THD Hot Plate - Worthwhile?

[GLJazz]

Hey Guys,

Got a chance to score a Hot Plate from a CL Guy at 170. Sounds like a deal that i couldn't loose money on if it works, but do any of you have experience with these? I know the boutique guys spend $500+ on attenuators, is there a big disadvantage to this one?

Thanks!
GL

[jmh151]

Re: THD Hot Plate - Worthwhile?

I have one. Nothing to write home about. Most people prefer the Weber MASS.

[GLJazz]

Re: THD Hot Plate - Worthwhile?

Great! I just scored a weber actually, and my friend is letting me borrow his hotplate. I'll try the both and report back for anyone that's interested!

[formula73]

Re: THD Hot Plate - Worthwhile?

I have a Weber Mass and while it's cool, I feel it necessary to point out that somehow, people have this impression that an attenuator can bring a 100w head down to bedroom levels and sound like a raging stack...

[GLJazz]

Re: THD Hot Plate - Worthwhile?

Haha, thanks for the heads up formula

I (think) I know what i'm getting in to. Will just be an ad30HTC or VHT Standard 36 running in to an orange 2x12. Shouldn't be too deathly loud to begin with, but taming it down won't hurt. Just a finer control without squeezing the Master vs Output.

[jmh151]

Re: THD Hot Plate - Worthwhile?

I have a 100 watt Marshall JCM800 Combo- it's a 4212, which is a 2210, channel switcher with master volume.

I got the THD hotplate to use with the Marshall and the V3 at home. I didn't like it, it didn't seem to do much to the sound. When I cranked the amp up and the controls on the THD up to use the mose attenuation, the amp did sound like it was melting down, but not in a good way, it lost alot of high end and got muddy.

Then I read that you really don't need attenuators with Master Volume amps, so the THD collected dust after that. I get better results mixing between the preamp gain and master volume controls.

Lately I've been getting into lower wattage amps. For home use, I really like mmy Fender Super Champ XD (15 watts) with a stomp box through it, like the Vox Satuator or Boss DS-1.

[GLJazz]

Re: THD Hot Plate - Worthwhile?

Interesting... Well hopefully i'll be able to get along with the Weber, and if not i'll just bite the bullet and finally get something low wattage.

FWIW - to get power tube distortion you DO have to attenuate. Cranking the gain and pinching the master just gives nice preamp distortion. The problem I had with that is that the Deville i had really didn't get any preamp distortion without moving WAY too much air. Hopefully the Weber will help with that! If not, that SCXD keeps getting rave reviews from all the tube lovers, so there must be something to it

[jmh151]

Re: THD Hot Plate - Worthwhile?

I heard to get power amp distortion you'd crank the master and lower the preamp gain.

[formula73]

Re: THD Hot Plate - Worthwhile?

I heard to get power amp distortion you'd crank the master and lower the preamp gain.

That's still earth-shatteringly loud and adds a lot of hiss.

[drew_half_empty]

Re: THD Hot Plate - Worthwhile?

Interesting... Well hopefully i'll be able to get along with the Weber, and if not i'll just bite the bullet and finally get something low wattage.

FWIW - to get power tube distortion you DO have to attenuate. Cranking the gain and pinching the master just gives nice preamp distortion. The problem I had with that is that the Deville i had really didn't get any preamp distortion without moving WAY too much air. Hopefully the Weber will help with that! If not, that SCXD keeps getting rave reviews from all the tube lovers, so there must be something to it

I have a deville and I just use a volume box in the loop to choke it back a bit when I have to. Where are you gigging where it has to be that quiet? Or are you wanting power tube distortion in your bedroom?

[sbecker67]

Re: THD Hot Plate - Worthwhile?

The major drawback to the THD is they are fixed Ohm.

[GLJazz]

Re: THD Hot Plate - Worthwhile?

I have a deville and I just use a volume box in the loop to choke it back a bit when I have to. Where are you gigging where it has to be that quiet? Or are you wanting power tube distortion in your bedroom?

Yeah, Gigging volume is fine. I just can't get ANY distortion back at the house without winding it up too much.

JMH - yes, that's how you get power amp distortion!

[drew_half_empty]

Re: THD Hot Plate - Worthwhile?

The amount of attenuation you'd need is really hard on the amp, and IMO it's kind of... unnecessary? I mean do you need to fry your tubes when you're at home runnin scales and stuff?

I'm changing my answer to practice amp or distortion pedal, if you hate the drive channel so much that you can't tolerate it for practicing