attenuators

It shouldn't make any difference, you should be fine either way safety-wise. The only sonic difference would be caused by the difference in how hard they would be driven relative to the ratings of the speaker motors in the two units. The larger unit would of course be able to handle a wider power range of amps compared to the lower-wattage unit. Basically boils down to a personal preference.

Cheers!

Strat

Thanks for the reply! I'll go with the 25W then.

I think a really smart purchase for an attenuator is the Bad Cat Leash that just came out. It is the only attenuator that allows you to continuously adjust the attention from 0 to full from a knob on the front. I have an Airbrake and you have to open in up to adjust it finely, it's great but I'm thinking of selling it to get the Bad Cat. You can use it with amps up to 100 watts.

You need to check out Dogbite's homemade attenuator for a Valve Junior using a Radio Shack wall volume control, I think, that cost around $10. I think his original post about it is over at: http://valvejunior.com/

You need to check out Dogbite's homemade attenuator for a Valve Junior using a Radio Shack wall volume control, I think, that cost around $10. I think his original post about it is over at: http://valvejunior.com/

I made one of those also, and it works great. Can't beat the price either! :wink:

Dan

Yes I remember his homemade attenuator. I wanted to build one a year ago or so but never really had the time. But now I'm out of school so I have time. Could be a fun DIY project ^.^

I think a really smart purchase for an attenuator is the Bad Cat Leash that just came out. It is the only attenuator that allows you to continuously adjust the attention from 0 to full from a knob on the front. I have an Airbrake and you have to open in up to adjust it finely, it's great but I'm thinking of selling it to get the Bad Cat. You can use it with amps up to 100 watts.

I think YOU need to check out the Weber attenuators before you spend too much money, again.

https://taweber.powweb.com/weber/mass.htm
https://taweber.powweb.com/weber/mdump.htm

Reason for edit: watch your adverbs, Moonie!

OK, I definitely need to attenuate... but which one?

1. Weber Mass
2. Mini Mass
3. Hot Plate
4. Other

I have a Rivera Clubster 45, which has an awesome rich, clean tone, but is way too loud for the bedroom and a bit too loud for small gigs. Has worked well outside, though.

Anyway, I was considering getting a smaller amp or attenuating. But which one? I would like to pay as little as possible, but I don't want to lose much (if any) tone.

Ideas or suggestions?

Jim

OK, I definitely need to attenuate... but which one?

1. Weber Mass
2. Mini Mass
3. Hot Plate
4. Other

I have a Rivera Clubster 45, which has an awesome rich, clean tone, but is way too loud for the bedroom and a bit too loud for small gigs. Has worked well outside, though.

Jim

The Clubster is rated at 45 watts RMS, so it can peak at twice that. I'd get the Mass 100. That will probably be your best general purpose solution

OK, I definitely need to attenuate... but which one?

1. Weber Mass
2. Mini Mass
3. Hot Plate
4. Other

I have a Rivera Clubster 45, which has an awesome rich, clean tone, but is way too loud for the bedroom and a bit too loud for small gigs. Has worked well outside, though.

Jim

The Clubster is rated at 45 watts RMS, so it can peak at twice that. I'd get the Mass 100. That will probably be your best general purpose solution

That's the direction I was leaning. Thanks!

Be cautious using attenuators. You can damage your amp and will almost certainly burn a lot of tubes overusing them.

Be cautious using attenuators. You can damage your amp and will almost certainly burn a lot of tubes overusing them.

This is a common myth about attenuators. It's absolutely not true as long as your load is matched to the amp.

Here's some reading for ya:

From: http://www.guitarnuts.com/amps/myths.php

# A properly designed power attenuator does not apply any more stress to the amplifier than does a speaker cab – in fact a good attenuator will usually apply slightly less stress than a cab alone. However...

# ...when using an attenuator, guitarists typically drive their amplifier much harder than they ever would when driving a cabinet directly. Driving the amp this hard will significantly reduce tube life regardless of whether the amp is driving an attenuator or a cab. As a consequence, it seems like the "attenuator wore out the tubes." In reality, the guitarist was just enjoying much more overdrive than he ever would have without the attenuator and is paying the piper.

# Some amplifiers are simply not built to be driven hard. When the guitarist uses an attenuator and then runs the amp harder than he would have into a cabinet, very bad things happen and then the guitarist says, "that attenuator ruined my amp." No, driving the amp at "10" ruined it – the attenuator is only incidental in that you never cranked the amp to 10 because it was just too danged loud! This problem is particularly common with low-power combos. I have a little 15-watt class A Ampeg Jet J-12T. It's a great sounding little amp that I never cranked higher than about about "4." One day I decided to see if it would do "metal." Using a guitar with hot humbuckers I cranked the little Ampeg to "10" and played for about 2 minutes before the volume just became too painful (I was not using an attenuator, this was directly into the built-in 12" speaker). When I turned the amp back down to reasonable levels I could hear a crackling sound. In two minutes or so I'd blown both of the screen resistors and ruined the tubes. The tech at my local guitar shop called Ampeg (the amp was still under warranty). They told him, "fix it but tell the guy not to turn the amp up to 10 anymore."