Tman5293 Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 I've had my Hot Rod DeVille for almost a year now and I've never had a chance to really crank it. So I went up to the studio last night with my whole rig. My guitar teacher was there and he told me that I should get a volume attenuator. My teacher sat down on the drums and we played a few tunes. I was surprised when I turned my volume up to 5 and couldn't hear the drums any more. I ended up having to turn it down to 3 so as to not over power the drums. He said that a volume attenuator would allow me to turn my volume on my amp all the way up and still play at bedroom levels. So I started looking these things up and a real power attenuator can be very pricey. I also saw stomp boxes that appear to do the same thing but they plug in to your effects loop or your pedal chain. Which one of these is better? how much you it cost to build one? Here's one that I was looking at that appears to do what my teacher said they do. And it's only $45: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cC3twvskKEw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tman5293 Posted October 22, 2011 Author Share Posted October 22, 2011 Not one person owns a volume attenuator? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damian Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 I can't see the vid........Doesn't your master volume do it's job ?? Anyhow, I've seen them as low as $100.00.............. But you get what you pay for.....Quality ones like THD are pricey indeed.....The concept seems simple enough to build one.....Talk to the DUB; he's the man.................maybe he'll know...60 tube watts is a lot......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 I've owned three Right now I use the Aracom PRX150-DAG..... But you'll be looking at $800 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sellen Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 Not one person owns a volume attenuator? i do. i bought the aracom prx150-dag. Can now play with the "band" cranked up without ears bleeding. I bought this one after i posted here and got this one recommended. heres the link to the threadattenuator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tman5293 Posted October 22, 2011 Author Share Posted October 22, 2011 I can't see the vid........Doesn't your master volume do it's job ?? Anyhow, I've seen them as low as $100.00.............. But you get what you pay for.....Quality ones like THD are pricey indeed.....The concept seems simple enough to build one.....Talk to the DUB; he's the man.................maybe he'll know...60 tube watts is a lot......... I was actually just thinking about sending DUB a PM............................ I've owned three Right now I use the Aracom PRX150-DAG..... But you'll be looking at $800 That's WAY out of my price range..................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 Try the Alex Attenuator.... It's half the price, but it's ohm's specific, and it's pretty darn transparent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tman5293 Posted October 22, 2011 Author Share Posted October 22, 2011 Try the Alex Attenuator.... It's half the price, but it's ohm's specific, and it's pretty darn transparent Hmm...................................half of $800 is $400 and that's still WAY out there. I was thinking less than $100. If I can't find one for that then I'm just not gonna get one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 Hmm...................................half of $800 is $400 and that's still WAY out there. I was thinking less than $100. If I can't find one for that then I'm just not gonna get one. Is you amp a tube type??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tman5293 Posted October 22, 2011 Author Share Posted October 22, 2011 Is you amp a tube type??? Yep. It's a Fender Hot Rod DeVille 212. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 Yep. It's a Fender Hot Rod DeVille 212. Those suckers are loud..... And they sound their best at 60% or louder I would wait until funds become available for a good attenuator that wont kill your tone or your amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silenced Fred Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 Those suckers are loud..... And they sound their best at 60% or louder I would wait until funds become available for a good attenuator that wont kill your tone or your amp. Word. All of the cheap attenuators I have played with suck tone like a fat kid with a milk shake. For that money, I'd just get a smaller tube amp like the vox ac4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damian Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 Get one of these......All tube, good point to good point wiring, 1/16, 1/8, 1nd 1/16 watt settings...Uber gain, tone, and volume controls...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damian Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 Yuppers.............You need a smaller wattage tube amp....I still don't know why your master volume control won't do it for you..... There is no cheap solution for you.......My 65/18 watt Egnater can be very quiet...with full tone....As are my 15 watt tube amps, and my 5 watters...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tman5293 Posted October 23, 2011 Author Share Posted October 23, 2011 Yuppers.............You need a smaller wattage tube amp....I still don't know why your master volume control won't do it for you..... There is no cheap solution for you.......My 65/18 watt Egnater can be very quiet...with full tone....As are my 15 watt tube amps, and my 5 watters...... The master volume wont work because there is no master volume. There is a knob labeled master volume but it only controls the volume of the drive channel. The knob that's labeled volume controls the clean channel volume. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damian Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 Typical Fender design..........not a bad thing, just a Fender thing..... Yup, Tman5348, there is no cheap solution except to add to your amp collection.......... Or, if your goal is more distortion, get a pedal, run it in front........That's not yer style though.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 I watched the vid of that electro harmonix thing and it's not a "attenuator" in the sense of the types that run between speakers and the amp..... Basically that little box is a "volume pedal switch" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krock Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 You can build an attenuator for less than £5. They only have a few parts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djroge1 Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 You could try this Amp Baffles Building one wouldn't be difficult but building one that is transparent is another story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 You could try this Amp Baffles Building one wouldn't be difficult but building one that is transparent is another story. Excellent link I've been looking to make these, but I have so very little time...... Mucho thanks for the link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djroge1 Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 Excellent link I've been looking to make these, but I have so very little time...... Mucho thanks for the link no problem - glad it helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carv3r Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 ive been running a Webber MASS attenuator for a few months now. its rated for 100 watts and seems to get a long VERY well with my Blues Deville amp. I have a 70 watt bassman that it jives with too but i dont like to use it with the bassman as i find it steels some from the bassman and also the bassman pushes 70 watts into it and even tho they are rated for 100 watts it is recommended that you half the wattage of the amp to the attenuator to avoid any issues. if i run the bassman into the webber the webber gets rippin hot.. but barely breaks a sweat with teh blues devillie. these things are awesome to have around. Fast edit-- if you havent looked into THD Yellow Jackets, take a look. they convert an amp from 6l6 power tubes to el84's different tone and it also cuts your out wattage in half. kinda cool. they get hot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asmith9509 Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 You can build a clone of the Dr. Z Airbrake for about $150 in parts if you're handy. Google "DIY Airbrake" and see what that turns up for you. I found the plans on ampgarage.com. I think it's hard to get a membership there now. I built mine in about 3 hours, but I'm pretty good with a soldering iron. In my opinion, it is a very good sounding attenuator. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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