Boogie1 Posted June 9, 2007 Posted June 9, 2007 Anybody familiar with using airbrakes? I've heard that some brands can damage your amp, blown transformers and such. What's the real deal?
seeker Posted June 9, 2007 Posted June 9, 2007 Go here: The Gear Page Amp Technical Info and do a search on Airbrake, attenuators, etc. Lots of info and opinions.
Gino Posted June 10, 2007 Posted June 10, 2007 Good resultd over here with the WEBER MASS Lite.I use it with my Mesa Mav.
phoenix Posted June 10, 2007 Posted June 10, 2007 Ultrasound in NYC recommends them. I questioned Ken about this because they have no fans, deep/bright switches etc and he confirmed it. Heck, if they rec. them with their $5-20K amps, thats good enough for me. I have one and used it fine with my Bruno's and blackfaces.I prefer the THD
murkat Posted June 10, 2007 Posted June 10, 2007 I had a Komet airbrake (same thing) for my Komet Concorde, and it was okay. Very Simplistic design. I ended up selling it and stick'n to the Hotplate. THe Airbrake is more transparent then the two up to -8db. Lower than that, the Hotplate's features kick in and out shines Airbrake designs. in my tonal opinion.......
AdmiralB Posted June 10, 2007 Posted June 10, 2007 The Airbrake is purely resistive, it that matters to you. It has a pretty varied change in impedance as you adjust it. It should work well for amps requiring 8 or 16 ohm loads, but IMO it's dangerous to use in amps that require less than 8.
MrGuitarguy Posted June 10, 2007 Posted June 10, 2007 I've A/B'ed them with hot plates with several amps (live and studio). The Hot Plates definately sound better (for what my opinion is worth), plus they can't damage anything.
BCR Greg Posted June 10, 2007 Posted June 10, 2007 We are a THD Dealer, so my opinion is suspect. I am a THD dealer in some respect BECAUSE of the Hot Plate. My 50 watt Plexi Marshall thru the 16 ohm Hot Plate into my 4x12 sound FANTASTIC at low to medium volumes. I tried most of the other attenuators, and the Hot Plate works for me.
Guest Mike Lee Posted June 11, 2007 Posted June 11, 2007 I've got a Z Airbrake that I've used a little with my Z-28 2x10. It does what it's supposed to do, and works fine for the first few clicks on the knob. But using a lot of attenuation does change the tone a bit. I haven't tried the THD Hotplate, so I will defer to those who say it sounds better. The Weber MASS is an intriguing design since it uses an actual speaker motor.FWIW, I have gone back to just cranking the amp if I want to get the power tubes working. 22 watts through a 2x10 is plenty loud, but the neighbors haven't complained (yet). IMO, a LOT of the tone of a cranked up amp comes from getting the speakers moving.
Buzzy Fretts Posted June 13, 2007 Posted June 13, 2007 I've got a Z Airbrake that I've used a little with my Z-28 2x10. It does what it's supposed to do, and works fine for the first few clicks on the knob. But using a lot of attenuation does change the tone a bit. I agree with Mike. Simply does what it's supposed to do. But if you push it, you'll notice. FYI I stopped by today to list a Z amp and an Airbrake over in the market board. E-mail me if yer interested.
BCR Greg Posted June 13, 2007 Posted June 13, 2007 BUZZ!!!!Good to see that youa re still about, fella. How's Florence?
Buzzy Fretts Posted June 13, 2007 Posted June 13, 2007 Hey Greg! Things are cool - it's been a crazy year. Florence is just fine. She's making her debut in some recordings I've been working on in Brooklyn. How's BCR doing?
BCR Greg Posted June 13, 2007 Posted June 13, 2007 Still there, bro. Call me at the shop tomorrow, let's catch up.(everyone else is bored with this by now....)
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