Attenuators, do you use one?

zepp76

I've been looking for an attenuator to go with a Marshall JTM45 (when I can find one used!) and have pretty much settled on the Rivera Rock Crusher, it gets constantly good reviews and it got me wondering if anyone else uses an attenuator either at home or at gigs? What do you use? What did it cost and would you recommend it? What are it's pros and cons? Thank you for your participation.

ToneControl

I never found any that I could put up  with (very fussy, and  can make noise at home)
However, I bought loads and the THD ones were the least annoying

MtB

As an alternative, have you looked into having a master volume control fitted? I have been following your thread on the JTM and found some interesting posts about the MV mod. 

FreddieVanHalen

Attenuators as a topic seems to be about as contentious as Brexit or drive pedals :-)

I use them at home and could never have the amps I have without them because I need to keep volume levels down or I'll be evicted.

My favourites are: Tone King Iron Man, Aracom, Torpedo Reload, Sequis Motherload Elemental
And as load boxes (may not be your thing): Torpedo Live, Suhr Reactive Load

I had good results with the THD Hotplate with my THD amps (but @ICBM does not recommend for Marshall for technical reasons beyond my own little brain) and it was outclassed by my (much more expensive!) favourites.

My experience with the Jettenuator was that it was great value but not in the same league as my favourites, although it was as good as the Hotplate IMHO.

I've never tried a Rock Crusher as I've never been able to get one for a good used price and I'm not convinced they'll offer more than what I currently have. I love Rivera as a company though and deeply regret selling a Venus 5 head that I used to own!

Is an attenuator as good as an unadulterated tube amp cranked in a nice room? I doubt it.

Is it better than going deaf or being evicted? Yeah, obviously.

ICBM

The real difficulty is that some are quite amp-specific (and vice versa) as to which works best with which amp. There are also a few amps that really didn't seem to work well with any attenuator I tried.

Assuming you can find one that works well with your amp, I do prefer them to any other method of volume reduction if you're trying to get the classic light-breakup overdriven big amp sound. I also find they usually work best with master volume amps, so you can balance the preamp and power amp - rather than the intended purpose of cranking up a non-MV amp.

FreddieVanHalen

ICBM said:

I also find they usually work best with master volume amps, so you can balance the preamp and power amp - rather than the intended purpose of cranking up a non-MV amp.

Good point actually, I've found the best results when I'm using the attenuator alongside the MV (or power scaling) as a combination rather than the macho approach of winding the master full open and trying to tame things with only the attenuator.

My exception to this has been smaller (5W to 30W) amps where I've been able to crank them fully and rely on the attenuator as the main volume control...

zepp76

I'm quite lucky in that my neighbours are noisy bell ends so don't complain when I crank my amps but I think a JTM45 may be just a bit too loud without some attenuation if I'm going to wind it up into break up. I'm not planning on strangling the amp with attenuation but I'd like to be able to wind it up without making my ears bleed!

FreddieVanHalen

Happy days, maybe the better solution is some attenuating / frequency neutral ear plugs so you can properly enjoy the feel of the feedback and thump of the cabinet.

If you're not attenuating to very low volumes you've probably got a bit more freedom in what you choose....of all the attenuators I've used I think the best bang for buck is the Sequis. I'm sure the Rivera is great but I've never tried one.

The Sequis goes for similar used prices, works great (IMHO) as an attenuator but also has the analogue speaker emulation built in. Not quite as good as IRs but still good.

If you buy a Rock Crusher and it's not for you give me a call 'cause I'd like to try one :-)

andy1839

Ive got a Rock Crusher and use it with a Matchles 35w, Budda SD80 and Friedman. Works well with all of them.  
I normally just have it on the first or second setting. It's really well built but a big unit.  
I've used it with the Budda for about three years now, including a few gigs, the power valves are still fine, nothing has blown up or set on fire and it sounds decent to me.
 

TimmyO

I firmly believe that guitarists should get a good attenuator early in ther playing 'career' - it opens up so many great amp options.

I'm a total convert.

I have a Marshall PB100 and a Two Notes Torpedo Reload

pintspiller

I have a Powerbrake which is okay I guess. I'm just a sucker for the Marshall badge to be honest. It goes with my Superlead.  You can hear the fan start up when you adjust the settings, so it gives the impression it works well.

I'm hardly the best to give a sensible answer.

ICBM

pintspiller said:

I have a Powerbrake which is okay I guess. I'm just a sucker for the Marshall badge to be honest. It goes with my Superlead.  You can hear the fan start up when you adjust the settings, so it gives the impression it works well.

I'm hardly the best to give a sensible answer.

The Powerbrake is actually excellent - especially for amps which prefer a high mismatch instead of a low one, if the attenuator doesn't perfectly reproduce the impedance curve of a real speaker… which none do as far as I know, including this one although it's closer than most. That applies to Marshalls - so I suspect it's more than just a happy coincidence, since the Powerbrake works on a completely different principle to other attenuators. Instead of using switchable resistors for attenuation and inductors to simulate the speaker impedance, it's the other way round - it uses a fixed resistor which is matched to the amp and speaker by a switchable multi-tap auto-transformer (which is also an inductor).

I also use one as my workshop test load exactly for the reason that it simulates a real speaker more accurately than most and the error is in the (usually) safer direction. It's even fine with solid-state amps, although I wouldn't actually *recommend* using it with one - there's almost never any point anyway, other than to make sure the amp is capable of putting out the full power without going up in smoke, since solid-state amps usually don't sound good with the power stage overdriven.

That's probably more information than you knew you wanted to know .

hotpickups

I would like to ask @ICBM as he certainly seems quite gem'd up on attenuators. Although I have a VAC fitted on my lazy J20, at home that is still pretty loud and have thought about getting an iron man attenuator for it. Would you know if this is a suitable choice for a tweed deluxe style amp?

ICBM

Don't know, sorry - I've never tried one.

hotpickups

ICBM said:

Don't know, sorry - I've never tried one.

Ok fair enough. Any other suggestions you have had experience with for that type of amp? Or is it not as picky with attenuaters ? 

ICBM

hotpickups said:

Any other suggestions you have had experience with for that type of amp? Or is it not as picky with attenuaters ? 

They seem to like the purely resistive ones - it seems to be common with amps with no negative feedback. The Dr.Z Airbrake and Brake Lite seem to work well, although in my opinion they're overpriced for what they are (the Lite especially).

hotpickups

ICBM said:

hotpickups said:

Any other suggestions you have had experience with for that type of amp? Or is it not as picky with attenuaters ? 

They seem to like the purely resistive ones - it seems to be common with amps with no negative feedback. The Dr.Z Airbrake and Brake Lite seem to work well, although in my opinion they're overpriced for what they are (the Lite especially).

At least they're cheaper than the Ironman II

Actually I've just remembered the Swart Night Light

TTBZ

I've used a mini mass and hotplate, the hotplate was the better of the two with my Laney and HRDx. Wouldn't mind getting one (or a Jettenuator) again for use as a load box for recording.

Exorcist

My jettenuator works a charm with my low wattage amps. VHT special 6, Tweaker 15 and Fuchs 4 aces. Allows me to get them all to a 'sweeter spot' and then knock them back to sensible (home) levels. Wish I had bought one (attenuator) years ago. 

ThePrettyDamned

ICBM said:

hotpickups said:

Any other suggestions you have had experience with for that type of amp? Or is it not as picky with attenuaters ? 

They seem to like the purely resistive ones - it seems to be common with amps with no negative feedback. The Dr.Z Airbrake and Brake Lite seem to work well, although in my opinion they're overpriced for what they are (the Lite especially).

I'm actually after a cheap attenuator for the ac15. I would assume the harley benton/jettenuator (they look the same) are ideal, as I'm assuming they're purely resistive? 

hotpickups

ThePrettyDamned said:

ICBM said:

hotpickups said:

Any other suggestions you have had experience with for that type of amp? Or is it not as picky with attenuaters ? 

They seem to like the purely resistive ones - it seems to be common with amps with no negative feedback. The Dr.Z Airbrake and Brake Lite seem to work well, although in my opinion they're overpriced for what they are (the Lite especially).

I'm actually after a cheap attenuator for the ac15. I would assume the harley benton/jettenuator (they look the same) are ideal, as I'm assuming they're purely resistive? 

For the price it seems pretty good. I think I might take a look at one. Apparetly Tone King are bringing a new Ironman II out soon. Cheap it won't be though