attenuator recommendations. '73 OR120

[ajharris1215]

I need an attenuator for my '73 OR120. Sound guys are complaining.

I've looked into this, but found mixed reviews:
https://taweber.powweb.com/weber/mass200.htm

I've read these are good:
http://www.hoelectronics.com/Product2.php
http://www.hoelectronics.com/Product4.php

I need something transparent. any suggestions?

[Gladmarr]

Here's a major concern with attenuators - look in the past posts here and on the vintageamps/plexipalace forums - they tend to wreck vintage Oranges. Or the output transformers anyway. A good soundguy can deal with it, but most soundguys aren't that good.....

[ajharris1215]

well, that's not good. i basically run this amp wide open, which increases the risk of damage to the OT.

reviews say this one is safe:
http://www.ultimateattenuator.com/index.html

[Gladmarr]

In all fairness, I feel I should disclose I don't use an attenuator, don't like the idea of them, don't believe in them. However, I have heard from a lot of people that that one is pretty useable. That said, there is a guy on the plexipalace forum who knows a cheaper way to get the ultimate attenuator. He apparently knows who makes them for the people who market them.

Check It

[ajharris1215]

cool. thanks.

i agree with you 100% about using attenuators. nevver used them and hate the idea of them. this is a hard decision i've made after trying other options like speaker configs, possible master volume mod, etc.

i'm trying the atten. before i put a master volume mod in this amp. that's my last resort.

and yes, the 700USD ultimate attenuator is sold my Magnus Innovations but is built by ho electronics in canada. if you call ho (link above), they will build you one for 200USD. its identical to the magnus version. also, that attenuator reamps the signal with a 100 watt solid state amp inside the chasis. this is not cool. the reviews are mixed:
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/revi ... nnovations" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Randy Bass]

I've not heard of THD HotPlates having problems with cooking transformers, but I don't like the idea of attenuators either. THD builds some pretty solid stuff.

You should really consider convincing yourself not to be so picky about running the amp on full to get "perfect" tone. Half the crowd at your shows are too drunk to care about your tone, and you should be too . You should see if you can live with an overdrive pedal, since they were invented to solve this exact problem. Master Volume mods are really an awful thing to do to an original OR120. It would be more kind to the amp to replace it with an OD120 and put a few bucks in your pocket.

[ajharris1215]

hmm. maybe i should shop for an OD120

[bclaire]

How much are the OD120 and where can we buy one?

Ebay is pretty much your only option. Price is whatever you're willing to pay. Expect $1500+

[DougDoppler]

Hey guys! The Aracom PRX150-Pro came HIGHLY recommended by a friend. I've used it a TON and it is virtually transparent and also does ohm conversion which is a huge help. FANTASTIC unit...
http://www.aracom-amps.com/products/prx150.html

Cheers ~ Doug!

[yossarian83]

yeah, if your considering forking over the dough for an ultimate then go with the Aracom... the Ultimate is really transparent but you lose the feel pretty quickly c/o the dummy load. From what I've heard of the Aracom, it preserves the feel very well.

[misterMagoo]

yossarian? they haven't dissapeared you yet?

[a.hun]

yeah, if your considering forking over the dough for an ultimate then go with the Aracom... the Ultimate is really transparent but you lose the feel pretty quickly c/o the dummy load. From what I've heard of the Aracom, it preserves the feel very well.

The 'Ultimate Attenuator' isn't really an attenuator at all. It is a dummy load / reamping device, featuring a solid state power amp to bring the volume back up to desired levels. It is known to sound pretty good, but I'm pretty dubious about the engineering quality and power handling, both of which have been severely questioned in the past. I'd not be choosing that myself for an amp of my own.
http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showth ... attenuator" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Of course maybe they've sorted the problems and stopped making such wild claims for it. Certainly hope so!

The THD is actaully one of the few attenuators with a high enough power rating (185WRMS) to be safe with an OR120. One with just a 100W rating wouldn't be, because the attenuator must be able to handle the actual wattage it is seeing from an amp.


Andy.

[SeveBC]

I have the Weber 50 Watt MASS and it retains the overall tonal balance and feel of my Tiny Terror HW head extremely well. The Headphone Tap is near useless as noisy - seems to exaggerate amp noise although I have since improved my Tiny Terror HW head's internal wire dress so may try it again out of interest. The volume knob grates stiffly when turned whilst the EQ section knobs turn rather too freely and have only a very subtle impact on tone, although the 0,+3dB and +6dB treble switch works as advertised. Inputs etc on the back of the unit which reduces the practical utility of the rack ears I purchased. It does work and feel like a dynamic speaker load but some have criticised the Mass 200 for being heavy handed and lacking progression through the volume range. I am positive overall and the switchable impedance is really useful compared to the cost of multiple THD hotplates but as yet I haven't tried it with my Fender Prosonic.

[bclaire]

When the spammer resurrected this post, it got me to thinking about attenuators and I was going to post that the best attenuator I know of on the market (or WAS on the market) is the Marshall SE-100 speaker emulator which is also a direct line out for recording. They only made them a couple of years because they had to license the tech from Groove Tubes (who also make a great attenuator). The problem with these used is, anyone who has one tends to keep it because it's such a great piece of gear. So I loked on ebay and rather than posting a link, I bought the one I spotted going for cheap money. Sorry about that. I just decided thyat if I wanted to run two amps live and cranked loud I'd need a second one. So I got it...

Here's one going for stupid money:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Marshall-SE100-Atte ... ltDomain_0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I've only paid $350 ish for them....

[a.hun]

Yeah the GT / Marshall SE100 had a great reputation. Again though it'd probably not take the full sustained output of an OR120 without sizzling...


Andy.