Attenuator on Deluxe with JBL?

[JohnnyKRed]

Anyone have experience with a Dr Z or similar attenuator to push a deluxe? Thinking to get my JBL E120 speaker to push harder (more juice) than having my amp on 2.

Thanks!

 

[Wayne Alexander]

An attenuator will reduce, not increase, the signal hitting your speaker. If you want to crank the amp higher, thus a dirtier signal hitting your speaker, at lower volumes than the amp without the attenuator, an attenuator will do that.

 

[Ayipioeeay]

I'm a fairly recent attenuator convert and have been extremely pleased with the choice. I'm finally free from the grip of Big Pedal and it's insistence on "multiple gain stages". However, like @Wayne Alexander said, it's going to allow you to push the amp more, not the speaker. But nice thing about attenuators like the Dr. Z or the Bugera PS1 (which is what I have) is that you can dial in more volume as the situation demands. So you can kind of get the best of both worlds and get a good balance of speaker output volume and power tube push. Personally I don't like having my attenuator set for extremely low output volume with a high input volume, imo it feels artificial, like an overdrive with the gain turned up and the volume turned down. Idk, I guess it's six of one, half a dozen of the other depending on how you look at it. I just have never enjoyed fiddling with pedal settings and would much rather let the amp do the talking. Especially if you have a nice one like a Deluxe!

 

[Memphis Soul]

I didn’t know you could buy an individual attenuator for amp use. I thought they only came built into amps. Can someone post some links to one. I would love to try one on my Twin Reverb.

 

[Dukex]

Agree with the posts above: Won't push the speaker. Get a less efficient speaker for earlier breakup.

I use a Weber MiniMASS for my VSA Vintage 15. It allows me to play at home with the volume @ 6, pushing the amp into the sweet zone. And I love it.

MiniMASS 50w Attenuator – Weber Speakers

www.tedweber.com

 

[JohnnyKRed]

An attenuator will reduce, not increase, the signal hitting your speaker. If you want to crank the amp higher, thus a dirtier signal hitting your speaker, at lower volumes than the amp without the attenuator, an attenuator will do that.

I think I follow, the attenuator would limit the wattage hitting the speaker itself so would only affect the amp.

 

[archetype]

What kind of "Deluxe?" There are many types.

If you're looking for cone breakup, that only comes with twisting the volume knob to loud without an attenuator. It's a waste of time, as that JBL isn't going to have cone breakup anyway.

An attenuator reduces the signal from the amp before it gets to the speaker. If you want a fatter tone from your DR, an attenuator will get you there. I have a '74 DR with a Weber Signature 12A-S speaker and the whole rig fattens up by 4 on the volume. I use a Weber MiniMASS attenuator to rein in the volume, 'cause 4 is loud in the house.

 

[JohnnyKRed]

What kind of "Deluxe?" There are many types.

If you're looking for cone breakup, that only comes with twisting the volume knob to loud without an attenuator. It's a waste of time, as that JBL isn't going to have cone breakup anyway.

An attenuator reduces the signal from the amp before it gets to the speaker. If you want a fatter tone from your DR, an attenuator will get you there. I have a '74 DR with a Weber Signature 12A-S speaker and the whole rig fattens up by 4 on the volume. I use a Weber MiniMASS attenuator to rein in the volume, 'cause 4 is loud in the house.

Cool thanks! It’s a 65 reissue. My assumption here is that the E120 sounds best when pushed with something like 100 or so watts.

 

[Vibroluxer]

I have the MiniMass, MicroMass, and the PS1. My preference is the MiniMass because of the treble boost but I'm happy using, and recommending, any of the 3.

Bugera | Product | PS1

www.bugera-amps.com

MicroMASS 15w Attenuator – Weber Speakers

www.tedweber.com

 

[Deeve]

I didn’t know you could buy an individual attenuator for amp use. I thought they only came built into amps. Can someone post some links to one. I would love to try one on my Twin Reverb.

Pretty cheap, into a black panel Deeluxe (modified before I got it, into DR)
I think Sweetwater blew it out in a pre-order frenzy. Lets me play "loud" (see dials) but not too loud.
There are fancier ones out there, but neither my bats, nor I, can really tell the difference.
I've never used the mic emulator function.
Peace - Deeve

 

[Ayipioeeay]

Just to add on to the above. The only thing I wish was more clear on the Bugera is that it's kind of hard to tell where the "soak" dial is set. So I made my own indicator out of a piece of paper and Scotch tape, lol. Cheap, reversible solutions FTW!

But I did some measurements with an SPL app on my phone and with this setting (soak at 50) showed between ~80db to ~90db at about 3 feet from the speaker. Of course that depends on how/what you play, etc.

Definitely not rocking while the kids are sleeping but manageable. I'm thinking more like reasonable stage volume in a small venue with a drummer and bass player, but maybe that's just me?

Amp is a '68 Custom Pro Reverb - 40-ish watts, 6L6's, Celestion G12 Neo (97dB sensitivity).

The PS1 can go much quieter, even full silent, but it starts absorbing a lot energy, especially with the amp's volume turned way up, and can get a pretty hot after a short time. Not power tube hot, but hot enough that you don't want to leave your hand on it very long.

 

[Tim S]

Cool thanks! It’s a 65 reissue. My assumption here is that the E120 sounds best when pushed with something like 100 or so watts.

Are you referring to the output tubes pushing out 100 watts or tbe speakers actually receiving 100 watts? An attenuator can allow the former to happen (if you could actually wring 100 watts out of a Deluxe) at more reasonable sound levels while preventing the latter from happening (from the speakers seeing 100 watts to act upon).