From alenhoff@yahoo.com Wed Jun 25 09:48:07 2003
Subject:Driving a Speakeasy from a CX-3

I spoke with Steve Hayes last night about my concern that while I
get great tone, I don't get much warm tube distortion from my CX-
3/Speakeasy Classic combination. Specifically, I asked him about
recent posts here suggesting that you really need another preamp
between a CX-3 and Speakeasy to drive the Speakeasy hard enough.

While Steve doesn't have a CX-3 to test, he said a second pre-amp
shouldn't be necessary. His advice: Edit the CX-3 patches to boost
the volume to the max (127); crank the CX-3 master volume up all the
way; adjust the Speakeasy volume downward to achieve the proper
volume (roughly 7-8 o'clock in my case); push the Speakeasy treble
to about 3 o'clock; adjust the Speakeasy bass control to taste.

Basically, he's saying you want to drive the Speakeasy as hard as
you can, and you need to crank the SE treble up because the treble
(which also controls mid-tones) is where you really hear the grind.

I tried this a little last night before my kids went to sleep, and
didn't really come to a conclusion. Others have suggested you ought
not worry about getting any distortion from the Classic -- just pump
in a little of the CX-3's digital distortion.

I'm wondering what others think -- especially those of you who spend
some significant time with real Hammonds.