Dual Terror, High gain settings, Help

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robbvant
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Dual Terror, High gain settings, Help

Post by robbvant » Sun Jan 28, 2018 5:19 am

Looking for the most gain I can get out of this amp.
My understanding is the half power switch runs the power tubes hotter for earlier tube breakup/less headroom.
In the 15w mode there in only 1 preamp tube.
In the 30w mode it’s using 2 preamp tubes.
(Not counting the PI)
I also feel the fat channel has more gain.

So using it in the 30w mode at half power on the fat channel with the gain maxed out is the most gain I can get out of this amp.

A Mullard or Tung-sol in V1 might give her a bit of a kick too???

Just want to see if I can make this amp chugg. :twisted:

robbvant
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Re: Dual Terror, High gain settings, Help

Post by robbvant » Sun Jan 28, 2018 5:48 am

Was thinking of trading my dark terror for a dual Terror ( someone was open to it, plus a bit of cash) but then I just realized the dual terror has tone controls not shape controls I need to be able to scoop my mids a bit.
I can’t work with a treble bleed tone control, that really sucks!!!!

Rlw59
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Re: Dual Terror, High gain settings, Help

Post by Rlw59 » Sun Jan 28, 2018 11:43 am

I think you've talked yourself out of the Dual Terror, but just in case...

Your impression of how the power levels work is incorrect.

One of the switches turns off 2 of the 4 power tubes. The other switch lowers the plate voltages of the power tubes. Neither switch does anything to the preamp tubes. Lowering the output power lets you get output tube distortion at lower volume.

There are four 12ax7 "preamp" tubes. Each channel uses two of them. For each channel one 12ax7 is a preamp tube and one 12ax7 is a phase inverter. Each channel has its own PPIMV and post-PI treble cut tone knob.

(They designed it with two completely independent pre/PI sections in order to simplify the channel switching circuit. If they had used a single PI for both channels they would have needed relays to switch the tone and master controls, plus probably a mute circuit to eliminate popping.)

So, changing V1 will only affect one channel. To change both channels you'd need to replace V1 and V2.

The Fat channel has a little more gain because of different resistors and caps in its circuit.

The Tiny and Dual are more vintage-voiced than modern metal-voiced. Two gain stages (the 2 triodes in the first 12ax7), a PI, and the power tubes all generate their own types of distortion and contribute to the whole. The sound is more in the Plexi/Vox AC30 spectrum than metal. (For Vox, think of Jeff Beck in the Yardbirds, Rory Gallagher, or Brian May, not jangly Beatles.)

To get searing liquid high-gain tones out of them you need to add a boost pedal in front. For chug or scoop you need a eq pedal in front.

robbvant
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Re: Dual Terror, High gain settings, Help

Post by robbvant » Mon Jan 29, 2018 11:53 am

Thanks for all the info!

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