Can I get a decent attenuator for a DSL40cr for under $300-400?

[BanditPanda]

Ok, and I am probably wrong, but looking at the available schematics (attached) I have revised my interpretation of the basic circuit sequence. I have only basic schematic reading skills though!

Input - V1:1 - Ultra Gain - V1:2 (bypassed by Classic Gain) - V2 - V3 - Tone Controls - Channel Volumes - THE CHIP? - Master Volumes - V4 - Presence & Resonance (bleed off circuit) - Power Tubes

I think maybe the post-power tube voltages would be too high to run through Master Volume pots.

Thanks Sky. So, as most of us do, I imagine, the more the Master is opened up the more the PT's come into play therefore crank the MV and adjust to room with the channel volume(s) or as with the DSL40, the gain.
BP

 

[SkyMonkey]

So, as most of us do

But not me!
I only play at bedroom levels and these settings do me fine with a GT-100 in 4CM @ 20W.
When I crank the Masters and lower the Channel Volumes I just get more hiss.

BTW Ignore the EQ settings. I have just moved house and am still finding the sweet spot for the new room.

 

[SiCoul]

‭

Yea, I think any attenuator if used to squish things down to t.v. volumes chops the highs, even ones that compensate for loss of highs chop a bit off over all, but in my experience with my mv, and non mv amps even my cheap Bugera ps1 works excellent just to lower volume at the sweet spot below uncomfortable levels...they're really not designed to keep anyone from getting evicted from their apartment..lol.

The best attenuator I ever used was my wireless, and moving 2 rooms away from my amps..

Hi,
I use the Bugera PS-1 with DSL20HR and find it excellent for bringing the volume of your sweet spot to neighbour friendly levels. For the money I don’t think it can really be beaten.
Some of the higher end attenuators will cost you as much if not more than your amp but provide exactly the same results.
If you aren’t keen on the tones it produces for you (I’ve found it causes very little tone suck and this can be easily sorted by adjusting the EQ) you haven’t invested a massive wedge of your hard earned. If you do purchase one I’m sure you’ll find it does the job for you.
Cheers,
Si.

 

[fat_lenny]

‭


Hi,
I use the Bugera PS-1 with DSL20HR and find it excellent for bringing the volume of your sweet spot to neighbour friendly levels. For the money I don’t think it can really be beaten.
Some of the higher end attenuators will cost you as much if not more than your amp but provide exactly the same results.
If you aren’t keen on the tones it produces for you (I’ve found it causes very little tone suck and this can be easily sorted by adjusting the EQ) you haven’t invested a massive wedge of your hard earned. If you do purchase one I’m sure you’ll find it does the job for you.
Cheers,
Si.

Ive always used a Rivera Rockcusher when I need an attenuator and sworn by it.

My son needed an attenuator for his amp with band practice. I didnt want to be carting the rockcrusher, so bought him a Bugera PS-1 and we couldn't be happier with it. For the cost and size, it is a solid unit. Doesn't colour the sound much more than the rockcrusher and I actually prefer the attenuation dial to the rockcrusher switch.

Its definitely worth looking at.

 

[Rob Hoopes]

The DSL is the first tube amp I've had. I love how it sounds loud, but at bedroom volume I can't get a good high gain tone. It's very buzzy/thin/grainy sounding. In my price range, are there any attenuation solutions that will give me cranked tone at bedroom volumes.

The two I've seen mentioned a lot are the Torpedo Captor and the Bugera PS1. The Captor says the attenuator only goes to -20db. For a 40 watt amp (20 if I play on the lower setting), will that even get me to bedroom volumes? And for the other one, is it going to kill the tone?

Thanks

Recently had the same question with my DSL100 Full Stack in the garage setting. Tried a Bugera from e-bay and it burned up. Did much research, the end result was making a pair of attenuators with 100w 8ohm L-Pad attenuators an 4.7uf caps (to compensate for treble loss) from a Youtube video for under $40. I have one for each cabinet to split the heat that they generate, plug them into the two outputs that can be set to 4ohms, set the amp volume to 6 and the attenuators very low and the result sounds really good. The best part is that level bothers no one.

 

[Gunner64]

Generally speaking most attenuators should be rated for twice the output power of the amp. Attenuators with fans like the Marshall pb100 are the exception, as they use some of the amps power to power the fan, which cools the unit as well.

 

[Kelia]

Ive always used a Rivera Rockcusher when I need an attenuator and sworn by it.

My son needed an attenuator for his amp with band practice. I didnt want to be carting the rockcrusher, so bought him a Bugera PS-1 and we couldn't be happier with it. For the cost and size, it is a solid unit. Doesn't colour the sound much more than the rockcrusher and I actually prefer the attenuation dial to the rockcrusher switch.

Its definitely worth looking at.

Personaly , after seeing Paul Rivera's video , I would never use a Bugera with my amps , I'd rather buy a used THD Hotplate instead.

 

[What?]

Personaly , after seeing Paul Rivera's video , I would never use a Bugera with my amps , I'd rather buy a used THD Hotplate instead.

Got a link to that video? Is it this one?



This one is also worth watching I think (from 10:40 on a bit).

 

[Kelia]

Got a link to that video? Is it this one?



This one is also worth watching I think (from 10:40 on a bit).

Yes it is !

 

[drraven]

A common complaint about the 15, 20 and 40 watt DSLs is fizziness. I think it is an issue at low volumes because all the DSLs I’ve had sound great cranked.

My DSL40CR sounds fantastic with the Masters past noon. I had the DSL40C before the CR came out and I could not get away from the fizziness at low or moderate volume. But the DSL40CR has a thick meaty tone with no fizz when the Masters are at noon or higher. On mine, with the Masters set to 9 o’clock, the volume is tolerable, but there is less meatiness—enough so that you can hear a bit of fizz. Mine still sounds good at low volume, but not great.

This has been my experience with my 40CR as well. I swapped out the V-type speaker for a GT12-75, and as soon as I get the Master up past 9:00 the fizz starts to decrease and if I get the Master to 12:00 then the fizz is gone and the amp starts sounding like I expect a Marshall amp to sound. Gotta get the power tubes cookin' and the speaker moving!

Andy

 

[Robert Hughes]

Getting power tube distortion on top of the amp's preamp is not going to make the amp sound any better with DSLs IMO. They are designed to get pre-amp distortion with gain and volume controls for each channel and then adjust your overall volume with the masters. Or, crank the masters and use the channel's volume.

Just because you can theoretically use an attenuator with an amp, doesn't necessarily mean its makes any sense or will benefit you.
Like I said, attenuators are for amps that are too loud when cranked enough to get distortion.

save your money.

Here's the thing though; I had one of these for several years. Trying to get all the gain from the preamp is the wrong approach, but a common one. The amp doesn't open up and start to really sing unless you add power tube distortion into the mix. That's where the classic Marshall sound comes from. The best tones I found were running the green channel in OD mode and setting the gain to edge of break up. The red channel I ran set to what was a good hard rock rhythm sound, then hit it with a clean boost for lead. It was big tone, and I was surprised when I got a plexi reissue how very similar the two sounded when I ran the DSL like that. So yeah, Marshalls are meant to be run hard. Anything other than the solid state stuff and the 5 watt models are not bedroom amps. People need to stop trying to treat them like bedroom amps and they'll find out they're really a great value and a great amp.

 

[phase27]

Maybe I’m just confused, but seeing two different explanations on this thread. To clarify, does the MV on the 40CR control preamp volume before going to the power tubes?

And an Attenuator would control volume on everything, preamp+tubes, before it hits the speaker?

 

[SkyMonkey]

Maybe I’m just confused, but seeing two different explanations on this thread. To clarify, does the MV on the 40CR control preamp volume before going to the power tubes?

And an Attenuator would control volume on everything, preamp+tubes, before it hits the speaker?

Yes to both of your questions.
Some of the schematics for the DSL100HR (and therefore the 40CR) are available (see post #50).
Looking at the CR/HR topology, the MVs are just before V4 (phase inverter), and therefore before the power tubes too.

An external attenuator can only be placed between the amps speaker outputs and the speakers, so is therefore after the whole amp.
Not to be confused with a volume box, which can be placed out front (volume pedal) or in the FX loop (volume box).
A volume box would fry if you tried to use it as an attenuator.
They are very different animals.

 

[phase27]

Thanks for that! Very helpful.

 

[ch324434]

Update: I went with the Bugera PS1 and it did exactly what I wanted. It definitely killed a lot of the high end, but I was able to get t back pretty easily with the treble and presence controls. Plus, the excessive fizz and high end frequencies were part of what I was trying to get rid of in the first place.

One question: can I leave the speakers cables plugged into the PS1 when I'm not using it, or should I disconnect them every time?

 

[madh4ttr]

In my experiences using attenuators, when you first start using them, your amp will sound awesome cranked. Just dont play the amp without otherwise, you will see that it really isn't that great.

 

[ch324434]

In my experiences using attenuators, when you first start using them, your amp will sound awesome cranked. Just dont play the amp without otherwise, you will see that it really isn't that great.

Not sure what you mean here. The whole point is so I can always play it cranked.

 

[jeffb]

The point I'm guessing is- It will sound really good to you at first.

Then at some point you will go back to the amp unattenuated and realize the amp feels and "breathes" better, opens up and may likely sound better than you used to think it did.

This is how I feel with my DSL. I used the Rockcrusher for about a year and half, at first it was awesome. But it lost it's luster nd I hated the feel after awhile. Then started using it unattenuated, adjusted some things, and the amp sounds and feel better that way. It's not necc the sound I want to hear, but it sounds/feels better unattenuated than attenuated.

Attenuation is a band-aid type of solution.

 

[scozz]

The point I'm guessing is- It will sound really good to you at first.

Then at some point you will go back to the amp unattenuated and realize the amp feels and "breathes" better, opens up and may likely sound better than you used to think it did.

This is how I feel with my DSL. I used the Rockcrusher for about a year and half, at first it was awesome. But it lost it's luster nd I hated the feel after awhile. Then started using it unattenuated, adjusted some things, and the amp sounds and feel better that way. It's not necc the sound I want to hear, but it sounds/feels better unattenuated than attenuated.

Attenuation is a band-aid type of solution.

Hmmm, I have only ever used one attenuator, and I’ve actually done exactly what you describe here. I’ve had my Minimass for well over a year now and a couple of months ago I stopped using it to see/hear what’s goin’ on.

I made some adjustments and moved forward unattenuated. While I love the way my amp sounds with the volume fairly low, 2.5 or so, it sounds better on 3.5 to 4. It also sounds better at 5 and 6,......but in my relatively small music room 14x13, there is no way I can get there without attenuation. Way too loud.

Using my attenuator I can get to 6 on the volume and beyond if I like. But here’s the kicker,...this amp, (SC20), sounds better to me with the volume on 5 or 6 attenuated with a Minimass, than it does on 2.5 or 3 unattenuated, imo.

Subjectivity is a wonderful thing for discussing guitars, amps, and such!

 

[Sustainium]

Hmmm, I have only ever used one attenuator, and I’ve actually done exactly what you describe here. I’ve had my Minimass for well over a year now and a couple of months ago I stopped using it to see/hear what’s goin’ on.

I made some adjustments and moved forward unattenuated. While I love the way my amp sounds with the volume fairly low, 2.5 or so, it sounds better on 3.5 to 4. It also sounds better at 5 and 6,......but in my relatively small music room 14x13, there is no way I can get there without attenuation. Way too loud.

Using my attenuator I can get to 6 on the volume and beyond if I like. But here’s the kicker,...this amp, (SC20), sounds better to me with the volume on 5 or 6 attenuated with a Minimass, than it does on 2.5 or 3 unattenuated, imo.

Subjectivity is a wonderful thing for discussing guitars, amps, and such!

Exactly, attenuator gives you a lot more options. Just like fx pedals, use the attenuator when you want.