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attenuator or Dist. pedal?

|-Release-||-Release-| Posts: 90
edited May 2004 in Musicians and Gearheads
i got a marshall AVT50 combo amp yesterday and im extremely happy with it, however, playing it in the bedroom forces me to have it at low volumes which makes the distortion a little fuzzy. im tinking im gonna need an attenuator but these are needless to say, very expensive. so, i was wondering whether a distortion (say the ds-1) would be a more wise investment for me to use as a alt. distortion for my bedroom and then the amp's distortion for a jamming situation with other musicians? any help will be appreciated :).
seems that needlessly its getting harder
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    So, when it pushes a little air, the on-board drive sounds good, but when you turn it down, it fizzles? Sounds pretty typical. You have a tube preamp, but a solid-state power amp in that unit, so if you just turn down the master volume, you theoretically shouldn't lose much tone. Unfortunately, theory and practice are two different things.

    I think that a good distortion could help you get a decent tone at lower volumes, and it might be something you could use while jamming or playing live, as well. A DS-1 will probably give you that "marshall sound" more than any other in the price range, although the ProCo Brat or Rat 2 might be worth a look, too. Unfortunately, it's hard to predict. I would guess it would help, but you won't know how it will sound until you plug and play.
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • exhaustedexhausted Posts: 6,638
    the main advantage to an attentuator is the ability to access power tube distortion.

    since the AVT has a solid state power section anyway, there is no advantage to using an attenuator on it. turning down the master volume or using an attentuator are going to sound the same.

    i'd just try a few different distortion pedals to see what works best for the bedroom volumes you need.
  • |-Release-||-Release-| Posts: 90
    thanks for your help guys, i really appreciate it :).
    seems that needlessly its getting harder
  • 62strat62strat Posts: 638
    i aint no tech guru. but i hav ea very loud amp, and is loud no matter what situation im in...


    i use a ts9 (actually ts10DX) on the ts 9 setting, turn the distortion down and the volume up

    learned that move from ex and paco..

    it works well, works brilliantly. then of course i have another distortion, both a ts 808 and a sonic distortion to push it evne further...

    but i suggest using the tube screamer with low disotortion to pusht he amp at a lower volume....works a lot
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