Working with Amplifier PROFILEs, Cabinet PROFILEs, Power Amps and Guitar Cabinets 90
Volume
The Volume parameter mirrors Monitor Output Volume. This is included for your convenience.
Wattage Meter
The internal power amp is mono, and delivers 600 watts at 8 ohms — however, the wattage will be lowered to 300
watts when used at 16 ohms. At 4 ohms, the wattage is electronically limited to 600 watts. If these 600 watts are
exceeded, the power amp is deactivated for a moment, which will result in a short dropout. It would require insane
volumes for such dropouts to occur — however, if you are connecting a 4-ohm cabinet, you should test it carefully to
ensure that your loudest signals stay below that critical level.
The power amplifier provides sufficient headroom to avoid clipping, even with dynamic clean sounds. Very loud
signals and transients will then be compressed by a soft-clipping circuit with a nice, organic sound.
If you are afraid of damaging your speakers with the built-in 600 watts power amp, then use the Wattage Meter to
monitor exactly how much power is being delivered.
A speaker doesn’t get damaged by too much peak level, but by accumulating too much heat over time. Think of a
traditional light bulb: When you switch it on, it takes a moment to reach full brightness. When you switch it off, it will
dim slowly even though the current is cut immediately. Due to this time lag, it takes one or two seconds of
overpowering a light bulb before it breaks. The same applies to the coils of your speakers.
The Wattage Meter takes account of this time lag and simulates the accumulated heat in your voice coil measured in
watts. It is a unique tool that allows you to get a feel for the kind of volume you should expect for a given number of
watts. You might be surprised just how loud a few watts can be!
A few rules of thumb:
• The maximum wattage of the power amp is not a measure of permanent load on your speaker coils. It depends on
how loud you play. A 600 hp car will not use more horsepower than a 100 hp car while you cruise through town —
more likely, it will be about 15 hp.
• Bass frequencies will put much more load on your speakers than high frequencies. Palm mutes create lots of bass.
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