Metropoulos Forum

Hey guys,
like many of you, I'm looking for the best most transparent attenuator i can get for my plexi. The only one that seems perfect to me is the Aracom. I hear only rave reviews and it has a bunch of nice features. One in particular is you can have a head with different impedance than your cab. This thing costs like 700 bucks. I can't afford that and i cannot find any used. So i need the next best thing. What do you all recommend. It seems like the THD hotplate is a favorite of many people, the only thing i really dislike is you have to buy the one for your amp's impedance. You cannot change that like on most attenuators. SO please recommend me a few attenuators that are good and under $700! Ill be using it either for my JTM 45 or my super bass.

thanks!

I thought the Dr Z Airbrake was great.

Mike

I have used a few THD HotPlates over the years and they are basically very good. They are still the choice for my rig.

The box does alter your tone a bit when set for heavy attenuation. I think this is unavoidable with most attenuators, unless you are lucky enough to find a Faustine, which are not made anymore and are not in the price range of most mortals.

I've also used a Scholz PowerSoak, which I rather liked the sound of. They sound great with an older NMV Marshall in dimed position.

Have you ever considered an isolation cabinet, like the Randall, as an alternative? They work pretty well for recording and band use.

Check out the Rock Crusher.

Aracom. Indistinguishable tone down to mouse fart levels. Worth every penny and easily as valuable as another amp if it allows you to play your amp in small spaces/venues. Plus the Aracom guys are great to deal with as is Cliff from DAG.

thanks guys. can't go with aracom as i said before.....i don't have 800 bucks to spend on an attenuator

find a used power brake on ebay last time I checked you could get one for about $200

Alex' Attenuator is what you're looking for. It's about half the price of the Aracom, and by all accounts as good/better/in the same ballpark as the Aracom or Faustine. I have three of them (two hundred watt ones and one earlier with less wattage rating) and if I am going to buy another attenuator it will be another Alex.

You have to select an impedance to match your amp, but as long as you attenuate about 6 dB or more, you can use it with just about any cab impedance.

I use the UA and like it. It sounds really good, better sounding than the hot plate or power brake. I like the smooth dial volume lets me get the exat level i need and dual footswtichable volumes for live gigs where i need to put it up a little for leads. It works good with mutltiple amp set ups. I use it with my fender combo or my marshall or any tube amp.

Id stay away from the UA if your going for something transparent. I sold mine after a week due to how differnt it would make the amp sound. The alex priced at 400 or so from what i heard is the best attenuator out right now. Still saving up myself to get one

If you are looking for the most cost effective option, I recommend nabbing a powerbrake for cheap on the bay and with a little soldering you can take out all the tone shaping-Fan- etc. and install some big power resistors instead. Makes it a really tasty and usable tool.

slashl33t wrote:Id stay away from the UA if your going for something transparent. I sold mine after a week due to how differnt it would make the amp sound. The alex priced at 400 or so from what i heard is the best attenuator out right now. Still saving up myself to get one

The alex is not leagaly rated to tour to europe. so if your staying here its really good. My UA is almost totaly transparent. Way above the power brake and hot plate

hey guys thanks for all the help. i found out that the rock crusher can handle a 100 watt aimed plexi so i went with that. i haven't heard any negative reviews and you can switch from 8 to 16 ohms.

thanks y'all!

clukeglue wrote:hey guys thanks for all the help. i found out that the rock crusher can handle a 100 watt aimed plexi so i went with that. i haven't heard any negative reviews and you can switch from 8 to 16 ohms.

thanks y'all!

I have heard they are really good. how does it sound transparency wise