Amps that are indistinct when pushed

[Faber]

Is it always the speaker or can it be the eletronics as well? My Blues Jr farted out when pushed - my Rivera R30 combo does the same, but not when played through my Boogie thiele cab, so clearly there it's down to the speaker/cabinet of the combo. So this got me wondering - when amps turn farty and indistinct when turned full up, is it always the speaker that's at fault, or are some amp designed in a way that facilitate that trait?

[Les Paul Lover]

I may be corrected, but I believe that amps farts are a clear sign of the speaker being pushed out of its zone.

 

Actually, it should be called a speaker fart, not an amp fart.

[Faber]

Based on what I've described in the op with the Rivera I tend to agree, but then I don't know enough about the innards of amps to exclude those from the equation

[DaleH]

I put a Jennen 50w c12n in my Blues Jr. and I don't remember that speaker farting out.

[metallica_00]

In my experience the Blues Jr. (and the Blues Jr. NOS, which has an upgraded speaker) do not respond very well to being turned up...just really ragged tone. The boxy little cab doesn't help.

 

I think it's a bit of both - speakers are definitely key, but some amps retain a lot more clarity when pushed than others.

[Prages]

I think it's a bit of both - speakers are definitely key, but some amps retain a lot more clarity when pushed than others.

 

 

I think you've hit the nail on the head. The amp's circuit can definitely lend itself to turning to mush when pushed. Preamp, phase inverter, rectifier, and transformer design all can lend to an amp being either tight and punchy, or loose and saggy at extreme volume.