Attenuators

[Hollywood]

I have read many threads and posts where you guys use attenuators from time to time. I am thinking of getting one and need to get some info on these. I remember certain posts in threads on some of these. Let me know what ya can. Thanks............

 

[stephen sawall]

I have used a THD Hot Plate for years. I use it a lot.

 

[Hollywood]

Does the hot plate change the tone or suck it down at all ?
I mostly run all 16 ohm stuff, but with certain things, 8 ohms will be necessary.

 

[dstroud]

I've got a Ho Ultimate Attenuator and a Hotplate - either works fine for me. I use the Ho more because it has dual footswitchable master volumes. The Hotplate is cool because you can use it as a load and do slaving if you don't mind carrying some extra stuff.

 

[Mudder]

I use a Weber minimass. Switchable impedance, line out, eq switch, very solid unit for not much money. Most attenuators change the tone a bit, normally when you really dial things back the top end drops off.

 

[Digital Jams]

THD HP for years, it gets the job done and is a cool tool for loading down amps and slaving.

 

[Jeremy]

Used a THD HotPlate for a couple of years and it was fantastic (no complaints really)! Recently switched over to the Rivera RockCrusher and I couldn't be happier. To my ears, I found that the RockCrusher could retain the amp's tone better as you increased the attenuation.

 

[Hollywood]

Good input guys. now, second phase of my inquiry is, where did you buy yours and what's the fair money on them ?

 

[Digital Jams]

YOu could find a thread that Degenaro posted years ago, called guess the amount of attenuation and LOTS were wrong while he used the HP.

Maybe the clips are still hosted.

 

[stephen sawall]

Does the hot plate change the tone or suck it down at all ?
I mostly run all 16 ohm stuff, but with certain things, 8 ohms will be necessary.

All attenuators do change the tone .... all you need to do is turn up the bass and treble on your amp the more you attenuate. The same thing I do as when I turn down the master on most amps.

http://www.thdelectronics.com/pdf%20stu ... 060405.pdf

From manual ....

Q. Can I still use the Hot Plate if it has a different impedance than my amp?
A. ONLY if the impedance of the Hot Plate is EQUAL TO OR GREATER THAN that of the amp. However, this will lessen the effectiveness of the Hot Plate’s tone controls.

Q. If I am using just one speaker cabinet, can I still use the Hot Plate if it has a different impedance than my speaker cabinet?
A. ONLY if the impedance of the speakers is equal to or greater than the amplifi er, AND the impedance of the Hot Plate is equal to or greater than the amp. Again, this will lessen the effectiveness of the Hot Plate’s tone controls

Here is something very interesting on attenuators .... at 1:40

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlswLGxwIec

 

[Digital Jams]

Many men enjoy Ed's accent while demoing gear and just being a rockstar.

Gets me hard when he says "Fletcher Munson Curve" at 2:19.

 

[stephen sawall]

I have a 16 ohm Hot Plate ...

I use it for 8 and 16 ohm loads all the time.

 

[hunter]

Based on my limited experience I would say they work great on non master volume amps. A THD and a Plexi or Superlead or similar work great, sounds at least great with LordRiffenstein's Marshalls.

I tried a Weber in the past with a Bogner Shiva and a Budda Superdrive and found that the master volumes of those amps yielded better results at low volume than using the attenuators to bring the cranked amps down.

 

[stephen sawall]

Based on my limited experience I would say they work great on non master volume amps. A THD and a Plexi or Superlead or similar work great, sounds at least great with LordRiffenstein's Marshalls.

I tried a Weber in the past with a Bogner Shiva and a Budda Superdrive and found that the master volumes of those amps yielded better results at low volume than using the attenuators to bring the cranked amps down.

That very much depends on the amp .... just saying amps with master volumes would be wrong for me.

With my Fryette Sig X and Mesa Tremoverb I like results better when using a combination of the master volume and the Hot Plate.

With my Mesa Mark IV I like just using the master volume better.

For me it comes down to the amp and what sounds I am going after at what room dB's.

 

[steve_k]

I was going to say ask Don. He had tried them all.

 

[crwnedblasphemy]

Weber.

 

[twenty4_7spy]

I have the new Rivera Rock Crusher. I like it so much I bought a second one to use on my new 100W SL arriving tomorrow. The first one sits on my "mod" Marsha. It will never be out of the signal path.

 

[Hollywood]

And you bought them where ?

 

[stephen sawall]

And you bought them where ?

To be honest I can not remember where I bought mine. It was about 10 years ago. At that time I payed about $230 or so for it new.

 

[racerevlon]

Rockman Power Soak--they come up on eBay every now and again for less than $100. Solid