Do amps sound better loud?

[mr natural]

For me it all changes when it gets loud enough that the amp and guitar start to interact and become 1 instrument. Notes and chords bloom instead of decaying. You can change the harmonics of a sustained note or chord just by adjusting the angle of the guitar to the amp. False harmonics become insane squeals. You know the feeling. And it all cleans up with the guitar’s volume knob when it’s time to sing. That sound and feel is why I play electric guitar.

 

[TwoBear]

Due to the Fletcher- Munson curve amps sound fuller when louder. Too loud and dynamic compression occurs.

I could imagine Dan Aykroyd saying that, and maybe adding in some thing about some servos!?

 

[Skydog1010]

Super Reverb does

Twin Reverb can kinda make your ears bleed.

 

[Cheap Trills]

Speakers are a big factor here, that should be common sense from a physics perspective, but they get overlooked in the marketing.

 

[ETMusic777]

I used to think so, but ever since I got the Fryette Powerstation and can crank the amp at a low volume...no. It really does not matter for recording either, if you get the tone you want at low volume you certainly can record it and it will fit right in to the mix. In fact, it may be better for recording in some respects, as you get less room feedback frequency cancellation and rumbling etc. at lower volumes.

 

[somebodyelseuk]

Depends on the player. Some sound better switched off.

 

[Silverface]

Maybe this will simplify/clarify the point:

Properly serviced/adjusted tube amps with a good speaker project their best clean tone just below the top of their headroom.

That has NOTHING to do with volume. It has to do with the engineering of each amp.

 

[Brent Hutto]

Maybe this will simplify/clarify the point:

Properly serviced/adjusted tube amps with a good speaker project their best clean tone just below the top of their headroom.

That has NOTHING to do with volume. It has to do with the engineering of each amp.

But it does have to do with volume because for most typically designed tube amps, unless they have some attenuator attached to their output, that "just below the top of their headroom" volume is going to be 100dB SPL or more. For a big-iron amp like a Twin Reverb, far higher than 100dB.

So to address the original question "do amps sound better loud", the answer for full-sized tube amps becomes yes. They do have to be really, really loud to sound their best.

 

[sinecrafter]

Apologies if this is a dumb question or if this has been covered before, but do amps sound better loud? If so or if not, why is that? I suspect this might be subjective but is there a general idea that amps sound better within a certain level of volumes vs. extremes of quiet or loud?

In my experience, I feel like most of my amps (tube and solid state) do sound better loud up to a point. I mostly use a Fender '65 PRRI and Peavey Bandit 65 and occasionally a Vox Mini Superbeetle -- all sound better cranked a fair bit vs. attenuated or at super low volumes with pedals doing the heavy lifting with respect to overdrive. The Bandit and Vox sound okay at lower volumes so I tend to reach for those if I'm playing in environments where people are exquisitely sensitive to volume levels because the PRRI sounds thin and fizzy at low or overly attenuated levels. I wonder if it has something to do with speaker efficiency.

Yes, everything sounds better louder, up to a point (above that point is hearing damage). The human ear has a frequency response which varies with sound pressure level. Look up "Fletcher-Munson" and "equal loudness curves" for the technical explanation. That's why the "Loudness" button existed on older stereo systems (and some newer ones). It's meant to compensate for the ear's reduced sensitivity at lower volumes.

There's a reason it's called "dynamic range", after all. You can't get 100 dB of dynamic range if your peak SPL is only 80 dB. Louder has the ability to be more *dynamic*, which makes it more *dramatic*.

Incidentally, this is also why old albums played at higher volume settings on your stereo sound so good. Records used to have much more dynamic range. Most popular music released in the past 20-30 years has had the drama compressed out of it by increasingly sophisticated mastering techniques.

 

[Silverface]

But it does have to do with volume because for most typically designed tube amps, unless they have some attenuator attached to their output, that "just below the top of their headroom" volume is going to be 100dB SPL or more. For a big-iron amp like a Twin Reverb, far higher than 100dB.

No!

Let me state that again for clarity - No!

You are missing the point - yes, a properly serviced Twin sounds its best at high volume.

But you wouldn't USE a Twin in a small club. You use a small amp - a Princeton, AC4 or non-reverb Deluxe.

I guess I need to repeat this - again - the players with the best overall sound are those that use an amp appropriate to the room; one that can be cranked to just below the top of its headroom with the guitar's controls backed off 15-25%. This allows the rig to be turned up for clean solos - and a little more slides into smooth saturation wiith excellent note clarity.

If you play a lot of different sizes & types of venues,you need multiple amps- which players in demand around here do.

But nobody uses Twins (or anything with similar output) unless they're playing outdoor fair gigs or HUGE halls with no amp miking.

If that's not clear enough for you PLEASE go back and re-read the OP's and my previous posts.

 

[dogmeat]

yes. no question

 

[TheCheapGuitarist]

Depends on the player. Some sound better switched off.

I resemble that remark.

 

[JeffBlue]

Mmmmm............yes.

 

[jrblue]

As I understand it, there are two levels of preference in play here. On the macro level, it is well-established that if people like a sound, they like a louder version of that sound even more. In the more micro level, I believe that people in general will prefer some tones over others, though I haven't encountered any objective studies as to what tones generally please and which ones repulse, though I would myself say that anything approaching white noise is likely to turn listeners away. I think that's why increased volume is a plus but not infinitely so, as at some point ears hurt and ring, and cannot handle even a beautiful sound if it's physically head-splitting. But in everyday life, well, yeah -- the guy playing his 5-watter in his living room is going to be turning it up if he can.