Red_Label
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*** WARNING *** Long-winded review (sorry)...
So I've been searching for a decent attenuator for several weeks -- mostly on Ebay. I was mostly looking at the Dr. Z Airbrake, Weber Mass 150, THD Hotplate, Scholtz Power Soak, and Marshall Power Brake (in that order). But most were going for prices more than I wanted to pay for something that I couldn't try out first.
Then I stumbled on The Power Plug, which seems to be made (I think) and distributed by Recycled Sound out of Arkansas. They had a little video link in the auction and it seemed like it was worth a try for $80 shipped, so I bought one last Sunday. I received it today via UPS. He shipped it out right away and I'm happy that I got it today because I have a gig tomorrow night that I want to use it at.
So I did a quick run through with it tonight so I wasn't trying it for the first time in the harsh gig environment. First, I tried it out on my Marshall Class 5. The external speaker output of that combo is 16 ohms, and I bought a Power Plug rated for 8 ohms (they also sell 16, 4, and maybe 2 -- can't remember). But I've been told by a Marshall tech on a Marshall forum that it's okay to run the Class 5 into speakers of less than 16 ohms. So I ran the 8 ohm Power Plug between the 16 ohm Class 5 and my 8 ohm Bogner oversize 2X12 cab. No problems. I dimed the Volume on the Class 5 and checked the volume. Yup... VERY loud for 5 watts. So I flip one of the -6db switches on The Power Plug and it cut the volume in half (or maybe even 2/3). Played for a while with no prob. Then I flipped the other -6db switch and it really cut it down. Definitely cuts the volume! I played around with the switches and the volume drop/gain was always consistent. The tone didn't seem to change much either. But there's definitely a difference at least in terms of moving that massive air with the ampy at full volume, versus not moving as much air. It's gonna make a difference. But the smoth OD of the Class 5 driven hard was definitely there even at -12db. Which was probably 25% or less of the unattenuated volume.
So now that I'd deemed it to be somewhat safe, I moved the attenuator between my Bogner Shiva and the Bogner cab. I set the head's output at 8 ohms, the Power Plug is 8 ohms, and the cab is 8 ohms. I run the Shiva's gain channel volume at about 1:00. So in my house the most I can run the Master Vol at is probably about 10:00. And that's just where it really starts to sound awesome. So I went ahead and set the Master at 12:00, which is WAY too loud for me to get away with and not have the neighbors call the cops. I then flipped the first switch and it cut the volume in less than half. Sweet! Played for a while and verified that there were no tone loss issues. Then flipped the second switch and it really cut the volume. I experimented with running the Shiva's master all the way up to 2:00. That's as much as I wanted to push it because I don't wanna blow it up. But thigs sounded great.
I didn't play it for more than 15 minutes or so though. I usually try to not play at all the night before a gig -- so my fingers are fresh and I'm chomping at the bit to play. So I didn't want to put my usual 1-2 hours in tonight. But what playing I did, I was VERY satisfied with The Power Plug! I will really be putting it through its paces tomorrow night at the gig. I only intend to use one -6db switch for the night. That ought to be plenty as I have a drummer to keep up with. But tomorrow night will be the full test of this thing. So far, this was definitely $80 WELL SPENT! I will finally be able to really enjoy my 80 watt Shiva when playing at home now.
I will post a follow-up to this on Sunday (the day after my gig) to let you all know how it works-out at the gig. Below is a link to the Ebay auction where I bought this unit. And then a few pics that I snapped tonight of this unit both assembled, and somewhat disassembled. I couldn't disassemble it more without worrying about screwing something up. Both sides are the same. Just a couple of little "doohickies" in there to "suck up" power and some capacitor or diode or something between the two sides. Sorry for my lame description, I'm not much of an EE type.
http://cgi.ebay.com/POWER-PLUG-6-12-Attenuator-Brand-NEW-/150445867273?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item230745c109
So I've been searching for a decent attenuator for several weeks -- mostly on Ebay. I was mostly looking at the Dr. Z Airbrake, Weber Mass 150, THD Hotplate, Scholtz Power Soak, and Marshall Power Brake (in that order). But most were going for prices more than I wanted to pay for something that I couldn't try out first.
Then I stumbled on The Power Plug, which seems to be made (I think) and distributed by Recycled Sound out of Arkansas. They had a little video link in the auction and it seemed like it was worth a try for $80 shipped, so I bought one last Sunday. I received it today via UPS. He shipped it out right away and I'm happy that I got it today because I have a gig tomorrow night that I want to use it at.
So I did a quick run through with it tonight so I wasn't trying it for the first time in the harsh gig environment. First, I tried it out on my Marshall Class 5. The external speaker output of that combo is 16 ohms, and I bought a Power Plug rated for 8 ohms (they also sell 16, 4, and maybe 2 -- can't remember). But I've been told by a Marshall tech on a Marshall forum that it's okay to run the Class 5 into speakers of less than 16 ohms. So I ran the 8 ohm Power Plug between the 16 ohm Class 5 and my 8 ohm Bogner oversize 2X12 cab. No problems. I dimed the Volume on the Class 5 and checked the volume. Yup... VERY loud for 5 watts. So I flip one of the -6db switches on The Power Plug and it cut the volume in half (or maybe even 2/3). Played for a while with no prob. Then I flipped the other -6db switch and it really cut it down. Definitely cuts the volume! I played around with the switches and the volume drop/gain was always consistent. The tone didn't seem to change much either. But there's definitely a difference at least in terms of moving that massive air with the ampy at full volume, versus not moving as much air. It's gonna make a difference. But the smoth OD of the Class 5 driven hard was definitely there even at -12db. Which was probably 25% or less of the unattenuated volume.
So now that I'd deemed it to be somewhat safe, I moved the attenuator between my Bogner Shiva and the Bogner cab. I set the head's output at 8 ohms, the Power Plug is 8 ohms, and the cab is 8 ohms. I run the Shiva's gain channel volume at about 1:00. So in my house the most I can run the Master Vol at is probably about 10:00. And that's just where it really starts to sound awesome. So I went ahead and set the Master at 12:00, which is WAY too loud for me to get away with and not have the neighbors call the cops. I then flipped the first switch and it cut the volume in less than half. Sweet! Played for a while and verified that there were no tone loss issues. Then flipped the second switch and it really cut the volume. I experimented with running the Shiva's master all the way up to 2:00. That's as much as I wanted to push it because I don't wanna blow it up. But thigs sounded great.
I didn't play it for more than 15 minutes or so though. I usually try to not play at all the night before a gig -- so my fingers are fresh and I'm chomping at the bit to play. So I didn't want to put my usual 1-2 hours in tonight. But what playing I did, I was VERY satisfied with The Power Plug! I will really be putting it through its paces tomorrow night at the gig. I only intend to use one -6db switch for the night. That ought to be plenty as I have a drummer to keep up with. But tomorrow night will be the full test of this thing. So far, this was definitely $80 WELL SPENT! I will finally be able to really enjoy my 80 watt Shiva when playing at home now.
I will post a follow-up to this on Sunday (the day after my gig) to let you all know how it works-out at the gig. Below is a link to the Ebay auction where I bought this unit. And then a few pics that I snapped tonight of this unit both assembled, and somewhat disassembled. I couldn't disassemble it more without worrying about screwing something up. Both sides are the same. Just a couple of little "doohickies" in there to "suck up" power and some capacitor or diode or something between the two sides. Sorry for my lame description, I'm not much of an EE type.
http://cgi.ebay.com/POWER-PLUG-6-12-Attenuator-Brand-NEW-/150445867273?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item230745c109
