Cole Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 I was wondering how to get my desired amount of gain at my desired volume level. I have heard of people using clean boosters but most use attenuators. I was thinking of getting the EH LPB-1 or a weber micro mass. I have heard a lot of the people on this forum using the weber attenuators. I'm sure an attenuator would do a better job but a booster is cheaper but if the attenuator will do a much better job i don't mind coughing up the extra cash. Could someone please point me in the right direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m-theory Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 Actually, you'll probably want both. The attenuator will allow you to get power tube distortion at a lower volume, but the boost will kick the snot out of the front, to give you more saturation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cole Posted February 7, 2008 Author Share Posted February 7, 2008 I'm sure i'll get an attenuator. I was wondering if i should get the weber micromass or minimass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunghaichuan Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 I'm sure i'll get an attenuator. I was wondering if i should get the weber micromassor minimass. Bump. I was wondering the same thing myself. tung Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robo Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 Actually' date=' you'll probably want both. The attenuator will allow you to get power tube distortion at a lower volume, but the boost will kick the snot out of the front, to give you more saturation. [/quote'] I agree with M-theory. I used an EH LPB-1 I got in the late sixties or early seventies, for years to overdrive the frontend of my amps, which in turn really cranked the power stage. Those amps had no master volumes and they were loud. A lot louder than without a boost. If you boost it, you'll want an attenuator. A boost can be cool, but will add some SS tone. Go analog not digital, I think the LPB-1s are still analog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m-theory Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 I was wondering if i should get the weber micromassor minimass. The micro would be plenty for a 5 watt amp. The 25w load dump would also be fine, and might be a bit more transparent. The MASS is a great product, but it does introduce a bit of a different feel than running that amp straight, or with a purely resistive attenuator. I think the LPB-1s are still analog. There are dozens of excellent boosts available, all of which are incredibly easy to build. The LPB-1 isn't the cleanest boost around, but it does work. A quick visit to generalguitargadgets.com or buildyourownclone.com will yield a multitude of excellent candidates. DIY stompbox also has dozens of schematics and perf and vero layouts of numerous boost circuits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunghaichuan Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 The micro would be plenty for a 5 watt amp. The 25w load dump would also be fine' date=' and might be a bit more transparent. The MASS is a great product, but it does introduce a bit of a different feel than running that amp straight, or with a purely resistive attenuator. [/quote'] It looks like the MiniMass has a bit more tonal flexibility. And as it is only $5 more and hanldes more power, I'm leaning towards that one. tung Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m-theory Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 I'm sure you'll be happy with that. I had a MASS for my bassman for a while, and it worked fine. I ended up sticking with a Hotplate, after A/B'ing them, but the MASS works. It's just a bit "different" than resistive types of attenuators, because of that speaker motor. They have a different feel, and they have a more saturated, slightly compressed tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iowa Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 I've been looking at attenuators, too. Can any of them be used as a headphone out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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