Eds bias on amps vs Standard "hot" biased amp

[deckard1]

No. A variac is a device to lower or raise the wall voltage. An attenuator is a device to dissipate the power of the amp as heat and get lower volumes

Thanks. I thought the whole point of Ed using a variac was to lower the volume of the amp without compromising the tone. At least that is what I have read. If this is true, then a variac can serve as an attenuator...no???

[Carbia]

The variac changes the tone aswell... even more than an attenuator.
Lowering the voltages the amp has more gain, but less headroom, think EVH vs AC/DC.

Some people would prefer the variac and others the attenuator. There's not a good or bad choice here.

[jnew]

Cranking the bias, and then lowering the AC with a variac will make your bias go colder anyway. So it's a wash, depending on where you end up with your VAC. Lowering the AC and letting the bias go colder, is what also tames the volume issue as well as change the way the amp feels and behaves.

[deckard1]

I traded in my Marshall DSL50 for one of Eddie's EVH 5150 III 50 watt heads the other day. The 5150 III rocks!

I bring this up because the 5150 III's bias setting (stock from the factory) is very cold. Apparently, this is on purpose...not just to preserve tube life when leaving the factory. The bias is supposed to be cold for this particular amp.