Is An Attenuator The Guitar Tone Solution You Need? | Reverb Tone Report

From Andy: One tip i forgot to mention in the video - with Reactive Attenuators - a good rule is to choose an attenuator that is double the wattage of your amp to avoid any issues with your attenuator.
Additionally, according to THD, the Hot Plate is a reactive attenuator when using its Deep setting.

An attenuator goes between your tube amp's output and speaker to mitigate volume without sacrificing sweet-spot character. They come in a variety of styles, at different price points, and with unique feature sets. So Andy's here to help you decide what's right for your rig.

Andy's Setup:
Amp: Metro Amp JTM-45 Clone
Guitars: Gibson Custom CME Les Paul
Attenuators: OX Amp Top Box, Weber Mass 100w, Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander
Recording Gear: Universal Audio Apollo 8 QUAD, Sennheiser E609
Strings: Ernie Ball 10-46

[James-mbdm]

Rush, Bowie, and Top all in one video? What an awesome start to my morning. Really impressed with how that boss box sounds.

[michaelb]

Andy Gets an A+ style point for matching his outfit with the Weber Box.. He's like those old couples who begin to look alike, he's becoming the gear!!!!

[jasong]

Another option is the radial headload prodigy, not exactly the same but I love it and the tone is not affected negatively at all. Crank the tube amp but reduce the output and has a headphone out and a 2x eq. Just sharing, food for thought.

[StringEraser]

My Weber Mass Lite is my secret weapon for taming my Hot Rod Deluxe. Lets me crank it right to the perfect spot. Then control the volume. Plus it lets me try different cabinets regardless of their impedance. So many possibilities!

[tomminet]

Fryette Power Station, which I bought on Reverb after a lot of research. Right now, using it with a Dr. Z ERG 50 to keep the neighbors happy. It does everything I want it to.

[AmpAHolic-wnmr]

Power Station for me. Tried many and never had the desire to move beyond this perfect design.

[colaboytje]

I own the Boss since 2 weeks and it's amazing and without a doubt the best out there. I also own a Torpedo Reload, but it's doesn't feel the same and doesn't really give my amp tone I know (Two-Rock Traditional Clean). The Boss just feels great because of the different reactive loads in the box. And I don't really notice a loss in tone. Expensive, yes, but really worth it. I can see it being in studios and live as a standard.

[dwyn]

You know, doing a demo like this is particularly effective when you know how to really play the guitar! I'm not sure what was coolest, hearing these sounds through the attenuators, or just hearing you play!!!

[StuartBridson]

I spent so long looking at all the different types of attenuators before deciding to sell my JCM900 (sob) and getting a lovely H&K Grandmeister with it's built-in power soak feature. Wonderful piece of kit.

[ElliotGKnapp]

Been using Weber attenuators for 7+ years. Call me a stick-in-the-mud but I have a hard time understanding why anybody feels they need one of those $1000+ bell and whistle machines when you can get a Weber with a line out and onboard EQ in addition to the attenuator functionality for a couple hundred bucks, which sounds great. The idea of replacing actual speakers with emulations seems counterintuitive, since rolling speakers and playing with mic placement is the easiest way to drastically alter your tone and find unique sounds. If you watched this video and are intrigued, I'd recommend starting with an affordable, well-reviewed model (doesn't have to be a Weber) and see how you like it before shelling out for the DeLorean...after all, the main point is getting your tubes hot without driving your neighbors crazy, right?

[davidwolfe]

Weber is a no-brainer for live use with a big amp in a not so big event. I like it's transparency better compared to the older resistive load attenuators. I've owned Palmer PDI-03, OX and WAZA TAE, but those are more expensive geared towards home studio market. All that digital stuff is unnecessary playing live. The weber on the other hand has an internal mechanical voice coil/magnet device to create a real load reaction that sounds genuine all throughout the volume reduction. The sound man will love you, your band mates will love you, you will sound like a pro.

[Jewdly]

Jim Kelley talked about why he liked resistive attenuation, basically because the speaker ‘sees’ a fixed resistance from the amp as much as the amp ‘sees’ a varying resistance from the speaker. To him, providing the speaker the optimal resistance was more important.

[stickeredstrat]

Loving the ZZ top at the beginning, Andy never ceases to impress

[cpfs]

Yes! Even a Princeton is a bit loud for some situations when you open it up. Your amp has power tubes for a reason-get a GOOD power- reduction device of some sort and decouple your volume from your tone. Makes a world of difference! Not to mention, most volume reduction devices also have extended connection options as well.

[stevew]

I've missed Andy -- been worried where he was...

[mannymejia]

Bought a WAZA TAE a few months off Reverb. One of the best purchases I’ve ever made

[davidegentile]

Been using a THD Hot Plate for nearly 30 years! Used to tame my 1970 Marshall 100 Watt Super Lead. Now it tames my Fender Pro Jr.

[sitathomeproductions]

Thhe two notes captor8 is a beautiful piece of equipment too

[bbbro]

I use a Rivera Rock Crusher, not the EQ'd one, with a Marshall Plexi Superlead reissue. That amp would not be use-able without an attenuator. Sounds great, RC is not a massive tone sucker, it is reactive as well. Can go direct too if preferred, but I prefer the sound of a mic'd amp. Bought the RC used for like $300, good deal. To me, non master volume amps are the purest of tone, but they need to be controlled somehow.

[iggypyro]

I use a Weber MiniMass on my Fender Pro Jr. 15watt amp - and it works great. I thought it was going to be a perfect bedroom/practice amp - but quickly found out there was no way I was going to be able to play it with out it rattling the windows. 100 bucks on Reverb. Without it, I would've had to take the amp back.