Practcing at home/Roadster/Stiletto

[voodoo_child]

Using an attenuator isn't the same thing as turning down your master, sorry.

Obviously not. It's an alternative

If you accept that someone has a fixed volume limit (depending on time of day, location, kids etc), then talking about speaker dynamics is irrelevant.

You have an amp that you paid big $ for, you want to use it as much as possible, and not just once a week for a gig.

You have two choices:
You can have the master low(ish), and, depending on the amp, perhaps have a fizzy, bass-less tone, or...

You can attenuate 8 or 12db, and maybe get an extra 1/4 or 1/8 turn on the master keeping the volume the same, and getting rid of some of the fizz/buzz.

I don't see anything particularly wrong with using an attenuator for this purpose. Like I said on page one, it's not a miracle device, but a useful compromise.

 

[Russ]

I think I would rather just buy less of an amp to begin with instead of an amp that is too much amp and have to use an attenuator but that is just me. For the cost of an attenuator you could get a nice smaller wattage amp for a practice rig. Actually for a small practice amp I would just assume play a SS and not worry about attenuation anyway. Some of those come with headphone jacks too where you don't bother anyone.

 

[SimpleMind]

Forgive me my ignorance but what is a SS?

 

[ashjn]

Forgive me my ignorance but what is a SS?

Solid State

 

[voodoo_child]

I think I would rather just buy less of an amp to begin with instead of an amp that is too much amp and have to use an attenuator but that is just me.

That's your call, and that's fine, im cool with that.

But for me, if i spend big $ on an amp that I love, I want to use it ALL the time. At gigs, rehearsals, recording, jamming, at home, as much as possible. It seems a shame to me to spend a fortune on an amp and only use it once a week (or less) on stage.

If an attenuator can knock a couple of dB off a powerful amp, to the point where you can still get some power-stage saturation without pissing off the neighbours (too much), then it's money well spent IMO.

Of course, some amps sound fine with the master low, but some don't.

 

[Russ]

In all actuality, I live in a nice sized house with good acoustics. There are a couple of bands that live near me (within the block). We just knock it off at a reasonable hour so as to not be disrespectful but we all jam at gig level. I really don't need a practice amp. I practice at gig level regardless of where I am. I only have pro gear and use it whenever I play. Sometimes that is everyday. Other times it is once a week depending upon what is going on here at the house. Just thought I would mention that to help clarify where I am coming from.

 

[JOEY B.]

I really don't need a practice amp. I practice at gig level regardless of where I am.

+1

I'll take it one step farther and say that regardless of speaker cone breakup, the attenuator cannot replicate the effect of sound waves bouncing off the guitars' pickups and surrounding walls. My old MkI has a certain volume at which everything starts to "groove". It's not so much a tone change, but more about dynamics and response.

 

[clutch71]

Simplemind, If tone is what you want get either one. You can crank the output anywhere from 1-3, control the overall volume with the master and you can drop the wattage on either amp. You'll be fine.

If you are worried about overall thump pick up a 2x12 cab. I have an ROV combo which is 50 watts. When I crank it I set the master and output to around 12. So I don't drive my wife nuts I put the output between 1 and 3 to drive the tubes and the master around 8. It gets a real nice tube saturation. Every amp I try I always try it at low volume first.

I have not tried the Roadster but the Stiletto sounded nice in the config I mentioned above.

Best of luck

 

[Charlie]

I've always found that practicing at bedroom levels is always going to introduce some sort of compromise. You can use a smaller tube amp but those little transformers are never going to sound the same as the big ones. It'll sound really good... just not the same. You can use an attenuator but it'll suck some tone and you aren't going to be pushing your speakers.

Personally I like the attenuators because it allows me to use my high-powered heads at home... otherwise most of them would be collecting dust. I generally attenuate the amp by -8db which allows me to get the power section working just a little.

And btw, even a 1 watt amp is loud when it's cranked. I built one a couple of years ago and I need to use an attenuator with it if I want to practice at bedroom levels. Take into account I live in an apartment so my bedroom levels need to be fairly low.