Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Are there people here who have a marshall power brake or similar device that reduces the output of your amp?
Is this really as good as Marshall claims it to be?
I'm thinking of getting one because my Blues Deville is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too loud when cranked up, but that sound (with ric off course) is just fantastic.
I guess I owe it to my ears.
And the neighbours.

Wim: The power brake, power soaker or THD Hotplate are all about the same as far as I can tell. I have a THD Hotplate for my AC30 and it does a wonderful job. It allows me to turn the amplifier up to get the tonality I want without the volume. My family has grown to love it too! 'Scuse me while I kiss the sky ....

For what it is worth the folks at Mesa Boogie recommend the THD Hotplate over the Power Brake. They say that the Hotplate is more open sounding and the Power Brake is compressed. Another option is a set of Yellow Jackets.

Hi Wim,
Another good option is the Weber Mini-mass (or Mass). It contains a speaker motor inside it to simulate the variable load of a speaker.

I use a Mini-mass to tame a 60w Mark III Boogie and it works wonderfully, as I suspect it would with any amp that likes having its power valves pushed. The clean channel on the Mark III is just magic with my 360/12.

I've seen a lot of threads on other forums arguing over which attenuator is 'best' and which is more 'open', but I suspect they're all pretty good, just that some match particular amps better than others.

I picked the Mini-mass because it was only US$100 or so which made it affordable for me, here in Australia (where our dollar is worth squat).

Good luck

Matt

Didn't Tom Scholz make a Power Soak in the late 80's? I don't know if it makes you sound like Boston or not...

Thanks guys!
That minimass is very attractive at only $100, Matt. Do you use the 50Watt version or a 100Watt?
I'll have a look around.

Wim, keep in mind that part of the distorted sound of an amp is cone break-up. None of the above options will give that portion.

I don't know what cone-break up is, Ken?

But those attenuators do compensate for marriage-breakup I believe

Wim,
The minimass only does up to 50w, but I use it with no problems on my 60w Boogie. The Mass attenuator handles more power but is more expensive (but still cheaper than the other options).

It's true that some of the characteristics of a pushed speaker are lost when playing at bedroom/home volumes, but it still sounds much, much better than turning either the channel or master volume down.

If you're gigging with it, you'll still get speaker breakup because the amp will still be 'loud'- it's just that you'll be able to have a warmer sound for any given volume.

Remember, this is just my experience. The Minimass desn't make an appreciable difference to my 55w Mesa Nomad because a) It relies heavily on preamp distortion for its sound and b) It has a 2nd 'master' volume for each channel, so I can keep the main master on full.

I have used the Minimass very successfully on other amps including a 50w Marshall JCM800, and a 30w Orange. I imagine the Deville would be the same.

Cheers
Matt

Cone break-up: Some guitar speakers are designed so that the cone distorts after a certain volume. In a tube amp you normally get a combination of preamp tube, power tube, and cone distortion. If your volume is low using an attenuator you will get both kinds of tube distortion and no or minimal cone distortion. Different cones are designed to break up at different thresholds.

Wim: I am sticking by the Hotplate and would urge you to read about it here.

Ken: maybe there is a way to simulate cone-break up at lower volumes? I would buy a minimass, hotplate or power break to be able to play at lower volumes only so there is no way that this cone-breakup thing will happen at these volumes I guess.
The Deville really has issues here : when switched to overdrive you just can't play at modest volume. It's a 'loud or nothing' thing. At volume 1 It's already loud, turn it down just a little bit and you don't get any sound at all.
The volume increases a bit from 1 to approx. 5 and thereafter only the distortion increases (up to 12) (or is that the cone break up thing happening?)
Same goes for the clean channel.

Peter: I read it, but at twice the price of that minimass, the latter appeals more (tight budget you know) I don't know much about electronics, I guess there must be some difference in the construction that justifies the price difference.
Maybe someone knows?

Wim: The THD Hotplate is built like a tank and has features that the other models do not have and that was my point in providing the link. It is twice the price, but arguably for a good reason. A head to head comparison would be interesting but I certainly hear your point about a tight budget. I am just so pleased with my unit.

"Didn't Tom Scholz make a Power Soak in the late 80's? I don't know if it makes you sound like Boston or not..."

Yes, he did, and I have one. It's a non powered gizmo that worked fairly well, as I recall, but I haven't used it since 1992.

Can you get any "cone break-up" distortion on any of the Vox Modeling amps with a power level control?