hookin up a hotplate

[kdog]

Hey , I just bought a THD hotplate. I own a lonestar combo. Any input on how to set this up.?

I have an idea but just want some thoughts or a diagram on properly connecting this device. The wires from the speaker go into a male jack. then into the amp. But I can't use this cable because it won't come out . Is there an extension to buy?

 

[knotts]

You need a separate speaker cable to go from the back of the amp (with the proper ohm setting) to the THD Hotplate. The ohms for the hotplate are predetermined based on color, so I hope you have a hotplate that matches the impedance of your cab. If you have a 2x12 combo, the speaker load is 8 ohms. You should have a purplish / magenta colored hot plate. The amp goes to the line in on back of the hotplate and then the speaker cab goes to Speaker Output #1.

If you have a 1x12, the ohms may be different. You should check either way to be sure before proceeding.

 

[kdog]

Thanks for your response. How can I tell the Ohms . ? I have a 1 x 12 speaker.

I should clarify, I have a MESA LONESTAR combo Amp 1x12 speaker.

 

[MrMarkIII]

You have an 8 ohm speaker, as detailed in the Lonestar manual, available at the Mesa website.

Go to the THD website and download the manual, then perhaps read it:

http://www.thdelectronics.com/pdf/HP%20Manual%20060405.pdf

THD HOT PLATE OWNER’S MANUAL

To avoid damaging your amp, speaker(s) or the Hot Plate, please read this manual thoroughly before operating the Hot Plate.

INTRODUCTION:

The Hot Plate is a power attenuator that sits between your amp and speaker(s). It allows
you to obtain the full output distortion of a tube amplifier at lower volumes, without sacrificing tone.
The Hot Plate can also function as a high quality direct box, allowing you to send the amp’s
signal to a mixing board, a separate power amplifier or to rack mount effects without miking the speaker(s).
There are five different Hot Plate models in five colors: The 2? (gold), the 2.7? (green),
the 4? (red), the 8? (purple), and the 16? (blue). To optimize the tone and function of the
Hot Plate the impedance should be the same on your amplifier, Hot Plate and speaker cabinet.

OPERATING THE HOT PLATE:

I. AS A POWER ATTENUATOR TO ONE SPEAKER CABINET:
1. Turn the amplifier off or to standby. (If your amp is switched on and is not connected to
speakers or to a load, this will strain your amp and can result in blown output tubes and
output transformer.)
IMPORTANT: WHEN AMP IS ON IT MUST BE CONNECTED TO A SPEAKER.
The only exception to this is if the amp is connected to the Hot Plate and the Hot Plate is
set at load.
2. Connect the Speaker Output on the amplifier to the Input on the Hot Plate using speaker
cable.

IMPORTANT: DO NOT USE INSTRUMENT CABLE - IT IS NOT DESIGNED TO HANDLE
THE POWER THAT SPEAKER CABLE CAN.

3. Connect Speaker Output 1 or 2 of the Hot Plate to the speaker cabinet. If you are placing the Hot Plate between the amplifier section and the speaker(s) of a “combo,” you may
need an extender cable that has a “male” end (to go into the Hot Plate) and a “female” end
(that connects with the cable running from the speaker(s). If your amp does not have a
“speaker out” jack (the speaker(s) are wired directly to the amp), have a qualified technician install one.

 

[stephen sawall]

The color & it says on the back of the Hot Plate what ohm it is. You can use some mismatches safe .... but make sure you read the manual to do it correct.

Two very important questions ....

Your speaker says on it how many ohms it is ..... what is it ?
The Hot plate says how many ohms it is ... what is it ?

 

[knotts]

I bought the THD a few years back. It came with no instruction manual and one of the rubber feet was missing. I wasn't happy with the sound and it was missing everything so I returned it. I later learned that I was tweaking my amp wrong. Look for other threads on this site. They recommend setting the volume and tweaking the tone controls to get the right sound. I swore off attenuators but recently tried them again with this ideology and I am much happier.

If you are tying to make your lonestar sound like a cranked amp at bedroom volumes you're probably not going to be happy. I have my amps masters set between 12:00 and 2:00 and my output set to about 11:00; a volume level that most people would prefer to cover their ears given the size of our rehearsal space and then dial out -3db or -8db. I like the results much better than pushing the output past noon. With the Lonestar, I would suggest putting the amp in 100watt mode; especially with an attenuator in the mix.

 

[kdog]

I read the Manuel on the THD.

My problem is the wires coming off the speaker that lead into the Male Prong. (THEN into the Speaker Jack) THis Jack does not come out. You can pull it out of the jack but there is no slack. So , Is there a connector ? Some extension to buy. I read the Manuel on the Hotplate. I know how to hook it up.

What I don't know is how to hook it up to said Lone star amp.

Not that I don't Appreciate the effort.

 

[knotts]

If I understand you correctly, the speaker cable coming out of the cab is too short to connect the hot plate, if the hot plate sits on the top of your amp. I had enough slack in my lonestar 2x12 to do this, but barely. It looks like you will need to rewire the speaker in your cab if that is the case. I don't know if mesa solders the speaker connections, but if not you can probably just purchase a longer cable online and then slide the clips off the + an - ends of the speaker.

 

[kdog]

If I understand you correctly, the speaker cable coming out of the cab is too short to connect the hot plate, if the hot plate sits on the top of your amp. I had enough slack in my lonestar 2x12 to do this, but barely. It looks like you will need to rewire the speaker in your cab if that is the case. I don't know if mesa solders the speaker connections, but if not you can probably just purchase a longer cable online and then slide the clips off the + an - ends of the speaker.

Sounds like a Hassel . I might just hook it up to my Trans A 30 then. Would be much easier since the Speaker is Separate from the Amp Part. I'll have to check the Ohms on the ta 30 when I get home. Thanks for your Help. THought it would be easier to connect to Lonestar but will use on a different Amp.

 

[knotts]

If it's not soldered, it should literally take about 2 minutes. I also think you'll find the hotplate more useful with the Lonestar.

 

[MrMarkIII]

You need one of these:


These are made by George L's, so they may be available locally at your local emporium.
I found one on eBay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/George-Ls-2-Premium-SPEAKER-CABLE-1-4-Male-to-Female-Spade-For-Combo-Amps-/290646360343?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item43abdf8117

It looks like they have three-footers as well.
No need to unsolder your existing speaker cable.
Just attach the above cable to the extra spade connectors on the speaker.
Stick the existing cable's male plug to the back of the speaker's magnet. You can sort of wind the cable around the magnet a bit.
Easy peezy.

 

[kdog]

You need one of these:


These are made by George L's, so they may be available locally at your local emporium.
I found one on eBay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/George-Ls-2-Premium-SPEAKER-CABLE-1-4-Male-to-Female-Spade-For-Combo-Amps-/290646360343?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item43abdf8117

It looks like they have three-footers as well.
No need to unsolder your existing speaker cable.
Just attach the above cable to the extra spade connectors on the speaker.
Stick the existing cable's male plug to the back of the speaker's magnet. You can sort of wind the cable around the magnet a bit.
Easy peezy.

Beautiful , Thanks man....this is what I was looking for...Thanks . But what do you mean by the magnet ? The existing cable is still needed? In the back?

 

[MrMarkIII]

No, just that it is unnecessary to remove the cable which is soldered to the speaker terminals. Just stick the plug at the end of this cable to the magnet on the back of the speaker to keep it from flopping around inside the back of the cabinet.

 

[knotts]

I was in a bind and I needed one of these for a gig, so no time to purchase this through ebay. I decided to make one of these myself. I went to GC and bought a speaker cable (10ft) and cut it in half. Then I stripped off the sheathing and then exposed the ends of the internal wire. I put on speaker clips like this (from home depot):

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Gardner-Bender-16-14-AWG-0-250-in-Disconnect-F-TAB-75-Pack-75-143F/202522639#.Ud4YbG3qUeo

I removed the plastic on the clips and used a pair of serious man pliers and crimped them on. I did the same thing with the other half of the cable and stuffed it in my gig bag as a spare. It worked great and cost about $12 for 2 of them.