Point of breakup

billando

People speak about an amp sounding best on the verge of breakup so picking soft is clean and digging in breaks up....i know this is totally personal but i see this as describing a non master amp.....what about a master volume amp...are people saying a master volume, no matter the master volume, sounds best with the gain set also to point of breakup? For example a jcm 800 at any clean master volume would have the preamp only around 4/10

Stratavarious

My JMP 2204 has MV.. the ‘breakup’ boundary is set by the input gain.. it’s the same with my Mesa rig.. edge of breakup at any volume is posible with multiple amp circuits but a MV gives the neighbours some respite or flexibility to adjust for different gigs/venues.

Nerine

I’m not sure anyone is saying anything. Edge of breakup is subjective and can probably cover a wide gain range in practice. 

I think regardless of amp, people set the controls where they like them with the amount of gain they prefer to use. 

Some amps aren’t as dynamic with lower gain sounds as others, and can feel a bit flat. 

Personally, “edge of breakup” is something I expect “bluesy Keith” to be chatting about at the local jam session in his adenoidal tones whilst discussing his new expensive overdrive pedal. 

I’d imagine “bloom” and “sag” would enter the conversation too. 

Roland

With many valve amps there’s a combination of amp and guitar settings where the sound responds more noticeably depending to how you play than it does with other settings. Matt Schofield describes adjusting amp tone controls until he finds that point. The same applies to any other control your amp and guitar have, not just the gain.

Generally that point is also going to be where the amp can be made to go into overdrive because overdrive has a noticeable affect on sound. However views of what constitutes overdrive aviary from player to player. 

relic245

Nerine said:

I’m not sure anyone is saying anything. Edge of breakup is subjective and can probably cover a wide gain range in practice. 

This.

It's like saying I like my coffee strong - it can mean anything. 

ESBlonde

The old school method is to run your valve amp loud and turn down the guitar a little. Play gently and you’ll discover dynamics you’ve never felt before. You’ll likely also discover you need for less ‘drive/distortion’ than you thought. You can always use a pedal for even more modern distortion, but just digging in anyway will take the guitar into dynamics and have that ‘hair’ on the notes you pick hard.
Give it a try, it’s a bit of an anathema if you’re brought up on a digital solution where all the tones are synthesised and flat, but you might surprise yourself. It’s harder to do at home unless you have a 1W amp.

guitars4you

ESBlonde said:

The old school method is to run your valve amp loud and turn down the guitar a little. Play gently and you’ll discover dynamics you’ve never felt before. You’ll likely also discover you need for less ‘drive/distortion’ than you thought. You can always use a pedal for even more modern distortion, but just digging in anyway will take the guitar into dynamics and have that ‘hair’ on the notes you pick hard.
Give it a try, it’s a bit of an anathema if you’re brought up on a digital solution where all the tones are synthesised and flat, but you might surprise yourself. It’s harder to do at home unless you have a 1W amp.

You are right, but remember, if you go back to the 50's, nearly all those valve amps were 5 watt-ish - Look at pics of Scotty Moore with Elvis and you can see a small amp on stage - All those Kenny Burrell etc jazz albums were played with P90's and a small valve amp - So even in jazz, you had those dynamics and a hint of 'break up' to add character - Pure clean barely existed - But IMO it is the tone to use as your 'base camp' as it gives you expression and character - For later 'blues' based tones like Little Wing, Albatross etc, it is clean ish with that nice hint of break up