Airbrake or Hotplate for Mesa Mark IV COMBO

loudriver23

loudriver23

New member
I currently have a Mesa Mark 4 COMBO that is way way way too loud for my lil apartment. I have been thinking of an attunuator for some time now but don't know which one to get. The good folks at Mesa Boogie strongly recommend the THD Hotplate, however I've been hearing some good things about the DR. Z Airbrake. I also like the features the Airbrake has like a Bedroom setting that supposedly reduces output to something like 1 watt...
I guess does anyone have any experience with using the Airbrake in a Mark IV Combo, or does the DR. Z only work with a Head/Cab setup?
Thanks in advance.
Loudriver
 
Re: Airbrake or Hotplate for Mesa Mark IV COMBO

The new Weber Mass is quite an improvement over the last version that I thought was very good. It is extremely transparent, much smaller and lighter too. Nothing touches it for the price. Has every option you could want for around 200.00.
 
Re: Airbrake or Hotplate for Mesa Mark IV COMBO

kevlar3000 said:
The new Weber Mass is quite an improvement over the last version that I thought was very good. It is extremely transparent, much smaller and lighter too. Nothing touches it for the price. Has every option you could want for around 200.00.
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Interesting,
Is there a URL handy I could read up on the specs on dat bad boy?
Thanks
Louis
 
Re: Airbrake or Hotplate for Mesa Mark IV COMBO

I dont have personal experience, but I have read on numerous occasions that the Airbrake is the way to go, with the weber mass coming in behind that.
 
Re: Airbrake or Hotplate for Mesa Mark IV COMBO

haiz69 said:
I dont have personal experience, but I have read on numerous occasions that the Airbrake is the way to go, with the weber mass coming in behind that.
Click to expand...


From where? Never heard that before.

www.webervst.com is the link. Ted is a really nice guy, I feel good about supporting his products.
 
Re: Airbrake or Hotplate for Mesa Mark IV COMBO

Have you ever heard about the trick that some people do with a volume pedal in the effects loop (I think that's what it is)? There was a Boogie forum out there someplace; you might be able to find out about it there. It might be worth checking out for at least a temporary solution.
 
Re: Airbrake or Hotplate for Mesa Mark IV COMBO

Check out the ultimate attenuator, your search will be over. It's that good. My disclaimer, I sell them, but I also use one almost everyday at home. I haven't tried every attenuator, but have used a lot of them, this one is far superior to everything I've used. It's expensive, but completely worth it. With it, I can bring any of my marshalls home and crank em and have amazing bedroom level tone, don't know how I got along without it actually.
 
Re: Airbrake or Hotplate for Mesa Mark IV COMBO

Falstaff said:
Have you ever heard about the trick that some people do with a volume pedal in the effects loop (I think that's what it is)? There was a Boogie forum out there someplace; you might be able to find out about it there. It might be worth checking out for at least a temporary solution.
Click to expand...

This does not do the same thing as an attenuator. It will not even sound remotely the same. An attenuator lowers the volume AFTER the poweramp tubes AFTER the poweramp clips. The effect loop is by definition BEFORE the poweramp tubes. Using the volume pedal in the loop only acts as another Master Volume. You will get NO POWER AMP DISTORTION which is what an attenuator is for.
 
Re: Airbrake or Hotplate for Mesa Mark IV COMBO

RevolutionMan said:
Check out the ultimate attenuator, your search will be over. It's that good. My disclaimer, I sell them, but I also use one almost everyday at home. I haven't tried every attenuator, but have used a lot of them, this one is far superior to everything I've used. It's expensive, but completely worth it. With it, I can bring any of my marshalls home and crank em and have amazing bedroom level tone, don't know how I got along without it actually.
Click to expand...
How expensive are they? hat do you sell them for?

I got my Airbrake for $225 and I love that thing. Does a great job at keeping tone intact.

Loudriver... do a forum search for "Airbrake" and you should find my review in there.
 
Re: Airbrake or Hotplate for Mesa Mark IV COMBO

heavydutysg135 said:
This does not do the same thing as an attenuator. It will not even sound remotely the same. An attenuator lowers the volume AFTER the poweramp tubes AFTER the poweramp clips. The effect loop is by definition BEFORE the poweramp tubes. Using the volume pedal in the loop only acts as another Master Volume. You will get NO POWER AMP DISTORTION which is what an attenuator is for.
Click to expand...


I'm very sorry. There is some kind of thing people do with the volume pedal to make the Mark IV more fun at lower volumes. The old Boogie forum seems to have shed this mortal coil, so I can't find any details.
 
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Re: Airbrake or Hotplate for Mesa Mark IV COMBO

B2D said:
How expensive are they? hat do you sell them for?

I got my Airbrake for $225 and I love that thing. Does a great job at keeping tone intact.

Loudriver... do a forum search for "Airbrake" and you should find my review in there.
Click to expand...

Thanks B2D,
Perfect, your thoughts on feeling a bit guilty owning a nice loud Tube amp that you wish you played more! I am totally in that situation, the Mark 4 is like 85 watts and seems louder than that. If I can tame that beast just a little bit I'll be happy. I think the Airbrake may very will fit my bill.
 
Re: Airbrake or Hotplate for Mesa Mark IV COMBO

The ultimate is $655 shipping included. The ultimates that I carry have the options that are most requested by pro players, very useable high end piece of gear, pricey but worth every penny.
 
Re: Airbrake or Hotplate for Mesa Mark IV COMBO

RevolutionMan said:
The ultimate is $655 shipping included. The ultimates that I carry have the options that are most requested by pro players, very useable high end piece of gear, pricey but worth every penny.
Click to expand...

Holy ****. How big are they? How much do they weigh? And what are they made of that makes them THAT expensive?

If that thing's pushing $700 I think I'll stick with my Airbrake. My AMP didnt cost that much.
 
Re: Airbrake or Hotplate for Mesa Mark IV COMBO

exactly haha.. i got my weber minimass for $75 used, could not be happier with that investment!!
 
Re: Airbrake or Hotplate for Mesa Mark IV COMBO

Hey guys, I felt exactly the same way about the ultimate attenuator, until I played one. The price tag scared me big time, but if you want an attenuator that doesn't mess with your tone, it's the only game in town so far. One thing that I really dig is that it doesn't attenuate in stages, it's got a volume knob, you either turn it up or down. To be fair though, I have not played every attenuator on the market, but I've played the usual suspects, and they work, but not as well as this. Sure, at this price point, it may go to the point of diminishing return for some, but for me and my situation, it's worth it.

It's pretty small, don't have the exact measurements, but it's about 5" x 9" or so, maybe 10" deep or so.

I'm a total gear nut, mostly marshall stuff, and this is a must have item for me now. I live in a condo, full of old folks neighbors unfortunately, well they're nice, but they like it quiet. Now I can bring any of my marshalls home, absolutely crank it and get that tone at a bedroom volume.

As I noted, I'm a dealer for these, so I'm sure that some will think I'm just trying to push the product. In reality, that's not the case, I'll be sold out of these soon, don't really need to push them. I'm just trying to get the word out on something that's really really useful, I don't get impressed too easily, so when I do, I try to spread the word. Do some research on this one, you'll see I'm not the only one saying these things about this product. There's some heavy hitters using these on stage, I now know why.
 
Re: Airbrake or Hotplate for Mesa Mark IV COMBO

Thanks for the info.

I have an airbrake and I absolutely love it, and the only setting that really alters the tone coming out of the amp (a little coloration from decreased speaker movement is inherent) is the Bedroom Level setting that goes from about 10.4 db on down. Even then its not THAT much.

Granted, the Ultimate Attenuator sounds like a good product, I'm not questioning that. My main thing with it is that with a price like that it's gonna limit the potential customer base quite a bit. Granted it WILL still sell but it sounds like something that only people who play for a living could afford.
 
Re: Airbrake or Hotplate for Mesa Mark IV COMBO

don't know much about the ultimate attenuator. i know it's got the ultimate price tag... he he he

anyway, i played a hotplate in the guitar shop and thought it squashed my tone way too much. plus the attenuation steps down in 4db's which is pretty freakin' drastic. so i got an Airbrake, miles ahead in my book, and it steps down in 1.8db's which are internally adjustable and it was cheaper.
 
Re: Airbrake or Hotplate for Mesa Mark IV COMBO

haha, weber makes a product called the MEGA DUMP. That's pretty killer. Sounds like something Tonka would make.
 
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