new to the forum, help with attentuators/dummy loads

[da5hcharl]

Hi,

I'm new and i have some annoying questions. I've poked around and i see that you guys predominantly use the Airbrake.

The issue i'm having is that i want an attentuator for a relatively small amp, it's a 5 watt class A (whether that's true or not is up to interpretation) Palomino (Crate).

I've looked at a few and they all seem to be rated very high, even the smallest weber is rated at 20W, i know that the amount of wattage my guy is putting out is more like 25 RMS cranked, so should i go with the 25 watt minimass? also i really like the swart mightlight jr, and it seems to be designed to do exactly what i want, but it's price tag is btwn 130 and 200, is the weber minimass the bigger bulkier better choice because it uses a "speaker motor" instead of the weber design which seems to use the light bulb trick?

to top it all off is there anyway i could build my own? (I have a ridiculous electronics shop near me that rarely lets me down) As far as credentials the most complex things i've soldered together is a Schaller Hearthrob tremelo pedal and i'm wondering if something this, critical, is out of my reach.

Thanks

Dash

[Gibsonman63]

Welcome Dash.

You should be ok using an attenuator with less power. The important thing is to match your speaker impedance. The rating in Watts is a not to exceed number.

If you want to take a stab at it, I would suggest the airbrake without the bedroom level Lpad. Since you will be dissipating less power, you can go for lower wattage resisters if you like. I would still keep them at least double the power of your amp to keep things running cool.

[M Fowler]

I've poked around and i see that you guys predominantly use the Airbrake.

It's not that we use the airbrake but rather years ago we were building our own Airbrakes. I don't have a need for an attenuator but if I did I would have to check out various brands.

[ampgeek]

Welcome to the fun Dash!

Check out the Airbrake thread in the Trainwreck Files section to get the skinny on that option as M. Fowler suggests.

It is a fairly easy build which you shouldn't have any trouble undertaking and completing. Just check in here with any questions/concerns along the way and you will get loads of help.

Also, there was a lot of positive experiences here with the Bad Cat Unleash attenuator I don't know the cost though. Do a search of the forum for "Unleash" and all of the threads should pop right up for you.

Cheers,
Dave O.

[da5hcharl]

thanks for the warm welcome! I was hoping i could get away with something small.

I think max RMS is 25 watts, so i should probably aim for 50, and i looked up the speaker impedance because i know that i'd have to match that and it's 4 ohms.

I never thought i'd rewire my own guitar, i never thought i'd build my own guitar, i never thought i'd build my own pedals. I guess amps are about to go through the same thing.

[Tillydog]

I think max RMS is 25 watts...

You mentioned it was a 5W amp in your first post - Is this the Crate V8? Single EL84?

If so it'll be about 5W RMS output, so pretty much any attenuator will be adequately rated.

[da5hcharl]

yes it's the crate v8 with the el 84, it just gets too loud for apartment living before coughing up the tone i want.

I can't help but to build crap. you will all probably see me build an airbrake, and then gut the crate and build a champ out of it.

I really enjoy the fender surf sound, and right now i'm having to do my verb with a hall of fame. and this thing, i invested more heavily in my guitars and i used to have a bigger more versatile peavey, but it had to go when i moved.

[cbass]

If I was going to buy an attenuator and had the money I would get the badcat unleash.

[martin manning]

Here's the output from Marshall 4001, a 15W 2x 6V6 in push-pull. Plugging the speaker into the headphone jack reduces the output power. Much simpler and cheaper than an Airbrake, maybe $10-$15 worth of parts. The 4001 sounds better un-attenuated, but that's no surprise.

[M Fowler]

Martin I tried a setup like that and had problems do the jacks need to be isolated from the chassis?

[martin manning]

The 4001's output jacks are isolated, but I don't see any reason why they 'd have to be.