MASS vs. Hotplate, amp sound clip?

[Burkwieser]

Re: MASS vs. Hotplate, amp sound clip?

Everything should match the cab.

If not using an attenuator, the amp's output impedance should match that of the cab. If adding an attenuator, it too should match. SS amps can be safely mismatched as long as the load is bigger than the amp expects (e.g., 16 ohm load with 8 ohm output). Tube amps get stressed out in either direction: you greatly accelerate tube wear by using a lower-than-expected load and can fry the output tranny by using a higher-than-expected load. That said, most tube amps will tolerate a mismatch factor of 2:1 (e.g., 8 ohm output into a 16 ohm cab).

With that said. My rig is very versitle. I can run 4 or 16 ohms mono or 8 ohms stereo. My cabs have selectors on them just as my power amp, so I am good there It is an all tube setup, so I am not worried about an SS setup. I guess what I was trying to get at is if I should continue to run it at 16, or go to 4 ohms. I believe the signal is running faster at 4 ohms, so it seems like I would want to continue to run it at 16 for a better sound quality. Is that true logic?

 

[Burkwieser]

Re: MASS vs. Hotplate, amp sound clip?

This is extremly interesting to me being that just the other day I went the THD site and came across the Hotplate.

The Hotplate mentions that you need to know what your cab Imped.load will be in order to know which Hotplate model to buy. I was told that the MASS can actually cover several imped.settings. This would be a great option because I may deciede to run a different cab or switch back & forth due to the gig size.

If this is true, then it seems like the MASS is the way to go.

Boze.

Yes, that does seem like the better route to go if it can do that. More versitle anyways.

 

[guymanperson]

Re: MASS vs. Hotplate, amp sound clip?

i hear the DrZ air brake is the best available

 

[aleclee]

Re: MASS vs. Hotplate, amp sound clip?

I believe the signal is running faster at 4 ohms, so it seems like I would want to continue to run it at 16 for a better sound quality. Is that true logic?

If you like the sound better at 16 vs. 4, by all means use the 16.

 

[B2D]

Re: MASS vs. Hotplate, amp sound clip?

Actually, I'm a happy hotplate owner. I just think a lot of people don't have realistic expectations about attenuators.

As for the 8dB thing, look at it this way:

Take a 50W output and apply 8dB of attenuation. You're down to ~8 watts. Assuming your speaker sensitivity is 100dB/W @ 1m, you're looking at ~100dB at 10 ft. Even if you turn down so the amp's pre-attenuated output is only 5W, you're gonna have SPLs of about 90dB in that room. That's not gonna blow your eardrums but it's enough for you to get a pretty good case of tinnitus as you get older.

Im a little confused on what you're trying to say here. I've got a 50w Mesa Rectoverb running into a 100w Marshall cab loaded with greenbacks. I can't turn the master and pre volumes up past 3 together without the amp being too loud... and I've only jammed with bands with this rig a few times and had trouble getting my volume to a manageable level.

and what does 100dB/W @ 1 meter mean? I'd assume it means 100 decibels per watt at one meter but that doesn't make sense... :smack:

WHAT I NEED TO DO: Is to be able to get the amps master volume up to about 6-8 to get that tone and still not drown out the band I play with. If I had a lower wattage amp this would be easier to floor the amp and get that throttled tone but its a 50w amp...

Plus the reviews on Harmony Central are all over the map. Some people say HotPlates suck and some people say they're the next best thing sincew sliced bread... now I'm just confused.

I guess what I'll have to do is just make the 60-mile drive up to hollywood's mesa store and try one out. Thats the closest place they have them.

 

[aleclee]

Re: MASS vs. Hotplate, amp sound clip?

Im a little confused on what you're trying to say here. I've got a 50w Mesa Rectoverb running into a 100w Marshall cab loaded with greenbacks. I can't turn the master and pre volumes up past 3 together without the amp being too loud... and I've only jammed with bands with this rig a few times and had trouble getting my volume to a manageable level.

I'm saying that if you have the power section of a 50W amp operating at even 10% of its rated power, at the attenuation levels you need to make things ear-friendly, you're gonna have significant tone suckage.

and what does 100dB/W @ 1 meter mean? I'd assume it means 100 decibels per watt at one meter but that doesn't make sense...

It makes sense. It might not have been expressed in a way that clicked in your head but it makes sense.

The dB/W/m thing is the accepted way of measuring speaker sensitivity. Using an input tone (at 400 Hz, IIRC) of 1W, the SPL level is measured at a distance of 1m from the speaker. The speaker I described in my post above would generate SPLs of 100dB at 1m in front of the speaker.

Clear as mud?

 

[B2D]

Re: MASS vs. Hotplate, amp sound clip?

Dude I reallly don;t get it...

I'm just gonne drive to LA and try one out haha

 

[some_dude]

Re: MASS vs. Hotplate, amp sound clip?

This is extremly interesting to me being that just the other day I went the THD site and came across the Hotplate.

The Hotplate mentions that you need to know what your cab Imped.load will be in order to know which Hotplate model to buy. I was told that the MASS can actually cover several imped.settings. This would be a great option because I may deciede to run a different cab or switch back & forth due to the gig size.

If this is true, then it seems like the MASS is the way to go.

Boze.

You can mis-match an attenuator 2:1 in either direction; ie, you can use an 8ohm Hotplate with a 4, 8, or 16 ohm load, but the tone controls are optimized for the stock setting.

I got that tidbit from THD.

From what I understand, a Mass will do the same thing, except they add a dial that'll reconfigure the tone controls for the change in load.