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Okaaaay here it is!
Well it arrived via Fedex yesterday afternoon and I used i last night in rehearsal. I am VERY impressed with this unit, even though i haven't tried other attenuators before.
For those of you who haven't seen it, it's a nondescript black box with two knobs on the top of it, the Z logo and label, as well as the Trainwreck amps label. This was designed by Ken Fischer for Dr. Z. There are only two connection jacks - one input and one output. Thats it. No impedance matching is needed (just make sure you're running a head/cab ohmage match or a "safe" mistmatch like and 8 ohm head into a 16 ohm cab) and it'll handle up to 100w) The first knob is a 6-position selector that selects from attenuation levels 0-4 and the "Bedroom Level" mode. 0 turn off the attenuator, and level one is 3 dB of attenuation and then 2-4 is 4.8, 6.6, and 8.4 dB of attenuation. Bedroom level basically encompasses all of those but allows for attenuation "down to 1 watt". It puts the attenuator into a mode where you can use the 2nd knob like another Master volume to adjust from anywhere to all-out rage (unattenuated) to bedroom quiet (max attenuation) without losing your tone. But thats it. It's totally idiot-proof and doesn't even need AC and it doesn't even get that hot when you use it! It warms up sure but nothing you couldn't handle comfortably.
Anyways I hooked it up with Planet Waves speaker cables into my Legacy (whcih I'd put on the 100W setting) and my 2x12 cab loaded with Eminence Swamp Thangs. I let the amp warm up, got the amp up to about 5 or 6 so before i started getting dirty looks from the rest of the band...
Tis amp is naturally a VERY loud amp. 3 on the master volume in 50W mode seems about equal to 5 on the Mesa/Boogie Rectoverb i used to have. Anyway after putting myself in danger of having a noise complaint filed against me I started playing with the attenuator.
All the good things I've heard about the Airbrake are true. It did NOT alter the tone at all, no matter what level I'd set the thing at. I had the amp up around 5 or 6, like I said, and with maximum attenuation all i had to do to be heard over the amp was talk loudly. It turned the Legacy into a practice amp!
All the tone, saturation, harmonics, and feel of the cranked amp was there. The ONLY tonal alteration was resulting from the speakers not working as hard but even then it was minimal. At first i was concerned about the Airbrake not having a tone stack or anything like that but after playing with it I realized that it sounds so good it doesnt NEED one.
I'd urge anyone whos looking into a great attenuator to look into one of these, or if you have a HotPlate or a MASS and have complaints about tonal alteration at low levels, get oen of these. This is now a permanent "dont leave home w/out it" addition to my rig.
I wish i had one of these when i had my JCM800 and my MESA. I'd feel real guilty about owning a nice tube amp when I'd rarely get opportunities to crank it up and not get in trouble. So if you've got a nice, LOUD tube amp you wish you played more, this is just what the Dr. ordered.
Plus the bartenders and club owners are gonna love it!!
Well it arrived via Fedex yesterday afternoon and I used i last night in rehearsal. I am VERY impressed with this unit, even though i haven't tried other attenuators before.
For those of you who haven't seen it, it's a nondescript black box with two knobs on the top of it, the Z logo and label, as well as the Trainwreck amps label. This was designed by Ken Fischer for Dr. Z. There are only two connection jacks - one input and one output. Thats it. No impedance matching is needed (just make sure you're running a head/cab ohmage match or a "safe" mistmatch like and 8 ohm head into a 16 ohm cab) and it'll handle up to 100w) The first knob is a 6-position selector that selects from attenuation levels 0-4 and the "Bedroom Level" mode. 0 turn off the attenuator, and level one is 3 dB of attenuation and then 2-4 is 4.8, 6.6, and 8.4 dB of attenuation. Bedroom level basically encompasses all of those but allows for attenuation "down to 1 watt". It puts the attenuator into a mode where you can use the 2nd knob like another Master volume to adjust from anywhere to all-out rage (unattenuated) to bedroom quiet (max attenuation) without losing your tone. But thats it. It's totally idiot-proof and doesn't even need AC and it doesn't even get that hot when you use it! It warms up sure but nothing you couldn't handle comfortably.
Anyways I hooked it up with Planet Waves speaker cables into my Legacy (whcih I'd put on the 100W setting) and my 2x12 cab loaded with Eminence Swamp Thangs. I let the amp warm up, got the amp up to about 5 or 6 so before i started getting dirty looks from the rest of the band...
Tis amp is naturally a VERY loud amp. 3 on the master volume in 50W mode seems about equal to 5 on the Mesa/Boogie Rectoverb i used to have. Anyway after putting myself in danger of having a noise complaint filed against me I started playing with the attenuator.All the good things I've heard about the Airbrake are true. It did NOT alter the tone at all, no matter what level I'd set the thing at. I had the amp up around 5 or 6, like I said, and with maximum attenuation all i had to do to be heard over the amp was talk loudly. It turned the Legacy into a practice amp!
All the tone, saturation, harmonics, and feel of the cranked amp was there. The ONLY tonal alteration was resulting from the speakers not working as hard but even then it was minimal. At first i was concerned about the Airbrake not having a tone stack or anything like that but after playing with it I realized that it sounds so good it doesnt NEED one.
I'd urge anyone whos looking into a great attenuator to look into one of these, or if you have a HotPlate or a MASS and have complaints about tonal alteration at low levels, get oen of these. This is now a permanent "dont leave home w/out it" addition to my rig.
I wish i had one of these when i had my JCM800 and my MESA. I'd feel real guilty about owning a nice tube amp when I'd rarely get opportunities to crank it up and not get in trouble. So if you've got a nice, LOUD tube amp you wish you played more, this is just what the Dr. ordered.
Plus the bartenders and club owners are gonna love it!!
plugged into a
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