School me on Attenuators

[pete-strych]

What attenuators are available? Pros & cons....extra features? Price ranges. Which suck tone & which sound transparent? Can I build one? Which to avoid.

 

[Crobbins]

Check this out.


(link removed)

(link removed)

http://thdelectronics.shptron.com/c/hot-plate-power-attenuators

 

[dmoss74]

the weber units (linked) are very nice, but there are dozens of units, from dozens of makers. do some online searching. the thd units are also of high regard. read the weber disclaimer though. very important to understand.

 

[uriah1]

Most I have heard, big dollar and small dollar did not sound great.
I heard a video of Dr Z Brake lite, that did not sound bad, but, not
did not hear it live yet.

I remember the Schoen and marshall attenuators and power soaks back in the
day..and the Van Halen Variac....

wish you luck

 

[tonejam]

All attenuators suck tone to some degree, IMHO.
I use a Palmer, which is pretty good, if you want to check them out.

 

[deadbeat son]

OP: what are your goals with using one?

In my experience, they work great at taming a loud amp down to a manageable stage volume. Coincidentally, they didn't work great at taming a loud amp down to a whisper.

 

[screamin eagle]

What are you looking to use it for? Cutting a couple of Db's from your loud amp at a gig? Looking for an outboard master volume to get your cranked amp at bedroom/practice volume.

I have a weber unit and I find it perfectly acceptable at its purpose. But the tone of full attenuation is not just the tone of your amp just quieter. But if that is how I chose to run it I accept the compromise. However attenuation only 10-20% to cut some db's off at a gig can still yield expected and acceptable tone.

I like the weber mini mass because I can increase the highs with a switch and I find that useful as I get to 50% attenuation and beyond.

 

[pete-strych]

OK. I want it to Tame a CRAZY Loud amp without an effects loop. Tame it a lot if need be.
If the amp had an effects loop, I'd add an Omnisonic volume box into the loop.

 

[Lucky Day]

Well an "attenuator" will perform a different function than a volume box, but you may already know that.

The difference is that an attenuator (strictly speaking- a device that turns down a signal) in the effects' loop will turn down the gain BEFORE the power tubes. That means you won't be driving the power tubes as hard. It is basically the same as a master volume. You can drive the preamp section but you sacrifice power amp saturation.

An "attenuator" in current parlance is a device you insert between the amp's last output stage and the speaker. It reduces the signal that actually gets to the speaker while providing the correct impedance to the transformer so it doesn't get cooked. This allows you to get the power amp distortion/saturation of the amp while controlling the final volume.

In practice it will change the perceived tone for a variety of reasons. The effect will be more noticeable the farther you attenuate the signal. For shaving off a reasonable amount of volume a good attenuator will work great. If you're hoping to get your amp cranked up and then reduce the volume to bedroom level... you likely won't be happy. Also be advised that you will be running the amp harder than usual (because you'll have the volume pot turned higher) and placing extra wear on the tubes and transformers.

 

[dallasblues]

I have a Dr. Z Airbrake that I bought used several years ago. It's pretty handy, although I rarely use it. I rarely play anything bigger than 12-20 watts these days, and even then I keep em fairly low and clean. I'm getting old I guess. However, on the rare occasion that I play my old piggyback Bandmaster, it's quite useful. I can tame it a bit for smaller rooms and still get a nice natural compression and drive from the tubes. It does change the tone a bit though. But since I'm not switching in and out of an attenuated sound it really doesn't matter much. I simply adjust the amps knobs until I get a usable tone and go from there.

 

[Lucky Day]

Having said all that, I should also add some practical experience.

Opinions are like... well, you know. Some people love their attenuators, some insist that they all SUCK. Opinions vary on this topic exactly like every other topic.

In my experience, certain attenuators work better with certain amps. Why? I don't know. There are a few different technologies to choose from.

The L-pad attenuators are the least expensive, and simplest type. I've built them myself, and they work.

Weber makes a dummy voicecoil to absorb the excess power, the theory being it behaves more like a real speaker would and changes the tone less.

The other common types- Marshall, THD, Dr. Z, and so on use other methods. They all work. The trick is finding one you like that does what you need.

 

[pete-strych]

Just purchased an 8 ohm Speaker Soak from Carl's Custom Guitars. He's a custom builder from Lowell, Massachusetts. Looks cool. I found several custom builders selling these units, instead of dropping several hundred bucks. We'll see if it tames the beast while maintaining output tube saturation bliss.

 

[Lucky Day]

Carl's is the simple L-pad variety I described earlier. It will work fine if you aren't trying to push it too hard.

 

[rze99]

I use thd hotplates on my voxac30 and DRRI full time. Have done for years. Get them used. They're great. Very happy. People bang in about sucking tone. Yeah well.. there's nothing like real saturated output valves in my experience. So if you prefer pedals great go for it. If you want lower volume real amp overdrive go attenuator.

 

[Edgar Allan Presley]

In my experience, they work great at taming a loud amp down to a manageable stage volume. Coincidentally, they didn't work great at taming a loud amp down to a whisper.

This is my experience too. I use a Weber Mass with my Bassman head and it works great at gigs to knock stage volume down a little to keep me out of trouble with the sound person. Attenuating down to mere human-shouting volume deadens the sound noticeably. Attenuating down to don't-wake-the-baby volume means you'd be better off with a modeling amp.

I hope the L-pad works well for you. I'd keep expectations modest.

 

[pete-strych]

I don't expect to attenuate the level down to a whisper. I just want some juicy tube tone without cracking the walls by cranking my new (old) Traynor YBA-1 Head. Let's see if we can't tone it down a notch or two & still have those EL34's glowing!

 

[rze99]

I don't expect to attenuate the level down to a whisper. I just want some juicy tube tone without cracking the walls by cranking my new (old) Traynor YBA-1 Head. Let's see if we can't tone it down a notch or two & still have those EL34's glowing!

Please do post a review of the 8 ohm speaker soak we'd be keen to learn more.

 

[Tonetele]

Crobbins that second article was great and explained lots to me.
Thank you. It explains how an amp can sound great at low volume and Sh... at
another level, plus the human ear. I've noticed my dog hears things like a car well before it has come by, or even a person just walking. I live in a very quiet area. I'm
sure we all have noticed that and that article explained a great deal. Thanks!!

 

[pete-strych]

Please do post a review of the 8 ohm speaker soak we'd be keen to learn more.

So I bought one of these Carl's Custom Guitars SPEAKER SOAK Attenuator Boxes on eBay. It arrived quickly, packaged well, looked nice with printed label, etc. It does a much better job than expected. I tried it with my insanely LOUD Traynor TBA-1 stock head. I cranked the head to stadium levels with the SPEAKER SOAK way down. It can actually go down to whisper levels, but loses tone & sustain...to be expected tonally. I didn't think that very low volume could actually be attainable though. Hmmmm. Now, turn it up just a hair more & "viola" the tone was there!!!! My wonderful, glassy, big tube tone at a VERY QUIET LEVEL. My EL34 output tubes were bleeding out juicy overdrive at a level that could've been coming from my 1 Watt Blackstar. I am very pleased!! It works. After 10 minutes the SPEAKER SOAK was hotter than a pizza oven, so you better have a plan if you need to move this thing quickly when breaking down your gear...like a thick glove. I great purchase that didn't drain my wallet. I would highly recommend this attenuator if you need something that won't break the bank, or if you just want to explore what an attenuator could do (that's why I tried it). I can actually Rock my Plexi style head now without cracking the walls. Obviously I didn't get this to play at bedroom volumes, but you actually could without destroying your tone. Pretty amazing!! I will probably buy another for a different head I own as well.

 

[rze99]

View attachment 280875So I bought one of these Carl's Custom Guitars SPEAKER SOAK Attenuator Boxes on eBay. It arrived quickly, packaged well, looked nice with printed label, etc. It does a much better job than expected. I tried it with my insanely LOUD Traynor TBA-1 stock head. I cranked the head to stadium levels with the SPEAKER SOAK way down. It can actually go down to whisper levels, but loses tone & sustain...to be expected tonally. I didn't think that very low volume could actually be attainable though. Hmmmm. Now, turn it up just a hair more & "viola" the tone was there!!!! My wonderful, glassy, big tube tone at a VERY QUIET LEVEL. My EL34 output tubes were bleeding out juicy overdrive at a level that could've been coming from my 1 Watt Blackstar. I am very pleased!! It works. After 10 minutes the SPEAKER SOAK was hotter than a pizza oven, so you better have a plan if you need to move this thing quickly when breaking down your gear...like a thick glove. I great purchase that didn't drain my wallet. I would highly recommend this attenuator if you need something that won't break the bank, or if you just want to explore what an attenuator could do (that's why I tried it). I can actually Rock my Plexi style head now without cracking the walls. Obviously I didn't get this to play at bedroom volumes, but you actually could without destroying your tone. Pretty amazing!! I will probably buy another for a different head I own as well.

Many thanks for getting back with your review. Sounds a great cost effective tool and worth trying at that price for anyone that wants to dip their toe into the attenuator method.