napalmdeath
Well-known member
It has a 12AX7 Phase inverter as well... That could "whoosh", if going microphonic..
P
psychodave
Well-known member
Funky noises and sounds coming out of nowhere. Happened with my 67 Plexi and 71 Super Lead. First time I heard it I thought there was a problem with my amp. Then the other amp did the same thing. The power station was responsible for creating the unwanted noises (politely called artifacts). I spoke to a few other people and they heard the same things I did.
mentoneman
Well-known member
the Ho/Ultimate attenuator was one of the better sounding boxes out there. the build quality was a bit iffy from my recollection.
i’ve used the two different power stations.
had the komet airbrake, thd hotplate, juice extractor, and currently rivera rock crusher. they all have ups and downs.
i’ve used the two different power stations.
had the komet airbrake, thd hotplate, juice extractor, and currently rivera rock crusher. they all have ups and downs.
dstroud
Well-known member
have you tried the Rock Crusher at heavy attenuation?
Greazygeo
Well-known member
I dunno mine sounds awesome with all my amps. Well never tried it with my Mesa. No tonal differences unless it is turned up to get the power section distorting.
Only issues with mine is the volume not going to zero and when using the direct out to my daw it sounds not as good unless there is a cab hooked up. Other than that nothing weird like you had.
dstroud
Well-known member
My situation is a bit odd - it actually works great with my Ceriatone 1987, but with my Blankenship 1987 it adds a weird top end - which is not there unattenuated or with my Ho. I probably wouldn’t notice if I wasn’t recording.
H
harddriver
Well-known member
That sucks..................sorry to hear you are having issues. I know some people hear these artifacts as you do with them. Maybe a Rivera Rockcrusher would work better for you but I would not keep using that HO if I were you.
Are you sure you are not hearing ghosting or some type of blocking distortion? I know you have been cranking that amp for years and know it well so if there are noises/artifacts I'm sure they are there.
How old are the filter and bias caps in your blankenship? Maybe one of your coupling caps or ceramic caps are leaking some DC?
Are you sure you are not hearing ghosting or some type of blocking distortion? I know you have been cranking that amp for years and know it well so if there are noises/artifacts I'm sure they are there.
How old are the filter and bias caps in your blankenship? Maybe one of your coupling caps or ceramic caps are leaking some DC?
Greazygeo
Well-known member
Interesting, it’s possible the Blankenship has stock circuit grounding and the Ceriatone does not. Could be part of it.
I only use mine for recording. The Marshalls etc don’t get cranked either. 5-6 normally.
japetus
Well-known member
Everyone is talking about "swishing sounds" on the high end with plexis...what can it be. People are hearing it.
mentoneman
Well-known member
yes down to fully loaded and like every other box out there it always changes and affects the tone but the RC preserved the top end better than most to my ears and tastes.
which is why Paul created the RC recording version with the graphic eq.
tallcoolone
Well-known member
What’s wrong with the Ho now? Before the TAE it was prob the best solution out there for NMV amps, I used one for a few years, then the Ultimate.
H
harddriver
Well-known member
Any attenuation above -8 to -12DB is going to to affect the tone no matter what attenuator unit you use IMHO, there is no magic attenuator out there. I recommend using a PPIMV set to about half/Noon/5 that way you have some NFB active in the signal and then use the attenuator set to -8 db -12 MAX. These settings get things at a comfortable level for me volumewise.
If you don't like PPIMV's and you need a quieter setup then you really need to look into running the amp into a something like a Suhr reactive load and then reamp with a real power amp, which is what the Fryette Power Station is but if you are getting artifacts check out the Suhr.
If this is a solution for late night recording the Suhr reactive load or the Suhr reactive load IR into sutdio monitors seems to be something for you to check out.
No heavily attenuated amp setup is ever going to sound exactly the same if you are not pushing the speakers hard but you can get close with the Suhr and the IR setup.
tallcoolone
Well-known member
Pete Thorn is a Suhr endorsee and he tours with the TAE.
H
harddriver
Well-known member
The HO 32 ohm load which is more than a 100% mismatch for most Marshall amps output transformers has been shown to be a possible and Darren said he has had to replace the Output transformer on his Blankenship.
I found this discussion about the HO from Baron Amps in 2013
baron55
Active member
Enjolras56:2m4n8i8h said:
Actually that is one of the worst attenuators on the market. It reflects a 32 ohms back to the amp, which results in severe fly-back voltage spikes when the volume is up which break down the output transformer insulation in the windings and causes failures. Many amps have been destroyed but that attenuator. And it is not a real attenuator anyway, it is a load box that uses a solid state power amp to re-amp the attenuated signal to the amp.
Also referring to 2:00 on the volume control is a completely misguided statement (not you but the guy who told you this). It means absolutely nothing, many amps are designed differently, it all depends on the taper of the control, the voltage output of the preamp etc. In fact Michael Soldano (thank god) clarifies this in this video at 03:40, and he is dead on! On his SLO, 5 is about 11:30 and he is right. On that amp you are at 100 watts at Noon basically.
H
harddriver
Well-known member
Quite a few people had some issues with the TAE but I know other people love them. I haven't used one so I can't comment either way on it. It's just what I've seen others experience some issues.....maybe they were one off issues.
H
harddriver
Well-known member
Hey Darren I don't hear any artifacts with the UA OXbox......
tallcoolone
Well-known member
No, 2 alleged issues. The thing is, no other box does what it does.
tallcoolone
Well-known member
There is always a "darren", or a friend of my dentist, or a "guy on TGP". The Ho was great when I used it, never an issue. Been using the TAE for 6yrs every day, no issues.
I feel badly for the players who get scared away from incredible products b/c some guy (sometimes a direct competitor) starts a rumor on a popular board that this new incredible product (that sounds better and can do 1000% more than his product can) can maybe do damage to your amp. Prove it or STFU.
Greazygeo
Well-known member
Stock plexis suck cranked.
midnightlaundry
Well-known member
I've only ever had a Rockcrusher.. I bought it so I could hear the Trainwreck I built back in 2012..
It has been solid this whole time.
The only thing Attenuator's can't do is replicate how the Speaker reacts at full volume which can be a big piece of the puzzle. That with a saturated Amp can possibly be misleading.
Here's a Tweaker 15 cranked thru the RC plugged straight in and smashed all the way down to a speaking level..
It has been solid this whole time.
The only thing Attenuator's can't do is replicate how the Speaker reacts at full volume which can be a big piece of the puzzle. That with a saturated Amp can possibly be misleading.
Here's a Tweaker 15 cranked thru the RC plugged straight in and smashed all the way down to a speaking level..