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Fattening up an AD200b
- Thread starter CircleOfCrows
- Start date
Mr. Foxen
Commercial User
It sounds like you may just be running out of headroom and pushing the power tubes into saturation. I've owned a ton of all tube heads and I have an especial fondness for low wattage tube amps. They'll slam until you get into full saturation, the. The lows will start to roll off and the distortion will just increase without increasing volume. Past noon on a lot if tube amps is about all they'll really put out usably. This is just my experience.
Michael
Michael
I feel I may have articulated badly. I am running things at a moderate volume. I am not pushing both volume and gain. If I want a more driven sound using only the amp gain and keeping master lower it seems thin. Say if I dime the gain and use the master as a volume control. Typically I am pushing bass and mids pretty heavily on the amp. Most of what I go for is sub-dubby influenced stoner doom tones. Plenty of bottom. Using a muff or similar distortion through a clean signal sounds great. I just want to retain this fullness all the way through.
I will be taking it to the tech as soon as we have some down time to talk options. Will tube swapping get me where I need to be . Do I need to look at lower gain tubes? Or its the nature of the beast/mod the pre.
I will be taking it to the tech as soon as we have some down time to talk options. Will tube swapping get me where I need to be . Do I need to look at lower gain tubes? Or its the nature of the beast/mod the pre.
Try it the other way. Dime the master and use the gain as your volume. Preamp distortion tends to sound thinner IMO. Also remember the tone controls on this amp are cut only so no matter how high you dial them there's no boost, just less cut.
Mr. Foxen
Commercial User
Bass and treble are boost only, mid is cut only.
Might be mids lacking that is losing girth, lack of low end could be the cab.
Interesting I had always heard the AD was cut only across the board.
Anyhow, yes the lack of mids and boosting bass through a single cab is probably at least part of the issue. Completely swamping out any kind of definition in tone so it all sounds distorted and mushy.
Check out this thread. A while back someone put together an unofficial manual for this amp and I believe that's where I read it was cut only (in discussion of that manual some mentions it being a subtractive fender style eq). Anyhow, there's a repost of an email from orange regarding how to set the eq flat.
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f15/my-orange-ad200b-unofficial-manual-539780/#post8099920
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f15/my-orange-ad200b-unofficial-manual-539780/#post8099920
Hi.
Not going to happen with Your current rig for any other use than bedroom levels.
2 or 4 of those TL606's stacked could perhaps get the job done on a gig, but if Your idea about sub-dubby influenced stoner doom tones is the same as mine, even 6 won't.
Because then it's not about the cabs anymore, but the nature of low power MI tube amps.
The deep low end just isn't there.
IMO no, but do try it anyway, we all have different goals
.
Regards
Sam
Not going to happen with Your current rig for any other use than bedroom levels.
2 or 4 of those TL606's stacked could perhaps get the job done on a gig, but if Your idea about sub-dubby influenced stoner doom tones is the same as mine, even 6 won't.
Because then it's not about the cabs anymore, but the nature of low power MI tube amps.
The deep low end just isn't there.
IMO no, but do try it anyway, we all have different goals
.Regards
Sam
Mr. Foxen
Commercial User
As flat as it gets, maybe tweaks from there. Its a standard fender type tone stack. Its subtractive in that there is about 15db loss from the circuit, but that's boost up, the control sweep gives the boost/cut relation.
Can get a chart from here: http://www.duncanamps.com/tsc/index.html
Sovtek Green- I am only using that when I have the master up/gain low, It isn't actually a factor in what I am talking about with the gain thinning the amp out as I push it..
Mr. Foxen
Commercial User
Hi.
Not going to happen with Your current rig for any other use than bedroom levels.
2 or 4 of those TL606's stacked could perhaps get the job done on a gig, but if Your idea about sub-dubby influenced stoner doom tones is the same as mine, even 6 won't.
Because then it's not about the cabs anymore, but the nature of low power MI tube amps.
The deep low end just isn't there.
IMO no, but do try it anyway, we all have different goals
Regards
Sam
Agreed on this. I am still in the process of getting a new rig together- Have just moved countries- Previously had a 400+ and a fridge I was using and a Orange '79 super bass + matching 4x12. Have had Gk's, ashdowns, ampegs in the past. Am doing home recording at the moment getting some stuff together for a new project.
MrFoxen is dead on about most things. Makes 0,10,0 flat.
Your cab is far less efficient than your old ones. You're not getting enough volume so you turn up, amp gets fizzy instead. Muff is compounding the gutlessness.
You need a stand for your 15, a good mic, and a big PA.
Maybe preamp tube rolling will get more clean, but not enough to get you to mondo dub doom. +1000 for cranking the master and controlling level purely with the input gain to get most fatness.
Your cab is far less efficient than your old ones. You're not getting enough volume so you turn up, amp gets fizzy instead. Muff is compounding the gutlessness.
You need a stand for your 15, a good mic, and a big PA.
Maybe preamp tube rolling will get more clean, but not enough to get you to mondo dub doom. +1000 for cranking the master and controlling level purely with the input gain to get most fatness.
Even with an SVT you'll never get there with a mildly efficient 15" like an OBC115. Now getting a higher powered head and a 2x15 is more like it. You could also get a used active PA sub and run that as the sub-doom part of your rig and use the Orange and 115 for the grindy mids.
