# What do you get your main overdrive sound from?



## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

Curious


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## Dazza (Jan 16, 2011)

Amp Power Amp for me. The best amps I've owned are non master.
But then I happen to love old school tones as I get older, and older....... 

Daz


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

Since my Fillmore 50 combo has a master and gain I assume that means preamp OD. Whatever the case its fantastic drive tones. This survey should have been multiple choice. I get my drive sounds from my mesa amp as well as 2 other pedals for various levels of OD. If I use my 67 Pro reverb then my drive is pedals only.


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## FatStrat2 (Apr 7, 2021)

Right now, I'd say I have 30% preamp drive plus a pedal at 9/10.


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

guitarman2 said:


> Since my Fillmore 50 combo has a master and gain I assume that means preamp OD.


Not really. It depends which knob you are turning up. When I played in a band if I left my preamp/gain knob at a low setting and turned my power amp/master volume knob until the amp broke up, then I was getting power amp overdrive as it was the power amp tubes breaking up not the preamp tubes. Currently I only play at home so I can't turn my amp up that loud so my preamp/gain knob is set high and my power amp/master volume knob is set low. This overdrives the preamp tubes not the power amp tubes.


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## RBlakeney (Mar 12, 2017)

Depends which amp I’m using and if My wife is home or not.


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

Guncho said:


> Not really. It depends which knob you are turning up. When I played in a band if I left my preamp/gain knob at a low setting and turned my power amp/master volume knob until the amp broke up, then I was getting power amp overdrive as it was the power amp tubes breaking up not the preamp tubes. Currently I only play at home so I can't turn my amp up that loud so my preamp/gain knob is set high and my power amp/master volume knob is set low. This overdrives the preamp tubes not the power amp tubes.


To be honest I'm really not sure whats going on there because OD is partially set with a 3 position toggle switch. The amp has 2 identical channels. The first channel I have the toggle in position 1 for clean. The second channel I have set to either position 2 or 3 for mid gain\higher gain. Then I get a range of gain by how I set the master and gain. I admit to being ignorant as to the theory of what is actually going on "power versus pre OD". I simply go by what sounds good to me.


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## Kerry Brown (Mar 31, 2014)

Depends on the amp and the situation. I prefer power tube breakup combined with a little speaker breakup but with most amps that is way too loud even for small live venues. If the amp has decent preamp grit I will go with that. I prefer not to use pedals but sometimes there is no other way. My current amp is a Quilter so this doesn’t apply. It is all in the preamp. It is beautiful at any volume level.


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## neilg1 (Aug 21, 2019)

My amp and speaker choices are designed to be as clean as possible. So any drive comes from pedals. I can't get dirt from my amp if I try. Maybe the tiniest bit of preamp gain.


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## Rollin Hand (Jul 12, 2012)

Be it my Bandit, my Classic 20 combo, or my 6505 MH, I use the preamp. I don't play loud enough to get into power amp gain. And, despite heavy use of a Boss DS-1 in my past, I am just not a pedal guy.

That said, in a jam situation where you don't have control of the amp choice, sometimes it's easiest to just use a pedal. I have a couple of Joyos that I can use for that.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

RBlakeney said:


> Depends which amp I’m using and if My wife is home or not.


My wife is ALWAYS home these days, so for me it's pedal and preamp or nothing.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Typically I use programmable rigs (modelers) and I use a combination of preamp gain and pedals to achieve the level of dirt I want.


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

Milkman said:


> Typically I use programmable rigs (modelers) and I use a combination of preamp gain and pedals to achieve the level of dirt I want.


When I say preamp gain I mean preamp tubes in the amp so I consider what you are doing 100% pedal.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Guncho said:


> When I say preamp gain I mean preamp tubes in the amp so I consider what you are doing 100% pedal.


Ok, I consider the preamp section to be a part of the amp model. TomAto Tomahto.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Milkman said:


> Ok, I consider the preamp section to be a part of the amp model. TomAto Tomahto.


Would you also consider the preamp section of a solid state amp to be "all pedal"?


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

Milkman said:


> Would you also consider the preamp section of a solid state amp to be "all pedal"?


Does anyone here play a solid state amp as their main amp?


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Guncho said:


> Does anyone here play a solid state amp as their main amp?


I'm sure.

Not everybody is a cork sniffer, LOL.


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

Milkman said:


> I'm sure.
> 
> Not everybody is a cork sniffer, LOL.


What are you talking about?

My tube amp was $500.

If you are using a modeller to create your overdrive sound then you are not getting your overdrive from a guitar amp.

Right? A simulation of a guitar amp is not a guitar amp. I have nothing against modellers and wish I could afford a good one.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Guncho said:


> What are you talking about?
> 
> My tube amp was $500.
> 
> ...



Whatever.

Cork sniffing doesn't necessarily mean big budget. To me it's the paradigm that tubes are the only way to get good tones and an irational aversion to solid state and or modelling technologies.

An amp is a device to make your guitar loud enough so you can funtion in environments that NEED that volume.

You can apply whatever definitions you like. Others will do the same.

And for the record, if you can't get good sounds out of a $500 modeler, the issue is likely not the device.


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

Milkman said:


> Whatever.
> 
> Cork sniffing doesn't necessarily mean big budget. To me it's the paradigm that tubes are the only way to get good tones and an irational aversion to solid state and or modelling technologies.
> 
> ...


"I have nothing against modellers and wish I could afford a good one. "


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Guncho said:


> Does anyone here play a solid state amp as their main amp?


For now, yes. My tweed Bassman fell over in my car trunk when being transported to one of the last forum jams we had here in Ottawa, two years ago, and hasn't worked since. The tubes are fine and it seems to be on perpetual standby, so I'm going to have to haul it upstairs, stick it on the bench and change the standby switch. But for now, it's small SS amps....and preamp/pedal drive.


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

mhammer said:


> For now, yes. My tweed Bassman fell over in my car trunk when being transported to one of the last forum jams we had here in Ottawa, two years ago, and hasn't worked since. The tubes are fine and it seems to be on perpetual standby, so I'm going to have to haul it upstairs, stick it on the bench and change the standby switch. But for now, it's small SS amps....and preamp/pedal drive.


I'm in a similar situation. I bought a used amp off reverb and it started blowing power tubes a week later so now all I have until it's back from the shop is my old solid state Darius 500.


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## Brian Johnston (Feb 24, 2019)

It varies, but I find a tone I like in an amp... dial it back 20% (or so), then add an OD that works best with the amp. Current drive choices include SP+ by TL Pedals, Parabellum by Night Own Industries, and Overdrive II by Greedtone.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Guncho said:


> I'm in a similar situation. I bought a used amp off reverb and it started blowing power tubes a week later so now all I have until it's back from the shop is my old solid state Darius 500.


That Darius actually sounds pretty darned good IMO.


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## Brian Johnston (Feb 24, 2019)

Guncho said:


> Does anyone here play a solid state amp as their main amp?


I have a Quilter Tone Block 202. I don't use it as much as I used to, but do sometimes. Best solid state I've tried, although the Pritchard amp I used to have would be a very serious contender (I didn't have a load box at the time, and that thing was house-shaking loud!).


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

Milkman said:


> That Darius actually sounds pretty darned good IMO.


I know it's surprisingly warm for a solid state amp.

And I paid $15 for it!


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Guncho said:


> I know it's surprisingly warm for a solid state amp.
> 
> And I paid $15 for it!


My first decent amp was a VT Phaser Twin. I don't know if I'd call it warm, but it was stupid loud and had a great raunch with pedals (2 X 12 Celestions in a closed back combo). I had it for a few years, never had a problem.


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## neilg1 (Aug 21, 2019)

Guncho said:


> Does anyone here play a solid state amp as their main amp?


Solid state power yes, always. Tube preamp


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## Kerry Brown (Mar 31, 2014)

Guncho said:


> Does anyone here play a solid state amp as their main amp?


Yes, a Quilter.


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## RBlakeney (Mar 12, 2017)

mhammer said:


> For now, yes. My tweed Bassman fell over in my car trunk when being transported to one of the last forum jams we had here in Ottawa, two years ago, and hasn't worked since. The tubes are fine and it seems to be on perpetual standby, so I'm going to have to haul it upstairs, stick it on the bench and change the standby switch. But for now, it's small SS amps....and preamp/pedal drive.


Sounds like it’s garbage now! I’ll send you my address and pay to have the garbage shipped here so I can properly dispose of it!! 😆


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## Judas68fr (Feb 5, 2013)

Mostly amp preamp (Mesa Rectoverb 25) with a couple ODs as boosts.

When gigging outdoors, I'm pushing the power section of the amp a bit more, and backing off the gain from the pre.


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## 2manyGuitars (Jul 6, 2009)

I used to be strictly 2-channel amps with one channel for dirt and one for clean.

“I didn’t buy a $1000 tube amp to get my dirt from a $120 pedal.”

But I had a couple single channel amps that were too nice not to gig with (Dr. Z and Vox). I set the amp clean but where if I “lean into it” a bit, I get a bit of breakup. Then I have a couple overdrives for varying levels of dirt.

For home use, I’ll use the gain control on the amp for dirt but live, I need clean and dirty so the amp has to be set clean.


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

For my live rig main high gain tones I use a shiva preamp to get my tone and for some songs where i want a little more tightness I use the TS side of a duality dx to overdrive with the gain super low and level a touch past neutral. When I want a little more sag and bounce i keep the duality off but use the TC preamp side of the pedal to add just a bit of gain as I keep the amp gain fairly low to keep the note separation but the TC preamp side gives the bit of saturation i want but doesn’t tighten it up much.

Some stuff I just use the clean channel with a jam rattler to get that kind of 70’s punk distortion I love and use for a few songs. I’ll use a wampler mini plexi on the clean as well and it sounds glorious. Not all amps are created equal this way and I find the right pedals in the clean of this amp sounds just as good or better than the higher gain channels of a lot of amps. So this essentially turns my shiva into a 5 channel amp.

I think it all sounds equally as good but just different. Nothing wrong with a pedal in a great clean channel for distorted sounds.

Some amps that have a lot tighter low end I don’t use the duality in the same way but more for a little extra mid hump and note clarity.

I’ve kind of given those amps up as I prefer a little spongier bass response normally with the ability to tighten with pedal and not the other way around.

Long story not so short, it really really depends on the amp.

I use to run a solid state Kustom head when I was like 17 or 18 or something. It blew hard chunks. Than I got a Randall warhead and it sucked ass too for anything except buzzsaw stuff.

I have a Marshall lead 12 and it’s cool if you want a novelty toy for a bit but anyone that claims these sound great is lying. It’s cool, it’s ok for a practice amp if you don’t like amp sims.

With how good computer amps are now I wouldn’t consider using anything else for quiet time at home. Check out STL amphub. So good.


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

I can’t crank much volume in my house, so 90% of my dirt comes from pream sections, then I add a little more hair with a combo Od/dist pedal (jekyll and hyde).
amps are Bogner xtc classic and CAA od-100…so gain, dirt etc aren’t really a problem out of the box lol even at low volumes and can switch channels to get chime-y fender cleans. Love these amp….I don’t need both but I can’t decide which to part with


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

I guess I’m confused so I’ll ask. what Amps are people using for power tube break up and how ungodly loud would that have to be and how would you stop it from sounding like compressed garbage?


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

Diablo said:


> I can’t crank much volume in my house, so 90% of my dirt comes from pream sections, then I add a little more hair with a combo Od/dist pedal (jekyll and hyde).
> amps are Bogner xtc classic and CAA od-100…so gain, dirt etc aren’t really a problem out of the box lol even at low volumes and can switch channels to get chime-y fender cleans. Love these amp….I don’t need both but I can’t decide which to part with


So your xtc Classic covers everything you want to play? You don’t ever want a little tighter bass? Or a little mid boost without mud for a lead? I had an Ecstacy Classic and a bit of overdrive in front it needed for anything that wanted a bit of saturation without losing clarity IMO


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Anyone here have one of those Ibanez amps that have a Tube Screamer built in?


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

I have a 57 Champ which drives pretty good at moderate volume. I think they make pedals to try and sound like it.

I also have a 57 Custom Deluxe which is like the Champ but louder and sweeter sounding but seems to have the same DNA as the Champ.

Lately I've been using a Katana 100 Mk2 as a couch amp and I like the sound after I messed with the Tone Studio. I got a single coil patch from somewhere and added blues driver from the Tone Studio.

Picked up a Blues Driver pedal a couple of weeks ago to run on a battery powered Traynor TVM15 and it does the job with that amp as the amp does nothing except clean sound so needs a boot in the ass.

I like the BD pedal but prefer dialing the BD in through the Tone Studio; doesn't have the pedal hiss. The BD pedal works well but takes something away from the amp; I prefer the sound of the tube amps cooking with just a short cable from the guitar.


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## tonewoody (Mar 29, 2017)

D) All of the above


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

tdotrob said:


> I guess I’m confused so I’ll ask. what Amps are people using for power tube break up and how ungodly loud would that have to be and how would you stop it from sounding like compressed garbage?


There's some pretty awesome attenuators these days.


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## Grab n Go (May 1, 2013)

I can't say I've had much luck using poweramp distortion. Certainly nothing as cool as this:






But then again, I don't have an isolation room for a cranked amp.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Wardo said:


> I have a 57 Champ which drives pretty good at moderate volume. I think they make pedals to try and sound like it.
> 
> I also have a 57 Custom Deluxe which is like the Champ but louder and sweeter sounding but seems to have the same DNA as the Champ.
> 
> ...


I have a Boss ROD-10 tabletop/frac-rac unit, which contains 5 different discrete drive circuits. Two of them are intended to be mild overdrives, VERY close to the BD-2. in design, and unlike the BD-2, this unit has 3-band EQ with sweepable mids. I have never tried it out at any sort of higher volume with the BD-2 workalike-cousins, but now you have me curious.


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

Is the distortion in non master volume amps coming from the power tubes?

That’s why I’m asking.

Damn even my 12 watt amp is loud as hell.


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## MarkM (May 23, 2019)

It's pedals for now.I have several amps that sound great cranked, I just play though headphones or low volume most of the time. Maybe I will have a studio again or jam with others at stage volumes.


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

Isn’t it ironic though all these conversations about which sounds better but truth and no one talks about is pedals in amp turned down doesn’t sound as good as pedals in amp turned up just the same as amp at low volume with no pedals doesn’t sound as good as amp turned amp.

If I run an amp at super low volume and run pedals through it still makes everything sound thin and dark. Same pedal, same amp turned up into the promised land it was designed for and bam….. great f’n tone


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## Thunderboy1975 (Sep 12, 2013)

Sweet spot between all those factors stated by tdot for me is when i get slight feedback ala Rough Boy, with volume at 7. I have a rig run down of Billy's pedals and he had what he called the Lap Dog of tone. He was running 10 overdrive pedals, all on!


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## ironrob2018 (Oct 16, 2021)

Milkman said:


> My first decent amp was a VT Phaser Twin. I don't know if I'd call it warm, but it was stupid loud and had a great raunch with pedals (2 X 12 Celestions in a closed back combo). I had it for a few years, never had a problem.





Milkman said:


> My first decent amp was a VT Phaser Twin. I don't know if I'd call it warm, but it was stupid loud and had a great raunch with pedals (2 X 12 Celestions in a closed back combo). I had it for a few years, never had a problem.


I bought a VT for $75 from some fellow out in the Vaughan mall parking lot 3 years ago. This is my second one. My kid won't play any of my tube amps. That thing is still amazing.


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## zztomato (Nov 19, 2010)

I only have non master volume amps so, unless I want the ringing in my ears to be even louder, it's pedals for me. These days I am enjoying playing quite clean. I do have a decent pedalboard with plentiful gain options so I feel like I've got it covered for almost any situation.
Does anyone use a fuzz and volume control on the guitar to go from clean-ish to grind? A good fuzz can act a bit like a cranked amp where you use your volume control to vary the amount of dirt.


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

zztomato said:


> I only have non master volume amps so, unless I want the ringing in my ears to be even louder, it's pedals for me. These days I am enjoying playing quite clean. I do have a decent pedalboard with plentiful gain options so I feel like I've got it covered for almost any situation.
> Does anyone use a fuzz and volume control on the guitar to go from clean-ish to grind? A good fuzz can act a bit like a cranked amp where you use your volume control to vary the amount of dirt.


Don't most OD pedals respond like that?


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## zztomato (Nov 19, 2010)

Guncho said:


> Don't most OD pedals respond like that?


Some do. My Honey Bee is great that way. There are very few that can get the extreme variations of a good fuzz though.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

tdotrob said:


> Isn’t it ironic though all these conversations about which sounds better but truth and no one talks about is pedals in amp turned down doesn’t sound as good as pedals in amp turned up just the same as amp at low volume with no pedals doesn’t sound as good as amp turned amp.
> 
> If I run an amp at super low volume and run pedals through it still makes everything sound thin and dark. Same pedal, same amp turned up into the promised land it was designed for and bam….. great f’n tone


Keep in mind that speaker frequency response will often vary with volume (as will the spectral sensitivity of our hearing), although some speakers are designed to be more consistent in response across volume levels than others. But part of what we're hearing when we crank an amp is not only power tube grind, but also output transformer coloration, speaker breakup and speaker filtering of what everything leading up to the speaker is contributing.

My first "good" amp was a 50W hybrid (tube power, SS pre) Peavey Classic whose two12" speakers drove me crazy. I had purchased, over a Traynor, because I liked having the master volume. The band would practice at volumes loud enough to compete with drums, and I'd set the tone controls appropriately. Then, at a gig, where the volume had to be louder, the same speakers would exhibit an ungodly shrillness, like an icepick through the forehead. They were Jeykyll & Hyde speakers, whose personality would change, depending on loudness.


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

tdotrob said:


> So your xtc Classic covers everything you want to play? You don’t ever want a little tighter bass? Or a little mid boost without mud for a lead? I had an Ecstacy Classic and a bit of overdrive in front it needed for anything that wanted a bit of saturation without losing clarity IMO


i dont understand the last part of your post, but ya...3 channels gives me everything i need. Im a rock/metal guy. not like I play jazz or folk or something lol.


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## Paul Running (Apr 12, 2020)

Light overload of single-ended pentode output tube, preferably cathode-biased EL34.


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## jdto (Sep 30, 2015)

All of the above? 

On my Fender Tone Masters, I crank the volume and use the built-in attenuators. They're modelled, but it's the cranked power section that gives a really nice OD sound and they don't have a preamp volume. Even though it's not tubes, it's a single amp modelled to act like its tube counterpart with the benefit of the attenuated sound. I also use pedals for different flavours of sound. For my tube amps, it depends. The Trinity Tramp has VRM, so it's from the tubes with less voltage on them. The Vox AC4 gets mostly preamp/pedal dirt, as even 4 watts cranked is quite loud at home.


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