Who makes the best Attenuator?

[klaatutooyou]

OK . Well I am going to try a weber 100
unless anything new in the last 4 years?


If any one currently uses one . I would certainly entertain suggestions for use
with an 86 ,2204 ,thru mostly Gibson,s

 

[Len]

OK . Well I am going to try a weber 100
unless anything new in the last 4 years?


If any one currently uses one . I would certainly entertain suggestions for use
with an 86 ,2204 ,thru mostly Gibson,s

The newest things are re-ampers (Unleash, Ultimate, Power Station) which tend to be more transparent with large amounts of attenuation.

 

[jimmyjames]

Using my Aracom DAG for re-amping right now

 

[buddy7168]

I've been using an Alex Attenuator (now the scumback dbl) for a few years and I really like it. My amps are a 100 watt Voodoo Amps V-Plex and a '77 2203. I usually set the amp volume around 6. I mainly use it on the -12 setting with the volume dial set just over 9:00. It's still pretty loud but it sounds great.

http://www.scumbackspeakers.com/attenuator.html

 

[psychodave]

I had an Alex attenuator and I really never liked it. It sounded really bad at lower volumes and got super hot, which some say is okay, but it scared me since I was using it with valuable vintage amps. Plus it was basically a copy of the Richter attenuator. I recently bought a Fryette Power Station and was floored how good it sounded. It also has a ton of options. For a little more that the price of an Alex, you have what I feel is a completely better product.

 

[johan.b]

...... and got super hot, which some say is okay, but it scared me since I was using it with valuable vintage amps....

That's what they do. .Turning power into heat. ..if your amp outputs 100 watts and you only want to listen to 10 watts, the rest needs to go somewhere...You could of course do something else if you wanted to, like running a fan or light up your room, but turning power into heat is the easiest and most predictable way. .. incidently, Marshall powerbreak both turns it into heat and does a fan to remove the heart. .
j

 

[psychodave]

That's what they do. .Turning power into heat. ..if your amp outputs 100 watts and you only want to listen to 10 watts, the rest needs to go somewhere...You could of course do something else if you wanted to, like running a fan or light up your room, but turning power into heat is the easiest and most predictable way. .. incidently, Marshall powerbreak both turns it into heat and does a fan to remove the heart. .
j

I realize that's what they do... But when it gets too hot to touch and emits a smell, I get nervous. I think the Alex needs a fan to get rid of at least some of the heat. No worries though, I found something that, to me, is a lot better.

 

[Squidhunter]

I agree here,I have run the gauntlet with attenuaters, Playing live the Rockcrusher is IMO the cream.However the EPA on the YJM is brilliant.
I just played an Arena gig and I am at a loss for words how that amp sounds,feels, and performs. I ran the EPA at 1:00 (100 watt mode)through 2-4x12 bottoms loaded with 25 watt Greenbacks... Heaven ,THE sounds and feel I could only dream of before. My back up was a 100w NMV Plexi with the Rockcrusher .

Yep, Riviera Rockcrusher is the s**t, kills the ultimate!!!
I thought the EPA on the YJM100 is garbage though, completely destroys the gain. Rockcrusher through the YJM100 is killer!

 

[Nik73]

I picked up a Jettenuator and gave it a go with my 6100LM this afternoon. Granted, it's the only attenuator I've heard or used, but I was pretty impressed. The 6100 has never sounded better in my house.
I didn't go nuts and only had the MV up to about 5 and the attenuator at 3 (9 being highest and 0 off) but there was only a slight change in tone to my ears, and that was easily dialled out with the EQ.

I'm sure it's not as good as the Rockcrusher or Aracom, but for £109 it does what I want.

 

[bmi]

Fryette Powerstation.
This one does the job, for the first time.

 

[klaatutooyou]

Fryette Powerstation.
This one does the job, for the first time.

OK I researched this one . it sounds like this is the my answer .
please elaborate on youre experience .

I had a sholz back when thru a hi watt . HORRIBLE.static at idle made recording impossible.

I know im asking for the moon .

im still waiting on the weber to show up .

but this sounds like what im really after.

sorry to keep this thread up and going
but when im sure ill reply via sound on here . thanx again
you all are the best .

 

[bmi]

My experience is described here :
Rig-Talk • View topic - Fryette Power Station, they did it.

 

[rick16v]

I owned a bad cat unleash and sold it. It worked OK, but anyone who says it doesn't colour your tone is wrong. It definitely does. They are good, but not worth the money in my opinion.

 

[Crunchifyable]

Best thing to do is build one yourself to your own specs. But that obviously takes some R&D.

Worth it in the end just because all most attenuators are is a metal box, a few resistors, a few switches, and sometimes, a rheostat. The mark up on these things is pretty bad when you consider how simple the construction is on some of them.


The weber mass units that have speaker motors are a little different, but I don't buy into it as being necessarily better.

 

[klaatutooyou]

My experience is described here :
Rig-Talk • View topic - Fryette Power Station, they did it.

Thank you .That's my next buy .

all the bells and whistles I don't really care .after I get it I might lol .

ill get back with you in a month or so with my results /

 

[klaatutooyou]

I changed my mind .I have the 100 didn't do it .

During my process of building an isolation cabinet ,I came across a 50 watt weber , not the mini .the 50 looks just like my 100 .

I am using a 50 watt 2204 86 model if that matters .

I hooked up the 50 weber to 50 2204 wow . very nice .

low volumes sound good . not whisper mode , but tolerable if youre neighbors are 60 80 feet away .

lots of room to play with thing .

I know a 50 watt head is supposed to run a 100 attenuator for safety but I have been running the head at 7 master good results

 

[sabbath72]

For the money of these expensive attenuators, have you considered getting a 1 - 5 watt practice amp. I have one of the 1watt aniversary amps and a class 5. Still a few JCM1 around and they are awesome for bedroom level and can drop down to 0.1w. Probably pick up a head or second hand combo for the price of the Ultimate Attenuator. Trust me they sound awesome and are UK made.

 

[flyingvmach3]

Always wanted a Tom Scholz Power Soak.
So,
I just got a Bugera PS-1 100 watt attenuator Power Soak that I just tied into a JCM 800 2210 Head (1987) combined with a 1960 4x12 cabinet (older - 16 ohm).
Here's what happened:

With the Gain channel employed and the amp controls up high with the attenuator attached, some things are a full bore change, which is nice. For example if I want to add feedback during guitar solos for flavor - while practicing at a lower volume - it's right there. You can achieve feedback, slightly greater overdrive, and it develops a more of a crunchy low ended tone with the attenuator. The attenuator gets hot from the resistance. In fact the tubes will get hot and the attenuator will get hot after a while if you have them counteracting each other, I reckon.

In any event, the attenuator was useful in adding a very overdriven tube sound delivered up at a lower volume. My Marshall is 100 watts so this really quiets things down while providing another huge variety of additional tone choices. The 2210 gain channel already has a bunch of knobs - so the setting options are really limitless with the attenuator added. That being said, the attenuator sounds best when it cuts my volume about in half, for the tone I found favorable. If you go too low on the attenuator - the tone changes too much.

By comparing the attenuated sound (with the tubes going full bore), I found I preferred it to the standard 2210 Master Volume alone as the primary loudness control. The standard sound is almost crunchy enough at lowered volumes, but really sounds best at higher volumes. The attenuator provides for the extra gain because, sadly, you can't play your guitar all the time at volume 5 or more because it's brutally loud.

Realize that the attenuator will definitely change the sound your cabinet generates. Whether you will prefer it or not takes a lot of experimentation with all the options you have with your amp controls, but it gives you increased options and a way to control your tube amp volume - when it's cranked up.

They recommend you use genuine (two solid strands of copper) 1/4" speaker cables to rig the attenuator between your head and your cabinet. Guitar cables with the braided shielding - the attenuator makers say are no good for the connections between the device and your amp and may add noise etc.

I ordered thick 12-gauge 3 ft. speaker cables (for this experiment) -with the larger 1/4" jacks - nicer ones. The attenuator has all three impedance jacks so you can match it up to the ohm rating of your cabinet.

 

[flyingvmach3]

In essence this is not the cure all. The attenuator becomes the end all volume control between your amp and your cabinet - one which alters your tone probably just as much as anything you add into your rig.

At 100 percent on the attenuator your amp is how it was made at the factory. My amp sounds like M.S. in UFO or early MSG without the attenuator.

In my opinion, cranking this Marshall master to 5+ with the Volume at 10 in the gain channel with the attenuator at half, yielded an array of heavier Metal Tones. Increased low end. The volume is less, but still loud.

Anything less than 30% on the attenuator was lesser and somewhat unusable, however. What's nice is that you can achieve a huge Marshall Tube Amp running full steam ahead with a bit more control.

 

[flyingvmach3]

I also tried reducing the volume of the 100 watt JCM 800 by removing two tubes from the head to make it 50 watts (without the attenuator). This reduces the volume output slightly, by about 10 decibels or less, but I liked the tone, too. Still very loud amp.

I replaced the four power tubes (loudest) and with experimentation of the attenuator:
I have considered, the attenuator adds deeper bottom end and perhaps pulled back some of the treble front away by one notch - to smooth out the stock JCM 100-watt unit - to my liking.