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Anybody know anything about power attenuators? According to this website, http://www.amptone.com/truesecretofamptone.htm, which is expansive in the information relayed in it, a power attenuator is the secret to great amp tone. Problem is, I've never heard anyone discuss power attenuators. Here's a passage from the Amp Tone page on this subject:
"You can almost certainly get satisfactory sound from your existing decent tube amp, without mods, by using, or at least experimenting with, the following chain:
guitar
eq pedal
Comp/OD/Dist pedals
eq pedal
amp's preamp
amp's tone stack
amp's tube power amp
good power attenuator
amp's guitar speakers
The above is truly the "secret" of great amp tone. Most postings, books, and amp tone videos dwell on amp brands and mods and swapping tube types and swapping speakers or pickups, but such priorities are backwards. The real first order of business is knowing how to make the most of *any* decent tube guitar amp.
It's a shame that most guitarists try all sorts of things other than the secret weapon that gets straight to the point: the eq>dist>eq pedal chain, which you can put before any guitar amp, in conjunction with -- just as important at the other end of the chain -- some way of getting power-tube saturation independently of speaker volume, and this amounts to the (unfortunately) "secret" of power attenuators.
Every electric guitarist ought to be just as familiar with power attenuators and EQ pedals as they are with distortion pedals and amp brands. Everyone talks about amp brands and models all the time, and swapping tubes and guitar speakers and pickups, but those must be considered 2nd-tier, drastic solutions. The first kind of solution people should try is EQ pedals and power attenuators.
There ought to be, therefore, proportionately less discussion of amp brands and models and distortion and overdrive models, and more discussion of EQ pedal usage and power attenuators. Most guitar stores don't sell THD Hot Plate power attenuators, and don't really even sell Marshall Power Brake power attenuators.
But these stores are always eager to "solve" your problem by selling you another expensive guitar amp, or several distortion pedals. Most guitarists who own a tube amp have never seriously tried adding an EQ pedal or two and a good power attenuator.
The problem isn't a matter of "finding the right amp"; it's a matter of truly understanding the true basics of amp tone, which amounts, first and foremost, before brand-specific and custom solutions, to really understanding the alternation of EQ and distortion stages, and understanding the existing products that enable you to dial in any amount of preamp distortion and any amount of power-tube saturation, at any speaker volume level."
Please share your thoughts... thanks!
"You can almost certainly get satisfactory sound from your existing decent tube amp, without mods, by using, or at least experimenting with, the following chain:
guitar
eq pedal
Comp/OD/Dist pedals
eq pedal
amp's preamp
amp's tone stack
amp's tube power amp
good power attenuator
amp's guitar speakers
The above is truly the "secret" of great amp tone. Most postings, books, and amp tone videos dwell on amp brands and mods and swapping tube types and swapping speakers or pickups, but such priorities are backwards. The real first order of business is knowing how to make the most of *any* decent tube guitar amp.
It's a shame that most guitarists try all sorts of things other than the secret weapon that gets straight to the point: the eq>dist>eq pedal chain, which you can put before any guitar amp, in conjunction with -- just as important at the other end of the chain -- some way of getting power-tube saturation independently of speaker volume, and this amounts to the (unfortunately) "secret" of power attenuators.
Every electric guitarist ought to be just as familiar with power attenuators and EQ pedals as they are with distortion pedals and amp brands. Everyone talks about amp brands and models all the time, and swapping tubes and guitar speakers and pickups, but those must be considered 2nd-tier, drastic solutions. The first kind of solution people should try is EQ pedals and power attenuators.
There ought to be, therefore, proportionately less discussion of amp brands and models and distortion and overdrive models, and more discussion of EQ pedal usage and power attenuators. Most guitar stores don't sell THD Hot Plate power attenuators, and don't really even sell Marshall Power Brake power attenuators.
But these stores are always eager to "solve" your problem by selling you another expensive guitar amp, or several distortion pedals. Most guitarists who own a tube amp have never seriously tried adding an EQ pedal or two and a good power attenuator.
The problem isn't a matter of "finding the right amp"; it's a matter of truly understanding the true basics of amp tone, which amounts, first and foremost, before brand-specific and custom solutions, to really understanding the alternation of EQ and distortion stages, and understanding the existing products that enable you to dial in any amount of preamp distortion and any amount of power-tube saturation, at any speaker volume level."
Please share your thoughts... thanks!
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