Dutchman Posted September 30, 2021 Posted September 30, 2021 I'm coming around full circle again, I'm using my Leslie cabinet with a Earcandy Sov on top of it. Drummer say's the Leslie is to loud (open back) I could go back to a pedal but this sounds so good!! Because it's REAL!! So I'm hoping to see if there's been any improvements since I last tried an attenuator. I've used a Weber Mass, airbrake and a purple one I can't remember the name. (RockCrusher) They all SUCKED!!!
LucSulla Posted September 30, 2021 Posted September 30, 2021 I have one of these incoming. I'll let you know what I think. https://mixdownmag.com.au/reviews/speakers/reviewed-spl-tonehunter-reducer-power-attenuator/ Everyone raves about active attenuators like the UA Ox and Fryette Power Station, but woof... serious $$$ to me.
Dutchman Posted September 30, 2021 Author Posted September 30, 2021 17 minutes ago, LucSulla said: Everyone raves about active attenuators like the UA Ox and Fryette Power Station, but woof... serious $$$ to me. Agreed, for $1,200.00 I'll drape a moving mat over the back!!
JGale Posted September 30, 2021 Posted September 30, 2021 Rethinking this...again, Part Deux. After researching...you have a Leslie G27, I take it. 100W input, but no on-board amplifier. The Leslie is driven by the extension speaker jack on the Bandmaster, no? You would need another external amplifier, but a direct box like Radial product that samples the amplifier output at the speaker jack and feeds an attenuated signal to another amp and then the Leslie? It could be solid state as you would want little to no coloration of the signal. Now you have more parts to go wrong. YaY! Like this thing JDI Passive Direct Box, and one of these, a Quilter SS amp. same flavor as the Bandmaster and you just use the 200W amp, skipping the preamp, plus spare amp! Leslie says never block the ports, but could you redirect? A plywood baffle that opens opposite the drummer? I'm surprised the Weber Mass didn't work How much signal do you need to lose?
LucSulla Posted September 30, 2021 Posted September 30, 2021 Just got to try the Tonehunter SPL Reducer attenuator out. Works great! You may have to dial a tad of treble back in at extreme attenuation, but otherwise, quite transparent I think. Of course, the speakers aren't working as hard, and that does also affect the tone and feel a bit. I don't think there's any way around that though. Overall, just what I was looking for. Also quite accurate. My watch has a Db meter, and the reduction is spot on.
DaveH Posted September 30, 2021 Posted September 30, 2021 6 hours ago, JGale said: I'm surprised the Weber Mass didn't work How much signal do you need to lose? He didn't tell you? this is to be his bedroom practice rig. 😂 ETA: Back to JGale's question... I've used a handful of attenuators: Rockman Powersoak, Weber MASS, Airbrake, Marshall Power Brake, and they all suck the life out when used to attenuate too much. A buddy used to regularly gig using a Hot Plate and it worked well for him, however he wasn't knocking the volume down that much. Of the ones I used (not gigging, but at the house) I like the resistive versions slightly better I think. Airbrake in particular. Maybe Gale's suggestion of diverting the port would work. Or maybe a plexiglass blocker or something.
Dutchman Posted September 30, 2021 Author Posted September 30, 2021 7 hours ago, JGale said: Rethinking this...again, Part Deux. After researching...you have a Leslie G27, I take it. 100W input, but no on-board amplifier. The Leslie is driven by the extension speaker jack on the Bandmaster, no? You would need another external amplifier, but a direct box like Radial product that samples the amplifier output at the speaker jack and feeds an attenuated signal to another amp and then the Leslie? It could be solid state as you would want little to no coloration of the signal. Now you have more parts to go wrong. YaY! Like this thing JDI Passive Direct Box, and one of these, a Quilter SS amp. same flavor as the Bandmaster and you just use the 200W amp, skipping the preamp, plus spare amp! Leslie says never block the ports, but could you redirect? A plywood baffle that opens opposite the drummer? I'm surprised the Weber Mass didn't work How much signal do you need to lose? The leslie piggy backs off the Sov. They play at the same time and it sounds stereo-ish with one speaker none vibrato and the leslie whirling, to control the speed I use a router speed controller for infinite speed adjusment vs's 2 speeds. I built the leslie myself after spotting an old organ in a burn pile so I grabbed my sawsall and whacked the whirly portion off and any other lumber I could salvage off it so it's all made from the solid lumber from the organ. Boy, as far as how much to roll back I'm not sure. Enough to make a drummer happy!! The attenuator would bo between the Bandmaster and the Sov, so it'd whoah up the db's on the leslie too! Blocking would be the cheapest!
Jakeboy Posted October 1, 2021 Posted October 1, 2021 A Weber MASS allows you to increase the treble content you lose when attenuating too far. I ah e used a bunch and all of them change the tone a little bit just due to physics…the power applied to the speaker lessens and tha WILL change the tone however slightly. I have a Badcat Unleash V2 that is incredible, but I sometimes need to turn up the treble on a pedal or the amp if I take it too far down. It is worth it though to keep from being too loud. I love my attenuators. They are my friends.
Disturber Posted October 1, 2021 Posted October 1, 2021 I've tried a bunch. The Weber Mass works if you only want to dampen a few dB's. But it does change the original tone. If you want to dampen more then it sounds pretty bad. The best I've tried are active attenuators. You wrote that you do not like the Rockcrusher. It's one of the best two I've tried. It's active and it keeps a lot more of the original tone and feel than the Weber Mass. Another good one is the Swedish built Masterplant attenuator. They are both active and I think they sound equally good. The Rockcrusher has steps on the volume knob, the Masterplant lets you set the output volume as you like (which is a plus). http://www.masterplant.com/
Dutchman Posted October 1, 2021 Author Posted October 1, 2021 26 minutes ago, Disturber said: Another good one is the Swedish built Masterplant attenuator Thanks, I've never heard of that one. I tried a fitted movers mat across the back of the leslie last night and the drummer was ok w it and it didn't kill the leslie! So that's going to be the resolve for now. Thank's to all for the help !!!
stedge Posted October 1, 2021 Posted October 1, 2021 I only use passive attenuators and they all affect tone depending on degree of attenuation. Can compensate to a degree. And I can still hear….. for now. I have rockcrusher, Kelley (only because it came w the amp cheap), and aracom. If I had to have only one would take the aracom because I can match impedance. For me that is a key attribute and makes it far more flexible. Bought used except the rockcrusher.
JGale Posted October 1, 2021 Posted October 1, 2021 I dunno meng. This looks pretty nice. Weber talks about moderation in all things in using this. From an Engineering perspective, having the speaker motor in the signal chain to provide back EMF to the transformer just gives me a stiffy.
veatch Posted October 2, 2021 Posted October 2, 2021 I've been through a lot of attenuators, and really thought the Webers worked the best. But only, as stated several times, for a few dB. I've sold all of my attenuators off long ago, and went with low power amps. Yes, big glass sounds better, but I don't have the back to gig those anymore anyways. I have 3 45w to 100w heads that stay home, and I blow the dust out of the speakers occasionally when no one is around. (The room is sound-proofed pretty well as well...) Anyone try the Eminence speakers with the FDM dial on the back? Curious if those do the job. https://www.eminence.com/eminence-fdm-guitar-speaker-demo-by-josh-smith/
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