thanks
i have to agree the tonestack does "clamp" the sound as all tonestacks do since they reduce gain.
Im building an ODS (not ceriatone though i do have a non-HRM OTS and love it) and i think i have solved the PAB volume difference by making the tone stack more efficient so it doesnt take away as much gain. so you dont actually have to make the PAB volume lower because the volume between the two are closer.
the tonestack should only lose about 3dB of gain with my design. so the PAB should add about the same back when it's engaged
Sounds interesting. I never experimented to determine just how much a standard stack clamps the signal.
I assume the degradation is due to the load of the ground path hanging on the tube's output. Is there no way or easy way (using tubes) to capacitively separate the treble, mid, and bass and then sum them without using a ground path to reduce their level.
However, sometimes people want the lesser or particular tone that comes from a stack. I believe, for example, the stack design accounts for the difference between a Tweed and Blackface tone - with the 60's having a stronger scoop in the low end so that it sounded cleaner.
Without the stack, the sound is much more robust, which may not be desirable as the only tone.
So maybe the optimal thing to provide the ability to switch between two levels of the stack sound in addition to the direct sound - all of which could be adjusted by a simple gain pot. That would simply require reducing the gain of the stack for use as the normal sound, and simply eliminating the gain reduction for the relative boost. Then there can also be the option of the sound with the stack bypassed, with a level control.
to keep the forums alive.
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