Thunderverb 200 Volume Question..

[jfesta73]

So I just got the amp yesterday and was rehearsing with the band last night....I was playing it through a Marshall 1960B cab, at 200 Watts/ 4 ohms. I had the volume on channel B just about pinned and it was about as loud as my Dual Rec with the output set to 1:00-2:00. Is this normal? I was sort of expecting to get completely blown away by the volume and it just isn't the case. I had the attenuator all the way to the left, gain at about 2:00 and shape around 3:00.

It was loud, but I was kind of expecting Triple Rec loud and it just wasn't. Maybe its the cabinet (I hope)...If anyone has any thoughts, please let me know. Thanks!!!!

[jfesta73]

One other possible issue I just noticed....When in 100 Watt mode all 4 power tubes are lit. Is this normal? I would think that if I am using 1 and 3, 2 and 4 should be off and vice versa.

[jason41224]

if it's lit, that just means the heaters are on.

either way, it doesn't sound like you have an ACTUAL volume problem--if it's competing with a Dual Rec wound up to 2 o'clock (which is plenty loud), then i seriously doubt it's not normal.

My best guess would be your cab isn't matching up. Oranges don't naturally have a lot of highs or high midrange (like your Mesa does) so to cut through, they rely a lot on low midrange. unfortunately the speakers in your cab have a midrange scoop right around that frequency range, basically neutering your amp. try plugging into a different cab; you might have better luck.

the other thing you could do is to try to roll back on your shape knob. At 3 o'clock, you've got a pretty significant mid scoop going on. you've got to have mids to be heard.

and like i said in your other thread in the main forum, a 200W amp typically won't be all that much louder than a 120W amp. the biggest difference will be more low end and more clean headroom. it's not linear (double watts=double volume).

[leopoldbloom]

Everything seems normal.

On 100w it's utilizing one pair of tubes, it doesn't put the other pair out of power.

As said before 200w is not much louder than 100w.

Dual Rec comparison: TV produces thicker bass than dual rec. When you crank a dual rec (essential to make it sound nice IMO) it gets midrange loud compressing bass and treble to lower levels. When you crank TV channel B it gets loud without messing up bass, giving the impression it is not as loud as dual rec. In fact it is, because it is pushing more air. Human ear is more sensitive to midrange frequencies than bass frequencies. In order to amplify low freq you need more power (wattage).

If you want to compare "loudness" to the dual rec, you can do a couple of things.
Crank channel A with treble 80% mid 30% bass 10%
Channel B (naturally more bass-thick tone) seems quieter. Try an eq or clean boost pedal in the loop.

Some warnings: As you probably know, using just one 300W cab is not safe for cranking those amps. You need at least double the wattage 400W+ to make sure you don't pop up the speakers and damage you amps. I suggest using a full stack for experiments with loudness. An iso booth or a safe distanse 15m+ could help you avoid the deaf club.

Have fun

[Randy Bass]

...An iso booth or a safe distanse 15m+ could help you avoid the deaf club.

+1

The first rule of Deaf Club is don't talk about Deaf Club, because no one can hear you .

[jfesta73]

Thanks guys...I appreciate all the feedback. Looks like a cabinet issue. I have the amp's tone similar to how I have my Mesa, which cuts through fine...I need to look in to getting a new cabinet unfortunately

I don't like EQ pedals or any pedal that colors the tone, so I will figure it out somehow...Looks like I need an 412HP. Not a bad thing, just a $1099 thing Thanks again for replying with some great info.