So what's a good attenuater?

[LP Freak]

I'm in the market for a good attenuater for a NMV amp that doesn't alter the tone. What do you guys recommend?

 

[Salos]

Rivera Rockcrusher and Aracom products seem to have a consensus of them being the best, though they can be expensive if bought new. How much are you looking to spend?

 

[LP Freak]

I'd like to keep it under $400. A bit cheaper if possible but don't want to sacrifice quality.

 

[Salos]

I've always liked the Ho/Ultimate Attenuator, though there's been mixed reviews here. I think Ho still builds them for about that price.

Out of curiosity, what's the amp? Is it an old Marshall/Hiwatt?

 

[LP Freak]

Germino L55LV

 

[JimmyBlind]

I think the fryette power station got the RT vote a while back. Bit more expensive but an awesome piece of kit.

 

[sjk]

Alex attenuator or if you want to spend a little more an Aracom. Buy used there was an aracom on tgp yesterday for $500.
Skip the Rock Crusher, mine sucked (plenty of others will dispute this) for any thing other than a line out. The Alex is good if you are not trying to get down to really low levels, lowest levels make the amp feel small and lacking balls and original tone. The Aracom works at all levels to preserve tone and feel, you lose a little but NOT MUCH. I'm using the both the Alex and an Aracom DAG to tame a 79 JMP 2204 so I can crank the piss out of it lol. Also using it for my NMV Rockitt Retro 1987.

 

[suhrimmetal]

Rivera Rockcrusher... loved mine when I had it Paul.. But if I were buying again, I'd go with the Fryette Power Station. So many more functions and very transparent as well.. worth the extra dough I think.

 

[LP Freak]

Wow I just checked out the Power Station. That thing sounds pretty sweet.

 

[JimmyBlind]

Wow I just checked out the Power Station. That thing sounds pretty sweet.

Yup. For the price, it's amazing. As well as an all tube re-amping device and attenuator, it's a decent compact 50w power amp!

 

[JerEvil]

Rivera Rockcrusher... loved mine when I had it Paul.. But if I were buying again, I'd go with the Fryette Power Station. So many more functions and very transparent as well.. worth the extra dough I think.

This here. /thread

 

[bumrush101]

Anything good in the $200 range or is that just a minefield of disappointment?

 

[LP Freak]

I ended up springing for the Power Station and it was well worth the money.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

200$ range, a used hotplate. They still deliver the goods! I wouldn't record anything at whisper volumes anyway. These shave some off the top and do a great job of it. New, Fryette.

 

[DG335]

I have an Aracom. It attenuates Marshall type amps with no change in tone, but it comes with a significant price tag. If I were buying now, my money would be on a Fryette Power Station for about $175 less.

 

[dstroud]

I've got a Ho and I like it, but I would be buying the Power Station - those things see awesome!

 

[blackba]

I ended up springing for the Power Station and it was well worth the money.

Nice, I hope you post a full review. I have an Alex attenuator, now called the scumback attenuator and its nice, but love the features of the power station.

 

[The Hoff]

Ultimate is truly the ultimate. The airbrake isn't bad at all either, doesn't attenuate quite as much though.

 

[LP Freak]

I ended up springing for the Power Station and it was well worth the money.

Nice, I hope you post a full review. I have an Alex attenuator, now called the scumback attenuator and its nice, but love the features of the power station.

The PS is on another level. It does everything great. I've sold countless amps due to shitty loops and or on/off style MV's. And with the tone enhancing features it's a no brainer.

A perfect example is, Plexis seem to never have enough bottom end for me. With the depth and deep switch, problem solved. Also, there's no loop. The loop on the PS is completely transparent. So the features I would normally have to mod an amp for I now can have on any amp. It also is a tube power amp. So if you've got a low powered amp that kills when you crank it but just isn't loud enough to gig with, you can now by running it though the PS. This thing is just a really well thought out unit and one of the best purchases I've made in a long while.

 

[rbc]

You might also consider a used SR&D Power Soak. It was designed and produced by Boston founder Tom Scholz starting in 1980. An updated version of the Power Soak, the model II, was issued at the end of 1981. It has an extra switch made to adapt the Power Soak to solid-state amplifiers. The Power Soak was re-issued in 1992 as a Power Soak model III, lacking the solid-state switch, though the Power Soak III can be used both with solid-state and tube amps. The model III jacks were also moved to the back of the unit. They come up on Ebay from time to time.