my dr. Z airbrake review

Re: my dr. Z airbrake review

esandes said:
i heard this is a good solution but i'm not into gutting the amp up. i'll just find a rehearsal space that can tolerate high wattage just to get the damn tube tone.

it's 2012 and we can't get good tone out of tube amps at reasonable volume levels. wtf
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That's like saying "it's 2012 and I can't watch a VHS tape on my iPad!"

If you want good tone at bedroom levels, get a modelling amp. Stop trying to make a tube amp do something it wasn't designed to do.
 
Re: my dr. Z airbrake review

esandes said:
instead of having my amp at 0.1 volume while practicing, with the airbrake it can be played at 0.3 volume with the highest level of attenuation. [...] 2/10 for the dr. Z airbrake.
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Sounds like it's working exactly as advertised.

2/10 for the reviewer's inability to understand what he's buying.
 
Re: my dr. Z airbrake review

Whoa hold on now. The Airbrake is a very solid piece of gear. It works incredibly well. Of course it won't make a 50 or 100 watt amp playable at bedroom levels. But it will tame a savage bone crusher and retain that sought after cranked amp tone very well. I've tried The Power Brake, the Hotplate, this blows them away. I use a Marshall and even at bedroom level it is not at all "un-loud"....it is just much less loud. But if you are in an apartment or expect to not hear the amp throughout your home, no dice. I think you can attenuate quite a bit and keep a very very solid fat warm tone with all the sizzle & presence of a dimed amp. I love this thing!
 
Re: my dr. Z airbrake review

ratherdashing said:
Stop trying to make a tube amp do something it wasn't designed to do.
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I'll also add, he's even trying to make the attenuator do something it wasn't designed to do. They are for bringing a raging tube amp down to more manageable stage volumes, not bedroom volume.
 
Re: my dr. Z airbrake review

What about the Marshall Power Brake? I was looking into getting one for my JCM.
 
Re: my dr. Z airbrake review

I had a Dr. Z, Air Brake and I wasn't impressed with it. I've found it's better to stick with 20 watt or smaller amps.


Sprinter
 
Re: my dr. Z airbrake review

I, like Jeremy, also have a weber mass 100w attenuater that works great and has little affect on tone if set up properly. When I first got it and didn't really pay attention to the directions, I was expecting much greater results than it delivered. But after paying attention to the directions and setting it up properly, I got VERY good results (lots of attenuation and excellent preservation of tone).

The moral of the story is...use it correctly and it will serve you well.
 
Re: my dr. Z airbrake review

ParameterMan said:
Sounds like it's working exactly as advertised.

2/10 for the reviewer's inability to understand what he's buying.
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so when they say "bedroom" level right on the attenuator they really mean "stage but not as much" level? now it makes sense.

it's advertised to take 100W to 1W. bs.

0/10 for your IQ.
 
Re: my dr. Z airbrake review

esandes said:
so when they say "bedroom" level right on the attenuator they really mean "stage but not as much" level? now it makes sense.

it's advertised to take 100W to 1W. bs.

0/10 for your IQ.
Click to expand...

You realize that even a 1 watt tube amp cranked through an efficient speaker will still be pretty loud, right?
 
Re: my dr. Z airbrake review

esandes said:
so when they say "bedroom" level right on the attenuator they really mean "stage but not as much" level? now it makes sense.

it's advertised to take 100W to 1W. bs.

0/10 for your IQ.
Click to expand...

I apologize. I started it, but you're never going to come out looking smart here.

There's a lot of info out there that you obviously didn't consult. I see that Dr. Z has moved his dissertation somewhere - I don't see it any more, which is a bit annoying.

Anyway, the manual itself says "bedroom level" is a maximum of -30 db. That's not going to do what you're hoping. I suppose I'm the only one who reads the manual before I buy something that seems awfully good to be true.

I'm not even all that snarky usually but you've hit two of my pet peeves: not doing your research and blaming something else for your lack of knowledge.

There are so many other ways you could have started the thread other than just a pissing match about things you can't be arsed to understand.
 
Re: my dr. Z airbrake review

All right, you guys convinced me - I just ordered a Weber MiniMASS 50w. No joke. I have always been leery of attenuators because of posts like the OP here but the way some of you explained how they're to help get these amps down to practice or stage volume really makes more sense. THAT is what I need - not a bedroom amp. I've got a Custom Vibrolux Reverb and a 5E3 Deluxe that both sound great when they get into that tube overdrive, but they also get way too loud for band practice and even club stage use. Hopefully this will help me get way more practical use out of my amps!
 
Re: my dr. Z airbrake review

Powdered Toast Man said:
All right, you guys convinced me - I just ordered a Weber MiniMASS 50w. No joke. I have always been leery of attenuators because of posts like the OP here but the way some of you explained how they're to help get these amps down to practice or stage volume really makes more sense. THAT is what I need - not a bedroom amp. I've got a Custom Vibrolux Reverb and a 5E3 Deluxe that both sound great when they get into that tube overdrive, but they also get way too loud for band practice and even club stage use. Hopefully this will help me get way more practical use out of my amps!
Click to expand...

Sounds like it will work out perfectly for you. I like attenuators for when I want to run my volume knob 2-3 notches higher but cant. They are great for just taking that edge off.
 
Re: my dr. Z airbrake review

Edgecrusher said:
Sounds like it will work out perfectly for you. I like attenuators for when I want to run my volume knob 2-3 notches higher but cant. They are great for just taking that edge off.
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That sounds like exactly what I need. I LOVE the sound of my CVR around 4 or 4 1/2 but at that point it's drowning out just about everything else in the band. My 5E3 isn't ridiculous loud, but it's the type of amp that hits max volume on about 2 and then the rest is just 'more drive'. It'd be nice to be able to have some volume control with it.
 
Re: my dr. Z airbrake review

Powdered Toast Man said:
All right, you guys convinced me - I just ordered a Weber MiniMASS 50w. No joke. I have always been leery of attenuators because of posts like the OP here but the way some of you explained how they're to help get these amps down to practice or stage volume really makes more sense. THAT is what I need - not a bedroom amp. I've got a Custom Vibrolux Reverb and a 5E3 Deluxe that both sound great when they get into that tube overdrive, but they also get way too loud for band practice and even club stage use. Hopefully this will help me get way more practical use out of my amps!
Click to expand...

This is *exactly* what an attenuator is for, and the Weber units are great.
 
Re: my dr. Z airbrake review

esandes said:
i'll try the weber.
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i dont think youll get what you need from the weber. when you knock the volume down that much, the tone is going to suffer. the amp is working hard but the speaker sure isnt which is a big part of 'tone'
 
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