Can I please ask a stupid question regarding the nobs on my amp?
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So I've been playing guitar for years and owned many amps and effects processor's and currently own a lovely pedal board.
But I'm pulling my hair out with this amp as I don't know when or when not to use the nobs on the amp or the ones in the app?!?
I sat down tonight wanting to have a play and make a few tones to store and use (having a busy life family / work I haven't had much time to sit and play with the amp yet) I set an audible volume level that won't wake my 3 Yr old or irritate the wife and have a little play..oooo sounds good... Click the cloud and choose a tone. BOOOOOOOM! it kicks in like I've just turned on my jcm 900 and wakes up child and really upsets the wife,
I can't figure out what nobs I should be playing with to set volumes or what I should be doing with the amp nobs when I'm making adjustments in the app.
Any advice or point in the right direction here would be much appreciated.
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Also to clarify. It isn't just a volume issue, it's most of the other nobs too. Can I add reverb to a cloud tone by turning the nob on the amp? Or do the nobs on the amp become redundant when using the app?
@confused / advice needed to save hours of frustration -
My understanding is that you can use either the knobs or the Amp. The knobs on the Amp will make a corresponding change to the application so it's really a bit redundant to use them. Once you set your music and output, you can pretty much leave the Amp alone. Regardless of which you use, you have to save the tone if you intend to use it again.
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@soup Any presets you download will have their own volume levels so best thing to do is turn down the volume on your guitar then slowly turn it up to make sure the shredder who made it didn't set everything on 11! If you like the preset just get the volume down to where you need it within the preset then save it to your library.
You can use either the physical knobs on the amp itself or the virtual ones in the app. Now if say the Mids knob on the Spark is set to say 7 and on the app you turn it down to say 4 it will produce the lower mids but the amp knob will still be pointing at 7. If you turn that knob its takes a second for it to pick it up and match where it was set by the app. The knobs are not motor driven like on real expensive modelers, they can't turn on their own. Now if you reverse that and turn the knob on the Spark the app knob WILL turn with it.
I only use the app because in my living where I use it I sit about 8 feet away from it and especially when playing with the settings of a preset don't want to be standing over the Spark but out front. And I'm LAZY!
Hope that helps
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I wear headphones so I don’t disturb the wife. I also like the sound from them better than the speaker. As for the knobs, when trying out new presents turn the output all the way down and then bring it up to a comfortable level. I use the knobs on the amp more and use the app to fine tune things. When I’m making presents I set all the knobs at 12 o’clock. I then work the gain and master to get a good clean or dirty sound depending on what I’m in the mood for. Once there I play with the EQ knobs to finish up the tone.
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@valascia said in Can I please ask a stupid question regarding the nobs on my amp?:
As for the knobs, when trying out new presents turn the output all the way down and then bring it up to a comfortable level.
Exactly. It's important to understand that the "Output" and "Music Volume" knobs are outside the realm of the presets, so keeping those down low before doing anything (especially ToneCloud stuff) is the key to avoiding unpleasant surprises.
I mostly use it with headphones too (live in an apt building with thin walls, so not much choice), and in that case, it's a matter of safety and not damaging your ears. I also try to remember to remove the headphones before making any changes, or at least shift them so that they are not directly over the ears.
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What about the channel select nob? (first one on the left) when and why am I using this.
It feels like it doesn't matter what setting its on when I touch anything in the app it overrides it?
Or does it make a difference to the cloud selected tone if change "it" to a different setting.
It feels like it turns the app selected tone off but it has me confused 😕
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@soup
in my opinion when you use the presets in the app you don't have to act on the knobs of the amplifier in any way, otherwise you will skip the settings.
eventually, when trying out a new preset, you can initially adjust only and only the output knob, so as not to have a deafening sound, and then gradually increase to the appropriate level
(this way you already have the proper volume levels of both the amp and guitar for gain and saturation)