power attenuator for DR 504

[bikehomero]

Hello my friends,

to use my new Custom Hiwatt 50 amp at home, i'm looking for an attenuator including a line out to connect it with my interface and software. I like vintage stuff very much and found one that seems to be interesting. It's the Rivera Super Sink. Have anyone experiences with this old beauty? A guy from studio told me only the Palmer PDI03 would work well with an DAW but i think this is a modern professional opinion and the Rivera should fit for my personal claims as an amateur.

Best regards

Jürgen

[mhuss]

hi Jürgen,

Most attenuators of my acquaintance work well at making the speakers quieter, but I've never heard a line out or 'simulated cabinet' out that sounded very good when recorded directly, particularly for distorted sounds. I think it would sound better to mic the quiet speaker, whichever attenuator you use.

--mark

[Dad3353]

Depending on the sound required, of course, but the 'real deal' comes from the combination of pre, amp and cab. There are many software amp emulators which will render an excellent result, but to capture that 'old school' stuff, there are no real alternatives, imho.
One traditional way to get 'The Sound' was to plug all in as normal, but have the cab face down on a carpeted floor. This went some way towards attenuating, without power soaks and the like. A decent mic (or even a Shure '57...) and that's it.
Line in is for sissies..!
Just my tuppence worth; hope this helps.

[bikehomero]

OK, i undersand, to mic it is finally the only way.

About the rivera attenuator any ideas? It's made from the beginning 80s and it looks sexy:

[mhuss]

I haven't seen that one before. It likely is a simple resistive attenuator like the old Marshall Power Brake. I would get it if the price is cheap enough and give it a try, but don't pay collector prices just because its vintage.

--mark

[Stu_R]

While I can't endorse this particular item I do know the guy who builds this. He's made items for The Eagles & George Michael's band among others. There's quite a list of people on his site that he's done work for.
He also lives & breathes valve amps; collects Sound City, or did.

http://www.dennismarshall.co.uk/load_box.htm

Might be worth an email anyway?

[bikehomero]

I think also the Rivera is an resistive attenuator. Price seems little high at € 200,00. Saw one review in the past where was written it sounds much better then the Marshall Power Brake, but who knows....At this pirce i can get also a Weber Mass at ebay. Don't like TAD and THD becase hey are fixed to one impedance.

@Stu_R: just visited this website and checked the device. It's a loadbox with speaker simulation. This is not what i'm looking for. i need in first line an attenuator and if it can line out well it would be great.

Best regards

Jürgen

[mhuss]

I like the THD (but is is single impedance). I also like the Trainwreck style attenuators (I built one). All of the commercial units seem way overpriced for what is basically a box of power resistors.

--mark

[bikehomero]

Dr. Z is made like the Trainwreck attenuator. There is just a auction at ebay....http://www.ebay.de/itm/111004906930?ssP ... 1423.l2649

Most of the attenuators really seems to be built with same pattern. Only Weber uses a spaker driver and they advertice: "Because a MASS motor is employed, a more realistic interaction between the attenuator and the output circuit of the amp occurs." As this is true, maybe Weber Mass Lite 100 should be my first choice...

[mikhailwatt]

As this is true, maybe Weber Mass Lite 100 should be my first choice...

It seems (though the "speaker motor" idea seems valid in theory) most that try the MASS end up dumping it for something else.

No attenuator really sounds all that great at very low (quiet practice or bedroom) levels, though some are better than others.
Most of them can go down a few dB notches without too much loss of tone or "feel." Beyond that the tone tends to get "fizzy" and one-dimensional.

-My favorite is the Faustine Phantom - very little tone loss down to around -12dB and still quite good past that.
They are/were expensive, and the manufacturer went belly-up, however.

-The Ultimate does a pretty good job, at least down to moderate band levels.
It's not a straight resistive load, more like a very high-powered direct box (emitter-follower circuit, to be exact).
MUST bypass the "plexi" inductor coil with a HIWATT for use-able tone, in my experience.

-I've heard very good things about the "Alex" attenuator, though have not tried it.

With any of them you really have to experiment with the preamp gain, master volume, and attenuation level to find the "sweet spot."

There's always a trade-off or compromise. To my ears, though, a reasonably attenuated HIWATT sounds/feels better than solely using the master volume and/or overdrive pedals to keep the volume under control.

My $0.02. FWIW YMMV LOL, etc....