Alessandro Muzzle Attenuator: Quick Review

[skhan007]

This is my third attenuator and I bought it cheap off ebay. I've had a THD Hot Plate and the Ultimate Attenuator. I thought the Hot Plate was pretty good, then I really wanted to UA, so I bought that, but it made this buzzing noise that bothered me. So, I picked up this Alessandro Muzzle, which I'm told is the same technology as the Komet Airbrake and Dr. Z attenuator.

This one is VERY transparent and has absolutely zero effect on tone. It's the exact same tone of the amp when bypassed or full attenuation. It does not get quiet, however. No bedroom levels. That may be a negative for those people who want to play at bedroom volumes- this does not do that.

Summary: Super great transparent attenuator with 6 clicks of different levels. Does not get to quiet bedroom levels, but does take the volume down quite at bit. Now I can be in the same room when my amp is cranked.

 

[Lestertele]

That's a fine attenuator you got there Khan! No bedroom levels but tone is retained. Who needs bedroom levels anyway!

 

[skhan007]

Thanks Griz! Yeah, I'm DEFINITELY happy with this and have wanted to find a 16ohm one for some time to go with my Black n Tan!!

I'm curious what's on the inside, but I'm not going to mess with it. I'm just going to enjoy it! This amp has so much touch sensitivity and tone that brining it down to bedroom levels would mess with the way it reacts with the speakers (which need to push air to give the proper bass response).

 

[Lestertele]

I felt the same was true with my Bad Cat. Transparency is the key! Very nice rig by the way. Very nice indeed!

 

[TDJMB]

Slightly off-topic: the BnT rules.

 

[Mike Fleming]

What's that cool looking dial on the front?

 

[theflyingturtle]

I agree, I thinks it's the best I've used so far as well.

 

[asintoras]

I made a copy of that and I agree: it's good but does not attenuate that much, but enough to allows you to be in the same room while playing cranked.

here is the link to my attenuator:
http://ampgarage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8177&highlight=

 

[rah3]

I have the muzzles in all 3 ohm values: 4, 8 and 16.

Love the transparency. George makes great gear period.

-RAH3

 

[traynor_garnet]

How many dbs of reduction will this do (max)?

TG

 

[skhan007]

I made a copy of that and I agree: it's good but does not attenuate that much, but enough to allows you to be in the same room while playing cranked.

here is the link to my attenuator:
http://ampgarage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8177&highlight=

Oh man, that is so cool! I've always wondered what was on the inside of these things. Looks like some plumbing tubes and some wires! What are those long metal things?

 

[GT100]

Oh man, that is so cool! I've always wondered what was on the inside of these things. Looks like some plumbing tubes and some wires! What are those long metal things?

Wire wound resistors...

 

[vortexxxx]

I have a Ho which is handmade unlike the Ultimate. I don't seem to get any buzzing. perhaps it was a defect?

 

[dewman]

I have a UA that doesnt buzz either. Used to have a Ho but sold it. Didn't buzz either. Probably a problem with the UA. Alessandro makes great attenuators, but they are big as Buicks for the 100W version and need larger feet so you can sit them on top of the amp head without having them wobble on the head handles. Pretty transparent and does a good job of attenuating a few db for live playing.

 

[skhan007]

Yeah, the buzzing sound from my UA...what it seemed to be was the sound of the UA reamping my signal. So it sounded like a tiny transistor radio in there making the sound I was playing. It was annoying as hell. When I brought the UA down to bedroom levels, I would hear the UA as loud as my speaker cab. It sounded like headphones cranked really loud when you're not wearing them, if that makes sense.

 

[alivegy]

The sound you were hearing was some sympathetic vibrations of the inductor that is used for the "plexi" circuit. If you push enough volume from your amp through the UA and if your tone is pretty trebley to begin with that sound can sometimes be pretty loud. It is made worse by the fact that the inductor is mounted on the bare metal base of the UA. If you put a bit of rubber padding, or even a bandaid underneath that inductor it can cut down on the volume of that sound considerably. I used a bit of a left over sound proof material that i had from a car stereo install. It did the trick, or just turn off the plexi circuit.

 

[ripoffriffs]

Hey Khan,

We should compare it with my Aracom attenuator.