Budget-friendly Attenuator/Loadbox?

Bash_Man

Bash_Man

Well-known member
What's a good budget-friendly Attenuator/loadbox that can be used in live situations for tube amps without a cabinet?

I recently picked up the BluGuitar BluBox, which sounds awesome. But thinking about the odd situations where I either can't have the amp on stage loud or a cabinet.

Thanks
 
I would just go for the Suhr RL or if you want or need the IR's built in then get the IR loaded model if you just want a reactive load box. Alot of people seem quite happy with the Suhr. If you want or need both attenuator and or a load box then see below.

If you have a 50 watter the THD hotplate would work but for a 100 watter you might want to look at the Rivera Rockcrusher which is really built heavy duty compared to the THD, both the THD and the Rivera can be used as a loadbox(both are reactive loads) or as an attenuator whichever mode you need or want.

The Suhr is strictly a reactive load box NOT an attenuator.
 
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The Waza TAE is one of the best purchases I’ve ever made. Been using it pretty much every day and I bought it shortly after it was released. The on board FX are an absolute game changer for a gigging musician, but even for home players it is amazeballs. Expensive but so is everything and as always you get what you pay for
 
I have a like new, mint condition Tube Amp Doctor Silencer for $350 if interested. Sounds killer, no power supply required. Only a couple months old but the amp I bought it for is no longer around. It’s a reactive load btw, works much better than a Hot Plate.
 
Bash_Man said:
that's what the BluBox is. its an IR box. it sits between guitar amp head and cabinet and has an XLR to go to FOH
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What he means is the Captor X eliminates that. You don't need the cab at all, just amp>Captor>FOH. I've got one. Sounds great, easy to use. I rarely play guitar without it anymore.
 
harddriver said:
I would just go for the Suhr RL or if you want or need the IR's built in then get the IR loaded model if you just want a reactive load box. Alot of people seem quite happy with the Suhr. If you want or need both attenuator and or a load box then see below.

If you have a 50 watter the THD hotplate would work but for a 100 watter you might want to look at the Rivera Rockcrusher which is really built heavy duty compared to the THD, both the THD and the Rivera can be used as a loadbox(both are reactive loads) or as an attenuator whichever mode you need or want.

The Suhr is strictly a reactive load box NOT an attenuator.
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I have used the Hotplate for years with 100watt amps, never a problem and they sound fine.
 
So question.. can I buy say a 16ohms hotplate and use it with my amp set at 8ohms or 4ohms ?

Thanks
 
Bash_Man said:
So question.. can I buy say a 16ohms hotplate and use it with my amp set at 8ohms or 4ohms ?

Thanks
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It's better to set the amp for whatever rating the attenuator is at. You can get away with the amp set at 8 into a 16 ohm attenuator.
What happens when you set amp at 8, into a 16 ohm load, is the amp will be quieter and breakup more at a given volume. I used to run a Bassman, that wanted to see 4 ohms, into an 8ohm Suhr RL with a 4x12 GB IR. Sounded very good.



ZEN Amps said:
On a budget you can build your own or grab a used Hotplate. Otherwise Suhr RL.

Don't cheap out - sound and safety are usually both compromised.
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These 2 are what I settled on after years of trying stuff.
 
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acceptance said:
Your attenuater review was super helpful. I thought the rivera was overall the most nuetral with the best features, so I got one to replace my two notes and I like it. I realize the suhr is a slightly different application, but I’ve heard it sounds good. How do you compare it’s sound to the rockcrusher?
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Ok I'm glad. Was the most boring video we've done but it's cool it led you to the RC! Good attenuator that.

The load in the Suhr is the most accurate to a real cab of any box we've tested. That's important as we've made I.R's of all our cabs now and know that they'll sound extremely close to the real thing with the Suhr. The load in the Power Station is also pretty good. I can't remember the exact results, but the Suhr won in the end.

You'll get wildly different results using an attenuator as a load box. From memory the Rockcrusher didn't perform well as a load, nor did the Iron Man.

That's not to say you can't get good results, but it's important to remember load's have a certain 'tone' and it may work with or against your chosen I.R.
 
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