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Gooseman
New member
...work just as well? I'm not talking about bedroom levels, maybe something just a bit quieter. My amps? Roadster and Marshall 1987x.
AmpliFIRE
Well-known member
The Aracom is overrated IMO. I had one and thought a regular hot plate sounded just as good...
Chubtone
Well-known member
I had a buddy on Rig Talk who has a great ear for tone suggest I check out the Aracom attenuator. I still had my Hot Plate at the time. I didn't care for the Aracom at all but he liked it way better than the Hot Plate. I believe 70strathead has an Aracom too and that kid knows tone. 
Ultron
Active member
I really dig the Alex attenuator.....realllly tranparent, and cheaper than Aracom. The catch is it handles one ohmage only....so choose wisely.
AmpliFIRE
Well-known member
Chubtone":37jw9q6k said:I had a buddy on Rig Talk who has a great ear for tone suggest I check out the Aracom attenuator. I still had my Hot Plate at the time. I didn't care for the Aracom at all but he liked it way better than the Hot Plate. I believe 70strathead has an Aracom too and that kid knows tone.
I think the same person told me to check it out as well
. It wasn't bad by any means, but IMO the Hotplate is just as good...
rupe
Active member
I never tried the Aracom but I like the Alex attenuator a lot more than I liked the Hotplate. That said, they all have a detrimental affect on tone IMO...it's all about what you can live with and make work for you.
Shark Diver
New member
rupe":2sz5qda5 said:
Which is why I went to slaving. Actually improves the tone IMO...
Digital Jams
New member
Hard sleeping wife + kids two floors up = no need 
I do dig my HP though for several reasons.
I do dig my HP though for several reasons.
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Anonymous
Guest
I don't mind the Hot plate for a few clicks down, but beyond that, you can hear a great amount of degradation of tone. My favorite is the Faustine Phantom, but the Alex is just as good, but only comes in one impedance rating, like the hot plate. The Aracom does something funny to the high end that I don't care for.
I still own my Phantom...
I still own my Phantom...
rupe
Active member
What do you use for a load? Power amp?Shark Diver":23k28a8g said:
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Gooseman
New member
Very interesting. I google'd "Aracom" and found nothing but unabashed love for the Aracom on a different forum (that I'm not a member of). I don't participate on this forum often, and it is the only one I am registered with at the moment. Someone on netmusicians.org posted a very nice Roadster clip using a HotPlate. What do you all think of this? It sounds a lot like an unattenuated Roadster clip to my ears. The compression is rather nice:
http://www.netmusicians.org/?section=id&value=9217
Anyways, what is this slaving thing all about?
http://www.netmusicians.org/?section=id&value=9217
Anyways, what is this slaving thing all about?
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Gooseman
New member
Fusionbear: is the Phantom $700 better than the HotPlate? The Phantom now retails for a little over a grand (with shipping) as of 1/1.
Shark Diver
New member
rupe":3e031711 said:
Palmer 03 or the Phantom, VHT Classic.
rupe
Active member
I've never done this before but its been on my mind (which is why I was inquiring about the 2150 earlier). So I could run my head into the Alex and just run from the line out to the power amp and cabs with no cab hooked up to the attenuator? Do you run effects in front of the amp and/or in the loop or do you run them between the load and the power amp?Shark Diver":2gau0lui said:
Shark Diver
New member
rupe":8eocaeci said:
If the Alex is on load yes no cab needed on attenuator. I take a slave off of the SLO and split it into a line mixer (dry) and FX (back to mixer. Mixer to VHT. You can run anything you want in front.
rupe
Active member
Cool, thanks!Shark Diver":2rgrgz6z said:
lordriffenstein
New member
Hotplate is fine, -4 or -8 dB are still good sounding, -12 dB needs some help from the EQ but can still sound ok.
Anything lower than that, I will set it for load and run the line out into my PC and use IRs and that sounds a million times better than ANY attenuator at whisper level.
Anything lower than that, I will set it for load and run the line out into my PC and use IRs and that sounds a million times better than ANY attenuator at whisper level.
Rufus Leaking
Well-known member
I had an Aracom and find it adds a harsh rasp to the high end. It was plain as day to me, although some people don't hear it or it doesn't happen with their amps. It happened to all of mine though.
I happened to find a used Faustine Phantom and love it. You do lose a very small amount of high end at max attenuation (100 watt head down to bedroom levels), but it's very tolerable.
A Hotplate is fine up to -8db, beyond that you lose a lot of tone. If I was to buy another today I'd try the Alex, which I hear nothing but good things about.
I happened to find a used Faustine Phantom and love it. You do lose a very small amount of high end at max attenuation (100 watt head down to bedroom levels), but it's very tolerable.
A Hotplate is fine up to -8db, beyond that you lose a lot of tone. If I was to buy another today I'd try the Alex, which I hear nothing but good things about.
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Gooseman
New member
So the consensus seems to be the Alex or the Faustine, since the Aracom is no better than the HotPlate. Anyone tried the Aracom DAG version, which is supposed to clear up this high end sizzle? Even if the DAG version ($835) clears up the high end sizzle that you are all referring to (from what I've googled, this noise seems to be associated with high gain mainly), it seems that many of you don't think there is a lot of difference between the Aracom and the HotPlate.
blackba
Well-known member
Gooseman":1cibh4nd said:
I haven't seen many reviews of the Aracom DAG version on TGP, there was a blowup about the Aracom on TGP a while back, where those who heard the high end issues were kind of shouted down. Then Aracom came out with the DAG version which supposedly addressed the high end issues. The price of the Aracom DAG is what has kept me way, that's more than some of my amps cost. I want an attenuator to work with all my amps, but some only have a 4ohm tap or only have an 8/16ohm taps, so that makes it hard to just get one (like the hotplate, alex, etc).
Don't overlook the Dr. Z airbrake, I had one and it was pretty nice, but at the time I had all master volume amps, so I sold it. Wish I still had it, it was solid. Design was centered around 8ohm load.
