headroom defined... are u at max headroom gauranteed at 10?

mistermikev · Post by **mistermikev** » 20 Feb 2009, 21:32

Just got a quick q for those in the know...

what do you think: if I crank my amp to 10(max vol) and I add a boost pedal up front... am I going to get a louder output (on most amps?) or is it just going to distort more... ie am I guaranteed to be out of headroom at max volume?

TragicTravisty · Post by **TragicTravisty** » 20 Feb 2009, 21:59

most amps will be dirty on 10 with most pickups. if its still clean, you have not yet exceeded the amps headroom. A boost can still make it (at least perceivably) louder, but it will also cause more compression + distortion. however, through the effects loop you may be able to make it louder than possible w/out the pedal - this is only if the pre amp distorts before the power amp.

earthtonesaudio · Post by **earthtonesaudio** » 20 Feb 2009, 22:06

mistermikev · Post by **mistermikev** » 20 Feb 2009, 22:11

thank you gentlemen.

so, if i understand... the answer is "it depends on the amp"...

ie it may or may not actually get louder depending on the headroom in the amp,

ie there is no 'across the board' answer on this one?

ie it is at least possible that the amp may have a bit more headroom (even at max vol) and you might get a hair more vol?

soulsonic · Post by **soulsonic** » 21 Feb 2009, 07:52

Yeah, it totally depends on the amp. Some amps are designed to be as clean as possible, so even at 10 it won't be at its limit yet. Other amps are designed to be dirty, so those might already be totally crunched-out at 10 and only get more distorted with a boost.

Try some booster experiments with big bass amps. They usually have alot of clean headroom and many of them have high-level inputs too that are intended to take the hot outputs of active bass pickup/preamp systems without distorting - amps like that would probably have the most headroom still available when at 10....

...not that I would want to be in the same room with the amp when you try that!

mistermikev · Post by **mistermikev** » 21 Feb 2009, 21:14

thanks mr tube twister,

yeah, my ears can't really take the high vol either, I'm just curious for my own knowledge, so I'm gonna have to try it at least one time.
My gut suggested to me that most amps(even high gain) would have some amount of headroom at 10 just so they could still handle the dif between passives and an emg w/o adding any distortion... but then who the heck can tell the dif at top volume anyway!?

so 2 morrow I risk being visited by the cops when I crank my v18 as loud as it will go and then see if a dirt pedal will add any perceivable volume.

thanks again for taking the time!