This can't still be speaker distortion can it ?

[recreate.me]

Oh man, I have been through 5 cabs. An Ampeg 810, and 410HLF, Cheepy Legion 15", Mesa Powerhouse 15, and Now on an Avatar 2x12 Neo.

I have a Traynor Yba 3 (~125Watts, Tube) and play a highway one Jazz with Dimarzio Area Js with Blue Steel strings in DADG.

All but the 2 Ampeg cabs seem to give me a really distorted low D string. Even when i turn down the Bass, and Low Mids, i still end up with a sound that seems like i constantly have a fuzz pedal on.

I have Master Vol at around 3/10, and Vol at 4/10 and it distorts.

Is this speaker distortion? There is no way the head is breaking up at that low right ?

All these cabs, have been like 500Watt cabs, why would they distort at 4/10 ?

Guys, i really need to figure out a solution, that doesnt consist of spending more money then what selling my avatar costs, or turning down the volume. (our guitarest plays a Bassman 50, at its lowest level possible and i just get heard as it is)

[Gearhead17]

I really think you are pushing the tube amp way too hard. 125 watts gets sucked up quickly especially when you are in Drop D. The constant fuzz tone sound is your bass pushing the power tubes into distortion. If you are looking for more low end headroom or a cleaner tone - I highly recommend you go for a 300 watt tube amp or move on to a higher powered solid state head.

I don't think you are distorting the speaker.

[recreate.me]

Yeah i was hoping it wasn't that. I tend to dig really hard. Like really hard with a pick play punk songs. I do notice as i hit the strings the harder it reacts with more distortion.

Could it be that i need to re-tube perhaps?

And Really, im pushing the head to hard at vol at 4 ? why do they even have a 10!

[Gearhead17]

The numbers on the volume dial don't mean anything - trust me on that. It's more of guide than anything. I can make my rig scream for mercy at "6" - not relavant because everyone's playing style is different.

Digging in with more distortion? Definitely pushing the amp hard! You do not need a re-tube, sounds like they are working just fine. If you can higher wattage power tubes, that will give you more clean headroom before you distort the power tubes. Or, get a different head.

[JimmyM]

it's probably worth it for peace of mind to get your head checked and all your tubes checked. might cost you a few bucks but if you haven't done it in a while, you probably should. however, gearhead is right. a lot of tube heads get into distortion earlier on the dial than you'd think, and the smaller cabs won't give you as much volume or reproduce low end as well as the bigger ampegs.

[recreate.me]

I have looked into some other heads priced around what i can get for if i sell this Traynor, would an Orange Terror Bass do the trick at 500W ?

Would this distortion sound be coming from the Pre- amp or Power amp section? Basically I want to know if its will stop happening if i get a hybrid head.

[christw]

There's good potential it's your amp. Try using a more efficient cabinet with it (lower overall power rating, higher volume per watts input) or just have it looked at. A good at home fix is swapping the preamp tubes for lower gain tubes to see if that helps. Try putting a 12AT7 in place of a 12AX7 and see if it helps at all.

Originally Posted by recreate.me

I have looked into some other heads priced around what i can get for if i sell this Traynor, would an Orange Terror Bass do the trick at 500W ?

Would this distortion sound be coming from the Pre- amp or Power amp section? Basically I want to know if its will stop happening if i get a hybrid head.

Can't tell you which part of your amp! Dying power tubes will distort early and can sound thin. Same goes for preamp tubes. They distort way early and don't reach high enough volume levels to pull the max from your power section. My Peavey AlphaBass had bad preamp tubes when I bought it. The power amp ones probably need a changin' too. It distorted at 3-4 on either knob and quite horribly (and quietly) at that. Now it goes 8-9 without distorting with a medium output bass.

A hybrid will usually have a preamp and master volume control to dial in the amount of distortion you get (if you want any at all!) Just make sure you have adequate power on tap and adequate speakers to put it through.

[recreate.me]

Hrrm, it could be the tubes. You both make a convincing argument on whether i need to retube or re-buy haha

I dont wanna re-tube then have to rebuy cause that will cost me an extra hundred or so..

[Rick Auricchio]

It's best to eliminate the big things first.

1. Try playing through another amp and speaker, just to eliminate your playing style and bass as the cause of the distortion. You might be overloading the pickups.

2. Borrow a solid-state amp to test with your cabinet. If you get distortion, it's the speaker. If not, it was your original amp.

Now you know where the source of the distortion lies. Next step is to fix that.

[MAMMOTHvolume]

Originally Posted by recreate.me

Oh man, I have been through 5 cabs. An Ampeg 810, and 410HLF, Cheepy Legion 15", Mesa Powerhouse 15, and Now on an Avatar 2x12 Neo.

I have a Traynor Yba 3 (~125Watts, Tube) and play a highway one Jazz with Dimarzio Area Js with Blue Steel strings in DADG.

All but the 2 Ampeg cabs seem to give me a really distorted low D string. Even when i turn down the Bass, and Low Mids, i still end up with a sound that seems like i constantly have a fuzz pedal on.

I have Master Vol at around 3/10, and Vol at 4/10 and it distorts.

Is this speaker distortion? There is no way the head is breaking up at that low right ?

All these cabs, have been like 500Watt cabs, why would they distort at 4/10 ?

Guys, i really need to figure out a solution, that doesnt consist of spending more money then what selling my avatar costs, or turning down the volume. (our guitarest plays a Bassman 50, at its lowest level possible and i just get heard as it is)

sounds like its breaking up way to early, take it to a tech

[recreate.me]

Yeah this amp seems like i could use a retube, i just always through the tubes would go and it would be obvious, like one day it would just crackle out and die, not slowly fade.

I guess its gotta go for repairs then, i was avoiding that because i dont wanna spend 150$ on a retube just to sell it.

[Ben Clarke]

Something is not right with the amp. Regardless of the snap judgements being tossed about, that should be clean with a passive J at those settings. I have one and while it's not a clean machine, it's not right what you describe. They're pretty loud.

Head over to Pickering - Yorkville will still service them, but ask them to call you with an estimate so you don't end up putting more $$ into it than you want to. Worst case, you'll know what info to give any prospective buyers if you want out from under it.

I had mine (very early 7027 version) gone through completely when I worked for the US office. It was a barn job when I bought it, and now benches out at 136W clean, over 200W "guitar power". It's loud.

edit - good troubleshooting advice has been given, too. It's worth the time to do that first!

[Ben Clarke]

oops - just realized Windsor is across from Detroit, right? a bit of a hike to Pickering, then... my bad.

[recreate.me]

Yeah its about a 4 hour drive to pickering haha

I thought this was a loud head, it was really loud with an ampeg 8x10 anyway, since we lost that its been a struggle to find something that didnt distort. I always thought it was the cabs not being able to handle the low D string. I guess it makes sense that over time the tubes would begin to die and i would loose the clean headroom.

Also, the avatar B212 Neo can handle a low D loudly right ?

[BassmanPaul]

Volume is less about power and more about the number of cones. A 100W YBA3 is not a powerful amp by any means but through an 8x10 it can be enough. Through a lesser number of speakers it'll run out of steam PDQ. IMO you need more power.

[RickenBoogie]

+1, I also believe you're running short on power, and that's the only issue here. A bigger, more powerful amp would solve the problem.

[Ben Clarke]

yep, like maybe a YBA3 making full power.

[Coolhandjjl]

If my gain is too high on my Bassman 300, (clean channel only) I get distortion on low E frets or open E. Rather than look at the flickering lights or other gain indicators, I set it to how it sounds.

[BassmanPaul]

Originally Posted by Ben Clarke

yep, like maybe a YBA3 making full power.

The YBA3s I've worked on all topped out out around 100W + or - a few. Those differences are inaudible.