Want to buy an attenuator for my HT-5

[bara686]

This might be redundant but here it goes.

So I JUST bought an Avatar 2x12 to open up the amp a bit and it is AMAZING. However, I did not realize how much more volume this thing is pushing out... its too much.

Would it be redundant to get an attenuator for this bad boy? I mean, I can't go past 9oclock before the rents get a little pissy, and when I move to an apartment I know they won't like it either.

Anything below 9oclock sounds really thin, the sustain is gone and my dynamics are missing, even with the gain dimed.

I am considering a Weber 50w or 100w atty, as I can grow into it if I decide for another amp.

Ideas? Comments? Suggestions? Thanks <3

 

[Animal]

Re: Want to buy an attenuator for my HT-5

I think it would be pointless with such an amp. The HT-5 is a hybrid of sorts and you have a fair amount of solid-state stuff going on under the hood so that it sounds good at lower volumes. An attenuator will only allow the power section to overdrive at a marginally lower volume, and the tone of the HT-5 mostly comes from the preamp section. An overdrive pedal in front would probably be just as, if not, even more useful.

The reason that it sounds so small below 9 o'clock is because you're not sending enough juice to the cabinet. If you've got a 2x12 with efficient speakers then you'll need more power to get the drivers to open up a 'lil bit. This rings true for just about any amp where at least X amount of volume is required to sound good. Amps don't need to be always CRANKED but getting a great tone at almost whisper volumes is almost a contradiction.

A 1x10", 1x8", or even a 1x6" cab with a low wattage speaker would be a better and cheaper solution. The downside is that they won't sound anywhere near as big as your 2x12.