Scored DC-5. Why are they so loud?!?!?

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virtu

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Mates!!!
Long absence from forum...
Well long story short, after some financial issues i sold all my boogies :-((
Now i'm be able to play guitar again and to form a band and i bought a dc5. :lol:
I've had some other boogies in the past but can you tell me if DCs are so loud or the specific one has a problem?
i mean, volume do nothing till 1.5 and then at 2....is like playing in the arena!!!
I can't control it!!!
Dunno what's happening and i know that boogies are LOUD but in my little experience with them, i don't remember a similar issue with some others which i've owned (roadster, f50 etc)
Can you help?
 
Welcome back virtu!

There is a volume mod available. The thread linked below has details on how to perform it if you are comfortable with a soldering iron.

http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=33293

Master Volume mod: (not sure who told me about this one)
There will be a resistor in parallel with the Output Volume pot.
It is a 220k ohm 1/2 watt resistor.
Some older amps have them soldered directly to the pot.
Others have them placed directly behind the pot on the circuit board.
Make sure to use an ohm meter so that you don't accidentally cut the wrong resistor.
Simply snip it off or un-solder it from the board, that's it.

This will make the Output Volume have a much better taper and make it much more user friendly at lower volumes.
 
Common complaint but I treat mine like the output level doesn't exist by keeping it turned up around half way and adjusting the levels at the channel masters. It occurred to me after getting the Express 5:50 plus, which doesn't have the output master, that I don't need one and to just leave it turned up on my DC-5 using the channel masters for output levels.
 
hey mates, thx for your inputs.
I already checked the volume mod and i'm skeptical in any kind of mods...i will see..anyway
Do you own any other boogies to compare the volume jump?
is it something that only dc has?
do you know?

Also i would like to ask, can i connect a patch cable in the loop? it will improve the overall sound or there is a reason for damage?
 
virtu said:
Mates!!!
Long absence from forum...
Well long story short, after some financial issues i sold all my boogies :-((
Now i'm be able to play guitar again and to form a band and i bought a dc5. :lol:
I've had some other boogies in the past but can you tell me if DCs are so loud or the specific one has a problem?
i mean, volume do nothing till 1.5 and then at 2....is like playing in the arena!!!
I can't control it!!!
Dunno what's happening and i know that boogies are LOUD but in my little experience with them, i don't remember a similar issue with some others which i've owned (roadster, f50 etc)
Can you help?

Is it the gain (first volume pot) or the master you're having issues with? If it's the gain you could always put a 12AT7 or 5751 tube in V1 to knock it down some and give you more control. I've done that on my DC2, as it went from quiet to roaring between 1 and 2 on the lead channel.

Al
 
amrose57 said:
Is it the gain (first volume pot) or the master you're having issues with? If it's the gain you could always put a 12AT7 or 5751 tube in V1 to knock it down some and give you more control. I've done that on my DC2, as it went from quiet to roaring between 1 and 2 on the lead channel.

Al

It's not the V1 preamp tube because i already replace it with a ECC81 which is the 5751 and it still the same loud.
I read that is the nature of these amps.
However i kind of manage it for home use, i setting it like high the total volume (6-7) and really low the channel volume ( 1 or 1,5).
That way it has different sound (you hear more the output tubes), but it's smooth and liquid and i really like it!!
Thanks anyway mate!
 
As others have said, it is inherent in the amp design, and snipping the resistor that has been mentioned will even out the taper of the volume knob. I've owned two DC-3's and this was the case with both of them. The master volume mod works like a charm, and is super easy to do. There are threads with pics to make it more or less foolproof. Just snip one leg and bend it up a little to take it out of the signal path. Done.
 
Guys!!

A friend of a friend has a dc3 with the mod.
So i went his house and played....well i'm sold!!!
The taper was greeeeaaaaat!!!!!!
I don't know why boogie has this huge volume jump (obviously there is a reason of course) but i'll mod it!!

One thing that i've noticed however, is that the taper was much more apparent on the lead channel than in the clean one. Do you know why is this?

To my amp if i raise the lead's channel volume to 3-4 then i can't played the amp because of the volume jump in 1.5. At the same time clean channel is too low -almost no sound- because of really low global volume.

In the dc3 the 2 channels was really balanced on volume!
The mod affects more the lead channel??
 
virtu said:
Guys!!

A friend of a friend has a dc3 with the mod.
So i went his house and played....well i'm sold!!!
The taper was greeeeaaaaat!!!!!!
I don't know why boogie has this huge volume jump (obviously there is a reason of course) but i'll mod it!!

One thing that i've noticed however, is that the taper was much more apparent on the lead channel than in the clean one. Do you know why is this?

To my amp if i raise the lead's channel volume to 3-4 then i can't played the amp because of the volume jump in 1.5. At the same time clean channel is too low -almost no sound- because of really low global volume.

In the dc3 the 2 channels was really balanced on volume!
The mod affects more the lead channel??


Nope
 
Is it just me or do you really need to mod this issue? It was really easy to fix unless you have some other issue then me, but when you explain about it, it sounds the same...I crank my output level it's at 7.5 at the moment and channel volume of the lead at 0.75 maybe, and it gets "that volume", without having that mega loud boost thingie going on, but still really loud pretty much "before it bumps" that loud. :mrgreen: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:
 
As i mention earlier i already know this and it is great for a different sound, more warm, looser.
But with this setting you hear 90% the power tubes and 10% the preamp tubes...

The other way, with the channel volume high, like 6 or 7 and the global volume lower, besides the fact that you hear mostly the preamp, the sound is more punchier and more "in your face".

I would like to have both options in lower volumes so the volume mod maybe is the only way. I'll see....
 
The volume mod is quite painless, and very much reversible. Nearly all of us that have/had a DC did this mod.

You really have nothing to loose by trying it. The amp is not under warranty, and as started previously, if you don't like it, you can put it back.

If you are not comfortable with a soldering iron, you can take it to a tech that can do it for you.
 
Hello

I've been off line for a long time. I also have a DC-5 and have struggled with the volume issues. Besides the usual fixes that the good folks here have advised, mainly snipping the resistor at the volume pot. I have had great luck with the mesa 6L6 tubes and mesa spax7 in v1.

Here's something new I really like. I plug in an isolation speaker (axetrax 8 ohm) to one 4 ohm output jack and the normal speaker into the other 4 ohm output jack. This has the effect of just about knocking the output down to half. Which is still pretty loud! This has been working great for me. It sounds pretty transparent to my ears and I've left it this way in my house for a wile. I use it for practice. Now I don't need ear plugs to get the amp up to real DC-5 tone.

FWIW

Mac
 
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