Power Attenuator, the secret to tube amp tone at low volumes
FrankW
May 21 2008, 05:44 PM
GMC:er
 Posts: 622
Joined: 29-April 08
From: Fort Mill, SC, USA, Pangea, Earth
I've been reading alot of threads asking how to achieve a good tone from a tube amp without having to crank it to unacceptable levels, like at home while practicing. The solution to this problem is to buy an attenuator...period. If the power tubes are not cooking, the tone will suffer, because all the distortion is coming from the preamp tubes alone, which is the only way to keep the overall volume down while trying to practice quietly. There's only two ways to get the true, singing tone from a tube amp, either crank it with, or without, an attenuator. The use of an attenuator will solve the 'muddiness' problem, and the ringing ears problem. There are a number of attenuators on the market, like the THD Hotplate, the Marshall Powerbrake, and a few others I can't think of. You must realize that another important component to true amp tone is the speaker(s). An attenuator does not address that issue, to utilize the speaker component, the amp must be truly cranked, obviously. But, I've used attenuators in the past, and I'm telling you that is the way to go...not distortion devices. Hope this helps!

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Hisham Al-Sanea
May 21 2008, 08:55 PM
Instructor
 Posts: 4.085
Joined: 19-October 07
From: middle east / lebanon
thanks for the information

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!


--------------------
email me


my video lessons


instructor board
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Ivan Milenkovic
May 21 2008, 10:39 PM
Instructor
 Posts: 25.396
Joined: 20-November 07
From: Belgrade, Serbia
I couldn't agree more. (Quality) speaker is a very important component in the chain, and if the speaker don't get enough power, it cannot overdrive the sound naturally

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!


--------------------
- Ivan's Video Chat Lesson Notes HERE
- Check out my GMC Profile and Lessons
- (Please subscribe to my) YouTube Official Channel
- Let's be connected through ! Facebook! :)
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
blindwillie
May 22 2008, 06:54 AM
GMC:er
 Posts: 1.533
Joined: 28-March 07
From: Luleå, Sweden
Someone mentioned these: http://www.tedweber.com/atten.htm
I'm ordering a MicroMASS. Unfortunatly they are not available here and I have to pay an additional $60 shipping on a price of $70 :/

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!


--------------------

Schecter C1 Hellraiser EMG 81/85, replaced with JB/Jazz (SH4/SH2n) w. coilsplit
Schecter Revenger HB-105, replaced with EMG 81/85
Stratocaster Deluxe Players Noiseless
Ibanez 2550z
Blackstar HT5H, Blackheart BH5H w. BH112, Laney LX35D, Line6 Pod XT, Marshall MS-2
Headphones: Sennheiser RS120

Stay tuned...
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Juan M. Valero
May 22 2008, 11:46 AM
Instructor
 Posts: 4.270
Joined: 6-August 07
From: Girona - Spain
mmm sounds really interesting... sometimes it's difficult to record at high volume tongue.gif

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!


--------------------


Visit : www.myspace.com/juanmvalero
Video lessons ; Instructor board ; Recording lessons
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Saoirse O'Shea
May 22 2008, 12:20 PM
Moderator - low level high stakes
 Posts: 6.173
Joined: 27-June 07
From: Espania - Cadiz province
An alternative for recording an amp at high volume Juan would be a speaker/amp isolation cabinet. Some, not all, studios have them - sort of a soundproof box that you put your amp in and the box is mic'ed and the feed goes to the control room desk and then a line back to you to hear.

Generally though I use a THD Hotplate and it's great for attenuation - but it does suck a bit of treble/high mid so you need to eq for that and you get through tubes quite quickly.

Cheers,
Tony

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!


--------------------
Get your music professionally mastered by anl AES registered Mastering Engineer. Contact me for Audio Mastering Services and Advice and visit our website www.miromastering.com

Be friends on facebook with us here.

We use professional, mastering grade hardware in our mastering studo. Our hardware includes:
Cranesong Avocet II Monitor Controller, Dangerous Music Liasion Insert Hardware Router, ATC SCM Pro Monitors, Lavry Black DA11, Prism Orpheus ADC/DAC, Gyratec Gyraf XIV Parallel Passive Mastering EQ, Great River MAQ 2NV Mastering EQ, Kush Clariphonic Parallel EQ Shelf, Maselec MLA-2 Mastering Compressor, API 2500 Mastering Compressor, Eventide Eclipse Reverb/Echo.
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
 

Reply to this topicStart new topic
1 User(s) are reading this topic (1 Guests and 0 Anonymous Users)
0 Members:

 
Blues Lick Of The Day!

Display Mode: Standard · Switch to: Linear+ · Switch to: Outline

Track this topic · Email this topic · Print this topic · Subscribe to this forum


RSS Lo-Fi Version Time is now: 19th April 2024 - 01:18 AM