Amp Volume question

[lfmn16]

I'm an old guy and in the old days I never turned my amp more than half-way up. I have a Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 and with my passive jazz I found that I had to turn volume to 5, gain to 5 and Master to 6 in order to achieve proper balance with the rest of the band (the tone was exactly what i was looking for). My question is, "Is there a limit to how high i can turn the volume and master volume without harming the head?" For reference I use a Genz Benz 2X10 Cabinet and an old MusicMan 4X12 Cabinet.

Thanks.

 

[Joe Louvar]

just look at the amp led indicators and listen - as long as you don’t overdrive the amp (check the amp led indicator) or your speakers (listen for spkr farting) it will be fine.

 

[RickenBoogie]

+1 but it sounds like your rig is doing fine. If you need more volume, you need more speakers.

 

[lfmn16]

Thanks. It sounds perfect. Old habits die hard and in the old days, I never turned my amp above half way.

 

[David Jayne]

No, but you could blow speakers. Listen for signs of stress.

 

[agedhorse]

Knob positions are a function of your bass's output level, your playing style and the gain structure of the amp. If you have a low output level bass (or it's not ste up well which can affect output level greatly), you will indeed need higher knob levels than with a higher output level bass.

 

[billfitzmaurice]

"Is there a limit to how high i can turn the volume and master volume without harming the head?"

No. Google 'gain structure'. Knob positions don't indicate output, and you'd hear distortion long before the amp was stressed. If it was stressed protection circuits would prevent damage. You've only got a problem when you can't get enough clean output with everything maxed.