Powerbrakes n Hotplates - soaking up the power...

7 Dying Trees · #1 07-20-2001, 01:02 PM

I am thinking of getting some power attenuator for my amp, as I am going to be moving it back home this weekend. I haven't got any neighbours, but at the same time don't really want to lose any more of my hearing range (15kHz max when I last tested, must be a lot,lot,lot less by now...)... So, I need a power attenuator to be able to crank my amp up without bleeding all over my guitar strap (bear in mind that I am using an old 100w super lead marshall head, so it will be nice to crank it up).

So, I am thinking of getting either a DHT Hotplate, or a Marshall powerbrake. Now, I have heard bad things about the powerbrake with regard to it diminishing tone, whereas the DHT is ohm-specific, meaning that I will have to figure out wether I will be running two cabs or one when I buy one (the two cabs I run sound OK on their own , but much better when paired, they are an old marshall cab and a newer one, both non-slanted. As far as I know the powerbrake does not have this limitation.
I also know that the hotplates have a kewl resistor/capacitor/inductor network inside to keep your tone, and funky switch options to change the sound a bit.

Has anyone used either of them, if so what are their opinions on them? How reliable are they? Has anyone experienced any trouble with them? The last question is quite important, as I have already had my transformers rewound in my head due to someone burning them out (they paid for it though...), and I don't have a back up amp... So before I splash the cash some point over the next few weeks (wacken comes first, the metal mecca!) it would be cool to get some opinions...

Exotic Shredding · #2 07-20-2001, 03:11 PM

I run a Blue Voodoo rig, 120watt. *The Voodoo gets loud very fast. *I use a Powerbrake. *I've never noticed diminished tone. *Hell, it lets me crank up more and get even better tone from the boosted Voodoo. *My gain is at about 5, and my clean is at about 4 with the Powerbrake at a medium setting. *I just adjust my powerbrake for volume. *Live i turn the powerbrake all the way up to my amp's normal volume, then i mic. *I've never even heard of the other one you noted. *The Marshall powerbrake takes a beating too. *I dont have a case for it, but its thick metal covered so i just drag it along with the gear. *It has never had a problem. *It also has a fan that operates whenever needed. *I believe it dissipates alot of the heat as well cause my tubes have lasted me incredibly long. *And they are still rocking. *No loss in tone. *I recommend the powerbrake completely.

Josh Blagg · #3 07-20-2001, 07:34 PM

Personally, I'd go for the THD. *There are others to consider though besides this and the Marshall. *For instance, Trainwreck makes one I believe. *But you're right, the THD is supposedly a better tone presever and it also has a switch that can brighten/darken your sound when needed. *You can also run a line level out with it, and possibly some more bells and whistles, although I can't remember. *I have heard many stories of Marshall rectifiers blowing from use of the Power Brake.

lgascoig · #4 07-21-2001, 11:14 AM

Head over to the amp forum and search for Powerbrake, I think you'll find that over there they refer to it as PowerBREAK as in it is going to break your amp. *Also check www.amptone.com, they have a whole section on attenuators. *The concensus seems to be that the THD sounds the best and is the safest.

7 Dying Trees · #5 07-23-2001, 08:19 AM

I did a little more research on the Hotplate this weekend, and had a look on harmony central (that is where they post the reviews right? Just that I've lost all my bookmarks) and some guy was going on about that if he used the line out that it changed his sound. Now I find that slightly disconcerting as anything which reacts in a noticable way to a load being attached to it (at least in that way) is a bit scary, but then again, I have heard quite a few bad things about the powerbreak too, and I

I do think I am going to try them out if I can find them, but I hate sitting in guitar shops trying out gear on a saturday, and I am not tto sure they'll let me crank their nice shiny new amps all the way up so I can see what it's like!

I am thinking about the hotplate, and I hope i can blag someone down the guitar shopping street here in london to loan me one for the weekend, but this is highly doubtfull...

As I have said in the post before, I really don't want to risk blowing my amp, the last time it blew was because I bought a second hand cab that someone had wired to be 4ohms. And there was me thinking it was 16...

So it looks like the THD is winning. Has anyone here ever used one?

bluenote · #6 07-23-2001, 11:35 AM

the power break is terrible.....it deffinately kills your tone....and they have a history of breaking down

the thd hotplate is the way to go....im not sure why that guy thinks his line out changed his tone.....it doesnt at all

7 Dying Trees · #7 07-23-2001, 11:44 AM

That's cool! Either way, I don't really use the line out much (or even at all). Definetly not going for the powerbrake as I am hearing too many bad things...

Has anyone tried anything else other than the hotplate? There are some other products out there, has anyone ever used any of those? What are they like?

lgascoig · #8 07-23-2001, 01:32 PM

I almost went and bought an 8 ohm one on Saturday, but it was a little expensive ($279). *I really doubt the store would let you try it there, hehe. *I haven't read one report of someone frying their transformer using the hotplate. *With the powerbrake there have been numerous reports, but then again it might be from Marshall bashers.

There is at least one inexpensive attenuator, I think its a little over 100$, but I wouldn't trust my equipment to an attenuator unless there have been no reported problems with it. *The only one that fits the bill is the hotplate.

**cerealk** · #9 07-23-2001, 04:51 PM

A while ago and for about a year a used a Marshall SE-100 rack mounted power attenuator/speaker emulator.

At the time I had a 1968 Laney 100 watt supergroup series mark 1 (the same amps that Tony Iommi used on the first Black Sabbath albums).

I used the SE-100 alot in rehearsal and even recorded with it, but I always found it took something out of the sound and also added some compression. *
My rack/head/cab set up always sounded better without it, however I was then always louder than the rest of the band! :biggrin:

I think the THD ones are probably a good idea but then you are restricted to the one ohm setting.

I have not heard any reports of powerbreaks breaking down/breaking amps though.

(Edited by cerealk at 8:53 pm on July 23, 2001)

lgascoig · #10 07-23-2001, 07:13 PM

They reportedly have problems with 100W and up heads. *The report is that some glue inside of it melts if you're playing a dimed 100W or above head.

I think that it's almost impossible to not get sound degredation using any volume lowering technique (isolation cabinets, attenuator, etc...) especially if you consider that a pushed speaker sounds different from one at a lower volume. *That means it will never sound the same no matter how good the attenuator is.

7 Dying Trees · #11 07-24-2001, 05:54 AM

Yeah, there's nothing like the sound of distorting speakers! But I do want to be able to drive my amp at home, at rehearsals and during the day (wahey! No neighbours!) I can crank it up, but I do want to save myself from replacing the windows :biggrin:

The only thing, as simon pointed out, is that you can't change the impedance setting, which as I want it for home means I won't be using it at rehearsals, which is a shame, as I like the combined sound I get out of both cabs... So the THD is the more expensive solution, as I might have to get two of them...

lgascoig · #12 07-24-2001, 10:55 AM

Ya for me it isn't a big deal, since I am currently using a Mesa combo wired for 8 ohms, and my future expansion plans are to go to a 2x12 Recto cab which also comes wired mono at 8 ohms. *So I can get away with 1. *I'm sure there's a little bit of a scam going, the parts between different models are probably not very different so they could probably make one with a switch that would let you select the resistance. *Oh well.

7 Dying Trees · #13 07-24-2001, 11:05 AM

well, I can understand why, as the circuit impedance needs to be balanced, and as it has a fairly complex component network it's probably better for them to not put a switch on it... Besides, at least you know you can never put it on the incorrect setting I suppose, that would be bad... But yeah, there probably is some kind of scam, I mean, you could always sell a 16/8 model, a 8/4 model etc, especially for those people that switch between a stack and a single cab, but anyway, i digress a bit...

Actually, quick question, how many speakers can you run through one hotplate? Can you do one or two? Because if it only has one in/out, then you'd have to buy two of them anyway to run a stack...

Armitage · #14 07-24-2001, 07:26 PM

I have a THD HotPlate and never use it. It works great with heads that use power tube distortion as their main deal, but high gains heads like my 5150, Marshall TSL, ENGL Savage 120 and Soldano Decatone have such clean output sections (really) it doesn't do much but burn up tube life. For my application, it bites.

rickboot · #15 07-24-2001, 10:52 PM

I have an 8 ohm THD Hotplate. It works well for dropping the volume *slightly*. If you use it to drop the volume a lot, then it does impact tone. Don't expect to play a 100 watt amp running full out and have it sound good at bedroom levels. IMO, it will probably sound better to just turn down. Of course, with a Super Lead you may want to get some preamp distortion going then.