Setting Levels

Levels vary from module to module. I questioned it at first, and Rob explained it to me very clearly. Controls are interactive in each module, much less module to module. Just set it up by ear.

A unfortunate side effect of squeezing so many things into the same modular platform and having to work within a confined architecture can be unbalanced levels between modules. The biggest factors are always the design of the tone stack (hollowed mids subtracts a lot of signal) and insertion losses for optional circuits.

So Rob, why is it that even the stockers have this phenomenon? I remember getting my first blackface module and taking it back for another and the new one had the same problem....way way quiet compared to the stock plexi, Deluxe or XTC. Also I notice the the JF XTC in plexi mode has very little volume and then when you change it to the Bogner mode the volume doubles. Same with the VoxLess going from AC30 to DC30.

ricky said:

So Rob, why is it that even the stockers have this phenomenon? I remember getting my first blackface module and taking it back for another and the new one had the same problem....way way quiet compared to the stock plexi, Deluxe or XTC. Also I notice the the JF XTC in plexi mode has very little volume and then when you change it to the Bogner mode the volume doubles. Same with the VoxLess going from AC30 to DC30.

Click to expand...

This is probably best addressed in several individual responses:

- Stock modules, any modules for that matter, can display this. It's the nature of the modular concept. We are trying to to graft the front end of various amps onto generally the same platform using one of four PCB's. Various preamps are louder than others. Trying to keep them true to design/tone and balanced in level between each other is a delicate dance.

- No module should be "way way" more quiet than any others. If they are, there is something wrong. Most often a tube, broken switching circuit or pot in that order.

- The Plexi mode of the JF XTC turns off the first gain stage. As such, the signal is amplified by one less stage and quieter. Remember, gain is just another word for volume and those pots serve the exact same purpose. One is early in the signal chain, the other later.

- The Voxless in the Vox mode uses the traditional Vox tone stack, which has VERY hollowed out mids. Whenever you remove a large part of the frequency range, the overall volume level is decreased. It's the same thing as running the slider on an EQ pedal all the way down. The overall signal may need to be adjusted by the volume to compensate.