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Post new topic Adding master volume to old amps?
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Author Topic:  Adding master volume to old amps?
David Doggett


From:
Bawl'mer, MD (formerly of MS, Nawluns, Gnashville, Knocksville, Lost Angeles, Bahsten. and Philly)
Post  Posted 13 Oct 2003 10:36 am    
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Our singer/rhythm/lead guitarist plays through a vintage tweed Fender Deluxe with a single 12". To get the tone he likes, he has to turn it up too high for some small venues (it's amazing how loud that little amp is). He does not want to go into this vintage amp circuitry and add a master volume control. I was wondering, could you just splice something with variable resistance like a rheostat into the speaker wire?

[This message was edited by David Doggett on 13 October 2003 at 11:37 AM.]

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Jon Light (deceased)


From:
Saugerties, NY
Post  Posted 13 Oct 2003 10:47 am    
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There are several products out there to do just that. Here's a link to one source:
http://www.webervst.com/index2.html

I'm unclear as to how to choose between the Load Dump and the MASS but these products have generated a lot of positive buzz. Some other companies also make attenuators but I'm drawing a blank.....

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Michael Haselman


From:
St. Paul
Post  Posted 13 Oct 2003 11:04 am    
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I used to have a device I used in my Deluxe called a "Mender." You unlugged 2 preamp tubes, plugged this in, plugged the tubes back into the Mender, and hooked a footswitch to it for channel switching. It worked great. That was 10 years ago, don't know if they still make it.

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Marrs D-10, Webb 6-14E
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Stephen Gambrell

 

From:
Over there
Post  Posted 13 Oct 2003 11:21 am    
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There used to be a little doodad called the "Icecube," that plugged in between the reverb footswitch and somewhere else. Don't remember what it was, probably some diodes, but it allowed the use of the reverb knob as a master volume. Cut out the 'verb, of course, but who uses reverb on guitar???
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LARRY COLE

 

From:
LANCASTER, OHIO, USA
Post  Posted 13 Oct 2003 3:39 pm    
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The Ice Cube was a distortion box that plugged in in place of the reverb. You could add distortion with the reverb control but it didn't make it any quiter. Tom Scholtz power soak and the Marshall Power Brake plug betweem the amp and speaker and peduce the power to the speaker. I use the Power Soak for recording and you can control the volume and still get the overdrive sound of the amp. Works great.

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Playing For JESUS,LC. WILLIAMS U12, SHO-BUD PRO1,CARVIN TL60

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David Doggett


From:
Bawl'mer, MD (formerly of MS, Nawluns, Gnashville, Knocksville, Lost Angeles, Bahsten. and Philly)
Post  Posted 14 Oct 2003 5:22 am    
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Thanks for the suggestions, guys. The Weber speaker attenuators suggested by Jon look like exactly what we need. I'm reposting my question under the topic of "speaker attenuators" to see if any more suggestions pop up.
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