Better attenuator than Hotplates?

[JP2036]

Thanks !!....................I know that the UA had a 32ohms mismatch iirc .

I very rarely use anything more than a 8db cut on either device.
But that 8db is helpful not pissing off neighbors.
And the Hotplate has a line out.
I know all the reactive loads with IR's & cab sims are cool.
If i need more than what i have i would get a Palmer.

 

[patrice]

I have 3 Fryette Powerstation (I and II) that I use with various Marshall, SLO100 clone, Friedman clone and a 5150IIIS. Not only it works very well with most amp on 5, plexi on 10, but I'm also using the loop of the PS for example with amps that don't have a loop.

 

[bridge500t]

I recently bought an SPL Reducer and love it. It works great for both my DSL40C and my Dr.Z SRZ65. I had ordered it from Thoman and even with shipping from Germany it was still almost $100.00 cheaper than buying in the US. I had a THD Hotplate several years ago and the SPL is so much better.

 

[mallcorn]

New member here, but long time lurker. Recently rejoined the Marshall family and have a replacement JVM410 inbound. I regretted selling my JVM the entire time since I sold it and corrected that mistake.

I'm considering replacing/upgrading my Hotplates and am looking for feedback from people using attenuators (not re-ampers) for knocking off only 4-8dB from my master volume amps. No longer playing out, and my amps are just used in my home studio. I'm not looking to go from fully cranked amp to "bedroom" volume, nor do I want to get the power tubes cooking, and I realize that there's nothing like pants flapping cranked Marshall through greenbacks stressing.

I have very realistic expectations and simply want the best attenuator, not re-amper. I use an attenuator as a way to get a more gentle slope of the master volume on my amps in my space, and to add in a little low end to compensate for the effects of lower volume. The hotplates are essentially working, but I'm wondering if the newer Mesa attenuators or some others might be more reactive, or sound better than what I have. I did have a Rockcrusher before, but stupidly sold it when I unloaded my JVM, and don't want to just get another Rockcrusher without testing the waters a bit.

Amps are the incoming JVM410H, a Mesa TC-100, Mesa Mark 5:25, Friedman JJ Jr. and a DSL20HR.

Yes, these amps all have "good masters" I still like to attenuate for the reasons I stated above.

Any experiences that may help me out?

Aracom PRX150 DAG. It is the #1 attenuator and the DAG can load the amp from 2 to 16 and the cab from 2 to 16 and doesn’t have to be the same. It the by far the best sounding.

 

[Cop955]

Hi all,

I have no knowledge of Aracom products but you may consider to look at this:

Two Notes Torpedo Captor X

I use one on a dsl20HR and this is great. There are a few nice additional features allowing recording, even in stereo, and has IR simulation capabilities. You can control the device via USB or Bluetooth. It’s unfortunately available only in 8ohms OR 16ohms.

Price is also attractive compared to Aracom or Hotplates, around 500€ here in Europe, but I acknowledge these are not exactly the same products so not really playing in the same game field.

hope this helps.

 

[Nick B.]

That's easy! (not obvious though...I had to go through several attenuators before I found a couple that actually worked really well without killing my tone):
Jim Kelley original or Suhr/Jim Kelley
Komet Airbrake

 

[ExpatZ]

Rivera makes an excellent attenuator but the one I like the most is the Weber Mass 200, I find it gives me the feel I am after and sounds less sterile.

 

[greg420blues]

New member here, but long time lurker. Recently rejoined the Marshall family and have a replacement JVM410 inbound. I regretted selling my JVM the entire time since I sold it and corrected that mistake.

I'm considering replacing/upgrading my Hotplates and am looking for feedback from people using attenuators (not re-ampers) for knocking off only 4-8dB from my master volume amps. No longer playing out, and my amps are just used in my home studio. I'm not looking to go from fully cranked amp to "bedroom" volume, nor do I want to get the power tubes cooking, and I realize that there's nothing like pants flapping cranked Marshall through greenbacks stressing.

I have very realistic expectations and simply want the best attenuator, not re-amper. I use an attenuator as a way to get a more gentle slope of the master volume on my amps in my space, and to add in a little low end to compensate for the effects of lower volume. The hotplates are essentially working, but I'm wondering if the newer Mesa attenuators or some others might be more reactive, or sound better than what I have. I did have a Rockcrusher before, but stupidly sold it when I unloaded my JVM, and don't want to just get another Rockcrusher without testing the waters a bit.

Amps are the incoming JVM410H, a Mesa TC-100, Mesa Mark 5:25, Friedman JJ Jr. and a DSL20HR.

Yes, these amps all have "good masters" I still like to attenuate for the reasons I stated above.

Any experiences that may help me out?

I went down the attenuator hole earlier this year. A couple years back, I'd picked up a DrZ Z Air Brake but didn't have a lot of use for it since I had an 800 (master volume). Then I got a 1959 last year and so it became even more important to try and tame it. I started with the Air Brake. Kick ass to say the least, but only one line out so if you're running a stack or cabs on both sides of the stage you're out of luck. AND, to boot, the "bedroom" volume for me was still way too loud (with a cranked Plexi).

My first big purchase to try and tame it was the Freyette PS-2. I liked it "ok", but wasn't really happy with the tone. Given, there's a LOT of tweaking you can do, but after one rehearsal it was so hot that I couldn't put it away in the case for half an hour. I figured that wasn't going to work out so well and so I returned it (buddy owns a guitar shop).

Then, I decided to explore a trick I found circulating around for the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. A Volume box in the effects loop (I have a reissue 1959 with an effects loop). That worked AMAZING, but I felt like it was cutting out some frequencies. Given, I built it myself with a 250k pot, and I haven't explored any other value pots like 100 or 500, so I haven't written it completely off yet.

THEN, a buddy gave me a Weber Mass 150 (he never used it) for essentially selling his rig for him and I'm just blown away by it. The optimal part of it is that you control the volume of your lower frequencies and upper frequencies separately. So if you're in a venue where you can't really feel your amp, you can add a little more low end and vice versa if you're not cutting through. I was able to dial in the same tone I got with the Air Brake (very very transparent). It has 2 lines out and so it's essentially my "go to" at this point.

Summation:

DrZ Z Air Brake - KILLER, but not for the bedroom and only has 1 line out
Freyette PS-2 - gets way too hot and colored my tone too much, even when bypassing the tone controls
Volume box in the effects loop - jury is still out, will need to try different value pots
Weber Mass 150 - WINNER

 

[Sonic_Axe]

Honesty, I think the Hotplate works fine for 4 to 8 db attenuation. The Dr Z Z-Air Brake is a good option as well. If you have money to blow, the UA Ox is top notch and has awesome features for recording. I have all of the above and they are all great products. It just depends on your budget and what additional features you may want. I was hesitant to spend so much on the OX, but now I have no regrets. It is one of the best purchases I have made.

 

[Andy79]

A couple of days ago Johan Segeborn on YouTube reviewed a Tone King Iron Man ll attenuator, no experience of them but I wondered if it would be a worthy upgrade for my Marshall powerbrake that I’ve had for 15 years (which I find works really well with the 20 or 30w amps I’ve owned, even on max attenuation)

Here’s the link

 

[Dmann]

I've been eyeing this for a while now, price of entry is steep, but looks like it checks ALL the boxes.

BOSS WAZA Tube Amp Expander
https://www.boss.info/ca/products/waza_tube_amp_expander/

• First-of-its-kind tube amp command center, built with Waza expertise and the Tube Logic design approach
• Advanced variable reactive load circuit with discrete analog components supports tube amps up to 150 watts
• User-adjustable impedance tuning correctly matches the reactive load to your amp, retaining its natural tone, dynamic feel, and distortion characteristics
• 10 recallable rig settings for storing favorite setups
• Deep real-time performance control via GA-FC/FS-series footswitches and MIDI I/O
• Built-in 100-watt Class AB power amplifier with discrete analog design and seamless volume control
• Powerful DSP section with 32-bit AD/DA, 32-bit floating-point processing, and 96 kHz sampling rate
• Customizable stereo effects with premium tone quality: compressor, delay, reverb, and four EQs
• Seven mic’d cabinet emulations with five selectable mic types, plus four slots for loading user speaker IRs
• External effects loop with selectable series/parallel operation and control jack for switching amp channels
• Parallel speaker outputs for connecting up to two cabs for gigging
• Balanced XLR line outputs (mono and L/R stereo) for connecting to FOH console, stage monitors, and recording devices
• Headphones output for quiet practice with cranked-up amp tones
• Dedicated editor software (Mac/Windows)
• USB for direct audio recording and editor communication
• Brackets included for rack mounting (4U required: 2U for product and 1U above/below for ventilation)

 

[Marco Martino]

marshall powerbrake with mininal mod . line out . is better of all in market . is a reactive load with attenuator .

 

[Audiotom]

I have owned several hotplates and wasn't crazy about them. I really like the Marshall power brake I have now. It works and doesn't kill my tone. I use it with Marshalls and love it. You can't go too high with the attenuation though or your tone will suffer, but it will take the edge off and I think it actually improves the tone slightly at lower attenuation.

 

[Monstercastle]

Honesty, I think the Hotplate works fine for 4 to 8 db attenuation. The Dr Z Z-Air Brake is a good option as well. If you have money to blow, the UA Ox is top notch and has awesome features for recording. I have all of the above and they are all great products. It just depends on your budget and what additional features you may want. I was hesitant to spend so much on the OX, but now I have no regrets. It is one of the best purchases I have made.

I'm giving this (or the Boss TAE, but I really don't want/need a re-amper) some serious consideration. I'm already in the UAudio rabbit hole with my Apollo Quad and all the plugins I own, and this kind of ticks two boxes. I'm wondering if the Ox will be getting a revision anytime soon, so I'm a bit hesitant to spend quite that much, but only right now. I like the concept of getting attenuation as well as load and recording ability. Much more utility for the spend than just an attenuator.

 

[SuperFleeky]

My favorite when using my Marshall 1987 is the
SPL Reducer - Passive Power Soak

 

[Dean Swindell]

New member here, but long time lurker. Recently rejoined the Marshall family and have a replacement JVM410 inbound. I regretted selling my JVM the entire time since I sold it and corrected that mistake.

I'm considering replacing/upgrading my Hotplates and am looking for feedback from people using attenuators (not re-ampers) for knocking off only 4-8dB from my master volume amps. No longer playing out, and my amps are just used in my home studio. I'm not looking to go from fully cranked amp to "bedroom" volume, nor do I want to get the power tubes cooking, and I realize that there's nothing like pants flapping cranked Marshall through greenbacks stressing.

I have very realistic expectations and simply want the best attenuator, not re-amper. I use an attenuator as a way to get a more gentle slope of the master volume on my amps in my space, and to add in a little low end to compensate for the effects of lower volume. The hotplates are essentially working, but I'm wondering if the newer Mesa attenuators or some others might be more reactive, or sound better than what I have. I did have a Rockcrusher before, but stupidly sold it when I unloaded my JVM, and don't want to just get another Rockcrusher without testing the waters a bit.

Amps are the incoming JVM410H, a Mesa TC-100, Mesa Mark 5:25, Friedman JJ Jr. and a DSL20HR.

Yes, these amps all have "good masters" I still like to attenuate for the reasons I stated above.

Any experiences that may help me out?

Try a Weber. I have a 100 watt Mass (utilizes a speaker motor) on a 45 watt Dr. Z and it works quite well. I know people will attack me and pile on for saying this but of all the attenuators I've had, the only one I actually hated was the THD, and that includes a 50 dollar Carl's Custom Amps (which was actually okay!). I don't believe an attenuator should CAUSE overdrive, but it did when turned down too far. That was one of several things I didn't like about it. The red Weber 180 I used to have was the best, but the 100 I have now is not bad at all. Just wish I hadn't sold the 180, it just sounded best.

 

[Justin Whitstine]

I've never heard anything bad said about the UA Ox or the Fryette.

 

[obx351]

I have several different attenuators, including a Hot Plate. My favorite is still the Aracom. You can see it in my avatar. It makes my JMP50 the best sounding sub 90 dB amp I own or have ever heard.

Plexi Park and Metal face

• obx351
• Jul 21, 2015

 

[Neil S]

This is a Rockcrusher with a cranked 1959 Plexi squashed down to bedroom levels, you can even hear the pick on the strings at the start. Thats pretty quiet for an SM57 to pick up the pick noise on the strings from behind the mic. Its not the Ideal way to run the amp I suppose but I can't get this sound at home any other way with a 1959.

 

[anitoli]

This is a Rockcrusher with a cranked 1959 Plexi squashed down to bedroom levels, you can even hear the pick on the strings at the start. Thats pretty quiet for an SM57 to pick up the pick noise on the strings from behind the mic. Its not the Ideal way to run the amp I suppose but I can't get this sound at home any other way with a 1959.

That's glorious!