Champ how to add a master vol..please help

[sgmypod]

Champ how to add a master vol..please help.

[jpfamps]

Easiest way is to replace R8 with a 250kA pot. Wire the wiper to the power valve grid.

Also wire a 1M resistor from the wiper to ground. This will stop the power valve loosing grid reference if the wiper comes free from the pot track.

Finally you might want to experiment with a bright cap around the pot if the sound gets too muddy at lower volumes.

[HTH AMPS]

what JPF said, but to set your expectations - you'll notice the amp is much cleaner with the MV set low since much of the gain in this design is the output stage.

if you want to control the volume, you might consider running it into a dummy load and using a line out tapped off the OT secondary to feed a line level signal to the effects return of another amp (i.e. just using the output stage of another amp).  this allows you to completely goose the Champ for it's overdrive AND control the volume.

[ToneMonkey]

Or you could put a pillow over the speaker

[JacksonRR]

Or you could try one of the Eminence FDM speakers. Instead of lowering the volume in the amp, you turn the dial on the speaker and make it less efficient.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpWqwCMZ1mo

edit: No small speaker models I see..... sorry. Still relevant for others with a similar problem.

[darkbluemurder]

what JPF said, but to set your expectations - you'll notice the amp is much cleaner with the MV set low since much of the gain in this design is the output stage.

if you want to control the volume, you might consider running it into a dummy load and using a line out tapped off the OT secondary to feed a line level signal to the effects return of another amp (i.e. just using the output stage of another amp).  this allows you to completely goose the Champ for it's overdrive AND control the volume.

I fully agree.

Another alternative would be to power scale the amp or add a variable voltage regulation (VVR) which would lower the supply voltage without affecting the heater voltage and therefore achieve a power reduction. That would not be a simple mod though.

Cheers Stephan

[HTH AMPS]

I found that the VVR was only useful within a small range, with serious volume reduction it screwed with the tone.

My preferred method of keeping the volume low, while cranking an amp is to run it into a dummy load, then take the line out into a power amp.

You could even make the power amp something small like the EH Caliber 22 power-amp pedal.

What the market really needs is a 'one-size-fits-all' dummy load feeding a small power section for a few watts (like one of those Smokey things), then run it out to a cab.  Job done.  That way you can use your stage amps for quiet home use and get their power stages cranking.

Its what EVH has been doing for years.

[JacksonRR]

Its what EVH has been doing for years.

That and drinking two gallons of cheap vodka a day.  :D

[darkbluemurder]

I found that the VVR was only useful within a small range, with serious volume reduction it screwed with the tone.

My preferred method of keeping the volume low, while cranking an amp is to run it into a dummy load, then take the line out into a power amp.

Its what EVH has been doing for years.

Correct. It seems EVH has developed many practical approaches to practical problems he experienced. Same with his guitar - he liked the feel and the vibrato bar of his strat but disliked the thin tone of the bridge pickup and the tuning problems. He solved the tuning problems with the Floyd Rose and the thin tone by putting in a humbucker. The rest was his playing style.

The suggested amp setup can also be the basis for a Wet-Dry-Wet set up.

Cheers Stephan

[sgmypod]

cool thanks for this....will give it a go

[AndyR]

Or you could put a pillow over the speaker

cool thanks for this....will give it a go

... sorry, couldn't resist :roll:

"pillow over the speaker" is the only reply I really understand here... I've even used this method... but, I have to say, it does affect the tone somewhat... (and you need to get the bugger off the floor as well, otherwise the woman downstairs still complains! :lol:)

As far as I understand it, I like the sound of the HTH option.