210 cranked + 4x12 wayyyy back in the day.