Attenuators? Any Recommendations? UPDATED 3/30/22

[Chickee]

Living in a multi-generational home, now that my wife and I are retired, has its grand benefits of having the grands(no pun intended)around us and growing and thriving every day. I feel very lucky to get to experience this.

The down side of this living arrangement is sound management. Babies need sleep and naps. Grandpa needs to stretch his electric chops now and then.

Can anyone point to good attenuators for 8ohm and 16ohm tube amps? All are under 25watts.
I want to keep the peace, but I really need to practice with dialing in and benefiting from hearing the sweet spots of these amplifiers I’ve hot rodded with good speakers and good tube sets, not having to rent studio time and space for each use.

Price range under $600 if possible, and multiple ohm box if possible. I would hate to have to buy two boxes! 🙀

[1neeto]

Originally Posted by Chickee

Living in a multi-generational home, now that my wife and I are retired, has its grand benefits of having the grands(no pun intended)around us and growing and thriving every day. I feel very lucky to get to experience this.

The down side of this living arrangement is sound management. Babies need sleep and naps. Grandpa needs to stretch his electric chops now and then.

Can anyone point to good attenuators for 8ohm and 16ohm tube amps? All are under 25watts.
I want to keep the peace, but I really need to practice with dialing in and benefiting from hearing the sweet spots of these amplifiers I’ve hot rodded with good speakers and good tube sets, not having to rent studio time and space for each use.

Price range under $600 if possible, and multiple ohm box if possible. I would hate to have to buy two boxes! [emoji79]

I have a Dr. Z Brake Lite, and it’s good for 50 watts I believe. Works perfect on my 20 watt combos. They go for a bit over $300 new.

https://drzamps.com/product/brake-lite/

[Chickee]

Originally Posted by 1neeto

I have a Dr. Z Brake Lite, and it’s good for 50 watts I believe. Works perfect on my 20 watt combos. They go for a bit over $300 new.

https://drzamps.com/product/brake-lite/

Hey neeto,
I was ready to pull the trigger on this unit and then read a review saying that at full actuation(dial at #4=11 decibel drop in sound)wasn’t strong enough to lower the output to get the amp into its sweet spot with out being overly loud. Reviewer said great for stage or studio, but still way too loud for a bedroom.
Can you add anything to this?

[elephony]

I've been using a Weber MiniMass to attenuate my ~18w combo amp and have nothing but good things to say about it. They retail for a bit under $200 and have multiple ohm settings. None of the fancy settings that something like an Aux Box has, but it's been exactly what I wanted for getting driven tones out of my amp at reasonable volumes in the home at night.

[ras1500]

Have you considered using headphones?
Many times I play my electrics unplugged. They are loud enough for me to hear, but barely audible to anyone else in the house.

[elephony]

A thing I like about the MiniMass is that you can pay a little more to get a headphone jack on it (I did) and then attenuate all the way and still listen to the amp's output via headphones. Playing an electric unplugged is a totally reasonable way to play, but I tend to go acoustic if I'm unplugged and it's nice to have a way to get full amp sounds over headphones.

[Glennwillow]

Hi Frank,

The Fender Mustang Micro Headphone amp at $120 is one possibility.

The Bugera PSI 100W Power Attenuator is only $109 at Sweetwater. I have not used one of these but it gets good reviews. It does not have a headphone amp, but it can send a signal to a mixer where you could then use a headphone amp. Also, depending on where you plug your amp in, it can be set for 4, 8 & 16 ohms. This is probably the closest to what you asked about in your OP, and it's fairly cost effective.

Another possibility is the Line 6 POD HD Pro-X rackmount processor, which has a headphone output but which also can send sound to a mixer and you can listen through monitor speakers at whatever sound level you want. I have one of these units and it sounds really good. It's not the same as using the amps and speaker cabinets that you have, but it's sounds great. $550.

This link takes you to all the attenuators and simulators at Sweetwater. You might want to talk to your Sweetwater rep. about which is the best unit for you. The Universal OX Reactive amp attenuator is a really good unit but $1500. The Tone King Ironman II is a very good unit for $795.

The Weber Mini Mass might be the best deal in terms of quality.

I hope this info helps, Frank! Best of luck!

- Glenn

[Chickee]

Originally Posted by ras1500

Have you considered using headphones?
Many times I play my electrics unplugged. They are loud enough for me to hear, but barely audible to anyone else in the house.

Hey ras,
I have a headphone out on a head and a combo. I do go that route sometimes, and yes I even play an electric not plugged in sometimes also. But that isn’t what I want the attenuators for. Please read below.

Originally Posted by elephony

I've been using a Weber MiniMass to attenuate my ~18w combo amp and have nothing but good things to say about it. They retail for a bit under $200 and have multiple ohm settings. None of the fancy settings that something like an Aux Box has, but it's been exactly what I wanted for getting driven tones out of my amp at reasonable volumes in the home at night.

Originally Posted by elephony

A thing I like about the MiniMass is that you can pay a little more to get a headphone jack on it (I did) and then attenuate all the way and still listen to the amp's output via headphones. Playing an electric unplugged is a totally reasonable way to play, but I tend to go acoustic if I'm unplugged and it's nice to have a way to get full amp sounds over headphones.

What I am trying to accomplish by using an attenuator is:
More available break-in play time for these tubes and speakers. I find that I am not using any of this gear because of the volume. Even with the watt dials turned down to the minimum settings, the tubes aren’t getting hot enough to generate any real tone value. Pushing the pre amp and power amp tubes into the sweet spot is up around six to eight on the channel volume and master dials. Even at two watts, that’s loud in a bedroom setting. And without a master volume, pretty much impossible to get any kind of real tube payoff in tone. That is my dilemma and hopefully solution. Like any gear we use, knowing how to get the most out of it is half the battle. I do like the look of the Weber MiniMass. And the price is great!

[elephony]

It sounds like you're looking to use an attenuator for more or less what I am. I use my (unattenuated) Bassman at volume of maaaaybe 2 1/2 for Fender cleans, but when I want any of that delicious tube tone and can't have or don't want its full volume I use my MiniMass with my Gibson Falcon. It's perfect for getting the saturated tone without hurting my ears or annoying anyone else. I haven't tried others, I'm sure the Dr Z one is great, but I have only good things to say about the MiniMass for reducing amp volume while maintaining tube tone.

[Chickee]

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

Hi Frank,

The Fender Mustang Micro Headphone amp at $120 is one possibility.

The Bugera PSI 100W Power Attenuator is only $109 at Sweetwater. I have not used one of these but it gets good reviews. It does not have a headphone amp, but it can send a signal to a mixer where you could then use a headphone amp. Also, depending on where you plug your amp in, it can be set for 4, 8 & 16 ohms. This is probably the closest to what you asked about in your OP, and it's fairly cost effective.

Another possibility is the Line 6 POD HD Pro-X rackmount processor, which has a headphone output but which also can send sound to a mixer and you can listen through monitor speakers at whatever sound level you want. I have one of these units and it sounds really good. It's not the same as using the amps and speaker cabinets that you have, but it's sounds great. $550.

This link takes you to all the attenuators and simulators at Sweetwater. You might want to talk to your Sweetwater rep. about which is the best unit for you. The Universal OX Reactive amp attenuator is a really good unit but $1500. The Tone King Ironman II is a very good unit for $795.

The Weber Mini Mass might be the best deal in terms of quality.

I hope this info helps, Frank! Best of luck!

- Glenn

Hey Glenn,
I was going with the Dr.Z unit, but I’ve read that at full attenuation it is still pretty loud. That defeats my purpose. I am looking for my amp’s real world tone, but at bedroom levels. I need to be able to turn knobs and know what the end result will be in the real world prior to standing on stage! LOL, LOL. Um, excuse me CoolCats, I’ll be with you in a half hour or so…

That Weber MiniMass is looking pretty good right now. I even thought of the Bugera, but the word is they get very hot and then perish with no warning.

[clintj]

The Weber units are solid and are also a reactive load that mimics how a speaker actually loads an amp. I second the recommendation for one.

[Chickee]

[QUOTE=clintj;6961750]The Weber units are solid and are also a reactive load that mimics how a speaker actually loads an amp. I second the recommendation for one.[/QUOTE

Hey Clintj,
At full attenuation, with the/an amp cranked, how loud are they? Can you tell me?

[clintj]

[QUOTE=Chickee;6961790]

Originally Posted by clintj

The Weber units are solid and are also a reactive load that mimics how a speaker actually loads an amp. I second the recommendation for one.[/QUOTE



Hey Clintj,

At full attenuation, with the/an amp cranked, how loud are they? Can you tell me?

They say over 50dB of reduction, so by back-of-envelope math that could bring an amp capable of 110dB (an 18W with a fairly efficient speaker can reach that level) it could bring it down to 50 to 60dB or less. That's in the range of a quiet office area to normal conversation levels. Reviews say bedroom levels are achievable.

[1neeto]

Originally Posted by Chickee

Hey neeto,
I was ready to pull the trigger on this unit and then read a review saying that at full actuation(dial at #4=11 decibel drop in sound)wasn’t strong enough to lower the output to get the amp into its sweet spot with out being overly loud. Reviewer said great for stage or studio, but still way too loud for a bedroom.
Can you add anything to this?

Well ymmv of course. Exactly how low volume we are talking about here? No sound at all when you close the door? 11db drop is quite significant. For reference I rarely set my attenuator past 2. Another trick to get some drive sound is by putting a volume pedal on the effects loop, and crank the preamp volume. This will cook the pre amp tubes and maybe get that cranked up tone you’re looking for.

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by Chickee

Hey Glenn,
I was going with the Dr.Z unit, but I’ve read that at full attenuation it is still pretty loud. That defeats my purpose. I am looking for my amp’s real world tone, but at bedroom levels. I need to be able to turn knobs and know what the end result will be in the real world prior to standing on stage! LOL, LOL. Um, excuse me CoolCats, I’ll be with you in a half hour or so…

That Weber MiniMass is looking pretty good right now. I even thought of the Bugera, but the word is they get very hot and then perish with no warning.

Hi Frank,

I agree with you! That Weber MiniMass seems like just the right device. And from the little I learned while I was looking at options for you, I also concluded that reactive loading would be best. The negative reviews on the lower cost Bugera units were quite negative and made sense. I think you have got a handle on what you need!

- Glenn