Neville roberts following the recent successful upgrades to various resistors and capacitors in my wad k5881 mk ii power amp and wad series ii modular pre amp, i decided to turn my attention to the volume control. Diy fever building my own guitars, amps and pedals. Because heavy attenuation can cause tone loss, i have included a bright switch to help compensate for the loss in treble. Power attenuator, universal audio ox amp top box, spl reducer, jhs pedals little black amp. Use the site map below or the navigation menu above to find your way around and enjoy your stay. Boss waza tube amp expander attenuator guitar center. I ended up designing it with my webpage software and used a lot of blue ink getting it. Best guitar power attenuator suhr jim kelley guitar power attentuator with its rugged looking, utilitarian design, the suhr jim kelley guitar power attenuator clearly looks like it takes no nonsense when it comes to taking the signal of a guitar amplifier and taming its volume without neutering its sound. Also, i included a bypass switch for obvious reasons. Dummy load and power attenuator projects guitar amp tone. Check out the ultimate showdown between amp software and real amps and learn the 15 best amp sims available in 2020. The result is a design for a bypassable resistive attenuator that can work at 4 or 8. Described as an amp top box, the universal audio ox combines much of uas guitar related modelling dsp with a reactive attenuator. An amp simulator amp sim for short is a plugin that imitates the sound of a guitar amp.
This has to do with the fact that power tubes provide the best sound once they are under maximum load. Ml sound lab releases free amped roots vst3au plugin. A far better solution is a hall amplification variable voltage resister. It gives you a great sounding effects loop which also places the effect after your amps power sections breakup which is where you want it if you have any low watt amps that cant keep up with drums it fixes that as well. Ml sound lab has released amped roots free, a freeware virtual guitar amplifier in vst3 and au plugin formats for daw applications on pc and mac. The jhs pedals little black amp box takes care of the job while being able to fit into the palm of your hand. They are most commonly used with valve or tube amps due. I also have several many other big amps that i would like the option. Power attenuators common myths dispelled guitar lessons. An early guitar amplifier that included a power attenuator was the jim kelley amplifier, which came with its own lpad type attenuator.
Remember, though, that any attenuator is going to sound better at lighttomoderate levels of attenuation, and. Shop for the boss waza tube amp expander attenuator and receive free shipping on your order and the guaranteed lowest price. A cool guitar amp attenuator built in a coffee can. Within the realm of tubebased guitar ampsand there are still a lot of us.
The plugin was developed in collaboration with ryan fluff bruce who provided aread more. The 3 best guitar amp attenuators when you need to. Then i started to use photoshop and it worked much better for me, i could design, modify as much as i wanted and then print on multiple pages. Reactive speaker load circuit, by randall aiken duncans amp pages. I had my original stolen and currently own the thd version 8ohm. While an amplifier provides gain, an attenuator provides loss, or gain less than 1. Radial engineering headload prodigy combination load box. The jet city 100 watt attenuator has some useful features, making it an excellent tool for both live and recording. Like the larger headload, the prodigy employs custommade, cementencrusted, ceramiccoated resister coils to convert the excessive power from the amplifier to heat and. Welcome to diy fever site dedicated to building your own guitars, amplifiers and effect pedals. Keep in mind you are cranking your amp to get your grind with any attenuator and that wears your power tubes out faster than running the preamp section high and running the power section low. Of course, style and appearance are important to a lot of people as well. Links to power attenuator schematics and dummy load schematics. Builtin 100watt class ab power amplifier with discrete analog design and seamless volume control.
Design and construction of a quality stepped attenuator. Some amp makers have also added builtin attenuators to their amps in recent years. Mark breaks it all down so you can confidently create awesome guitar tone and take your mixes, productions, performances and recordings to. While at guitar center in nashville i bought a used gibson stealth attenuator. Over the years i have lost count of the amps ive owned, or have now. What makes a tube amp sound great can be found only when it is turned up to its sweet spot. I am aware of the pros and cons of using them just so we dont get off the real subject but would like to hear more from someone who actually uses one andor has had experience with them in a solid state scenario so i can get some suggestions on which one to. An attenuator is an electronics device that reduces the amplitude of a signal without appreciably distorting its waveform perfect for getting that cranked amp sound, at a lower, more manageable volume level. Since we have already covered amp modeling software, this time we will focus on software that provides quality guitar effects. Now all of a sudden all those lunchbox amps are in play. An attenuator sits between your guitar amp head and your speaker, and serves as a postpower amplifier master volume. Im playing thru a 2001 fender 60 watt supersonic combo guitar amp. This is a compnonet you have to install, but its far better sounding than any type of attenuator. Duncans amp pages are brought to you by duncan amplification.
Switch the amp on and once youve established everything is operating normally, set the attenuator control halfway and switch on the attenuator. Lets me run the amp on full power to get some very tastey output tube distortion, which sounds different than just cranking up the gain on a master volume tube amp. Beyond attenuators with builtin power amps, you can find even more featurerich systems that offer features like cab and microphone simulation. Attenuators for solid state amps music player network.
I was looking at that 100 model, and no i want to keep it clean so i wont be cranking higher than 4. Guitar design in inkscape software project electric guitar. This is an internet resource for those interested in guitar amplifiers, vacuum tubes, and design tools such as spice modelling. The attenuation knob offers five different settings, ranging from true bypass to 7. Im thinking of getting this attenuator and a peavey classic 30 for my next amp. What got me thinking was a page on ted webers site about building an lpad attenuator with high power sand cast fixed resistors.
Load box and di in one to simulate a guitar cab and maximize tone at a lower stage volume. Some production attenuators are the scholz power soak, the marshall power brake, thd hot plate, weber mass, audiostorm hotbox and aracom. Why amp volume is a secret ingredient to getting great. If you turn the volume of the unit all the way off and then bring it up in very small increments so the sound barely comes out of the speaker, youre not using the unit for what it was designed to do. Explore our selection of amp attenuators and simulators. Build a 2stage power attenuator for your high powered.
Bancika mk1 shredding guitar with floyd rose and hot dimarzio humbuckers. Affordable attenuator page 2 telecaster guitar forum. This design is a combination of two diy pagesthis site is the basis for my attenuator. An attenuator is an electronic device that reduces the power of a signal without appreciably distorting its waveform an attenuator is effectively the opposite of an amplifier, though the two work by different methods. These allinone units combine the preamp, power amp and speakers into one piece, which makes them ideal for places where you want to set up and tear down in a hurry. Hey folks, i am looking for advice from someone who has experience with amplifier attenuators, specifically for solid state amps. Amped roots free is the free edition of ml sound labs new guitar modeling software bundle. Jet city amplification jettenuator amp power attenuator.
Also a 40 watt amp at its sweet spot is still too loud i want an attenuator. I have tried several attenuators lpad and weber mini mass but i was. Any tube guitar amp up to 150 watts is supported, from vintage combos to modern highgain heads. Guitar amp attenuator i like to experiment with do it yourself projects so even though i have three sholtz power soaks i wanted to build a guitar amp attenuator from scratch.
Although there is a quality alps blue supplied with the. To use an attenuator, connect a speaker cable from one of your amp s speaker outputs to the attenuator s input, and then connect another speaker cable from the attenuator s output or through jack to the speaker cabinets. Simply run it through your amp s effects loop and control the amount of signal you send to your amplifier s power section. Its housed in a substantial metal case with a front edge of solid maple, an amp style jewel light and five control knobs that are colour coded to correspond with the digital and analogue functions. Amp attenuatorloadspeaker simulator departments guitars guitar amps amp attenuatorloadspeaker simulator. Certainly not for everyone, but if top quality is desired at any price, this is the one. If you love the classical guitar amp look and feel, then you will love this amp from panama. Nebelmaschine steuerung stative zubehor steuerungssoftware leuchtmittel bel. Amp attenuators are devices that solve a very old problem that is specific to tube amps. Guitar amp attenuators at europes largest retailer of musical instruments fast delivery, 30day moneyback guarantee and 3year thomann warranty thomann uses cookies to.
Take away that and you might as well use a transistor amp. My second choice has been a roland cube solid state 25 watt amp. Striking headless design by ibanez ehb drums drums browse catalogue acoustic drums electronic drums cymbals drum accessories. Amp inputs at 4, 8, and 16ohms makes jettenuator more versatile than other attenuators. Preamp tube distortion and output tube distortion can be played with and blended through the use of an attenuator. I knocked up a design in a graphics program and printed it onto water slide. The universal audio ox amp top box is the example andy demos in the video above, featuring a simple reactive attenuator along with builtin plugins and various cab and mic combinations. And use a marshall power brake input attenuator to get the sound level down to a reasonable level. Amp attenuators allow you to get that cranked tube amp sound but at lower volumes. It features a simple design with just two knobs, which are an attenuation knob and a level knob. How power attenuators work and where they should be used. There are many variables that can impact the tone and quality of a guitar recording from setup, string gauge, amps and pickups, to processing, effects and miking. I strongly prefer to end the chain with a tube power amp pushing a guitar speaker to at least one watt, therefore i.
Rs16 16ohm, black, koch loadbox 16 ohm, boss waza tube amp expander. If your principal goal is to achieve fullon tube amp breakup at reasonable volumes, our selection includes firstrate units that do exactly that. Taming a screamingloud tube amp doesnt always require bulky and expensive load boxes and attenuators. To use an attenuator, connect a speaker cable from one of your amp s speaker outputs to the attenuator s input, and then connect another speaker cable from the attenuator s output or through jack to the speaker cabinets input jack. This particular panama amp and attenuator combo pays homage to the classical 5f1 tweed champ design. If you want good distortion, you have to crank the volume to the max. For easy, goanywhere amplification, start out with a combo guitar amp. Ensure the unit is switched to bypass, connect the amp s output to the attenuator s input and connect the speaker to the attenuator s output. This creation by mark bartel is perhaps the best guitar amp attenuator on the market, but it does come at a higher price. How to reduce the volume of a guitar amp using an attenuator. Ox amp top box is a premium reactive load box and guitar recording system that lets you play and record your tube amp in its sweet spots from huge clean tones and edgeofbreakup to fully cranked at any volume level, and with mic, room, and speaker ca. Hot plates are super hard on most amps and youre loosing one of the most important components of a distorted guitar sound, power tube compression.
Guitar amp attenuators at europes largest retailer of musical instruments fast. Build a 2stage power attenuator for your high powered tube amp when someone tells you to turn down your tube amp, they might as well tell you to stop having your amp sound its best. This selection represents the best guitar effects software to help you turn your computer into a full featured effects processor. Guitar amp attenuators suppress some or all of the unneeded power to lower the overriding volume. The kldpan pb1 attenuator is a studio quality guitar amp attenuator that is meant to be used with tube amplifiers with a watt rating of up to 100. But photoshop is a pixelbased software and is not ideal for guitar planning and design. The lpad is basically a resistive attenuator, so it doesnt have the musicianapproved mojo of a finelytuned real guitar amp attenuator. Discussion in marshall amps started by stratm69, jun 9, 2011. My design uses a 100 watt lpad to attenuator the power of the amp. The continuous attenuation control lets you set the volume right where you want it. Modern, variable reactive attenuator circuit for tube amplifiers up to 150 w. It features 15 steps of reactive load attenuation, each with pure transformer coupling. Blog quick tech tips, news, announcements and concert reports.