Attentuators

  • Thread starter Thread starter jmgman69
  • Start date Start date
Of the "newer" high end designs, (Faustine, Aracom, Alex), go with the Alex if you can get by with a fixed ohm setting. The Faustine would be my next choice, and the Aracom I wouldn't recommend unless you can try one out to see if it's tone suits you.

The Alex is as good or better than the Faustine and Aracom, so I'd start there.
 
TeleBlaster":1z9lhxn5 said:
Ummm.... no. Maybe it's your amp.
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I actually used a few different amps (Komet Constellation, Komet 60, Komet Concorde, JTM 45 RI, 18w head and my Major Crunch amp) and 3 different cabs, with either pre rola or Scumbacks in the cabs. It made a serious difference after two clicks, but even the first one was noticeably less transparent.

I posted a complete attenuator comparison thread about it last year in detail on the TGP and Metro forums.
 
Scumback Speakers":2emrty86 said:
pre rola or Scumbacks in the cabs. It made a serious difference after two clicks, but even the first one was noticeably less transparent.

I posted a complete attenuator comparison thread about it last year in detail on the TGP and Metro forums.
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I'm using a 16 ohm Hotplate.
Depending on the band, I have two different rigs.

First one is a Krank Revolution Series One with a Rev cab, 4x12 Eminence Legends.
The head has a couple mods, most notably I'm using the beefier Plus series OT.
The only pedal I use in front on this rig is a tubescreamer for a little extra compression and gain on leads.

Second rig is the mostly clean rig, Krank Chadwick single channel. (50w)
2x12 cab loaded with Eminence Swamp Thangs.
On this one I will use a Distorus Maximus in front of for parts that need a overdrive sound.

These heads need to push a little. Sounds way better with the Hotplate at -8 than it does without the Hotplate and the Master turned down.
 
Yeah, we were using a 16 ohm hotplate, too. We also tried the Richter, which sounded better but cut the volume in half on the first setting, which my client & I both felt was too much.

The HO attenuator was a major upgrade (UA) in tone, but the low volume/TV/bedroom tone was compressed/weird.

The Faustine and Alex Attenuator were head and shoulders better.
 
Duly noted. I will have to try one out.
For me, discovering attenuators several years ago was a cosmic leap.
Trying to glean whatever is useful out of the 99% of chat forum BS :lol: :LOL:
 
TeleBlaster":3ds67h0a said:
Duly noted. I will have to try one out.
For me, discovering attenuators several years ago was a cosmic leap.
Trying to glean whatever is useful out of the 99% of chat forum BS :lol: :LOL:
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:lol: :LOL: yep :thumbsup:
 
I find with my THD Hotplate, 8ohm, there is a fine balance between amp and hot plate. If I crank my amp (Mesa Mk III) to 10 with the Hp it sounds crappy, If I set the amp vol around 7 it sounds awesome. Works great with my Marshall JMP100, Does not play well with the Bogners at all.

Just my 2 cents but maybe working with the amps volume and the Hotplate to find the sweet spot instead of turning everything to 11 and saying it sucks. I am sure the Aracom and Alex are great and the Faustine is the shit if you can afford one.
 
I use the 8 ohm model. I have a 16 ohm model too, but prefer the 8.
 
i had a THD hotplate for 3 or 4 years and it's a good piece of gear if you want an attenuator.
like TeleBlaster said it doesn't suck tone at -4 or -8 decible level settings, and to be honest, i don't really think it did at -16 either, it's just that the amount of power/current/whatever that's running to your speakers is so greatly reduced, that it's just at the point that you might as well just be turning your amp down then.

i eventually sold mine. mostly because i realized that even with slight attenuation you're still reducing the amount of signal that's going to your speaker cabinet, and no matter how much you turn your amp up - what's the point if you're braking it down between the amp and the speakers? part of the reason a cranked amp sounds so good is because it's so loud, and making the speakers move more and work. you could have a theoretically perfect attenuator, and it's STILL taking some of the magic away, just because it's taking volume away from the speakers.
so i decided i just don't like attenuators lol.
other than that the hotplate was nice enough i thought.
another reason i sold it is because i have a master volume amp anyways lol. WTF's the point of having an attenuator if you have a master volume? lol
 
JTyson":2xushs14 said:
bigdaddyd":2xushs14 said:
I use the Marshall SE 100. It's not made anymore, but I love them. I have 2.

http://www.amptone.com/marshallse100.htm
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I use one of those, I love it. Had it for 20 years
I really have not used anything else
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When you consider how good they are, how many features they have, and how rare they are...they are still a good value. I think they typically sell for around $500 on ebay these days. If you compare that to some of the other attenuators going it is pretty much a no brainer. They sound amazing and do everything. The only thing about them I suppose is the size...if that bothers you...but that said....they are made for racks. I believe the GT one is smaller.
 
bigdaddyd":2jdko5js said:
JTyson":2jdko5js said:
bigdaddyd":2jdko5js said:
I use the Marshall SE 100. It's not made anymore, but I love them. I have 2.

http://www.amptone.com/marshallse100.htm
Click to expand...
I use one of those, I love it. Had it for 20 years
I really have not used anything else
Click to expand...

When you consider how good they are, how many features they have, and how rare they are...they are still a good value. I think they typically sell for around $500 on ebay these days. If you compare that to some of the other attenuators going it is pretty much a no brainer. They sound amazing and do everything. The only thing about them I suppose is the size...if that bothers you...but that said....they are made for racks. I believe the GT one is smaller.
Click to expand...
The only thing I dont like is that weird voltage wall wart. I use it as a direct feed for a separate track for recording, it usually adds a nice lower mid tone to the mix :yes: I had no idea they had paid to use the same circuit as GT, thats interesting
 
JTyson":hudhnqbl said:
bigdaddyd":hudhnqbl said:
JTyson":hudhnqbl said:
bigdaddyd":hudhnqbl said:
I use the Marshall SE 100. It's not made anymore, but I love them. I have 2.

http://www.amptone.com/marshallse100.htm
Click to expand...
I use one of those, I love it. Had it for 20 years
I really have not used anything else
Click to expand...

When you consider how good they are, how many features they have, and how rare they are...they are still a good value. I think they typically sell for around $500 on ebay these days. If you compare that to some of the other attenuators going it is pretty much a no brainer. They sound amazing and do everything. The only thing about them I suppose is the size...if that bothers you...but that said....they are made for racks. I believe the GT one is smaller.
Click to expand...
The only thing I dont like is that weird voltage wall wart. I use it as a direct feed for a separate track for recording, it usually adds a nice lower mid tone to the mix :yes: I had no idea they had paid to use the same circuit as GT, thats interesting
Click to expand...

Yeah, that is why they stopped making it. They didn't want to pay anymore. :lol: :LOL: You only need the wallwart for the extra features...not the attenuation or speaker load, as far as I know. Come to think of it, I might only have one wallwart these days. I only use it for the attenuation aspect anyway.
 
I like the Aracom, although some folks may say it's too transparent.
 
I use a THD Hot Plate. For me it is one of the most useful tools I have. Some of my amps I feel I do not need it to control volume. Other amps it is very useful.

Using a master volume on the amp to control volume and blending preamp and power amp distortion are just different things. If I want the sound of power amp distortion and want more volume control I use the Hot Plate.

You can use the Hot Plate at different ohm settings .... just look in the manual to see how.

I also change the setting on my amps when I change the settings on the Hot Plate. Nothing drastic .... just fine tune the amp to the setting on the Hot Plate.

Any time you add something to the signal chain it well effect the sound. This is unquestionable. All attenuators change the sound .... if you get the desired effect you wanted is a different issue.

Some of the units that are called attenuators are really load re-amp devises. I do not know why they call these attenuators. You can use the any attenuator with a load setting and line out with a other power amp to re-amp.
 
I just couldn't get along with my THD Hotplate. Try the cheap route and use a volume pedal or an omnisonic volume box in the loop. I just use the volume loop control on my Splawn Quick Rod and I keep the volume down via my MXR 10 band eq for my 6505+. Seems to both work great at bedroom volumes for me and suits my needs.
 
Metlupass2":2o8yht5s said:
I just couldn't get along with my THD Hotplate. Try the cheap route and use a volume pedal or an omnisonic volume box in the loop. I just use the volume loop control on my Splawn Quick Rod and I keep the volume down via my MXR 10 band eq for my 6505+. Seems to both work great at bedroom volumes for me and suits my needs.
Click to expand...

uhhhh.... what were you saying??? Glanced at your avatar and forgot about the thread of discussion.
 
Ha...it was my first post with it. I feel more at home with my bouncy booby avatar.
 
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