# My Adventure With Ho



## keto (May 23, 2006)

Umm maybe I should retitle this  Also not sure if this belongs with amps or with effects. 

I'm in lower mainland BC on business this week, thought I'd stop in at Ho's Electronic and check out his operation. I got dyslexic and wrote down the address wrong prior to my trip downtown Tuesday  Anyways, I decided I'd go pick up my brother who lives downtown for supper out in Chilliwack where I stay, turns out he lives less than 10 min from Ho's so I stopped in there first.

Easy to find (once you have the right address), has a small storefront on a busy street but I got lucky and got a (free) parking spot right in front of his door. Mr. Ho is probably around 60, is a very nice and friendly man. There's also a younger man probably in his 20's working with him, I didn't ask but think it could be a son of his.

He spent around half an hour with me explaining his attenuators, his amps, and his headswitcher. He showed me many of each, in various states of build. I didn't try out his amp but he showed me versions he said were 30w and 100w, in a very small head configuration.....I didn't ask but suspect the preamp has to be SS as the only glass I saw in them was power tubes - and he uses some tube I'm not familiar with but that he says is still in current production - was it EF82? something like that, not your normal EL34/84/6v6/6L6 power amp tube.

I was there looking for an attenuator specifically for my Hiwatt and Traynor, both of which are 50 watt amps. I asked if he had any prebuilt for sale, he at first said 'no' but then went an pulled a finished unit off the shelf and showed it to me. Very simple unit, 50w rated, has the plexi ('bright') switch and a plug in that acts as a sort of variac, fixed at 100v - so, you can either plug the amp into the wall or into the attenuator. He even plugged in a HR Deville he had in the shop and ran me thru the functions of the attenuator.

Apparently there's no worry about mismatch cab/amp ohms as the attenuator is running at 30 ohms and there's no switch for 4/8/16, he just says any amp down to 4 ohms can be run thru his attenuator. The Traynor is 8 and the Hiwatt is selectable 4/8/16, my cabs are 8ohm Mesa and 16 ohm Marshall, so this works for me

I won't get to try it until I fly home tomorrow, but I'm looking forward to it - will it really tame that ignorantly loud YBA-1?? 

I'll post a follow up report. Here are the pics, no gut shots for now.


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## seadonkey (Feb 9, 2008)

I want one for my super-lead, was it pricey?


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## Rex Lannegan (Mar 2, 2006)

Well I just got off the phone with Ho...just a wonderful experience. I told him what amp I had (Tophat) and he suggested the his smallest attenuator...was very reasonably priced and should ship in 4 weeks.

We talked for 1/2 an hour and he told me all about the origin of the attenuator; how the 'Ultimate' attenuator started; he explained that he's not in it to get rich...he wants to please his customers with quality products. He's a great person to deal with and I would suggest anyone interested to give him a call. 

He asked me how I learned about his product. I explained that I started over on TGP reading about the Ultimate Attenuator only to find about it's Canadian origins (which he is very proud of:smilie_flagge17. I told him this recording sealed the deal for me: 

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=589296&content=songinfo&songID=6633726

From the guy who recorded it:

"_I've bought boutique amps with power scaling, tried almost all the popular attenuators currently out, master volume amps, etc., no less than five 5-7 watt amps, and nothing feels like my old Marshalls or AC30 and keeps the original characteristics in tact when you attenuate down low enough to play with the family in the house.... until I got this thing. If anyone is used to playing loud for years and frustrated with the feel you get attenuated down to low levels this will change your entire outlook at what amps are available for low volume application. I'm sure this sounds like and ad for this thing but I'm not affiliated nor do I even know the guy that builds these.

You are listening to an Marshall 2061x through a 2x12 Divided By 13 cab loaded with Celestion Golds attenuated down to actual speaking voice level. I made this recording with my entire family asleep in the house. Yes, I could have used a modeling device but listen to the natural room ambience, the muscular mid range, dynamics of pick and finger attack, defined top end, and overall natural sounding live amp signa_l."



I also shared with him this site and told him he should join...he told me 'Oh, I can't type, it would take me all night to write an email....and I just get lost on the internet'. He did say he was going to take a look at the site. 

Anyway...I'll give you all an update in 4 weeks once I get it!

:smile::smile:


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

seadonkey said:


> I want one for my super-lead, was it pricey?


Replied via pm 

Rex, I'm glad you got the same vibe on the phone that I got in person. He's very mellow and eager to please.


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## traynor_garnet (Feb 22, 2006)

keto said:


> I won't get to try it until I fly home tomorrow, but I'm looking forward to it - will it really tame that ignorantly loud YBA-1??


YES it can! Mines been taming my tube rectified Bassmaster for months now. You will love it! It is amazing taking such a beast of an amp down to a usable level and STILL retaining the sound.

In fact, if we ever jam I will use my Traynor/Ho rig.

TG


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## J S Moore (Feb 18, 2006)

Now you made me want one.:rockon2:

What's the contact info?


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## Rex Lannegan (Mar 2, 2006)

J S Moore said:


> Now you made me want one.:rockon2:
> 
> What's the contact info?


http://hoelectronics.com/Contact.php

Give him a call. He's fantastic to deal with. Tell him you heard about it on this site...he was very curious about it.

:food-smiley-004:


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## traynor_garnet (Feb 22, 2006)

For those who are interested, do a search and you will find my review.

TG


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## Peter (Mar 25, 2008)

Ho's great. Just don't ever bring a solid state amp into his shop. He rages. :smile:


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## Soldano16 (Sep 14, 2006)

I bought mine used over a year ago. Mr. Ho is a wonderful gentlemen. He sold me the part and gave me all the help I needed to upgrade mine when I bought my '72 Super lead recently. 

Here's the deal on power.

The standard Ho model can handle 100 watts. Thing is, Marshalls are rated at clean power not full power. A 100 watt Marshall can put out about 180 watts when dimed. So you need 200 watts of resistance to handle a 100 watt Marshall.

That being said, the units work amazingly. If you love Marshalls and want high volume tone at Deluxe Reverb volumes - it's the ticket.

The 2 volume model is the best.


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## mrmatt1972 (Apr 3, 2008)

keto said:


> Umm maybe I should retitle this


I don't know about anyone else, but the title left no doubt in my mind what you were talking about. I wasn't aware he also made an amp. Did you get to try one?

Matt


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## Rex Lannegan (Mar 2, 2006)

Just got the call...shipped yesterday!!

kkjuw


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## Rex Lannegan (Mar 2, 2006)

Well sir...I got the new machine Thursday and put it through it's paces last night. I'm not one to fall for the hype usually (despite my Tim pedal ) but this thing lives up to it. 

I sat down last night and spent about 3 hrs sitting on the couch jamming along with CBC Galaxie stations and really got to know my amp. With my pregnant wife sleeping upstairs I was able to run through my fuzz/overdrive pedals...I was able to drive the amp hard...and just had to take a little hair off with the HO. Feedback, crunch, smooth...it was all there. Really a fantastic device.

I would recommend this for anybody who wants to be able to truly enjoy their amp without knocking planes out of the sky or vapourizing nearby small animals.

I'll try to do a video soon.

:smilie_flagge17:


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## corailz (May 1, 2008)

Looks nice,what is the price of that thing?
I'm playing in my appartment with my Mesa and need to keep the volume close to OFF!I think it could help me!


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## TheYanChamp (Mar 6, 2009)

What was the price for yours if you dont mind me asking?


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