Best way to quieten down a 5E3?

Modulus_Amps

I had a vintage Tweed Princeton come in here with a 10" Alnico speaker. It is a tweed champ (5W) with the 5E3 tone control.
 I wasn't expecting much from it but when I plugged into it I quickly lost an hour with it. I would go that route over a tweed champ.

Modulus_Amps

BahHumbug said:

Something I find amusing - the youtube 5e3 demo vids.  Bloke sitting on a sofa, serenely playing right next to the amp, absolutely no mention of how ridiculously loud it is!

Some people are used to playing loud and don't live in cramped UK housing. I wouldn't have an issue sitting next to a cranked Tweed Deluxe.

TheMarlin

Why strangle a 5E3 with an attenuator?
get a Nux Mighty Plug Pro for when you need quiet practices, and enjoy the 5E3 at full pelt during practice/gig 

Attenuation just sucks all the joy out of these fabulous little amps. 

Lebarque

Modulus_Amps said:

I had a vintage Tweed Princeton come in here with a 10" Alnico speaker. It is a tweed champ (5W) with the 5E3 tone control.
 I wasn't expecting much from it but when I plugged into it I quickly lost an hour with it. I would go that route over a tweed champ.

Good to hear. Yeh, would probably go down the 5F2A route with tone control. I'd probably get a 12" rather than 10 though.

ICBM

p90fool said:

While I do agree that the HRD drive channel is in the same sonic ballpark as a 5E3 it doesn't feel anything like it at all to me, it feels harsh and clangy and is absolutely no fun to play. 

You can get somewhere near with some light compression in the loop, but it never induces the same grin. 

Whereas I find the 5E3 frustratingly mushy and straining when driven too hard - I didn’t find them *that* different though, other than the Hotrod not doing it as badly at the same volume. With the 5E3 overdriven but not fully cranked to that point, there was really almost no difference. But I admit I’m coming to this from being someone one who doesn’t really get on with 5E3s, so I may be missing what you like about them .

I do honestly think the tweed cabinet on the LE Hotrod makes a difference as well as the Jensen too, the standard black one doesn’t sound as close.

Dave_Mc

Lebarque said:

Modulus_Amps said:

I had a vintage Tweed Princeton come in here with a 10" Alnico speaker. It is a tweed champ (5W) with the 5E3 tone control.
 I wasn't expecting much from it but when I plugged into it I quickly lost an hour with it. I would go that route over a tweed champ.

Good to hear. Yeh, would probably go down the 5F2A route with tone control. I'd probably get a 12" rather than 10 though.

If you want to keep the volume down to vaguely sensible levels (still pretty loud, admittedly) a smaller speaker usually makes it a bit easier. My 5F2-A clone sounds great with a Jensen P8R (though I haven't compared it to a 5E3).

Lebarque

Dave_Mc said:

Lebarque said:

Modulus_Amps said:

I had a vintage Tweed Princeton come in here with a 10" Alnico speaker. It is a tweed champ (5W) with the 5E3 tone control.
 I wasn't expecting much from it but when I plugged into it I quickly lost an hour with it. I would go that route over a tweed champ.

Good to hear. Yeh, would probably go down the 5F2A route with tone control. I'd probably get a 12" rather than 10 though.

If you want to keep the volume down to vaguely sensible levels (still pretty loud, admittedly) a smaller speaker usually makes it a bit easier. My 5F2-A clone sounds great with a Jensen P8R (though I haven't compared it to a 5E3).

You're right of course, but I find 8" speakers ratty. Much prefer a 12 when it's by itself. I've identified an inefficient 12 which might do the job.

Kuras

I purchased a TAD 5e3 that came fitted with a MV VVR. I took it almost immediately, mostly from the classic 'that's not like the old ones' mentality, which I know is a limiting and a load of rubbish! I'm yet to gig it, but with a Blue it is tinnitus inducing loud once its 'on' (2 bright on the channel!).

Would anyone be able to identify the MV VVR pictured below? The Alpha pot is 1meg, the cap is 22uf 450v and the Toshiba chip is a K2968

I am up for selling this VVR if it is any use to 5e3 owners.

https://imgur.com/gallery/vIT0rEm

goldtop

That's not a Master Volume, it's a VVR - controls the high voltage within the amp. There are many ways to implement VVR (sometimes callee PowerScaling) in an amp. The simplest way - scaling the whole amp - is done by putting that circuit between the rectifier and the rest of the circuit.

Kuras

Thank you @goldtop ;

Cirrus

Thinking about the various ways a 5e3 with a blue could be made quieter, I think I'd genuinely prefer to just put a less sensitive speaker in for home use. They're much more manageable with a low sensitivity Jensen, even a C12n ceramic really tames it and gives better low volume tone. The loss of the celestion blue thing would be less a compromise to me than what a master volume or attenuator would do to the tone, because part of the blue thing is what comes out of it at volume.

allen

I have got a Lazy J10LC. With the power scaling at minimum and vol control on 2 it’s definitely home friendly. 

Volume is on 2 though. 

MikeP

Vvr could well be from amp maker. I'd put it back in, it's causing no harm and might come in handy

Dave_Mc

Lebarque said:

Dave_Mc said:

Lebarque said:

Modulus_Amps said:

I had a vintage Tweed Princeton come in here with a 10" Alnico speaker. It is a tweed champ (5W) with the 5E3 tone control.
 I wasn't expecting much from it but when I plugged into it I quickly lost an hour with it. I would go that route over a tweed champ.

Good to hear. Yeh, would probably go down the 5F2A route with tone control. I'd probably get a 12" rather than 10 though.

If you want to keep the volume down to vaguely sensible levels (still pretty loud, admittedly) a smaller speaker usually makes it a bit easier. My 5F2-A clone sounds great with a Jensen P8R (though I haven't compared it to a 5E3).

You're right of course, but I find 8" speakers ratty. Much prefer a 12 when it's by itself. I've identified an inefficient 12 which might do the job.

No worries Just out of interest, what speaker are you thinking of?

Lebarque

Dave_Mc said:

Lebarque said:

Dave_Mc said:

Lebarque said:

Modulus_Amps said:

I had a vintage Tweed Princeton come in here with a 10" Alnico speaker. It is a tweed champ (5W) with the 5E3 tone control.
 I wasn't expecting much from it but when I plugged into it I quickly lost an hour with it. I would go that route over a tweed champ.

Good to hear. Yeh, would probably go down the 5F2A route with tone control. I'd probably get a 12" rather than 10 though.

If you want to keep the volume down to vaguely sensible levels (still pretty loud, admittedly) a smaller speaker usually makes it a bit easier. My 5F2-A clone sounds great with a Jensen P8R (though I haven't compared it to a 5E3).

You're right of course, but I find 8" speakers ratty. Much prefer a 12 when it's by itself. I've identified an inefficient 12 which might do the job.

No worries Just out of interest, what speaker are you thinking of?

WGS G12Q. 95.92 db. Love the tone in the video below and obvs internet/YouTube research always works in the real world. Erm. 

ElectricXII

I've got a 5f2a (ish) clone in a deluxe-sized cabinet with a P12R. I rehoused the chassis as I definitely preferred the bigger speaker. It's running a diode-rectified 12ax7 and a 6L6 but still breaks up relatively early, although at that volume it's too loud for home use unless I'm on my own. I don't think it's putting out much more power than a 6V6 Tweed Princeton, but I still have to use pedals to get grit with single coils when the missus is at home.

I wouldn't get away with playing an overdriven 5E3 in the house!

snowblind

Hiwatt DR103 with a 4x12 and turn it down. Really.

It is better to have and not need than need and not have.

three_little_birds

I built this attenuator last year.  I think it was about £60-70 in parts.

https://www.marshallforum.com/threads/simple-attenuators-design-and-testing.98285/

I've had a few attenuators over the years, but I think this one is the best sounding.  

Lebarque

ElectricXII said:

I've got a 5f2a (ish) clone in a deluxe-sized cabinet with a P12R. I rehoused the chassis as I definitely preferred the bigger speaker. It's running a diode-rectified 12ax7 and a 6L6 but still breaks up relatively early, although at that volume it's too loud for home use unless I'm on my own. I don't think it's putting out much more power than a 6V6 Tweed Princeton, but I still have to use pedals to get grit with single coils when the missus is at home.

I wouldn't get away with playing an overdriven 5E3 in the house!

What speaker did it have before? 8 or 10 inch?

jesone

Ironman mini attenuator will do the job