Help me pick a POWER attenuator!

[Studiocat13]

If you can find a used Rock Crusher they sound amazing !

 

[scozz]

Just remember that the attenuator you pick should be at least 50% higher wattage than the amp you're reigning in. If you want to get it for a 50w amp, spend the extra $60 and get the Mass Mini 100, not the 50.

I’m going to use it with my JCM800 Studio,....20/5 watts.

I ordered it and it’s on it’s way. I also got a 10% discount thanks to your suggestion Kid!

Thanks man!

 

[scozz]

I have the Weber 50. It's very transparent, but only useful to about 3/4 damping. Degrades the tone past that. So now I use it in conjunction with my 100W homemade resistive load, each working at about 50%. I made with very direct wiring in a big aluminum enclosure to work as a heat sink. I found that one attenuator by itself just gets too hot and even more when trying to damp the signal too much. I tried daisy chaining them to see if that was any better and it works! Easy to test because there is a bypass switch right on the front and I can monitor the signal coming through the recording console.

I've been using simple resistive loads for years because I just needed to bleed off some db's, not going for bedroom, just bringing it down to workable.

I tend to distrust any small box attenuator (where's the heat go?). If it's not large and vented, I don't trust it. The Weber 100 may be the best option for a 50w Marshall. I typically use the Weber 50 to attenuate my Princeton and Deluxe for recording and that works out great. Again, the bypass on the front is a great way to toggle it in and out and immediately hear what it's doing.

edit: when I say "best" I mean, it's not insanely expensive yet effective enough. BadCat has something that on paper looks like perfect, but I don't need that level of device.

A lot of good information here @MoreAmpsPlease. Being that I’m going to use the Weber MiniMass 50 for my 20 watt JCM800 Studio,.....and considering the statement you made about it only working well 3/4 damping,...,I think it’ll be fine for me.

Besides, I play this amp fairly loud now without attenuation,....around 4 on the volume knob in the 20 watt mode.

 

[MoreAmpsPlease]

A lot of good information here @MoreAmpsPlease. Being that I’m going to use the Weber MiniMass 50 for my 20 watt JCM800 Studio,.....and considering the statement you made about it only working well 3/4 damping,...,I think it’ll be fine for me.

Besides, I play this amp fairly loud now without attenuation,....around 4 on the volume knob in the 20 watt mode.

Then it should be perfect for that. I heard a lot of negative things about attenuators before I tried them and really I think expectations can get a little out of line. For me, it just tames the beast enough to get the power output section in the sweet spot without killing my ears. And the 50 won't get hot with that amp either.

 

[scozz]

I heard a lot of negative things about attenuators before I tried them and really I think expectations can get a little out of line. .

I think that’s absolutely true. On the Weber website you can’t even purchase an attenuator before you check the box that says you read the “Attenuator FAQ” section.

That section explains all the things that attenuators do, and more importantly, the things they don’t do!

Like I said, they won’t let you buy one unless you check the box. It’s a required field.

That tells me that some people think an anttenautor is some kind of magical device that you lets you dime your 100 watt amp and play at whisper volumes with everything working perfectly,....and that’s just not the case.

 

[Kim Lucky Day]

Okay so I just got my very first attenuator, a Mini Mass. I also bought their Y cable so I can run both of my 8 ohm cabinets at the same time. I'll want to put the impedence selector on the Mini Mass on 4 ohms, right?

 

[Kim Lucky Day]

Let me rephrase this- single cable from 4 ohm jack on back of my amp to input on attenuator, Y cable to both 8 ohm cabinets, with attenuator impedence selector switch on 4 ohms?

 

[charveldan]

I think that’s absolutely true. On the Weber website you can’t even purchase an attenuator before you check the box that says you read the “Attenuator FAQ” section.

That section explains all the things that attenuators do, and more importantly, the things they don’t do!

Like I said, they won’t let you buy one unless you check the box. It’s a required field.

That tells me that some people think an anttenautor is some kind of magical device that you lets you dime your 100 watt amp and play at whisper volumes with everything working perfectly,....and that’s just not the case.

Not if you know what you're doing.
I don't ever take more than -4 to -8 db off the output.
The stories you hear of "smoking attenuators" are the people you described that don't know WTF they're doing.
Amp techs call that "job security".

 

[charveldan]

Let me rephrase this- single cable from 4 ohm jack on back of my amp to input on attenuator, Y cable to both 8 ohm cabinets, with attenuator impedence selector switch on 4 ohms?

You would be better off with two 4 ohm outs with a single cable going to each cab.
It that not possible ?

 

[tallcoolone]

You shouldn’t need an attenuator for a DSL50, that amp has a good master volume. If you need less volume than that IME any guitar speaker solution sounds like crap. Had a Power Brake, Hotplate, Ultimate/Ho, Unleash, Weber...like the Unleash prob best but not for bedroom volume. Go with a Two Notes solution and run it through studio monitors. Or better yet, save your tubes and run a good modeler through them.

 

[Kim Lucky Day]

You would be better off with two 4 ohm outs with a single cable going to each cab.
It that not possible ?

Just a single input on the back, a line out jack, and a speaker out. Impedence selector switch on front for 4/8/16 ohms.

 

[scozz]

Well I just got my Weber miniMass 50 watt attenuator for my Jcm800 Studio a couple of days ago. Now I know some of you are going to question the decision to buy an attenuator for only a 20 watt amp.

Anyone that has this amp or the SV20H know how freaking loud they are. I’m a strictly at home player these days, my gigging days are long over. Also my guitar room is 14x 13 with no soft furniture, all tile floor, light weight draperies, and a oversized sliding glsss door.

So when I play loud around 4 or 5 on the master and 7 or 8 on the preamp, (in the 5 watt setting),....it is really loud!

The sounds are bouncing off all the hard surfaces in the room. So between the fairly small room and all the hard surfaces it’s impossible to crank this amp, even on the 5 watt setting, without it being just too much.

So with this attenuator I’m able to really crank it, (even on the 20 watt setting), and enjoy the superb tones this amp has to offer when it's really cooking,....without the sheet rock peeling off the studs!!

I’ve been playing my Jcm800 Studio in the 20 watt setting, with the master and the preamp on 8 or 9, and the MiniMass on a fairly low setting, with the +3 dB treble setting engaged,.....and it sounds incredible!! And it is still very loud!

All the great touch sensitive tones this amp has to offer when the power tubes are really cooking is just staggering! Simply prodigious!

 

[Filipe Soares]

I'm very pleased with my weber mass lite 100 for my 50/60w amps. it sounds great.

 

[WholeLottaGlove]

Quick update. I bought a Bugera PS-1 for funsies.... Yeah, no. Not at all what I hoped. Kinda the same vibe as the Power Brake I had, but worse. Just turned everything to dark mush, even at the lowest attenuated setting.

Tbh, I think I’m going to stay away from attenuators. My amps seem to have pretty good master volumes on them. On my JCM 800 4210, I get pretty good results by cranking the master all the way up and using the channel volume to taste. The DSL50 sounds great at lower volume, as well. To clarify, though, my “low volume” isn’t quite bedroom level. I have the gain and channel volume around noon on both channels.

 

[scozz]

Quick update. I bought a Bugera PS-1 for funsies.... Yeah, no. Not at all what I hoped. Kinda the same vibe as the Power Brake I had, but worse. Just turned everything to dark mush, even at the lowest attenuated setting.

Tbh, I think I’m going to stay away from attenuators. My amps seem to have pretty good master volumes on them. On my JCM 800 4210, I get pretty good results by cranking the master all the way up and using the channel volume to taste. The DSL50 sounds great at lower volume, as well. To clarify, though, my “low volume” isn’t quite bedroom level. I have the gain and channel volume around noon on both channels.

You bought the wrong attenuator,.....return it get the,.........,.,
,.......

Get the
WEBER MASS 100W ATTENUATOR

https://www.tedweber.com/mass

 

[scozz]

@WholeLottaGlove,.....you started this thread asking for help picking a attenuator,.....

,...... and you bought one that no one recommended and you’re not happy with it.

Return it and try the Weber Mass 100,....which was recommended at least twice in this thread!

 

[WholeLottaGlove]

@WholeLottaGlove,.....you started this thread asking for help picking a attenuator,.....

,...... and you bought one that no one recommended and you’re not happy with it.

Return it and try the Weber Mass 100,....which was recommended at least twice in this thread!

Lol sheesh man!! I know, I know lol.

Only reason I bought the Bugera is I got it stupid cheap used. I’m definitely considering the Weber if I buy one. Like someone mentioned in this thread already, though, I’m not sure how effective an attenuator would be with my amps. I’ve had the Power Brake and the PS1 (one respected, one meh) and had similar results with both.

 

[scozz]

I’m not sure how effective an attenuator would be with my amps

Well, the best way to find out is to simply get one and try it,...... see if it makes your amps better

 

[ampmadscientist]

I’m looking for a power attenuator to use with my 800 4210 50 watt combo and my DSL 50 head. I’m mostly looking to lower the volume of these down to loud bedroom levels. There are a ton of options, but I’ve narrowed it down to just a few. I’m trying to keep the price around $200, so I realize that limits my options quite a bit. Here’s my list so far:

Two Notes Torpedo Captor: I’m loving the idea of the direct recording and cabinet emulation, but the -20dB pad attenuation kinda worries me. No feature to dial the overall volume to taste and I have no loud/quiet it will be.

Weber Mass Lite: I like the feature to adjust Highs/Lows. Simple layout from a good, reputable company. Not sure of the sound quality.

Bugera PS-1- Cheap but effective from most accounts. The reliability, safety and sound quality concern me a bit. I don’t want to blow my amps up due to a faulty box.

I realize attenuators aren’t magical devices and all have their own challenges, so I’m not expecting perfection. I just want to get a bit more from my amps. My only experience with power attenuators is a Power Brake, so I have some idea what to expect.

Looking forward to hearing from you guys. Hopefully, this goes better than my last thread haha. Thanks

A. I would not use an attenuator that is made in China.
B. I would save up more money and purchase a really good professional attenuator.
It's not worth it to cut corners.

 

[WholeLottaGlove]

Gotta do my due diligence here. Gave the Bugera PS1 another go and it’s not that bad. At all. Probably just like with any other attenuator, you gotta dial it in a bit. Using the PS1 with my JCM800 4210 (2205), I find the best results with the master cranked, gain and channel volume both right around 6-7. Really opens the amp up!! When I plugged it in initially, I was cranking the master and the channel volume and it resulted in mush. Now it’s cutting but thick. Very inspiring tone. I’m recording some stuff now and hopefully will have a clip here soon. Thanks for all the advice and input.