Who's using an attenuator?

Re: Who's using an attenuator?

I'm fortunate enough to have neighbors that either a) don't mind me cranking my amps or b) tell me to turn up even louder. I've never used an attenuator, but I'd try to get an amp that suits your domain. If you want a 100W half stack, and you can crank it, go for it. If you're in an apartment, it sounds a little silly to have a 100W half-stack (unless you're constantly moving around to places where you can really utilize it) and I don't think an attenuator would get you very far in that setting.
 
Re: Who's using an attenuator?

I'm not a fan of attenuators. People go nuts over the idea that they are getting "real power tube breakup at lower volumes" which is BS! Instead their getting square wave clipping at slightly lower volumes. Honestly if someone tried to sell a pedal that sounds like a attenuator people would crucify whoever designed it. I think it's a better strategy to try other pedals/preamps rather than try to preserve dynamics with an attenuator, because I don't buy the idea that power tube distortion is always superior to preamp tube or transistor distortion.
 
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Re: Who's using an attenuator?

Something feels wrong about pissing away lots of electricity just to get a certain tone. I might be a hypocrite, but still. A big part of the sound is the air movement, of course, so if you dumb down the actual output, it will be a different sort of sound no matter what. I wonder which is better, an attenuated cranked Fender, or a 2x12 Fender Mustang modeling amp at a similar volume. I really love the Mustang, so it would be tough match.
 
Re: Who's using an attenuator?

idsnowdog said:
I'm not a fan of attenuators. People go nuts over the idea that they are getting "real power tube breakup at lower volumes" which is BS! Instead their getting square wave clipping at slightly lower volumes. Honestly if someone tried to sell a pedal that sounds like a attenuator people would crucify whoever designed it. I think it's a better strategy to try other pedals/preamps rather than try to preserve dynamics with an attenuator, because I don't buy the idea that power tube distortion is always superior to preamp tube or transistor distortion.
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My view is that a sound difference from using some form of power soaking (whether you call it attenuator or not) is not from the power amp tubes doing something different. I think the clipping is the same.

The output transformer, however, has a very complex relationship with the speakers, and the speakers have amazingly complex electrical characteristics that influence how the transformer does the job when they are working, especially when they are working hard.

Of course the speakers themselves are all different sounding at different volumes, but let's stay with the amp.

And let's not start talking about mechanical effects from the cabinet shaking the amp.
 
Re: Who's using an attenuator?

DreX said:
Something feels wrong about pissing away lots of electricity just to get a certain tone.
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So play acoustic. :D


I think a lot of people misunderstand the purpose of attenuators. Yeah, they can be used to dime out an amp and then bring it down to bedroom levels, but I personally used mine for dialing in a sound with the amp maybe halfway up where I liked it and then lowering it down to the point where the sound guy wouldn't complain or could deal with it. Plus I do like the extra coverage and the tone of a 4x12.
 
Re: Who's using an attenuator?

You might also try a pedal or multi-FX unit in your effects loop, and choke off some volume between the pre and power section. It's not the same as attenuation, but a bit more similar to an additional master volume.

I sometimes use an old Alesis Nanoverb in an FX loop, and reign the volume in as well as adding a tiny bit of reverb. It'll make the amp a little more manageable. Plus, you might already own something that will work. I like units with an input volume, mix, and output volume. That way I can control the attack of the signal and the volume.
 
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