Which Hotplate for my 100/60 IIc?

[nocluejimbo]

I currently use my IIc combo on the 60 watt setting, to an 8 ohm speaker, but through the 4 ohm jack, as recommended by the user manual.

If I get a Hotplate or smiliar attenuator, what resistance should I get? Leaving it in half power and getting the 4 ohm, or putting the amp on full and getting the 8 ohm?

Thanks for any input.

 

[nocluejimbo]

Has anyone used the most recent guise of the Weber Mass?

The switchable impedance is an appealing option.

 

[screamingdaisy]

Well, using the 4ohm jack on the 8ohm speaker will half the amps power....

I'd get an 8ohm Hotplate. It'll match more cabs than a 4ohm, and it will work with your combo on it's 8ohm and 4ohm jacks, just like your speaker does.

I talked to one of the THD reps on one of the forums....he says you can mis-match a hotplate 2:1 in either direction. He also said that the switchable power on the Weber Mass is basically the same 2:1 mis-match you get on a Hotplate, but it adjusts the attenuators tone controls to work better with the mis-matched impedance, which is something the THD doesn't do.

If it's of any concequence.....Boogie recommends the Hotplate over the phone, and Bogner uses them in their workshop.

 

[nocluejimbo]

The way I have been led to understand, the 100/60 ("half power") switch actually halves the power, but makes the resistance 4 ohm in the process by disabling a pair of output valves.

The only speaker I would be using this with is my 100 watt Weber Ceramic Michigan. (Note: I definitely had a good experience with Weber in ordering and using that speaker with no previous experience.) So, that kind of weighs out any cab-matching issues.

Though, whatever Boogie recommends is probably the way to go, assuming they have thoroughly tested any available products. And I could definitely pick one up used for less than this model of MASS. The MASS has changed recently, so I wonder if they included that in their testing?

 

[nosajwp]

I've heard that using a Hotplate on a 6L6 powered amp doesn't alter the sound that much. Is this true, or can you tell or feel a difference?

 

[screamingdaisy]

I've heard that using a Hotplate on a 6L6 powered amp doesn't alter the sound that much. Is this true, or can you tell or feel a difference?

When attenuated to "bedroom" levels it crushs the **** out of your tone, but when attenuated to reasonable levels it really doesn't affect your tone that much. I figure most of the change is actually due to your speakers not being driven as hard, but you'll have the problem whether you're using an attenuator or not.


Where I find the biggest change is in the cleans. The whole purpose of attenuation is to "remove" headroom from your amp, thus allowing you to achive more power tube overdrive at lower volumes.....

.....the problem with cleans is it removes headroom and makes it easier to achive more power tube overdrive, which will make it harder to have loud cleans as they'll tend to break up sooner (ie, at a lower volume) than they would with full, un-attenuated headroom.

I donno if I went off topic there, but I felt it kinda fit in.

 

[t0aj15]

I've heard that using a Hotplate on a 6L6 powered amp doesn't alter the sound that much. Is this true, or can you tell or feel a difference?

When attenuated to "bedroom" levels it crushs the **** out of your tone, but when attenuated to reasonable levels it really doesn't affect your tone that much. I figure most of the change is actually due to your speakers not being driven as hard, but you'll have the problem whether you're using an attenuator or not.
Where I find the biggest change is in the cleans. The whole purpose of attenuation is to "remove" headroom from your amp, thus allowing you to achive more power tube overdrive at lower volumes.....
.....the problem with cleans is it removes headroom and makes it easier to achive more power tube overdrive, which will make it harder to have loud cleans as they'll tend to break up sooner (ie, at a lower volume) than they would with full, un-attenuated headroom.
I donno if I went off topic there, but I felt it kinda fit in.

screamingdaisy is right on here. It really eliminates headroom making it pretty much useless on clean tones. As for 6L6 amps I think it affects them as much as any other amp. After having my 4 ohm Hotplate for 3-4 years now and having used it on several amps I've stopped using it altogether (except as a speaker load box), because I just don't like what it does to my sound.