Tried a variac with a 5:25.

[EtherealWidow]

So I read an article some time ago in which a guy took an old 18 watt Marshall and ran it with a variac. He put the variac at different voltages in increments of 10 ranging from 130 to 90. He put a sine wave through it and reported that the second harmonic was emphasized the further the voltage was from 120, and in his opinion the tone sounded "sweeter" at lower voltages and "grittier" at higher ones. So I got a variac for Christmas and decided to try it with my 5:25. I was much less thorough, however. The first time I played the volume was pretty low and I noticed absolutely no difference in the sound. The second time I tried it I turned the volume up quite a bit with an attenuator and played with high gain at 120 volts and just over 90 volts. In my opinion, the sound at about 90 volts was darker, smoother, and much more mellow. In my super subjective opinion, one could even describe it as "dull", but Mesa calls it "Spongey." I don't know if that's what I'd call it. The full 120 volts were much livelier, brighter (not a bad bright), and more dynamic. Mesa calls it "bold." In conclusion, the lowered voltage of the variac with this particular amp isn't really my thing most of the time. It's not so much a "tone" change as much as I'd call it a "texture" change. Maybe I'll use it to calm down the ebow whenever I use it every now and again. Maybe after I retube the amp the lowered voltage will grow on me. I would definitely advise it if you're into experimenting, gig a lot, or build amps. If it doesn't work for you, at least it's only about $44 and it's a HUGE safety advantage if you do a lot of gigs.

Here's the variac I got. http://www.mastechpowersupply.com/variac-auto-transformer/0-5k-va-variable-transformer-variac-500va-0-150v-110v-input/prod_52.html The input and output aren't knobs, but rather little nuts that cover screws that you wrap the power and neutral wires around. You will have to butcher a chord to use it. I butchered my power chord because I didn't want to pay $10 for an extension chord that I was just going to cut up anyway.

Here's the article I read about the guy, the Marshall, and the variac. It's the first link in the results. http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&hl=en&site=&source=hp&q=hans+michel+variac&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&psj=1&fp=a20cfd04ba3c5cf9

 

[FXR]

Very interesting device and extremely low price.

I got some line voltage testing stuff for Christmas. (It's amazing my wife keyed in on that, but it's another story I'm just lucky to have.)

I'm going to do some tests where I jam and see what happens to the power under different circumstances with the intention of seeing if such a device as you have here is necessary. But at 44$, it seems too good to be true, I'd have one already if I knew. I thought they were like $600 devices. What gives?

 

[EtherealWidow]

I can't imagine why you'd need a $600 one. That's nuts. This thing is as bare bones as it gets. I cut up the power chord, put the wires onto the appropriate screws and clamped em down, and then grounded it to the variac. There's nothing else but a little VU meter and a knob to adjust the voltage. The thing works fine. Tested it out on some lights first and yes, it is an excellent dimmer. I had to do some shopping to find this particular variac because yeah, there are a lot of ones with bells and whistles I'm sure are not necessary for what I want to do for 5 times the price.

 

[FXR]

How about noise? Have you played single coils with that thing plugged in?

I don't know that I need one, but it's an interesting device in how it can help.

 

[EtherealWidow]

Don't have a guitar with single coils unfortunately. There was a noticeable hum when I dropped it down to 90 volts, so I kept it just above 90. The Lonestar's half power mode is at 93 volts according to the manual. Maybe that's why they chose 93. I would definitely not say that it's a necessary tool, but it was something that I was wanting to experiment with for a long time. Finally got around to it and figured I'd post the results.

 

[J.J]

Nice experiment 8)