metalhead28
Hates Raymond
Hey eric.
A hot plate is basically a volume control after your amps volume control. You can crank the power tubes of the amp, but you can then limit the power hitting the speaker. So yeah, that's what it will do. If the tone you like has anything to do with actual "speaker" distortion (probably not) then you won't get that. The thing about all of this is that you don't HAVE to crank the amp. Not unless you just don't like the sound of it a lower volumes. Have you tried recording it at lower volumes? I'm guessing there is probably a good compromise somewhere with that amp as far as tone vs. volume. Pre-amp gain vs. master volume tweaking is where you'll find the compromise. See if it works for you before you dismiss the idea altogether.
I've recorded some Mesa amps and I didn't turn them up that loud at all but they still were making some pretty good tone. I have to crank my Marshall all the way up because the tone is completely dependant on that. My 5150 records much better at lower volumes (well, down to a certain point). My point is, just judge it with your ears. You can probably get away with turning that thing way down. You might even get better recordings.
A hot plate is basically a volume control after your amps volume control. You can crank the power tubes of the amp, but you can then limit the power hitting the speaker. So yeah, that's what it will do. If the tone you like has anything to do with actual "speaker" distortion (probably not) then you won't get that. The thing about all of this is that you don't HAVE to crank the amp. Not unless you just don't like the sound of it a lower volumes. Have you tried recording it at lower volumes? I'm guessing there is probably a good compromise somewhere with that amp as far as tone vs. volume. Pre-amp gain vs. master volume tweaking is where you'll find the compromise. See if it works for you before you dismiss the idea altogether.
I've recorded some Mesa amps and I didn't turn them up that loud at all but they still were making some pretty good tone. I have to crank my Marshall all the way up because the tone is completely dependant on that. My 5150 records much better at lower volumes (well, down to a certain point). My point is, just judge it with your ears. You can probably get away with turning that thing way down. You might even get better recordings.
