Which Attenuator to use with DC5 & Rectoverb ???

[George]

I've been doing research on attenuators. Which attenuator would be the BEST to use with Boogie amps :?: :?:

I've never owned one so I'm looking for some feedback at this point.
So far...I like Dr. Z Airbrake, Weber (NOT sure which one), & maybe THD HotPlate :roll:

So...any of you guys using attenuators ?? Which one comes out on top??

 

[darkbluemurder]

Since most Boogies have high gain preamps one should not need an attentuator. The Airbrake is a good one though.

 

[Charlie]

A lot of people on this board seem to like the THD Hotplate... BadCat is making an attenuator now as well but I don't know if it's any good or not.

 

[blakkspider]

Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2007 6:18 pm Post subject:
darkbluemurder Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2007 11:18 am Post subject:

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Since most Boogies have high gain preamps one should not need an attentuator. The Airbrake is a good one though.




so you mean that if we crank the preamp we'll have a good sound at bedroom levels without hurting the amp?


there's a lot of brands out there for attenuators...thd is a good one and you can find a good deal if you search on ebay... the only thing is that you can't select between impendances.[/quote]

 

[devilrob1979]

I use a Weber Mass150 with my Mark IV and it sounds good. It's also less expensive than the THD and not ohm-specific so you can use it with whatever amp and cab you choose.

 

[darkbluemurder]

Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2007 6:18 pm Post subject:
darkbluemurder Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2007 11:18 am Post subject:

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Since most Boogies have high gain preamps one should not need an attentuator. The Airbrake is a good one though.




so you mean that if we crank the preamp we'll have a good sound at bedroom levels without hurting the amp?


there's a lot of brands out there for attenuators...thd is a good one and you can find a good deal if you search on ebay... the only thing is that you can't select between impendances.

[/quote]

That depends on how you define "good tone". If you don't turn the master volume past 3 (as it is recommended by Mesa at least in the manuals for Mark II and III amps) then you will not use power amp distortion, and any distortion comes from the preamp. Of course the sound will not be the same at higher volumes because (a) the speaker starts to work and (b) the human ear's sensitivity to frequencies is different at high volumes. But an attentuator does not solve this problem. I have yet to hear an attentuator making a fully cranked amp sound good at bedroom volume levels. An attentuator is useful if you do play with power amp distortion and need the power amp distortion at a band usable level (i.e. a slight reduction of volume).

You can crank the preamp all day long without hurting the amp. If you use an attentuator then of course there is more strain on the output tubes simply from setting the master volume higher. This is not the attentuator's fault, however. One should take care, however, that the attentuator's impedance closely matches the amp's and speaker cab impedance (recommended is an exact match, if a mismatch is inevitable it should be no more than 1 step up or down, i.e. 8 ohms to 4ohms, 8 ohms to 16 ohms etc.).