I really need a attenuator. What's good?

[IPlayHamers]

My Bad Cat Tone Cat is super loud, so I'm looking into attenuators to use in the studio and smaller club dates. I'm looking at the Leash, but would like to know what some of you are using and with what degree of success.

Thanks,

Jamal

[Laird_Williams]

I use the THD unit and like it pretty well down to about -8dB with my "normal" cabinet. I have a "low power" cab that sounds pretty good even at more attenuation.

The key with all these things is to use a different cab with the attenuator for lower power levels. Your cab spec'd for use with a 120W amp will not sound great when being fed 15W. Use your amp and attenuator with a cab that is a good match for your target output power level and you will be MUCH happier.

[Yek]

I like the Dr Z Air Brake. Not very much attenuation (apart from 'bedroom level') but no impact on the tone.

[planetal]

I've used the leash, the weber mass and a thd.. I prefer the leash to all of them, simply as it is a bit more transparent than the weber and isn't limited to a fixed number of attenuated steps (like the thd). The leash is just one big knob, which works well for me (as I like big knobs?).. You'll still need to get the speakers moving a bit of air to get a good sound, too much attenuation and it will sound and feel wrong.

[CWFurst]

I like the Dr Z Air Brake. Not very much attenuation (apart from 'bedroom level') but no impact on the tone.

+1 for the Air Brake.

[welcometoashley]

i've had a good results with the THD Hot Plate and currently use the DrZ Air Brake...

[gkelm]

I like both the Dr. Z (up to 50w) and THD (up to 100w, maybe more?)...the THD might be safer as they are impedance-specific.

I've had a few Webers, but did not care for them as much as those above.

Greg

[-DC/AC-]

The Leash got a good review in Guitar Player, even got a Editor's Pick Award.

[onestop]

I like the Dr Z Air Brake. Not very much attenuation (apart from 'bedroom level') but no impact on the tone.

+1. I bought a THD Hotplate a while back which was OK. Then bought a Z Airbrake. Had to sell and just re-bought one about 6 months ago. LOVE IT!

[Thor]

Happy Airbrake user here.

Still currious to try the Ultimate Atenuator, but it's rather stiff price tag keeps me more than happy with what I got.

Cheers,

Edward

[Jeremy]

I've always been curious which would work better for my setup as well. I have a Rivera Knucklehead 100W Reverb (although they can bench upto 118W according to Rivera) and these heads are beyond loud! I've always heard good about the THD, but curious about the Dr.Z.

[greatbigz]

I have always been curious about attenuators. I have a '65 Reissue Twin Reverb and it's a LOUD amp. I can't usually play around with it in my house because of that. I have to have the volume set at about 1 (or less but sometimes the volume doesn't kick in until 1).

Would an attenuator help me control the volume better?

[Trotter]

I'm currently using the Leash and love it. I had the Airbrake and thought it was pretty good, but honestly like the Leash much more.

[justonwo]

I have always been curious about attenuators. I have a '65 Reissue Twin Reverb and it's a LOUD amp. I can't usually play around with it in my house because of that. I have to have the volume set at about 1 (or less but sometimes the volume doesn't kick in until 1).

Would an attenuator help me control the volume better?

All the attenuators I've tried have worked well. Yeah an attenuator will help with your problem at home, but don't expect great tone if you attenuate a ton. Usually, in my experience, they are good for taking you from stadium volume to rehearsal volume, but rehearsal volume to bedroom volume not so good.

I wouldn't recommend the Weber Mass because of the low quality rheostats Ted uses.

[ruger9]

Weber Mini-Mass has been good to me, but does cut a tad bit of highs. They come with treble compensation switches for this reason. I just got an Airbrake, and it's more transparent, almost totally transparent down to the "bedroom" setting. On the bedroom setting it really squashes the sound... however, it's still better than the Weber at very low levels.

For the price, the Webers can't be beat. For more $$$, they can.

[slopeshoulder]

I've heard that the Richter is the very best. It's the one I plan to buy. Max ouput is 50%.

[silverface]

+1 for the Airbrake. As far as I know, it also handles Amps up to 100 Watts.

http://www.drzamps.com/airbrake.pdf

Best wishes,

silverface.


I like both the Dr. Z (up to 50w) and THD (up to 100w, maybe more?)...the THD might be safer as they are impedance-specific.

I've had a few Webers, but did not care for them as much as those above.

Greg

[JKoeth]

The Leash is fantastic!

[908SSP]

Had a Leash and about 5 others and none hold candle to a Richter from Motherload. Unfortunately the old model ended production a year ago and the new isn't available yet. By far the best sound at the lowest volume and that's what matters to me.

[Sniper-V]

You could spend a lot for an attenuator.

I found the Hotplates to work fine.
But,
I still think amps sound best without them.
Thank God for low-wattage amps!

[carbz]

Iv'e owned the Airbrake, Hotplate and UA. The Airbrake to my ears was the most transparent but in the end I ended up keeping the hotplate because it can get really low bedroom attenuation where the Airbrake will not. Thats what I use it for. To my ear I much prefer the sound of heavy attenuation and a cranked master volume then for bedroom levels then just nuddging the master up with no attenuation even with a master volume amp. The AU was cool but not worth the $ in my opinion. Depsite what the builder claims with my amp it was far from transparent. The hotplate is great quality, small, gets real low volume attenuation and offers the most features. My vote goes to the HP.

[daddyo]

All the attenuators I've tried have worked well. Yeah an attenuator will help with your problem at home, but don't expect great tone if you attenuate a ton. Usually, in my experience, they are good for taking you from stadium volume to rehearsal volume, but rehearsal volume to bedroom volume not so good.

I wouldn't recommend the Weber Mass because of the low quality rheostats Ted uses.
What makes you think the reostat is low quality?

[iggs]

I had a Hot Plate that I used with my Route 66 and 4x12. After getting my Z-Best I needed another attenuator because of 8 ohm impedance of the cab, my 4x12 was 16 ohms. Because of all the great things I've been hearing about the Airbrake, I decided to get one.

I tried it out and liked the sound of it better then the Hot Plate, however, there were few things that I did not like:

- even on the bedroom level all the way, it did not attenuate as much as I needed it to in order to play at home, may be OK if you live alone but playing at 2am with the wife and kid upstairs ... it's not enough.

- at the bedroom setting I noticed that the amp sounded more "distorted" then I remember it with the Hot Plate when attenuated all the way. After some "research" it turned out the the Airbrake acts as a variable load so the more you attenuate, the higher the load is on the amp. Some more technical info here: http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showpost.php?p=3374654&postcount=6

Seems that the 3x the load on the amp at maximum attenuation and with the amp being cranked, will cause it to distort more. It was quite noticeable and was a deal breaker for me. Ended up returning the Airbrake and got a 8 ohm Hot Plate. The Hot Plate has a constant load regardless of attenuation level and can be turned down all the way. It is too bad because I did feel the Airbrake sounded better at other attenuation levels. Most of the times I will not need an attenuator live, my primary need for it was for home use. The Hot Plate sounds great as well ... if you take into consideration that it is attenuating quite heavily at max levels and it will inevitably change the sound. I have to assume that because of the variable load nature of Airbrake, different amps may act differently and this issue may not be prevalent in some other designs as much as it seemingly is with the Route 66.

[Highway Jones]

What makes you think the reostat is low quality?

I'm guessing he probably doesn't like the taper or possibly the feel of the pot when you turn it. I have the Mass Lite and there isn't much "play" between moderate to heavy attenuation and the pot doesn't have a silky smooth feel. However, I don't necessarily relate these to quality but, more to preference.

I guess I could always switch out the pot.....

[Mapleneck]

I have a mini-mass and love it. There are no quality issues with the total product or any part inside it. A big point in defense of the Mass, I can buy nearly 4 mini-Masses for the price of any of the other attenuators mentioned in this thread.

[daddyo]

The reason I asked is I have the MASS 50 and I've taken it apart. The main level reostat is a big honking ceramic donut with wire wrapped around it. The wiper is a stiff metal finger. This is why it feels stiff and rough and sounds a little scratchy till you get it into place. It's handling a lot of juice. You can't compare it to the CTS on your guitar for feel.
I like mine and feel the tonal loss is minimal except on the most attenuated settings. The taper of the level is also very linear. I suppose there are better attenuators but not for the price. Had it for 4 1/2 years of almost daily use.

[sickboy79]

I own both the Hot Plate and Z Airbrake. I MUCH prefer the tone and versatility of the Hot Plate. But, that's me. The Airbrake is nice - but, it didn't attenuate enough in non-bedroom modes, and the bedroom mode sounded a bit congested/nasal when really low. But, that's just my opinion. I haven't tried any others. I'd like to try a Leash sometime.

[ruger9]

FYI, the Airbrake's attenuation "steps" can be easily adjusted to suite your taste with nothing more than a screwdriver. Check out the manual (available on Dr Z's site.)

[ruger9]

I'm currently using the Leash and love it. I had the Airbrake and thought it was pretty good, but honestly like the Leash much more.

I'd love to hear your observations on the differences in the Airbrake & Leash and WHY you liked the Leash better.

[KRosser]

I prefer the THD

[WrapAround]

Weber MASS, MiniMASS and LoadDump always worked well for me.