Ceriatone Forum

I recently got a new HRM from Nik.

Basic question. The power amp "master " volume . what does it do? WHen i turn off both lights on the footswitch...it engages the power amp. Does this master ( I dont know why it says master... the only thing it controls is the power amp volume..it has no effect on the other volumes or drive or gain.) so it runs totally clean   no gain or over drive.
When I engage the red and/or green light on the pedal...this power amp "master" volume control has no impact on the amps volume... Is this normal or is the amp malfunctioning?? 

Something doesn't sound right. My amp is a HRM bluesmaster, but I believe it is supposed to work the same way as yours. The master volume knob in the power amp section controls the overall clean channel volume, whether or not the pab button (the green one) is pressed. When the red button is pressed, the level knob in the overdrive section becomes the moster volume. The green button should work in both sections. Check the switches on the back of the amp - they should both be set to the pedal side for the footswitch to work correctly.

   The Power-amp labeled "Master" (the second last pot/knob to the left) controls the overall level for the Clean (aka the first stage). The Power-amp control "Level" (the 6th pot/knob to the left) controls the overall level (or Master Volume) for the Overdrive (aka the Clean gets cascaded into another stage to give you overdrive). 

   This type of amp has separate Master Volumes to get a better balance of the Overdrive and Clean. Contrary to what most amp makers say, Dumble style amps are only 2 channel amps. The PAB (or Pre Amp Boost with the Green ftsw light) functions on both the Clean and Overdrive. The Channels get switched via the ftsw. (with the Red light)

 This is however only on the HRM amps though, The power-amp control labeled "Master" is the overall master (for both Clean and Overdrive)for NON-HRM amps.


        Download the manual for the amp you own, it will explain everything you need to know.

Thanks Greg for the feedback....I mean sustain.
I will work on this thang. Like your videos on Youtube.

Thanks guys for the info. 8)
Amp is working great, the user is just a little slow.
This amp is so different than a simple non master vibro-king fender with a tube screamer in front.
This master volume clean channel is extrme clean absoulutly no break up on the power amp., never had an amp like this.
I will probably use the pedal with the red light on most of the time and use th green as a  boost.

Its interesting to turn the gain pot on the back way down and use the drive and level and volume to get a differnt dynamic..than cranking up the gain pot on the back.Have to experiement to see if its diff.
For a "fenderish" or srv hendrix stone with my strat...I turn the presence to 8 or so and the treble up to 7 or so and the mid switchoff. Nice versatile amp, takes some time to get it and I still dont but this is a really awesome piece of work,esp for the money. Dont need a tube scereamer ,but it is interesting to use only the tube screamer with the master or clean channel.

Has anyone with an HRM adjusted the internal post overdrive tone stack and if so what did you do to it and was it easy to do and did it have the impact you were looking for?

SDuck and other HRM owners.....Why did you choose the HRM versus the other models?

It was quite a hard choice for me, as I'd had no first hand experience with the many variations of the amps, and only had recorded demos to go by. I was swayed towards the bluesmaster because of the promise of the fender blackface sound of the clean channel - I really love that sound, and as it turns out it works really well for that. And I figured with the separate set of tone trimmers for the overdrive channel, I could really personalize the drive channel, as I use it a lot, without having to compromise the settings of the clean channel.

50w vs. 100w - this was also a tough choice. At this point in time I'm mostly an at-home type of player, but like to get into the woolier sounds of the amp, without peeling my ears off. Or my neighbors. And even with my little 4x10 cab, this thing gets much louder than I can take really quickly.

@fatfretter

FWIW, I chose the 50 watt HRM because...

I liked the idea of a hi and low input, I don't have a need for the FET input,

I liked the idea of separate master volumes for each channel,

I liked the OD trim on the back of the chassis, and

I liked the idea of the TMB tone stack trimmers for the OD channel,

I liked that the amp is designed to run either 6l6's or el34's,  

I like the potential for the huge amount of tones readily available in that design, but all the options available also meant that I had much more to learn to get things sounding the way I like.   I am VERY pleased with my amp.

Okay, how did I miss that little design difference...
Why is there no FET input on HRM models?

And what is the mod that I've seen, putting a switch (or pot?) in the upper position of the Inputs??

@ SDUck...SO you got the bluesmaster version? I have the straight 50 watt HRM and think its great but if anything I am not thrilled with is the clean channel. Its definiitly clean with absoultley no break up at hi volume, which for some players Im sure thats a great option.I like the natural tube with slight break sound. Im thinkin I might have liked the blusesmaster bettter., but am still thrilled wiht the amp. Low volume it still has incredbile overdrive.

Yes, I got the 50w Bluesmaster. It's been many years since I've played gigs, but I used to play out a lot, and my favorite amps back then were a pair of blackface amps - first a pro reverb and then later a twin reverb. Most of my gigs were as a rock player, so having a good distortion sound was a must, but even so some 75% of my playing on any given gig was with a normal clean sound. So having a killer clean sound made life a lot funner.

And the bluesmaster has the best clean sound of any of the amps I've had since the fenders left - it's a pure joy to play through. And of course the overdrive channel is simply stunning sounding also, but the clean channel has that rich, chimey high end, smooth but roomy midrange that the best amps have. I'm not totally convinced about the low end yet - there's too much of it, and it's hard to find the right setting on the dials to get enough of it, yet still have it tight sounding - there may be more break in time needed, or perhaps some experimenting with tubes. I currently have tungsol 12ax7's and JJ 6L6GC's in there - just standard stuff I was able to get at the local music store.

And I really need to upgrade my speaker situation - the knockoff 4x10's I'm playing through are in the dull and lifeless department.

I find that the way the first volume control works is pretty close to the way I remember the volume control working on my old twin - pretty much clean up until about 7 or 8, when just a bit of light break up starts. I'm playing a strat with emg's through it, but it also has the mid boost knob which emulates the output level of humbuckers - with that turned up you get quite a bit more breakup. One thing I've found with the overdrive channel - the overall sound of it can be extremely affected by the setting on the initial volume control. If you want to get into the heavier marshall/mesa type sounds, turn that first volume control up to 7 or higher, and have the OD gain pot set somewhere in the middle. Back the initial volume off to about 5, and you'll still have a lot of distortion, but it'll be a lot more polite sounding.