andrewrx7 Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 Well, I bought a Tour450 (450w@4ohms) head a little while ago, and last night was the first time I’ve had a chance to use it a band volume. I ran it along with my current Trace head (300w@4ohms) to see if there was a perceivable difference between the two (chopping and changing between the two heads during songs). Now, I am not an audiophile, and the subtleties of sound may not be my forte, I freely admit, but clearly there was a distinct difference in audible volume between the two. Both me and our guitarist agreed the Trace head was clearly providing a noticeable increase in volume over the Tour 450. No matter how I adjusted the Tour450, it could not keep up with the Trace! Sound wise, great, can’t argue with that, a lot of adjustment to give any sound you want, but it just couldn’t produce the same volume from the cab (TE 4x10 (400w)). I didn’t have my dB meter so could take any specific readings unfortunately. But when the Tour450 got upto around say 7+ on the post gain knob, no further increase in volume could be heard. While the TE head seems to give an audible increase in volume almost to the end of its scale. One other thing I did notice, was the input gains on both are different. I use an active bass but I typically leave the actives off (only use them when I really need to) – well, set to 0, so not sure if they are running or not? The battery is the original one from 2 years ago! Anyway, input gain on the TE head typically ends up at 6, what ever that means, but it gives me the thumbs-up on the LEDs! On the Tour450, it was set to around 3, and still the clip indicator would flash, especially when using the low B. So, I bought the Tour450 as a backup, and it will remain that way. I’ve heard that myths that TE heads are more powerful than the ratings state – on the basis of last night, is this true? (Oh yes, I simply use the TE head with the pre-shape. No eq and some compression. Works for me!). I'm not critising the Peavey don't get me wrong, but for what I want, the TE head is the better of the two! Any comments or advice are welcome! Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boneless Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 (edited) There are some aspects to consider: - the TE head might have an underestimated power rating, as you said; - the Peavey Tour head might have a basic tone that cuts the mix less than the TE; - the power amp in the Peavey may be of lesser quality, so less able to cope with high loads; - there isn't a [b]big[/b] increase in volume between 300 and 450W, really, due to the logarithmic nature of sound and the way our ears perceive soundwaves; - don't judge by the taper of the pots, keep in mind that in many heads the pots are designed to yield perceivable results only in a portion of the taper (ie. the LMII). There is also the amp-cab coupling aspect to consider, some amps are able to drive certain cabs better than others (due to impedance ratings through all the emitted frequencies). Edited February 20, 2009 by Boneless Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stan_da_man Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 I have the Tour 450 and it does reach it's clipping stage quite early and is a bit quiet for it's rating but it's still a great amp IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass_ferret Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 I would not expect to hear a difference between 300w and 450w to be honest. Having said that the trace was audiably louder with the preset on - something that robs the mids and usually affects audiability. Perhaps there is more to amp/cab synergy than I thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewrx7 Posted February 21, 2009 Author Share Posted February 21, 2009 [quote name='Boneless' post='415030' date='Feb 20 2009, 09:37 AM']There are some aspects to consider: - the TE head might have an underestimated power rating, as you said; - the Peavey Tour head might have a basic tone that cuts the mix less than the TE; - the power amp in the Peavey may be of lesser quality, so less able to cope with high loads; - there isn't a [b]big[/b] increase in volume between 300 and 450W, really, due to the logarithmic nature of sound and the way our ears perceive soundwaves; - don't judge by the taper of the pots, keep in mind that in many heads the pots are designed to yield perceivable results only in a portion of the taper (ie. the LMII). There is also the amp-cab coupling aspect to consider, some amps are able to drive certain cabs better than others (due to impedance ratings through all the emitted frequencies).[/quote] I had a good old play with the various settings on the Tour - contour, shelving, eq etc etc etc.......some great sounds including very similar to the Trace pre-shape, just that it didn't seem to drive the cab to the same volume level that the Trace head did. Don't misunderstand me, it sounded great, and I'm sure if the Trace packed up mid gig, the switch to the Tour would not be an issue. I'm just feeding back the observation based on our rehearsal. I'm happy with the purchase (esp for the price!)! Point taken about the pots, just saying that it was noticeable that the last quarter of the pot in the Tour appeared to do nothing , while the Trace pot did. Overall pretty evenly matched, but to be honest I still prefer the Trace for the kind of music we play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewrx7 Posted February 21, 2009 Author Share Posted February 21, 2009 [quote name='bass_ferret' post='415893' date='Feb 20 2009, 11:52 PM']I would not expect to hear a difference between 300w and 450w to be honest. Having said that the trace was audiably louder with the preset on - something that robs the mids and usually affects audiability. Perhaps there is more to amp/cab synergy than I thought.[/quote] In what way "affects audiability"? I agree about the pre-shape - take it off and the sound noticable drops. When I first got the TE head, I never used the pre-shape, just tried to dial in a good sound with the eq as best I could. Then I thought "whats this actually do", gave it a press, and hey-presto, a corking sound! Personally I love the pre-shape (with eq off). Also, I found having a decent bass helps no end! I used to use a Hohner Jack - then finally decided to buy something different. Went for a Schecter with EMG-HZs with active electronics - wow! The difference was immense! Now, I find using the pre-shape gives a great basic sound, and subtle adjustments are made with the onboard eq on the bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassmansky Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 trace are loud for their stated power.i had an old trace 1x15 combo 300w and i dont think you would find many new combo's that will match it for volume.wish i never sold it,great sound imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass_ferret Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 [quote name='andrewrx7' post='416109' date='Feb 21 2009, 01:10 PM']In what way "affects audiability"? I agree about the pre-shape - take it off and the sound noticable drops.[/quote] Exactly! It sounds louder because you are boosting the treble and bass and cutting the mids. But in a band context you sometimes need the mids to cut through the other instruments so it can be the wrong sort of loud. Sometimes its better to turn off the pre-shape and turn up the volume. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acidbass Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 [quote name='bass_ferret' post='416305' date='Feb 21 2009, 06:48 PM']Exactly! It sounds louder because you are boosting the treble and bass and cutting the mids. But in a band context you sometimes need the mids to cut through the other instruments so it can be the wrong sort of loud. Sometimes its better to turn off the pre-shape and turn up the volume.[/quote] +1. This will make the amp seem louder to you, but not the other band members, which reduces the risk of being asked to turn down (who does anyway? ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.