Newbie tube amp ?

Might be an auditory illusion but I noticed the same thing. I also noticed that when I stuck my home made attenuator in place it also increased the level of perceived crunch.

Hmmmm... hard to say. I suppose tubes do break in.

My EVJ starts to break up around 10 o'clock using my LP with humbuckers, it would probably be a little higher with single coil pickups. So that is one factor, more powerful pickups will cause the amp to start overdriving sooner.

If you put pedals in front of the amp it can do the same. Most chorus pedals will give you a little volume boost when you kick them in, something I've always disliked. So some pedals will boost your signal. A compression pedal would probably cause the amp to start distorting sooner. EQ pedals can boost the signal, and your settings can cause breakup too, especially if you boost the lower frequencies.

What kind of guitar and pickups are you using, and are you using any pedals in front of the amp?

Wes you may have the answer. Last few days I was playing my Fender Tele obviously with single coils. When I thought I noticed the change I was playing my Godin with HSS config. Will go back to my Tele later and try 10 O'clock or thereabouts and see where breakup starts. I was using a Behringer DR100 Reverb pedal in front. Thanx. Will let you know.
Robbie

Wes I think you nailed it. Volume is much lower with the Tele and the breakup occurs with higher volume on the amp. I tried my Godin HSS after and got some breakup at around 10 O'Clock, I then tried my Epi LP and breakup was more pronounced. I tried these axes with no pedals Thanx for the info.
Robbie

guitars do have different outputs. my strat easily overdrives a small vintage amp when my tele cant.

Speakers certainly do break in.

Speakers certainly do break in.

But I would guess that takes longer than a week .. but, if you are playing 16 hours a day, maybe not :-)

You can get a lot more volume out of this amp with pedals. I recently bought a Behringer compressor pedal and really like it, although I do not actually turn compression up high, I do not like the effect it has on the bass. I like the pedal more because it gives a lot of presence to the tone and evens out chords a little.

But even with this pedal set fairly low, now my EVJ will be as loud volume wise at 7 o'clock as it is at 10 o'clock without the pedal. And it is clean without breakup.

This amp is right on the edge of being a good gigging amp. You could use it at an Open Mic easy, or even a small gig if your drummer doesn't play too loud. If your drummer plays loud you have to crank it at least to 12 o'clock to be heard, then you don't have any clean tones. But with a clean boost or compression pedal in front of it I think you might be able to get enough clean volume to play with a loud drummer. This is all unmic'd I am talking about.

You could use this amp easy for a gig if you mic it.

My favorite way to play this amp is crank it way up to 3 o'clock or more, and then turn guitar volume down to clean it up. The amp is very touch sensitive like this. Then when you want to play a solo, just turn your guitar up. This is the old style players used in the early days, works very well with this amp.

Ah now you've gone and done it again..now I'm gassin for a compressor pedal, my T0800 and EQ have been shipped and will be in this week. But like I said I'm a gearhead and pedals are way cheaper than guitars. I really do think this little amp rocks,love the tone and even with a few pedals to dial in tone it is still a bargain.

Robbie

You will probably notice a volume boost with that EQ pedal, even if Volume is set at center. You can also go up on Volume. If you go way up it will cause your amp to overdrive earlier. But a little above center will give you a nice clean boost. And it is the same with the frequency sliders. You can push them up a little for boost. They tend to distort if you push them all the way up.