Electradyne is just too loud.....

Borrowed my tech's Electradyne again for practice and it is just not manageable.

I have sort of been giving up on Mesa Boogies for this reason. Even the Electradyne has been a struggle to sound good with a band like my PWE Event Horizon and 20th Anniversary Bogner Shiva.

I can set my Bogner and PWE at low volumes and it sounds and feels great. With the ED, it is not possible. Shame......because cranked it is amazing.

Yeah... Mesa's typically want to be loud... and the ED is one of the worst in that regards.

Seems like a 6V6 mod is in order. The problem is that B+ is too high, so it will be a substantial mod.

Give a Mark V a try.. it sounds great at any volume.

Didn't love the Mark V, not my thing. Been working with the ED again tonight and I am getting decent lower volume tones in the 45 watt setting and man when you get it to practice it comes to life and is a joy to play. So maybe I just don't use this amp at home much, LOL...sort of like my VHT ST-50 which was a blast at rehearsal!

I get good results with a rack processor in the loop. You can use the processor output volume to have better control on the master taper of the amp. Probably it won't give you what you're seeking though, as this certain something really comes into play when it's louder.

Another possibility would be less efficient speakers, and playing into 16 Ohm (maybe then on 90W).

Or get a good attenuator and you're set?

Attenuators rob some dynamics too me....but I will have to find a way to make it work just like I did with my VHT ST-50 which was amazing at band volume!!! So responsive like the Electradyne.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7j1FJI6FLZk

Yup. The Electra Dyne is 'pain in the ***' loud but it sounds like magic. I use it pretty much exclusively at 45 watts and I have a 1 x 12 Electra Dyne Extension cab on order. Do not need more than one speaker!

I find at rehearsals or gigs, it is perfect.

The Mesa 112 sits too low to the ground, plus that cabinet is expensive if bought new. For the same price I picked up a used Bogner 212OS, also ordered a Stone Age 212C and Port City 212OS. Speakers are V30s, Celestion Lynchbacks and Celestion Creambacks.

papersoul said:

The Mesa 112 sits too low to the ground, plus that cabinet is expensive if bought new. For the same price I picked up a used Bogner 212OS, also ordered a Stone Age 212C and Port City 212OS. Speakers are V30s, Celestion Lynchbacks and Celestion Creambacks.

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Looking forward to your review of the Port City OS2x12 when you plug an ED into it.

I go 90W because I prefer the headroom for clean and the stiffer feel in vintage mode. And because this amp goes to 11. Thousand.

The thicker, stiffer, and more aggressive feel of 90watts is great for more modern style / heavier tones. I just find it unusable in almost all the contexts where I need the amp. One day I may get an attenuator but for now I just put in ear plugs if I ever need to crank it!

I love the way 45w feels for rhythm and lead work, but the clean channel gives up a bit too soon so it's sort of like I have three crunch channels unless I lay way back on the pick attack a fair bit.

I run the gain pointed to the left edge of the "V" in Volume with humbuckers, then pump it up to the right edge of the "E" with P90s.

once the power section starts to clip on 45watt mode, it is time to recruit the other 2 6L6s! For me, I prefer the girth and firmness of 90watts but I can never use it because it is simply too much for what I need. The 45watt mode of this amp it its saving grace!

Mine's had EL34s in it for so long that I forgot that it was originally a 6L6 amp. :lol:

Maybe that's why my clean channel gives up so early?

This thread inspired me to use 90w mode for the first time in awhile and the clean channel was fantastic. I really love a good clean channel and the ED has one of my favourite... in large part due to the feel of the channel. It's not stiff and brittle, but it's not too soft either and it reacts to my playing really well.

How is it with EL-34s? Better for lower volume tones? I'm partial to how EL-34s sound even if I dislike the shorter lifespan.

I don't remember the details anymore. I do remember that the 6L6s would pull off an awesome "woman" tone that I lost with EL34s, and that the EL34s clipped earlier at the expense of some fullness and headroom on the clean channel.

I actually intended to switch back to 6L6S because I liked them better, but I never got around to it. It'd be interesting to change them now and see if I still feel the same after getting used to the way it sounds now.

YellowJacket said:

How is it with EL-34s? Better for lower volume tones? I'm partial to how EL-34s sound even if I dislike the shorter lifespan.

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My little test......my little opinion.....

http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=51984

If I didn't have a good OD pedal then I wouldn't be able to keep the Electra Dyne.

IMO, getting a 1 x 12 extension cab really solves the low volume problem. I found that you can get the speaker moving a bit more which helps with those 'almost off' tones.