# Attenuator Advice



## BlueRocker (Jan 5, 2020)

Never used one. Looking to quiet down a 30 watt tube amp for home use. Cabs are all 16 ohm. Don't want to spend a ton on one, but enough to get something that works and sounds good. Bells and whistles not required. If you have any recommendations I'd appreciate it.


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## nbs2005 (Mar 21, 2018)

I bought a Weber Mini Mass 50 watt off a forum member; something like $150 shipped. It works great; has selection for ohm load, a brightness enhance switch (I don't use), and a headphone out (that's a non-standard add on). 

For me it works great when I want to go all Neil Young with my Harmony 305c. But I find that I don't use it all that often as my musical tastes have changed. I'm keeping it though as sometimes it's fun to access that sound. 

Cheers,

Jeff


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## Kerry Brown (Mar 31, 2014)

Tried several different ones. None of them worked for me. To attenuate the sound down to bedroom levels didn't sound right to me. They did work great live where you want to run an amp full out but at a volume level that didn't break eardrums. The best I tried were re-ampers where they have have a built in SS amp to reamplifiy the sound. They are also the most expensive.


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## Verne (Dec 29, 2018)

I made my own out of 2 jacks and a pot. Plug it into the FX loop and you can crank the amp volume up to work the tubes for that tube tone, but keep the volume low using the FX loop volume control. All my cabs are 16ohm as well. Works on any amp with an FX loop. Inexpensive to make, and easy as well. Heck, I made 3 and one of those are mounted in an iPhone 4 box.


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## DaddyDog (Apr 21, 2017)

There are a few for up to 20 watts. Not many (I think) for more, and you'll have to spend more. And by "quiet down", assume you mean take the volume down a bit, like 20%. Not to a whisper.

Check out the Mini Mass mentioned above. Look for a THD Hot Plate (beware they are specific to the ohms setting, and they get bought quickly). Look at the Tone King IronMan II Mini. Expensive but I'd expect it to be top notch.


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## DavidP (Mar 7, 2006)

... longtime owner/user of a Weber MASS 50 here. I've tried a few and like this one the best.


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## stormbringer (Aug 27, 2014)

I am selling my Toneking Ironman II mini, which is good for amps up to 30W. It's a fantastic attenuator; the best I have tried.


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## BlueRocker (Jan 5, 2020)

I have yet to try an expression pedal in the loop (same result that @Verne described). I may give that a go. I'm not trying to get the amp to a whisper, my problem is I go from barely audible to loud-ish in about 1/10 of a turn on the volume, then not so much control beyond that (most pronounced on my Orange OR15 head). I had a line on a Bugera PS1 locally for $100 which fell through, and based on price it seemed like it was worth a shot. The Dr Z Z-brake lite also looked appealing because it has two speaker outs and could do 4-16 ohms. Sounds like the Mass 50 may be a good solution as well based on the feedback here. Thanks.


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## Verne (Dec 29, 2018)

I used my volume control on my HRD with good results. They are notorious for being quiet until you go past 1.5 to 2. With this plugged in, I could get the amp volume to 5 or 6 with great tone. A volume pedal should work as well, but I went the inexpensive route myself.


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

If you lower the volume, add a compression pedal or two.


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## ricky_b (Feb 15, 2016)

Another long time Weber user here. I have the Mass 100 with the line out (it has it's own tone stack but I never use it). I use it for a vintage 50w Marshall and my 20w Fender amps. At the time they recommend getting one that is double the wattage of your amp but now I think they suggest four times. The high wattage models still work great on low wattage amps. The treble boost restores the tone the more you attenuate. What I like about it is that it uses a speaker motor (voice coil mechanism) instead of just a big fat resistor.


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## CDWaterloo (Jul 18, 2008)

I've had at least five attenuators (thd, weber, z-air breaker, two-notes captor etc). My fave is rivera rockcrusher. It can be used with 8/16 ohms speakers.


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## Alex (Feb 11, 2006)

I just picked up a Tone King Ironman II and very impressed with the unit. I have not yet tried the cab simulation/IR but the attenuator itself is really good.


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## Grab n Go (May 1, 2013)

I own a THD Hotplate. I mostly use it as a load box. It sounds okay. It's always a bit of a compromise, though.


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## Hammerhands (Dec 19, 2016)

What other amps are you using? I would try the above suggested volume control in the effects loop of the OR15. Does yours have the 7W switch?

Could you turn your amp up and then use a volume pedal between the guitar and the amp to dial it back, maybe like the one below, or just the volume on your guitar? Sometimes that kills the highs, so a volume pedal may have a treble bleed [it would be nice to have that on a switch, but I couldn't find an image of a pedal with a treble bleed switch]. It's an easy project to build.

You could try putting a 5751 tube in the preamp.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

BlueRocker said:


> I have yet to try an expression pedal in the loop (same result that @Verne described). I may give that a go. I'm not trying to get the amp to a whisper, my problem is I go from barely audible to loud-ish in about 1/10 of a turn on the volume, then not so much control beyond that (most pronounced on my Orange OR15 head).


If you're looking to get more control at much lower volumes, this idea can be quite effective. If, on the other hand, you are trying to capture the sound of a roaring power section at lower levels, only a power attenuator will work (an attenuator _after_ the power section, not before it, so it has to dissipate real power/watts, unlike those pre-amp level resistors which only attenuate voltage). 

IME, power attenuators work if you just want to tame an amp (-3dB, -6dB kinda levels of attenuation), not castrate it (more than -10dB). That much attenuation leaves the signal kind of tinny and lifeless. I find if you really want to reduce a big amp to TV levels, a re-amper is the best option out there (Unleash, PowerStation, Boss TAE). They also work great at making a 5 watt amp giggable with a horn band, so although they are more expensive, they are also more useful.


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

Yeah I don't really understand why people think sticking another volume control in an effects loop is the same as a power amp attenuator. Do they think people who pay $150+ for an attenuator are being bamboozled?


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

Verne said:


> I made my own out of 2 jacks and a pot. Plug it into the FX loop and you can crank the amp volume up to work the tubes for that tube tone, but keep the volume low using the FX loop volume control. All my cabs are 16ohm as well. Works on any amp with an FX loop. Inexpensive to make, and easy as well. Heck, I made 3 and one of those are mounted in an iPhone 4 box.
> 
> View attachment 325849


I don't think this does what you think it does.

All you are doing is adding the equivalent of a master volume. If I turn my master volume down I am not getting "that tube tone".


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## BlueRocker (Jan 5, 2020)

I tried the expression / volume pedal in the loop and that works to tame it a bit. My OR15 is being repaired but I'm currently using a H&K Tubemeister 18 (with built in attenuation down to 1 watt that works just fine) as well as an Egnator Rebel 30. The clean channel on the Egnator is a little more than I can get away with playing into the evenings. Main guitar is a Gibson Les Paul Studio High Performance, with treble bleed. Using the volume control on the guitar is an option, but I have to turn it WAY down. I'm not trying to make the amp into a baby monitor or anything, just a little off the top. I think the attenuator is a better option overall because I can just set and forget it, adjust the volume range to suit where it's comfortable, which is almost nowhere right now. I think based on your feedback I'm going to try the Webber Mass 50.


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

Yeah lowering the volume on the guitar is not going to do it. That's just going to clean up your amp not result in crunch at a lower volume level.


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## Latole (Aug 11, 2020)

nbs2005 said:


> I bought a Weber Mini Mass 50 watt off a forum member; something like $150 shipped. It works great; has selection for ohm load, a brightness enhance switch (I don't use), and a headphone out (that's a non-standard add on).
> 
> For me it works great when I want to go all Neil Young with my Harmony 305c. But I find that I don't use it all that often as my musical tastes have changed. I'm keeping it though as sometimes it's fun to access that sound.
> 
> ...


I have one, bought second hand.


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## BadHiwatt (May 9, 2017)

I have owned the following; THD Hotplate, Weber miniMass, Weber Mass, Jim Kelley Attenuator, Bad Cat The Unleash V1, Bad Cat The Unleash V2, and The Fryette Power Station PS-2. 

Without a doubt, the Power Station is the only one I can recommend. It is expensive, but it sounds the best and is feature rich.


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## Latole (Aug 11, 2020)

Wow : $$$


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## Alex (Feb 11, 2006)

Grab n Go said:


> I own a THD Hotplate. I mostly use it as a load box. It sounds okay. It's always a bit of a compromise, though.


Yep, it ends up a compromise and I think the newer attenuators like TAE/Iron Man come close but the compromise is now the dollar investment.

As much a I love a good ol’ tube amp, nothing beats digital for low volume playing. A friend recently asked me my signal chain for a short clip I did and was surprised to hear that it was all done via digital. My AXE FX into Logic Pro at modest volumes with a good preset, sounds significantly better than any low volume operated tube amp. ymmv.


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## BadHiwatt (May 9, 2017)

Latole said:


> Wow : $$$
> View attachment 326248


I got mine second hand back when the dollar was on par with the usd. It was still crazy expensive, but I use it everyday and can’t imagine ever selling it.


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## MarkM (May 23, 2019)

Back in the 80's I bought a Power Soak for about $50 used in a Ma&Pa music store in I think Yorkton when I was working there. Used it with a LP and a 50 watt Marshall 4x12. Sounded really good, not sure it didn't contribute to the death of that head? Didn't know much about impedance back then and that poor amp went up in smoke. I have no idea where either the PS or the head went. I still have the cabinet.


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## TheYanChamp (Mar 6, 2009)

I had the Z-airbrake lite with the 18 watt carmen ghia, it did pretty much nothing to lower the volume except on its max setting, which was muddy as heck. You'll need something bigger for a 30 watter.

My Mesa F50 I used a volume pot in the loop and it helped quite a bit to get more depth as both channels had separate volumes, but no master volume. A compressor might help fatten it further.

My current amp has a pretty damn good master volume so not much of an issue anymore, but when I need to be really quiet, I just use VST's with headphones for best late night results.


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