Attenuators (1 Viewer)

[damien]

Anyone use one? Benefits? Recommendations?

If i'm powering two cabs off my head, will I need two speaker cables out into the attenuator and two more from there to the cabs?

 

[damien]

Oh, and can you get ones that have ohm switching capabilities?

 

[mark]

never used one but have seen 'em used plenty. i think the main benefit is that they allow you to work your head really hard and get that 'valves-working' breakup and sustain without being too loud. used with non master volume heads for the most part.

you can get really simple ones that are cheap (try weber), but don't offer to many features. the THD hot plate and marshall powerbreak are more pricey but there the ones you see more people using.

 

[PaoloJM]

Been using the THD Hotplate for a while now and find it very good.
You need to aware of the exact purpose of an attenuator before buying one otherwise you'll be disappointed.
They are not for getting fully cranked 100W tone at bedroom level. To do this you'd need well over 20dB of attentation and the tone goes to crap, real buzzy.
The vid on my uTube page is @ -16dB with master volume @ 4 which is a fairly ok comprimise but it's still not quite the true "everything on ten" tone.
Set at -12dB or -8dB works great for rehearsing or gigging though, where a 100 Watter set above four on the master volume normally would be too loud. This is where they excel IMO.

The THD certainly has two speaker jacks. I'll have to double check the manual, but I think you need an 8 ohm model to drive two 16 ohm cabs, two 16 ohm cabs in parallel = 8 ohms.

The Ultimate and Mass attenuators have switchable impedance settings but I haven't used one before. They get positive reviews on-line though.

 

[damien]

yeah, i want it for maxed-out power at a gig volume. normally i'm at 4-5 when rehearsing or gigging but i've heard people say my amp only really starts to sing with the master at 8 or above.
do you find your tone is much improved with its use?

i need a switchable one because sometimes i play with one cab at 16ohms and sometimes with two at 8.

 

[PaoloJM]

In a gigging or rehearsal situation I'd say definitely.
Everything from low end, gain, punchyness, tonal warmth, note definition etc. improves after five on the master volume.
Pre amp @ 10, Master @ seven on my JCM800, and THD @ -8dB is sound heaven for me at gigs!!

It is better for bedroom use too but I wouldn't say it's €350 better.

Because of the need for switchable impedance you can scratch THD off you list unless you buy two of them.

 

[GO]

Jazes I never heard of these yokes before.I'm gonna be in the market for a new amp soonish and will defo have to consider getting an attenuator too.Sounds like what I've being dreaming of for years.Full blast tone at non earthquake volume.Ninja.

 

[Break Neck Speed]

We use thd hotplates in bacchus.
Deadly yokes. Sovtek is at 10 &
hotplate at 4 db reduction. Sounds
deadly. Not sure of meats settings
with the laney head.

Got them on Ebay usa for cheap.

 

[damien]

The mass gets terrible reviews on harmony central. The ultimate costs a bleedin fortune. The Dr Z doesn't have an Ohm selector. I'm stumped.

 

[Space]

Can you not use the hotplate with the lower ohm setting (8ohm) into your 16 ohm cab on the occasions you need to use a single cab?

It'd be pretty common to have a 4ohm bass head into a 8ohm cab with no problems, presume it'd be the same with guitar. Other than that you could get someone to wire an ohm switch into your cab?

 

[damien]

seemingly its not the best idea volume and tone-wise, although it is doable. if i am gonna spend money on one of these yokes, i dont want it to have a negative impact on my sound.

as well, the hotplates are fairly pricey and don't exactly get amazing reviews (however i'm starting to think the people giving bad reviews are expecting too much of a volume drop, which i wont need anyway). i'm currently reading up on these. good reviews and they're not expensive.

 

[sparse]

never used one but might be worth checking out reviews of this.
Also what's to be said for taking out two valves to drop it to 50W? Does that wreck your head?

My 50W Marshall sounds amazing cranked but for gigs that it's not mic'd up it gets way too distorted and for gigs where it is mic'd it's too loud so I have to turn it down which loses the overdrive of the valves. Damn if you do damned if you don't.

 

[damien]

http://www.tubeampdoctor.com/product_info.php?cPath=41&products_id=385
Also what's to be said for taking out two valves to drop it to 50W? Does that wreck your head?

is it actually that simple?

 

[Con]

I've got a 120w peavey head. It's ridiculously loud and I've got very little control over the volume. Basically it goes from low volume to really high in about half a notch. Really annoying so I tried taking out 2 of the tubes. It didn't really make any difference. Also I've heard conflicting reports off people who claim to be in the know about whether this is bad for yer amp or not.

I picked up a thd hotplate and I've been able to get a good bit more control over volume. Was worth getting, in my case anyway.

 

[PaoloJM]

is it actually that simple?

No it's not. You have to change the impedance setting, re-bias the power valves and when you're done it makes almost no difference volume wise. You'll drop about 3dB. 1 dB is defined as the minimal preceivable volume change by the typical human ear. To get a 100 watter to be half as loud you need to drop it down to 10 Watts and even that is damn loud, and can't be done anyway.
I did it on my JCM 800 and the only real difference I noticed was the lack of bottom end. It's still a 100 Watt output transformer and the bass notes need power to drive them. I propmtly changed mine back.

The bad for you amp bit is to do with people thinking you can pull the valves and go. 1. your bias will be thrown off, possibly causing damage or at best sounding crap and 2. you will have an impedance mismatch if you don't change the setting.

 

[PaoloJM]

I've got a 120w peavey head. It's ridiculously loud and I've got very little control over the volume. Basically it goes from low volume to really high in about half a notch.

I've read before that some manufactuers use linear volume pots instead of audio taper pots. Linear pots will jump to almost full volume very quickly whereas audio taper produces a more level increase in volume.
The reason they use linear is so that when people try the amp out in a store it will sound really loud compared to another amp and people will think "I gotta get this one".
Bit of a sh*tty thing to be doing IMO and it sounds like your amp is one of these.
You could have an audio taper pot installed too which will give you even more control when using the attenuator.

 

[damien]

I just bought one of these tube cube's. will let yiz know how it goes.

 

[Break Neck Speed]

I just bought one of these tube cube's. will let yiz know how it goes.

Looks like a homemade job - Looks cool. Tech that fixes all our stuff said they he used to make attenuators years ago with bar heaters.

Thd hotplate is deadly. I do think the neg rep they have is from alps trying to use full stacks in their rooms. They are for live or studio use. Sounds savage with amp up full & roll off 4db on the hotplate.

 

[Green Goblin]

Attenuators are damn expensive, one of the reasons I use a Valvetronix which has a built in "Power Level" switch. The trick it uses is to keep the power tube at very low voltage, and then have a second Solid State stage in the power amp to raise it to the volume you prefer. Sounds better cranked though, still as it's not the greatest SS amp.

I hear the Mesa Mark amps though, sound unusually good at low volumes. Some day I'll invest in one. Are there any other amps like that?