Hi,

I play in 2 rock bands - both are very loud - both have very aggressive rock drummers with real acoustic drum kits. To get above their volume level I need to be forceful and connect to one or two Marshall 4x12 1960 boxes.

I have a 100W Marshall DSL and recently sold my old 100W JCM900 for my Ceriatone 1987 Clone. In both bands we play at regular high levels- my DSL is a 100W amp and is very loud - I play it on 3/4 to get to that group level yet it will go much louder. My old JCM900 was 100W yet was not as loud at 3/4 - I needed to have that on 5 at least, but then it was at highest level - it would not really go louder, just more produce more sustain.

The Ceriatone is 50W and is 3dB lower - a fairly common value to describe the diffence between the two 50/100W amp ratings - ok. - not for all amps but you get the gist... Volume is non-linear on a valve amp - it will not continually go louder when you turn one up - they reach a peak and then start doing something else.

My Ceriatone easily reaches group level at 4 - impressive - but mine does not go much louder, from 4 onwards it delivers just more sustain & brown sound. I do not get much noticeable volume difference between 5 and 8. This is very loud and I use a Marshall Guvnor2 pedal for the added sustain too.

So how loud is your band? Do you use overdrive pedals? Do you have a 4x 12 Marshall box?

If yours is simply not loud enough or it is giving you a linear volume then you may have a tech- problem, otherwise I would investigate your speaker box(es).

Cheers Brett

I run my Ceria dimed into a hotplate on -8db. That's pretty cookin' for the rooms we play.

I brought the 1987 head to a practice once but could not bring the 4x12 because it's way too big. So I made a connector with alligator clips (I wouldn't try this at home... if the clips come off the output transformer is gone) on one end and speaker jacks on the other end so I could hook up to the speakers in the amp they have. They have a Roland JC-120 which I assume it's a 100 watt solid state amp. It doesn't sound like what I want it to sound which is why I decided to hook up my head (it's either that or a Marshall MG50... yuck)



It's loud with master and volume on 10 but I wished it could be louder. But then again it could be because the speakers in the roland JC-120 isn't designed for a valve amp??

I think speakers have a huge impact on the volume though because I tried a 10 inch speaker which was so so at 10, and a 4x12 box which was MUCH louder at 10.

I emailed Nik about lack of volume he said that I should lower the bias a little more to increase the headroom. I did that but I have to try this again and see if anything if affected...

The effeciency of the speakers you drive will have a huge impact on your db level.  Try one of the other guys cabs and see what you think.  Also make sure that you have the Out put Ohm settings matched to the cab.

are you running your ohm's at 16 or 8?

changing to LOWER impedance [ohms] can give you some extra oomf. i like the sound of the 16 ohms, its warm. but, that puts the most load on. try going with an 8 ohm cab [remember to put your selector switch on 8] and try that.

4 ohms is even hotter. ohms are like logs in a river [river being amps current] and ohms being the logs].

so, if you want to slow down the current of a raging river, you would want to put MORE logs on than FEWER logs. so, 16 0hms [logs] holds back more water [current/sound/signal] than 8 would. 4 even less. you want maximum water flowing? us LESS logs. MORE sound? less ohms.

so, one thing to remember. if your amp is running at 16 ohms, an 8ohm or 4 ohm cab will be ok. you would NOT want to run a 16 ohm cab with an amp set to or rated at 4 or 8 ohms. if you have a raging river and you put WAY, WAY to many logs to damn it up/slow it down you are going to have damage and bad things happen behind those logs. water [current] is going to start doing massive damage, flowing over its banks, destroying bridges, wiping out trailer parks, drowning animals and kids, etc... because the force is so great when theres to much blocking it. think of your amp [the river] and the logs [ohms] the same way. 4 ohms is LESS than 16 ohms. 4 ohms is lees than 8 ohms. your amp is running wide open on 4ohms and it runs into a speaker cab set on 8 or worse, 16 ohms, you burn the town down ending all life as we know it. transformers, wring, tubes, all toast!!

i am ALWAYS big believer in matching impedance/ohms [impedance= to impede something, slowing it or stopping it] with guitar rigs. running 16 ohms with your amp, then run a 16 ohm cab. 8 ohm amp selected, use 8 ohm cab. BUT, if you cant do that, ALWAYS make sure the ohms are LESS on the speaker cab than what the amp is set at. if you put a 16 ohm cab with an amp set on 4 or 8 ohms, you get that example of the river i gave, bad things happen like smoke and lightning and fire and bad vibes and empty wallett, missed gigs, etc... .

just thought i would throw that in because i ALWAYS see folks asking about impedance [ohms] and this is the best example, the current [water] the ohms [logs, bricks, rocks, etc...].  the more logs you put across a flowing river, the MORE it slows it down. water/current going OUT is the same. think of a water pipe: you have 3 sizes of pipe to use to get the water OUT, size 16, size 8 and size 4 with 16 being the smallest opening and 4 being the largest. 4 ohms will pass more current than 16 ohms will.

this rule [ohms rule] is the same for ALL audio applications, guitar/bass amps and live sound rig. never ever put more ohms in front of your current/signal from your amp. make them the same or make sure your speaker cabinet has LESS ohms than what the amp is set on.

then your golden with no empty wallet, lots of gigs, and best of all, plenty of chicks!!