Unhappy neighbors(THD Hotplate maybe)

[pewiv]

I always played Marshall amps until recently when I purchased my first rectifier.I have found that the only way to achieve a decent sound is with high volumes.I play a PRS with EMG pickups,single rec,Marshall 1960a.When I bought the rectifier,I thought I would be able to find an attainable house volume without pissing off the neighbors.I was wrong.Whats up with the THD hotplate and will that be what I need to attain a good sound at lower decibal levels.Thanks again everyone for the help.

 

[155]

yo save your money and get one of those volume boxes that goes in your loop, same result and only cost like 20 bucks on ebay

 

[fatoni]

yo save your money and get one of those volume boxes that goes in your loop, same result and only cost like 20 bucks on ebay

not the same result. thats like turning up the preamp volume and turning down the master except it costs money

 

[155]

ive had both and it accomplishes the same thing, load on amp, lowerr volume, tubes pushed

 

[sixstringmonk]

Using a volume pedal in the loop will allow you to clip your preamp section, but it will not allow you to clip your power amp section. An attenuator is the only way to get both.

 

[mikey383]

yo save your money and get one of those volume boxes that goes in your loop, same result and only cost like 20 bucks on ebay

ive had both and it accomplishes the same thing, load on amp, lowerr volume, tubes pushed

No, it doesn't accomplish the same thing.

It's effectively the same thing as turning down the Send level on the effects loop. It only affects the preamp. Basically, it's another master volume control.

An attenuator puts a load on the power amp and lets you get the same tone at lower volumes.

 

[NoGlassNoClass]

Using an attenuator (HotPlate or similar) will get your amp cookin' like you want it, but: more that -8 or -12 dB of attenuation will kill your tone worse than just turning the amp down, and any route you go be it an attenuator, volume pedal in the loop, simply turning down, takes the cab and speakers pretty much out of the equation...and that's a huge piece of the tone puzzle.

IMO save your money and just turn it down...save your tubes and ears for the stage and studio where you can reap the benefits of lettin' her rip.

Or...just be polite and friendly with your neighbors and don't blast it late at night and see how far that gets you. If that doesn't work out, then just dime the Output and Solo knobs so you can't hear the cops pounding on your door 8)

 

[siggy14]

Two little tricks that might help you, I would assume you got a dual rec, if this is true then pull two of the tubes and cut the ohm load in half, read the manual tells you how to do it. If the marshall cab is 16 ohm, then pull two tubes and use the 8 Ohm tap on the rect.

Second, buy some sound foam and cover up the two top speakers, usually a bungie cord wrapped around the foam covering the two top speakers will kill about 30 to 40% of the volume.

I always played Marshall amps until recently when I purchased my first rectifier.I have found that the only way to achieve a decent sound is with high volumes.I play a PRS with EMG pickups,single rec,Marshall 1960a.When I bought the rectifier,I thought I would be able to find an attainable house volume without pissing off the neighbors.I was wrong.Whats up with the THD hotplate and will that be what I need to attain a good sound at lower decibal levels.Thanks again everyone for the help.

 

[6L6C]

I feel your pain as do others.
There is no perfect solution, no matter which you choose your tone will suffer a bit. I have a Weber Mass Lite does work great I have also had in the past a Marshall Power Brake and a THD Hotplate. The THD and the Weber are pretty much on par.
The problem with the attenuator the more you step on it the more it steps on your tone with the drive channels not to bad but the clean that is a different story. Then do you still have to have it loud enough to drive your speaker properly? And you most likely won’t. It is basically a balancing act.

Pulling tubes out of the power section will help but not allot and changes your tone.

You could put one of these $20 sub-master volume box’s in the loop of your amp or if you have a processor just setup a bypass program and use the output knob of the processor. (Pretty much the same thing)
This might work for you and you might find it acceptable. The good thing here with Mesa the overdrive is formed pretty much in the preamp section. Don’t get me wrong giving the power amp a kick in the *** sounds better. But you can still get your fundamental tones out of all your channels. I sometimes do this with my processor but sometimes I do use the attenuator. Really depends what I’m up to at the time, but I do prefer the attenuator

 

[kmanick]

I use a hotplate with my Rectoverb. - 8 is about as much as I can go before the tone starts to change, but since I've thrown in an MXR 10 band EQ in the loop , I can go -12 and 'Reshape" the tone back so it's not all squashed.
I couldn't even use my Recto in my house without the hotplate.
these amps are crazy loud. at -8 I can get the channel up to 10:30 and the output up to 10:30 without my wife throwing me out of the house. :lol:
and it sounds good at those levels.

 

[pewiv]

Thank you for all the info folks.This seems to be a topic that has been an issue with lots of you.I am kind of intrigued by the covering of 2 of the 4 speakers on my cab.Will this really make a difference?General consensus is hotplate over volume control.I want to give the rectifier the same chance as I did with Marshall for many years.Thank You everyone[/quote]