Which Attenuator - THD or Weber?

[Radiohead]

Hey All,

I am looking for an attenuator and I have narrowed it down to either the THD or the Weber Mass III.

I am running a Carvin Legacy Head into two - 8 ohm cabs (2x12). According to the THD web site I should be using the 4 ohm Hot Plate. Will the Weber work in this situation?

Please let me know which will save the Legacy's tone better at high attenuation.

thanks

[akoch]

At high attenuation I would say Weber.

At mid to mild attenuation they seem to work both well. The HotPlate for some reason (subjectively) looks and feels like a slick, more commercial product. I tend to use it more (have both).

[hippietim]

I've owned a lot of attenuators including several Webers and the THDs. I use the THDs.

All attenuators suck if you are dropping much more than 12db .

[broken_fusion]

What about some of these items that are popping up on Ebay?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Tube-Amp-VOLUME-BOX-attenuator-power-soak-hot-plate-R_W0QQitemZ160306131389QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar_Amp_Accessories?hash=item160306131389&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

http://cgi.ebay.com/Tube-Amp-VOLUME-BOX-attenuator-power-soak-hot-plate-R_W0QQitemZ160306131389QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar_Amp_Accessories?hash=item160306131389&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

I was looking at a Scholtz power soak when i saw those. any thoughts on the shultz? I have an 800 jcm 100w and a blue voodoo that i like to play at night after my wife falls asleep. Whats the difference between the different Webers micro mass,mass 50 ect

[Rupe]

The Scholz unit will cook your transformers...stay clear of it.

[Spivonious]

I've heard that high attenuation from any device will kill amps. Maybe you just need quieter amp?

[Partial @ Marshall]

I have a Bad Cat which is pretty versatile. Might off it now I have a couple low watt amps.

[jgcable]

I've owned a lot of attenuators including several Webers and the THDs. I use the THDs.

All attenuators suck if you are dropping much more than 12db .

+ 1 million. If you want bedroom volume from a high powered tube amp and you need an attenuator you have the wrong amp. Get a SS amp or a modeler.

[toejam]

What about some of these items that are popping up on Ebay?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Tube-Amp-VOLUME-BOX-attenuator-power-soak-hot-plate-R_W0QQitemZ160306131389QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar_Amp_Accessories?hash=item160306131389&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

http://cgi.ebay.com/Tube-Amp-VOLUME-BOX-attenuator-power-soak-hot-plate-R_W0QQitemZ160306131389QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar_Amp_Accessories?hash=item160306131389&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

I have one of those around here somewhere. It's basically the same as using a volume pedal in your effects loop.

[jgcable]

I have one of those around here somewhere. It's basically the same as using a volume pedal in your effects loop.

BTW... what Toejam is saying is a very good way to get bedroom volume without attenuating. It works pretty darn good.

[Cygnus X1]

+ 1 million. If you want bedroom volume from a high powered tube amp and you need an attenuator you have the wrong amp. Get a SS amp or a modeler.

Or a lower wattage tube amp.

[toejam]

Indeed.

[jgcable]

Or a lower wattage tube amp.

Like around 5 watts and even that wattage can cause the cops to come.
I will argue the point until the day I croak.... if you need to play at bedroom volume and you want good tone you should be using a modeling amp.
I understand the coolness of having a 1/2 stack in your bedroom or even a full stack. I just don't understand why you would think it would sound good with the volume on 1.
On my Legacy... its too loud for a bedroom on 1. The amp doesn't start opening up and begin to start sounding good until the volume is around 4 which is insanely loud.

[Riscchip]

I've tried a few (not all) attenuators and quite like the Weber MASS 150, which i've used for a few years now. Has a less thin / fuzzy tone at lower attenuation settings than others I've used, and has two knobs to attenuate different frequencies, which is nice too. The weber units use speaker motors, so they behave more like speakers to an amplifier's output section (not exactly the same, of course).

For very low volume playing, I turn the MASS all the way down and run the line out through reverb into an SS poweramp, which controls the overall volume. I can get a nice tone from a 100 watt amp that way without waking the neighbors. For whatever reason, this sounds better to me than just setting the attenuator really low straight into a cabinet.

[Cygnus X1]

Like around 5 watts and even that wattage can cause the cops to come.
I will argue the point until the day I croak.... if you need to play at bedroom volume and you want good tone you should be using a modeling amp.
I understand the coolness of having a 1/2 stack in your bedroom or even a full stack. I just don't understand why you would think it would sound good with the volume on 1.
On my Legacy... its too loud for a bedroom on 1. The amp doesn't start opening up and begin to start sounding good until the volume is around 4 which is insanely loud.

Sorry, I'm biased.

I've been building exactly what the doctor ordered for low volume and good tone. Building, tweaking, swapping tube types, tweaking and building some more. One thing I can't get past is speaker size. No matter how low the volume, the amp still needs at least a single 12" to push adequate low end for my taste.
My criteria: Tube tone! That's the sound of smooth (not buzzy) saturation and touch sensitivity that talks back like a cranked stack. Modellers are great, but not my taste. They simply don't act very responsive.
Next one will have a tube driven effects loop. I'd like to do a channel switcher, but I'm not quite "there" just yet. Too many tone-robbing components to deal with.

Attenuators do work, but not if someone is trying to get bedroom volume out of a 50 or 100 watt performance head. Too much choke=bad tone.
Most of the time damage occurs when the output is working too hard into a load that isn't quite as reactive as it expects. The output transformer lives in a push-pull world and "sees" some of that current coming back. Builds up unhealthy eddie currents that stresses the entire output section.