Attenuator for Loud (current) Amp vs. New Quiet Amp

AngryGoldfish

So there's a used Audio Kitchen The Big Trees that I'm thinking about buying. I was keen on the amp prior to spotting it as I've always been into the Audio Kitchen sound and features (but could never afford one) and was surprised to see one for sale. But I can't decide whether to buy the amp or buy an attenuator for what I've already got. 

So I could either buy a smaller amp and use it with the speaker of my Fryette Memphis combo when I can't push it to the levels it likes to be at, or buy an attenuator (Iron Man II Mini or the Fryette Power Station) for my Fryette. Obviously only I can answer that, but have other people been in a similar situation, and if so what were their experiences? 

Other amps I'm interested in are the Cornell Romany, Tone King Falcon, Supro Comet, and Benson Vinny. Ideally I'd buy a Tone King Falcon (because it has an attenuator already inside it and sounds bangin') or a Supro Comet and an Iron Man II attenuator, but I can't afford either of those options right now. The sound I'm looking for is basically a Supro at reasonable levels, that takes pedals well, but can also be driven to hit that 'fuzzy' drive sound that Tweed and Supro/Valco amps are known for. 

uncledick

Happy to stick in a vote for the Cornell Romany.  Bear in mind that amps of this quality have decent power supplies and can go darned loud despite the quoted Wattage.  

SunDevil

Power Station will give you a lot of flexibility and can be used with a variety of amps to decrease or even increase headroom

 The Iron Man is much more a 1 trick pony

AngryGoldfish

uncledick said:

Happy to stick in a vote for the Cornell Romany.  Bear in mind that amps of this quality have decent power supplies and can go darned loud despite the quoted Wattage.  

I don't mind too much if the amp is loud as long as it can be quiet as well. I don't imagine I'll have much use for the lowest two wattage settings on the Cornell when I don't have to be 'TV quiet', as if I lived in an apartment or had a sleeping baby the next room over, but the 2W setting might be ideal to tame a 10W amp. 

SunDevil said:

Power Station will give you a lot of flexibility and can be used with a variety of amps to decrease or even increase headroom

 The Iron Man is much more a 1 trick pony

The Power Station would be more ideal, but it is also quite a bit more expensive, at least brand new. They do crop up second-hand from time to time though. 

thecolourbox

Or you could get a Supro drive pedal into the clean channel of your Fryette?

AngryGoldfish

thecolourbox said:

Or you could get a Supro drive pedal into the clean channel of your Fryette?

I will be putting the Supro Drive pedal on my board at some point, but it would still be too loud with my Fryette. Speaking purely from the point of the Memphis, I love the clean tones because they're slightly gritty and so harmonically rich and round. But I can only hit that with pretty hefty volume. I'm playing it at its maximum headroom because it starts to overdrive. That's a lot to do with the speaker and circuit, but it's also the fact that I play it so loudly. I need that tone at lower volumes, so even with a semi-clean sound, I'd need an attenuator to knock it down a few decibels. 

StuartMac290

There's a used Iron Man 2 on eBay just now

AngryGoldfish

StuartMac290 said:

There's a used Iron Man 2 on eBay just now

Thanks for the heads up. I think I'll bid on it if he/she's willing to ship to Ireland or the North. 

Moe_Zambeek

I know what I’d do, because I did it (bought a TBT for lower volume use) and I have no regrets. The TBT is my favourite amp ever, I love it, though it has its limitations being only 2.5 watts.

I’ve toyed with the idea of a power station so I could boost the TBT to 50 watts and that would be a killer compact solution when only a head is needed. I just can’t bring myself to buy the Fryette because they are very spotty with QC IME.

soma1975

I use an attenuator on my 1w Marshall at home. Weber one 

AngryGoldfish

Moe_Zambeek said:

I know what I’d do, because I did it (bought a TBT for lower volume use) and I have no regrets. The TBT is my favourite amp ever, I love it, though it has its limitations being only 2.5 watts.

I’ve toyed with the idea of a power station so I could boost the TBT to 50 watts and that would be a killer compact solution when only a head is needed. I just can’t bring myself to buy the Fryette because they are very spotty with QC IME.

Ooh, that's an encouraging endorsement. The few people who I have read who own the amp seem to give it very high praises. Do you use it as an amp driving a speaker or as a preamp? 

soma1975 said:

I use an attenuator on my 1w Marshall at home. Weber one 

I had a Weber Mass and tried it with my Fryette. It was really cheap, but I wasn't enamoured by it. I could definitely use it in a pinch, but not as a daily driver I don't think. What 1W Marshall do you use with it? I hated the attenuator on the Marshall Class 5 I had. It was unusable. The amp was either slightly too loud for home use or horrible sounding and too quiet. 

Moe_Zambeek

I use my TBT as an amp mainly, into the speaker from my combo (a blue). I prefer it as an amp rather than a preamp but then I haven’t used it as a preamp much. Lots of people seem to like them in that mode, though.

At home volumes (wife&kids out scenario) its very crankable without being painful or too antisocial; at home volumes (kids asleep next door scenario) I use it as a low volume pedal platform amp, mainly cleanish. 

AngryGoldfish

Moe_Zambeek said:

I use my TBT as an amp mainly, into the speaker from my combo (a blue). I prefer it as an amp rather than a preamp but then I haven’t used it as a preamp much. Lots of people seem to like them in that mode, though.

At home volumes (wife&kids out scenario) its very crankable without being painful or too antisocial; at home volumes (kids asleep next door scenario) I use it as a low volume pedal platform amp, mainly cleanish. 

That's another use I wanted TBT to be able to do: run as a clean platform for pedals. I wanted to be able to choose between pedal gain and amp gain, something that's very doable on my Fryette (and sounds awesome at it) but only at higher volume levels. I assume it takes pedals well and doesn't fall apart if that's one of your uses for it? 

Moe_Zambeek

Yes, works well for that. Bear in mind it’s only 2.5 watts though!

also bear in mind that in amp mode, it’s a one channel amp. The clean boost / gain switching is only in pedal / preamp mode.

soma1975

@AngryGoldfish I have a Marshall JTM1 Offset head and cab. There's definitely like a 1mm travel of sweet spot with the Weber, which is a pain.