Attenuator questions

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JohnnyGtar

JohnnyGtar

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Howdy,

I'm looking at buying an attenuator and I'm wondering:

I see people with amps rated at 100 watts or more (mine is a Peavey Triple X head rated at 120 watts) using attenuators rated at around 100 watts, but... how long can the attenuator take this amount of wattage (full blast) before giving up, since having the amp cranked and slamming out heavy chords can cause wattage spikes... and if the attenuator does give up, does the attenuator just fry, or does it simply let the amp's full volume blast you out of the room? And, which attenuators do you like and why? Any advice appreciated!
 
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I’ve used a Suhr Reactive Load (100w) with a Diezel Herbert (180w) and it worked fine. Just don’t max out the master, but you can still crank it. I I I really didn’t need to get it up past 2 or 3 to get good use out of the Load and use IRs.
 
Attenuators work just fine with some master volume amps... my Uberschall likes the channel and master at least 10 o'clock before it blooms!
 
Fordman65 said:
The Suhr Reactive load isn't an attenuator. Agreed with the post above, if your amp has a master volume an attenuator isn't very helpful
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You can use a Suhr RL as one though, just connect your amp to it like normal and plug the line out into a power amp or fx return on a different amp.. but yeah a waza tae or fryette ps2 makes it easier for sure.
 
Tone King Ironman II. I have never heard a better sounding attenuator.

 
If you plug the Suhr RL in parallel with your speaker cab, the Suhr dissipates half the amp's power, so it will attenuate some. But probably not as much as you'd want.
 
I almost always use an attenuator for my master volume / modern amps. It sounds better than just running the master low, and by better I mean closer to running it loud. The Scumback, Rock Crusher and Aracom are all good choices.
 
That 120W is based on the theoretical output maximum of the tubes. It's a ClassAB power amp, the tubes are biased around 70% of dissipation, so it is around 100w. 120W used to look a lot cooler than 100 in the ads.
There is no real reason to use an attenuator with an amp with proper master volume. You loose a lot more than you gain. Marshall Plexi 100w? Hell yes, you need one.
You are better off with something like a Fryette Power Station 100 or a Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander. Most probably you have never heard your amp with the power section cooking and there is a high chance you will not like it. High gain amps and distorting power sections don't gel usually.
It will make the sound over compressed and mushy.
 
IMHO, Don't bother with an Attenuator for a XXX. It's more preamp oriented than power amp.
 
aftec said:
That 120W is based on the theoretical output maximum of the tubes. It's a ClassAB power amp, the tubes are biased around 70% of dissipation, so it is around 100w. 120W used to look a lot cooler than 100 in the ads.
There is no real reason to use an attenuator with an amp with proper master volume. You loose a lot more than you gain. Marshall Plexi 100w? Hell yes, you need one.
You are better off with something like a Fryette Power Station 100 or a Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander. Most probably you have never heard your amp with the power section cooking and there is a high chance you will not like it. High gain amps and distorting power sections don't gel usually.
It will make the sound over compressed and mushy.
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You sure nailed my experience with the Mesa mark Iva. I thought when I ran it through my Suhr rlir then to the pa, that I would like the master volume dined. Nope, around 3 was where I liked it best. Really surprised me at the time.

I also agree that attenuators and reamp setups are best for amps like vintage plexis, Voxes, etc. A peavey triple xxx would not be one that I would go out and get an attenuator for. Now @ZEN Amps makes a great point, that for the benefit of running the modern amp a bit louder it might be worth it, but for me I don’t feel like getting a reamp or attenuator setup for the gain of running my mark Iva at 3 versus 2 on the master volume, but it does sound better at 3, it’s just not as drastic of an improvement like the single channel vintage amps.
 
To me one of the biggest advantages of using things like the Suhr RL, Fryette, etc... is that it opens up the world of Cab IR’s. Cabs have so much effect on tone (see multiple threads here about it). With IR’s there are so many cab, speaker, mic, mic placement and blending options. I have a Diezel and a Bogner 4x12 thats in storage, just never have the need. Having said all that, I really only have about 4 CabIRs that I use regularly.
 
sahlomonic said:
Not all master volumes are the same. Certain amps do better with an attenuator than others.
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Basically if you dont have a good mv it could be worth it. Most mv amps are preamp oriented. I once turned a 5150 all on 10 for grins, the sound didnt benefit from doing that cause it wasnt designed to do that.
 
I use the original Fryette Powerstation - it's one of the overall most useful pieces of gear I've ever owned.


As others have said though, it's likely not worth investing in an attenuator for a XXX unless you plan to use it so record your amp silently.
 
My ENGL 670 SE master sucked hard and the amp was unusable.
I have bought the Bad Cat Unleash attenuator.
It is an amazing attenuator, but as all of them will be one more thing to carry and they are heavy.
 
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turtlefingers said:
My ENGL 670 SE master sucked hard and the amp was unusable.
I have bought the Bad Cat Unleash attenuator.
It is an amazing attenuator, but as all of them will be one more thing to carry and they are heavy.
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I had one of those; simply to add an FX loop to an amp. Worked great but it shaved off too much high end for me. The amp was kinda dark to begin with.
 
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