THD Hot Plate

[SlasZ]

I just recently discovered that attenuators exist and what they do. Now I'm wondering if anyone has experience with a THD hot plate through a loud amp like an Uberschall or 5150? Is it possible to play them with decent sound quality at room levels (without upsetting neighbours or roommates too much)?

[kmanick]

I used to use one with my 5150 and I currently use one with my JSX and my Rectoverb.
I don't try to get "bedroom" tone with them, I just get my amps up to their "Sweet spot" and then cut the volume back to where it's managable.
I love em and actually can't imagine not having one (I'm so used to having it on all the time).

[emperor_black]

I used to use a weber attenuator long time ago with a 5150. But I soon discovered (and read) that attenuators are tone-suckers. I have since moved to a GT-8 -> TS100 -> 1x12 setup and I can get the sweetest tube-amp sounds at bedroom levels. I can say that my GAS is almost completely subdued.

But a 5150 sounds pretty good at bedroom levels too. Peavey amps (at least the 5150) gets most of the saturation at preamp stage and not the poweramp stage like other tube-amps. IMO for a 5150, an attenuator is not needed. Just get a 1x12 or a 2x12 and a BBE.

[SlasZ]

Actually I just said 5150 because I thought they sounded best at high levels, but I'll be getting an Uberschall this weekend so I was just wondering if that'd be possible. I realize it won't sound exactly the same as without it, and i'd only use it to practice.

[hippietim]

The Hot Plate is my favorite attenuator. Any attenuator will change the tone because you are changing how much air you are moving and how hard you are hitting the speakers. That said, -8 or -12db with a Hot Plate is pretty acceptable IMO.

[srommes]

The Hot Plate is my favorite attenuator. Any attenuator will change the tone because you are changing how much air you are moving and how hard you are hitting the speakers. That said, -8 or -12db with a Hot Plate is pretty acceptable IMO.

agreed. If you need to play a 100 watt head or more at bedroom levels the Hotplate is a must.

[MSGfan]

Anymore than a (-8) attenuation on the THD and it starts to actually sound thinner and like crap!
You can try a trick that my amp tech told me about that should not hurt the amp by changing the 12AX7 tube that is for the output driver to a lower value tube and it will reduce your output volume. I go all the way down to a 12AU7 for this tube with great results in my JCM 800 50 watt Marshall and my`92 Mesa Duel Rectos.

[El_Kabong]

I absolutely love mine. I never bought one as they were pricey and didn't make cool sounds. Damn, I was wrong. It sounds stellar with my super modded Marshall Studio 15, which puts out closer t0 30 watts. I use it in my home in Japan. My home is in the middle of a gigantic city and probably fits in your living rooms. I can't believe I waited this long.

[butrus]

Anymore than a (-8) attenuation on the THD and it starts to actually sound thinner and like crap!
You can try a trick that my amp tech told me about that should not hurt the amp by changing the 12AX7 tube that is for the output driver to a lower value tube and it will reduce your output volume. I go all the way down to a 12AU7 for this tube with great results in my JCM 800 50 watt Marshall and my`92 Mesa Duel Rectos.

The problem with this trick is 12au7 sends less signal than 12ax7,
so you are not driving power valves any harder.Basicly its the same as if you turn down the volume knob.Power attenuator lets you drive power valves hard(to distort)at lower volume

[SlasZ]

I've heard from some people that the Weber attenuators would be better than THDs, anyone can confirm this?

[emperor_black]

I have a weber attenuator. Its only a 50 watt one. Its allright. If you're looking at best bang for the buck, a weber is the best. its got switchable ohmmage settings. a THD usually is a fixed ohms setting. If you change amps, you've gotta get another one. mine can go 4ohms, 8 and 16. Plus its got a line out for direct recording.

I had a wild idea this morning on the way to work. Has anyone tried two attenuators in series for max attenuation? Amp into att1, its out into att2 and from there to speakers. will it even work?

[Wizard of Ozz]

The THD HP will definitely cut the volume and keep the crunch as advertised... but it will also change your tone, especially at higher settings... it's up to your ears to decide.

[Cygnus X1]

Homebrew solution:
I thought about doing the whole THD or Weber options for the Fender Deluxe Reverb.
It's a loud 22 watts, and it doesn't get any distortion at all until it's past 6 or 7.
So I studied up, found a few great articles (Reactive Speaker Loads at Aiken Amps is one), and decided the simplest , and cheapest thing for me to do was to make an isolation cabinet. I also fabricated an adjustable line out hooked up to the cab.
It's just a set of 2x10's I wasn't using stuck inside a sealed box. I can wheel it up to Ten, and you can hardly hear it. Then I take the line out and hook it up to a clean
amp (I have another Peavey combo), or an old Kustom, which runs a Fender 2x12 closed back cabinet. So, I have a truly reactive load, tone doesn't suffer, and it was basically free to build.

[emperor_black]

Well, there indeed are isolation cabs out there in the market which are prohibitively expensive. They are just like you described...speakers inside a box with a cheap hanging mic. But they are not that easy to construct. Like others have emphasized, a great tone comes with displacing as much air as possible. That is why even though I have great tone possible (GT8 into TS100), I suffer since I just have a 1x12 and not a 4x12. in your case, you are displacing air inside a closed box which will have rebound problems and flubbiness at best if not designed properly. Bose had done a LOT of research on that tunnel thingy (too lazy to look up) inside a speaker cab which channels the flubby bass such that it becomes toneful. So, bottom line, my 2 cents is, you either got lucky or you have bad tone and you are just in denial. Just kidding.

[Cygnus X1]

Well, there indeed are isolation cabs out there in the market which are prohibitively expensive. They are just like you described...speakers inside a box with a cheap hanging mic. But they are not that easy to construct. Like others have emphasized, a great tone comes with displacing as much air as possible. That is why even though I have great tone possible (GT8 into TS100), I suffer since I just have a 1x12 and not a 4x12. in your case, you are displacing air inside a closed box which will have rebound problems and flubbiness at best if not designed properly. Bose had done a LOT of research on that tunnel thingy (too lazy to look up) inside a speaker cab which channels the flubby bass such that it becomes toneful. So, bottom line, my 2 cents is, you either got lucky or you have bad tone and you are just in denial. Just kidding.

LOL. I had to play with the baffle section to make it sound ok. The speakers are rated at 50 watt, so they aren't really working very hard. (Kind of a stiff cone, so that cuts down on the flubbiness a bit). And I sealed the back section behind the thick baffleboard, to eliminate phasing issues. I didn't mic the cab. The line out is in series with the speakers, so it is just taking a reactive signal from what the speakers are doing. I would think sticking a mic in there would sound awful. I would say I got lucky, but for using the stuff I had around doing nothing, and taking the time to do it, it works.
The weber is also a reactive load, it uses a speaker voice coil, without the cone. I tried this on a throwaway speaker and blew out the voice coil.