anyone ever use a atturator?

[dearlpitts]

my mark iii goes so loud so quick-would love to crank it but simply impossible even at half power-this thing must of been made to play woodstock-so was wondering if a actuator{sure spelled wrong} would let me crank this sucker-anyone have any experience with this? or is the master pretty much a attuator-just would love to really blaze this mrkii purple stripe and still keep hearing.i,ve trully tried but 2 is as far as i can go-never in 40 years came close to anything this freakin loud

 

[bgh]

dearlpitts,

I use a Weber Mass 200 attenuator for my Mark IV and it works fine. It gives me all the volume options I need. When I want to crank the power tubes, it lets me do so without killing our pets. Very handy little device. I would recommend it in a heartbeat.

I chose it over some other attenuators because it has an actual speaker motor in it (as opposed to others that were pretty much only a heat sink).

Hope this helps!

 

[dearlpitts]

um i have much to learn on this-and just read on gearpage that all are good except webers-then i read the webers are great-and u give thumbs up on webers-love to hear more-so u can crank it and it sounds great but its not TOO loud?are they easy to install,work? what kinda of price for a used one?-thanx

 

[bgh]

There is really no install needed. Instead of running a speaker cable from your amp to the speaker(s), you run it to the attenuator, and then you run another speaker cable (NOT an instrument cable) from the attenuator to your speaker(s).

Be sure not to use an instrument cable. They cannot handle the load coming from the amp to the speakers. You will need to have an actual speaker cable. I grabbed a 2-foot cable from our local music store.

I heard both good and bad about every attenuator that I researched. Most of the bad opinions that I read about the Webers seemed to be about the smaller ones (such as the Weber Mass Lite and the MiniMass). On their web site, they do recommend that you get one that is at the very least the same wattage as your amp (for me, that was 85 watts). They also recommended that if you were going to crank your amp up and really push it, then you would need one that was twice the wattage of your amp. That is why I chose the Weber 200.

Some reviews said that attenuators sucked the tone out of an amp. My attenuator has a 'treble compensation' knob that seems to take care of that pretty well. You turn it up as you turn the volume down and it compensates for any tone lost in the attenuation. But, other than when I was playing with it, I never have had to have mine set at more than half. Maybe mine is a fluke, but it does not seem to lose much tone at all - even when I turn in down a lot.

I cranked my Mark IV a few times with it, just to see how it sounds. It is sweet. In class-A, the EL34s really sound nice when they break up. But, most of the time, I use it to simply take the edge off of the amps volume.

I found mine on E-Bay for $162.00. Not too bad of a deal. New ones are over $200. All in all, I am very satisfied with mine.

I hope this helps.

PS: If you need it, here is their URL: http://www.tedweber.com/atten.htm

 

[gonzo]

my setup:

guitar goes to the pedalboard, with the requisite overdrive, compressor, noise gate, tuner, wah and vibe....

that goes into a 1981 Mesa Boogie Mark2B 60 watt short shell head....

out of that, directly into the Palmer PDI-09, which is how i capture the sound that goes on the recording, at line level.

out of the palmer thru a parallel out, into a Weber Mass Lite attenuator, so i can bring the cabinet volume down for monitoring or micing, at either whisper or screaming volume.

out of the Mass Lite, into a AVATAR vintage closed back cab, with a Celestion Heritage G12.


i can mic that cab using either a sm57, or a AT4033 or Shure KSM44, and blend it with the direct Palmer sound, or just use the Palmer signal.

A Yamaha DG stomp effects pedal, is in the effects loop of the boogie, which is great live, but i never use it for recording..

i always record bone dry, and add effects at mix down.


the way i record with it tho, the palmer pdi-09 comes directly off of the amp output, BEFORE the weber sees it, and that's what goes to the mixer.

the weber then attenuates, and i have the option of micing the cab at that point, so the direct sees full output, the cab sees the attenuated output.
i can control the 'monitoring' volume at any volume up to full output (60 watts is pretty freakin' loud)......

or i can crank down on the attenuator, and record the boogie at full output, but at whisper volume.
i'd prefer an isolation room with a wide open cabinet, but alas, the landlord does not like that sound.

LOL

 

[dearlpitts]

great info guys-thanx looks like i/m in on gettin one.

 

[glguitarman]

Gonzo that sounds like an awesome setup.

 

[gonzo]

GL-

it's a very simple and straightforward solution for my specific recording needs.

i have certain windows of opportunity to run the boogie wide open, and close mic and room mic it, which is always the 'purist' way, and the most preferable...

but when i'm writing, and want the amp for 'inspiration', this is wonderful.
and i can craft a myriad of tones with this setup, and not drive neighbors/wife/wild animals crazy

 

[Dror520]

I actually built an attenuator for 80$.

Here is how to do it: http://www.hearditontheweb.com/images/pdf/attenuator.pdf

It's fairly simple, took me couple of hours. It doesn't have all the features the ones you can buy have but it's really cheap and does the job!

If you need any help, let me know

 

[dearlpitts]

going to check it out

 

[glguitarman]

Gonzo,

I just have one question about your setup. What is the reason that you use the Weber if the Palmer already is an attenuator? Do it not work well in that respect?

Thanks.

 

[bgh]

great info guys-thanx looks like i/m in on gettin one.

Did you ever get one, and, if so, how does it work for you?

 

[gonzo]

Gonzo,

I just have one question about your setup. What is the reason that you use the Weber if the Palmer already is an attenuator? Do it not work well in that respect?

Thanks.

glg,

why do you think the palmer has an attenuator?

 

[dearlpitts]

great info guys-thanx looks like i/m in on gettin one.

Did you ever get one, and, if so, how does it work for you?

not yet

 

[kdorsey]

I have a Marshall PowerBrake available, if you're interested.

 

[glguitarman]

Gonzo, because I read that it has a 3 level attenuator. But, I guess that is for the XLR line level now that I read it again.

 

[gonzo]

yep, strictly line level...

it needs a good load as well, but that's where you can experiment.

they make palmers with built in loads, if you want an all-in-one unit.

i bought the pdi-09 with the weber mass lite because that's what i could afford, and after getting to a/b it against the real thing, decided my version was just as good.