running my carr Rambler flat out whilst "attenuating" with my drive pedal

mgaw

is this a good idea?  sounds pretty good but as a relative noobie to this i wouldnt really know....any thoughts please

JohnPerry

Presumably tubes won't last as long.  Also if your drive pedal's set to cut volume it's also cutting some of the signal from the guitar, which means you're not getting the full toanz.

the other thing is that if you accidentally turn the pedal off the Rambler will shake the neighbourhood and give you heart failure.

It's a good idea though and indeed i do much the same

ICBM

Assuming you mean putting the pedal in front of the amp, not in the loop (does it even have one?), it won't make any difference to the valves if the final volume is low - it's no different to turning down the amp.

If it sounds good it is good. The only risk is as said, if you accidentally turn off the pedal and go Back To The Future .

mgaw

thanks.....no effects loop on the amp,,,its just pedals out front,,,,

p90fool

I often ran tubescreamers in a similar way with 100w non-MV Marshalls years ago, as the old TS808s have a slightly sweeter spot just below unity gain on the level control.

Wazmeister

Kinda defeats the purpose and benefit of those gorgeous Rambker cleans, imho

mgaw

I still enjoy them as well...but nice to get some different tones going

matone

ICBM said:

Assuming you mean putting the pedal in front of the amp, not in the loop (does it even have one?), it won't make any difference to the valves if the final volume is low - it's no different to turning down the amp.

If it sounds good it is good. The only risk is as said, if you accidentally turn off the pedal and go Back To The Future .

Once did just that with an SLP reissue & 4x12 on 8 in tthe front room ! Thought there`d been an explosion for a second or two...lol.

ICBM

It's a serious hazard with amps like Matchlesses that have a defeatable master volume with a push-pull control. If you've got the preamp cranked right up and the master low to get distortion at low volume and then you accidentally bypass the MV it can be a real new-underwear-required moment . Inevitably you're standing about a foot from the speakers too ).

matone

I was sat about a yard in front of the thing ! Still laugh about it now !