Not talking about my gut

[superlightweigh]

What is Sag?

I've heard it mentioned once or twice by real tone conniseurs (sp?) in reference to tube amps.

Does my DRRI have sag? Where's the knob?

[jhundt]

sag - that's where when you play real hard, the rectifier tube can't quite keep up with the voltage required by the power tubes, due to an internal resistance factor. So the power tubes get a little less voltage than required to stay "linear" and the output gets a little compressed, in a natural way.

Blues guitar solo players like this sound. It is part of the expressiveness of the guitar/amp combination.

Many players insist on a certain amount of "sag"; this can be controlled by the type of rectifier tube used (among other variables). Many other players choose for no sag. Solid-state rectifiers generally do not exhibit 'sag'.

Tweed Bassmans used tube rectifiers, and had 'sag'. Fender messed around a lot with different rectifiers over the years, dealing with the 'sag' factor. Marshall originally copied the Bassman circuit, but quickly dropped the tube rectifier in favor of a solid-state rectifier which eliminated the 'sag' factor.

Both type of amps now have dedicated and die-hard fans. I kind of prefer solid-state rectifiers with no sag. But many other members here will have a different opinion.

[Tim Armstrong]

Yep, what he said. Or, to maybe simplify: sag happens when your amp blooms into the note rather than just hits it full out. This usually happens because, as noted, your amp draws more current than your tube rectifier can immediately supply.

Cheers, Tim

[austintele]

Listen to Neil Young's "Love and only love" on Ragged Glory. The beginning/intro guitar is a great example of sag.

Cathode biased amp(like the tweed deluxe) with a tube rectifier will have the greatest amount of sag when dimed. Tweed champ is another example of this type of amp.

[superlightweigh]

Ok, I'm learnin'

I love this forum.

Okay, my DRRI does have a tube rectifier, but I have never dimed it. It's only a 22 watt amp but it's still pretty darned loud.

I still haven't been able to locate that Neil Young song, but I'll have more time to hunt for it tonight. Any other song suggestions in the meantime?

[Mr. Z]

Tube rectifiers have a "softer" attack, whereas s.s. rectifiers have quicker response, a bit more of a "clang" than a "bloom". And as you can tell, I'm really good when it comes to describing sounds

[superlightweigh]

Originally Posted by Mr. Z

Tube rectifiers have a "softer" attack, whereas s.s. rectifiers have quicker response, a bit more of a "clang" than a "bloom". And as you can tell, I'm really good when it comes to describing sounds

Oh- this is good--
I played for a while today with the amp around 4 and no effects (and no tube in V1), and I think I could start to hear it just the littlest bit. The room I was playing in was extremely small, maybe tomorrow I'll take the amp down in the basement and really crank it up.

Can't do it now as the kids are already in bed