Connie w/ an Airbrake

[Stopgo]

Hey guys,

Wanting run my Dr. Z Airbrake off my Constelation. Whats the best way to do this, I think I read that all I need to do is hook it up to the spare speaker output on the back of the amp?? Do I need to change the impedance at all since I'm running two outputs from the amp? Any tips/ tricks are helpful!

thanks

 

[ButchR]

If your cabinet is 16 ohms then use the other speaker out into the airbrake and set your selector to 8 ohms. If its 8 ohms then set it to 4 ohms......etc. Apply mucho volume and mix to taste for a schweeeeet sound!

 

[Stopgo]

Thanks Butch, so just to be sure here. I'm running it with an 8 ohm Z Best, so I set the selector on the back of the Connie to 4 ohm, and plug the airbrake into one speaker out and the z best into the other. That's it?

 

[katuna]

The only thing is, I thought Hogy said to set the impedence selector on the amp to 8 ohms, irrespective of the ohms of your cabinet (which, I realize, doesn't sound logical, but I do remember Hogy having said this). Hopefully he'll see this and chime in. Also, make sure to actually put the attenuator on a level of attenuation (ie, not in bypassed setting), so that it is actually working as a load.

 

[big hair]

once you have set i tup properly please be sure to do some clips

 

[ButchR]

I've always used 16 ohm cabs with mine so maybe Hogy needs to clear this up.
Hogy!!!!!! Park the motorcycle and go to work!

 

[mykljpao]

Katuna, +1

I've been running mine at 8 ohms with a Weber MASS attached as described, regardless of the cabinet choice.
95% sure that's what Hogy wrote some time ago.
(I suppose I should be 100% sure, if I'm doin' it, eh? )

 

[garyrogue]

Thats the way I understood it, set amp to 8 ohms, regardless of speaker cab ohmage.

 

[hogy]

Yes, set the amp to 8 Ohms if you use an Airbrake as a dummy load on the second speaker output. Regardless of actual cabinet load.

Hogy

 

[Blueser]

Originally posted by hogy
Yes, set the amp to 8 Ohms if you use an Airbrake as a dummy load on the second speaker output. Regardless of actual cabinet load.

Hogy

If you have an adjustable attenuator like the Weber MASS, what would you set it's impedance to, while plugged into the second speaker jack? Would it be set to 8 ohms also?

 

[hogy]

Originally posted by Blueser
If you have an adjustable attenuator like the Weber MASS, what would you set it's impedance to, while plugged into the second speaker jack? Would it be set to 8 ohms also?

No, that's a whole different thing. The Airbrake is purely resistive.

I have never run any tests on a Mass and I can't answer your question with certainty. My best guess is to treat the Mass like a speaker, in other words, 16 Ohm cab + 16 Ohm mass =set amp to 8 Ohms, 8 Ohm cab + 8 Ohm Mass = set amp to 4 Ohms.

Hogy

 

[Stopgo]

Tried this set up per Hogy's instructions. Sounds like it doesn't knock too much off the overall volume, if anything at all?? Am I doing something wrong? Or is this setup only suppose to kick a few db's off?

The normal (head>brake>cab) is much more effective at attenuation, any truth to faster tube burnout with an airbrake?

 

[martins3325]

So I just tried this with Blueser's same set up..I have a Connie and a Weber Mass and an 8ohm Marshall 2061cx cab. I set the Mass at 8ohm and the head at 4 Ohm and ran the mass on the 2nd speaker out jack from the head. Seemed like it knocked off a little volume. But heres the part that kinda surprised me..keep in mind im not an techie amp guy...the MASS has its own volume control for attenuation...lowering the volume on the attenuator lowered the volume on the cab..just like if you had run the head into the MASS then the cab....seemed liked an odd result being it is run off a seperate speaker jack...I certainly hope this is safe to do..with the price of the Connies I certainly wouldnt want to damage it in any way!!

 

[Jemlite]

Originally posted by Stopgo
Tried this set up per Hogy's instructions. Sounds like it doesn't knock too much off the overall volume, if anything at all?? Am I doing something wrong? Or is this setup only suppose to kick a few db's off?

The normal (head>brake>cab) is much more effective at attenuation, any truth to faster tube burnout with an airbrake?

I found the same thing when I tried this trick... It really didn't help much at all.

 

[hogy]

If you're doing this with a 16 Ohm cab plus Airbrake in parallel you are cutting the power to the speaker(s) in half.
Unfortunately that does not translate to cutting the volume in half.

For apartment playing this will be of no help, however I find it quite useable for slight attenuation on smaller stages.

Hogy