Teach me about attenuators

[KingsXJJ]

Or just invest in a high quality modeler and be done. My two cents…

 

[paisleywookiee]

Or just invest in a high quality modeler and be done. My two cents…

Because……it’s not the same thing.

 

[Stratzrus]

No, I meant with a Y cable. That box will work, but also does series/parallel and ohm changing.

Yeah, it's a pretty sweet piece of kit.

Since I have a PS-100 I think I'm going to pick one up.

I wish the PS-100 had a second speaker out but it looks like they sacrificed that jack for the footswitch and there's really no more room on the rear panel.

 

[FAKA!]

Yeah I think the primary difference besides the wattage is the PS2 has one channel, whereas the PS100 has two configurable channels. But, the PS2 I think can do dual cabs where the 100 is a single cab out.

I did a A/B test between both before I picked up my PS100. I felt the PS100 with its two 6550 tubes had just a bit more bottom end vs the PS 2's two 6L6s.

 

[KingsXJJ]

Because……it’s not the same thing.

I think high quality modelers offer a result that maybe’s not the same thing but rather a better thing under certain condition.

bedroom listening versus cranked tones versus direct daw interface all might benefit from a great modeler.

different tools. Different jobs….

 

[paisleywookiee]

I think high quality modelers offer a result that maybe’s not the same thing but rather a better thing under certain condition.

bedroom listening versus cranked tones versus direct daw interface all might benefit from a great modeler.

different tools. Different jobs….

 

[metropolis_4]

Maybe I should clarify what I’m trying to do.

When my amp is hitting its sweet spot it’s pushing about 115db @ 10ft away. I need to nudge that down closer to 95db.


One concern/question about the PS-2 and PS-100. My amp is only 9 watts in 6v6 mode. Is a 50-100 watt tube power amp really going to be able to hit lower volume levels?

 

[Stratzrus]

Maybe I should clarify what I’m trying to do.

When my amp is hitting its sweet spot it’s pushing about 115db @ 10ft away. I need to nudge that down closer to 95db.


One concern/question about the PS-2 and PS-100. My amp is only 9 watts in 6v6 mode. Is a 50-100 watt tube power amp really going to be able to hit lower volume levels?

Absolutely, and your tone will remain the same.

In addition, in other situations you can get your 9 watt pushed tone at 50 or 100 watt volume levels.

Best of both worlds.

Here's a good demo that shows it's attenuating ability.

 

[KingsXJJ]

Well hung tone swings.

 

[Stratzrus]

 

[HotRats]

I used a basic resistive attenuator (the overpriced SPL) with my marshall Jubilee for playing at home and for reducing volume a bit live with the band while keeping the amp in the sweet spot (master had to be above 6.5 to perform at its best).

Worked fine live for 3/6 dB of attenuation.

More than that and tone/feel changed too much and was better to reduce the master volume instead.

 

[TravisG406]

On a quasi related note: https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/fm3-firmware-version-6-01.191161/post-2375866

 

[andergtr]

they all have wildly different results to my ears.

i had a bunch, from the THD hot plate, to the faustine (killer), and then the UA ox, the boss TAE, the fryette PS-100 and also (not an attenuator), the suhr reactive load.

which sounded most like the amp unattenuated but quieter? the faustine, hands down. as a load box and not for attentuation, the suhr kills pretty much everything. just match it with a good IR, and you can slave an amp down and reamp it with the boss or the fryette (or a power amp or into the power section of an amp)--and it sounds like the amp you are loading down. suhr really nailed that, especially for high-gain amps and marshall-style amps.

the least transparent was the the THD--lots of lows and highs disappeared. the ox was much better, as was the TAE, but i didn't dig the ox as much as i thought i would and sold it. the TAE is on loan to someone else, and i haven't missed it.

need to mess around with the fryette. heard nothing but great things but i don't have volume limitations at home, so no real need.

 

[dcburn]

You can apparently run a splitter with the PS-100, and use two cabs. But IMO, that's kinda janky, and it bugs me. Still, I've used the PS-2 with a Mark V:25, and it was extraordinary. Not only does it make the V:25 louder and yet give you more control, it imparts some juicy, big-bottle tastiness to the tone too.
The best of the actual attenuators I've used (the Fryettes, after all, are NOT attenuators) is the Mesa CabClone IR+/Powerhouse. They sounded really good and natural to my ears, far better than the old sh*tty HotPlates.

Had a Mesa Powerhouse myself and thought it was a great unit.

 

[Bob Zaod]

The short and sweet: resistive loads suck, reactive loads are better, none of them are perfect.

Good reactive loads would be things like Fryette stuff, Suhr Reactive Load, Tone King Ironman, Bluetone Loadbox etc.

Fryette Power Station is nothing more than a reactive load -> a pretty neutral tube poweramp in one compact but heavy box. I don't like how noisy the fan is at lower volume. I have been rather disappointed with Fryette support too. When it works it's a nice unit.

You can build your own PS by simply running a loadbox with a lineout to any other amp. The main benefit over a straight attenuator is continuous volume control and possibility for post-amp effects.

I've given up on attenuators and loadboxes and just use master volume amps now. Or digital modelers. I have found I don't care about old school amps, I don't care about powertube distortion. Recording is easier with a modeler. So attenuators don't do much for me.

Same. I didn't know if I'd dig using one so I bought the Bugera unit. Works good, even took my Tremoverb like a champ but like you I have no need for much power tube saturation. I have a good amp for that already anywho, a Marshall DSL20HR with a 1/2 power switch. I can get as close to that farty power tube distortion that I want by cranking the clean channel on my Marshall in 1/2 power mode. Blech. No thanks.