Power attenuator ... anyone ever use one ?

Graham Lathrop · Post by **Graham Lathrop** » 18 Jul 2005 5:04 pm

I was reading on the tone site www.amptone.com and the guy recommends using a power attenuator to get the ultimate tone out of a tube amp...this is mostly for guitar pickers using distortion, but I was wondering if anyone had any experience with this technique....let me know....

Post by **Dave Mudgett** » 18 Jul 2005 7:40 pm

Yes, I've used several different types, from a purely resisitive Scholz Power Soak to an commercial one with an inductive load to one I made myself out of an old speaker with the cone cut out.

If used for a small amount of cut, say 3dB, a good inductive load power attenuator can help get a good distorted tone at a lower volume, but start to sound buzzy when used for a lot of cut. That said, even for a distorted sound, I generally prefer to just use a smaller tube amp.

I would not generally use this approach for pedal steel at all, since I want all the headroom I can get with a tube amp.

Dave Grafe · Post by **Dave Grafe** » 18 Jul 2005 10:14 pm

As Dave M. alludes, power attenuators are great for overdriving an amp to get distortion at low volumes, but in general steelers are looking for just the opposite, i.e. how to get clean tone at higher volumes.

Graham Lathrop · Post by **Graham Lathrop** » 19 Jul 2005 6:16 am

I am a steeler and a guitar player. I use a Nashville 400 for the steel and a Mesa Boogie Nomad 55 for guitar...the problem with the Mesa is the volume even in rehersal situations...I was thinking the attenuator might help with that. Thanks for the replys and anyone else let me know their opinion...

Michael Whitley · Post by **Michael Whitley** » 19 Jul 2005 9:09 am

For home use, I'm currently using a Scholz on a Mesa Mk I reissue for guitar, although I would not hesitate to use it for steel. I'm not using it for distortion. I'm just trying to get the power amp section running somewhat higher than idle, reducing the push/pull crossover distortion and attenuating power amp noise at the same time. Kinda hard to A/B this, but I will say it sounds nice.

Dan Tyack · Post by **Dan Tyack** » 19 Jul 2005 10:29 am

I use the THD Hotplate, which is the standard out there for power attenuators. It's for getting the amp to sound like it does at higher gain settings at a lower volume. It certainly could be used for distortion, but I also use it to get the sound of an amp opened up versus barely on. For example, a Twin on 3.5 isn't really distorted, but it sounds a lot better than a Twin on 1.5. THe attenuator gives you the sound of the amp on 3.5 at a lower volume.

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