For Those Who Us An Attenuator

[shredmonster]

I just got a 100W Marshall with a MV 6100LM. It has the option of using all 100W or you can switch it to 50 or 25W.

Not referring to the speakers now because I know when you turn things down the speakers don't push as much air so setting speakers aside....

Will this thing sound better if I leave it on 100W and crank it through something like a Richter Attenuator?

Or how about leaving it at 100W and using a volume pedal?

Or setting it to a lower setting and pushing it with something like a TS9?

I have no problem using an attenuator if it sounds better.

[Spivonious]

What the switch on the amp does (in general, I'm not familiar with this particular model) is to disconnect two (50W) or three (25W) of the power tubes from the circuit. The effect is that the power section of the amp starts to break up at lower volumes.

An attenuator essentially turns the volume down after the power section, so you can crank the amp at 100W and still control the volume.

As far as which one sounds better...you'll have to trust your ears. If your goal is to play at very low volumes, then an attenuator coupled with the 25W setting might be the best.

A volume pedal turns down the signal going into the amp, so you're going to lose the break-up.

An overdrive pedal turns up the signal going into the amp, so you're going to gain break-up.

Most high-gain amps these days get the majority of their distortion from the preamp, so the point of power amp break-up is almost never reached.