54:23 Real deal 54:31 Fryette 54:43 Torpedo 54:55 Riviera 55:06 TAD Silencer 55:18 Koch 55:29 Palmer 55:40 Jet City

6:50 8:42 Jet City Attenuator 13:09 14:32 Palmer PDI-06 19:30 20:02 20:46 Koch LB120-II 25:39 26:16 26:48 28:38 29:00 29:29 32:30 Tube Amp Doctor Silencer 37:15 38:51 39:07 Rivera RockCrusher Recording 42:25 44:07 44:45 Two Notes Torpedo Reload 50:14 50:40 51:01 Fryette Power Station PS2

Great demo. I understand it's a challenge to convey volume drops from a setting that is mic'd on a youtube video, so that visual dB meter is a great addition, and in knowing what the dB level is one can really hear how much the tone is affected, or not affected, at lower volumes. For those saying: get a bedroom amp. I will speak to my case, I like to record my amps/guitars mic'd, not direct, and I have neighbors and a wife and windows, but want to record an overdriven and true Marshall sound and that is really only achieved at higher volumes, you need to drive those tubes and warm them, an attenuator allows that, most tone degradation with them comes from simply not driving a speaker cabinet that hard as they have an affect on tone as well. It's a perfect solution for folks like me that want that tone, but also wants my building to still be standing and my neighbors to not go about beheading me. I do like that rock crusher (I do have an older Fender Showman that is 4 ohms so an RC wouldn't work on that), but the stripped down version of it, don't really need the cabinet (eq) simulator, but great if one is going all direct (I'm on an analog reel to reel set up, but could feed it directly into the board)...there's a Weber Mass 200 that is interesting me, but another great one I heard was the Aramco, really transparent, even at very low volumes, but very expensive. $800+ US dollars (680 Euro) new. A bit out of my range, and more than I paid for the amp head itself (got it used). In general, attenuators are really useful and allows one to really explore tone territory they may not have been allowed to otherwise on their amp, and for recording that's huge and pleasant at not playing full volume in a smaller home studio environment. And they're good for live settings too as clubs come in different sizes. One thing to talk about, which the video did touch on, and it's important, is that your attenuator have enough headroom in wattage terms to handle a load from an amp in the 100 watt range. Which means that you may not want to run a 100watt load into an attenuator that says 100 watt as it may very well burn your amp pretty bad...you need more, amps will often exceed their assigned wattage output when pushed hard or dimed, no less than 150 watts on a 100 watt dimed is where I would start. Good stuff. Thanks for the demo, helpful for sure.

I absolutely luv this vid! I’m a gigging musician and just need a slight attenuation. It’s like the guys said; ‘the rig I luv but everyone else hates’... This info was perfect 4 my situation. Thank you!

I love the fact that you don't waste time. You say the pertinent things and you have personality. Thank you‼️

Great work guys!!For me, Chris, one of your best sounding setups

Thank you! Everyone always talks about the two notes torpedo but nothing else. You guys helped me decide.

Nicely done vid. For me, the star of the show was the Fryette Power Station. All my favorite amps are in the 15-20w range, and while they are fine at rehearsal, at times they are just too small for the gig. The power station is small enough to take to gigs easily, to give that needed extra volume, but it's also usable at home as a very good attenuator. WIN!

"this small knob can do alot!" - Yes, that is, indeed, what she said.

With headphones on the Koch sounded the best to me... cool video! Thanks for doing it guys, Cheers!

Best attenuator video I've watched....lots of great info and entertaining to watch. Thanks and great job!

Excellent demo! This really is the best video about attenuators that I've ever seen. Good job, y'all!

Brilliant channel. Well done Thoman

Such an informative video, I can see the heavy researching done to make this thanks guys! Although I wish pedal wasn't used as it would've made the tone comparison bit easier but still great video!

With good headphones, the Fryette stands head and shoulders above the rest. I've had never heard of it. It's insane !

Thank you so much, you helped me choose one. Thomann the best!

Great job guys!!!

Hans and Frans and here to pump you up!!!!

GREAT review. Thanks guys. killing it. timestamps, links, no BS. BAM.

The best video on attenuators period. Next time, amps that can go to 11 or infinity.

Bought a Fryette power station 2. It does a beautiful job without coloring tone and if your are using an old Amp with no effects loop the Fryette has an effects loop if you want to add a delay. It’s expensive but it’s worth it.

One of my favorite channels on yt!!!! Keep it up!

Thanks for posting that! Very informative.

Great video! I have the Jet City attenuator and use it with an original 1987 model marshall amp. I find it sounds best as a full load box, and then I send the line-out to a poweramp. Similar concept to the two-notes, because like you guys said....the jet city loses a bit of it's midrange punch and feel when attenuating. Overall it's a good attenuator for the cheap price, as long as you never use the XLR speaker sim out (it's absolutely terrible sounding)

Excellent work guys.

Thanks and great job ! I want more videos like this. Excellent

Thank you so much for posting. Great comparison.

Great Job, endlich mal ein ausführliches Review mit mehreren Attenuator. Bitte ein Video mit silent recording und ein gaaaanz ausführliches mit Two Notes Reload und Captor. Das wäre echt der Hammer!!! Keep the good work flow :-)

Thanks for the video! Very informative and entertaining!

This video rules, thanks! I watched it all and it was very informative! I have a 150W Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier which I bought from Thömann and not all attenuators are capable of handling this power so I am kind of limited in my choice.

Informative! I learned a lot of what I need. Thanks

A good product guide guys! I have a Koch attenuator and it comes out to play every now and then, until I realise that I can achieve the same tone at 1 Watt from my Helix, seems you need a big amp and big attenuator to really get the benefit, I've decided to buy quieter amps. Thanks for a great vid.

Distortion please. With clean sounds the attenuators sound well always.

Great review! I've owned three, including Rockcrusher, Mass, and Torpedo reload. I kept the Reload and absolutely love it.

Just today I ordered an Bugera PS1 attenuator from you guys, to tame a monster 60w 4x10 Blues DeVille

Super Video und genau wie für mich gemacht, wo ich seit ein paar Tagen überlege welchen Attenuator ich für meinen Marshall JVM probiere. Danke und gern mehr Videos, z.b. über Silent Recording.

FYI: Palmer claim the PDI-06 is a reactive load, not a purely resistive one. But overall a very interesting and informative clip, thank you guys! It's a shame you didn't have the Musician Sound Design Load Rock in your product catalog, because although it's not too flexible, it is very affordable, built like a tank, and quite simply the best sounding load box & attenuator I ever came across. Had the Jet City, was glad to sell it. I have the Rock Crusher (non recording) and it sounds bland and boring compared to the Load Rock.

The Fryette Power Station is an ace piece of kit.

Very useful guys, thanks.

A silent recording video would be amazing! Preferably with the new Torpedo Captor (which is hopefully coming soon?)! Nice comparison btw! :)

Awesome vid guys..very informative and a big help...for me at least. My tube head is 120 watts and even with the MV it's too loud for those late night jams. And the tone and bite is effected. Would love to see the indepth vid on the Two Notes..and there is another brand on the market made by a Ham radio guy in the states you should test..Tube Cube. It's a basic attenuator, but extremely affordable and from the reviews it's worth a look..unfortunately there is only a single vid out there so far. Keep up the great vids !

Guys, yeah! Do a separate video for Torpedo Reload!

There are few reviews with db meters on display but volume is one of the main considerations when purchasing gear.. appreciated

WoOw this review is awesome ^^ A bunch of really helpful infos ive been looking for a while in order to find out my way out of the Power Soaker Jungle (nam sayin) we start to ear the chime N the warmth of tubes with the TAD Silencer (which is not Reactive from its specs) ...of course the Fryette is really really cool with its added 6L6 Pow-Amp BuT too pricey 4 most of average users

how about a comparison between attenuated sound vs PVI master volume mod??

Hey look: it´s Chris from that random Edwards Alexi demonstration vid I used to enjoy - It´s a small world!

its funny when he said that they made a little video... of an almost and hour!... great video guys!!!

Hey guys, nice one. Is the recording of the Rockcrusher from the quick run-through at the end of the video broken? It sounds completely different - COMPLETELY different? Andi

In a demo I saw of the Rock Crusher with the Graphic EQ engaged totally Flat, but it didn't sound all fuzzy and harsh like an amp without a cab should sound! He only had the Rock Crusher going straight to his DAW with no speaker or Cab emulations because he was showing how the Graphic EQ emulated different speakers, but I was just curious about the Graphic EQ and whether or not it added a sound even when set Flat?

I love to have a full review on the Torpedo Reload.

The palmer PDI06 is reactive. The cheapest reactive option, though to have line out or speaker sim you need to add a DI or speaker sim box. Palmer doesn’t advertise it like others do, but if you watch their video on the PDI06, they do mention it. Btw, you guys only talked about an extreme situation, for a 15-30W amp most of these attenuators go to normal house volume.

So i can use the Jetcity Jettenuator to crank the volume of my Ironheart to ten and keep it in bedroom level?

Bad Cat unleash was not included - dang. Really wanted to see that up against the rock crusher. Thanks for the review!

Great ! Thank you.

If you haven't already - I'd love to hear a Suhr Reactive Load, Rivera Recording etc comparison in to some IRs! Silent recording!!!

Really nice comparison! First of all, Thank you! The last minutes where you compare all together is great. And based on that, what I can hear, is that the most expensive attenuators also give they own "colour" to the sound. When I compare how the amp sounds w/o any attenuator, it has a bit "less" mid-highs and highs than the noice of sound when connected to the Fryette, the Torpedo, and the Rivera. The other ones don't add any color to the sound from amp; in the opposite, some of them reduces the high freqs (as you also said). Although the latter offer less possibilities to control the sound, surprisingly I prefer those cheaper ones than the previously mentioned. Again thank you and I invite you to listen to my music in my KZfaq channel :)

Nice video. Cheers guys

Nice test👍 I played some of them with my Marshall Plexi...but I have to tell the insinder's tip: Hotbox 125i Audiostorm build by Sean Mandrake from Manchester UK. A real good induktiv attenuator with the best sound I ever heard...handmade in UK with best components, good price...look at my video, I can't explain, I'm so happy to find this device....stay tuned and healthy 🤗

Cool Video.. Keep making more

I wish you would have also used a guitar with humbuckers.

Hey, i have a question can i use Harley Benton PA-100 as dummy load without the cab and connecti it to NuX Solid Studio IR for silent house recording?

Nice review, I hope Thomann guys can make a new episode with new stuff like Torpedo Captor which also has attenuator.

quality content

great video. Just 1 question: what if I conect a 8 ohms attenuator to a 16 ohms speaker?

Hello guys, loved this video indeed! It was actually the first time I was getting so deep into attenuators things .. really interesting. One question please: I did not really catch how much of power level you did put the amp at during the various sequences. Was it beyond 5? Even 10? I must say I am particularily interested because I own that head, the JTM45 .. and use it like a fool, only turning it to 2-3 when either practising by myslef or during rehearsals with the band. Because you're right: this "only" 30 watts head can become hell (and a real danger for the ears) when turning the volume button towards 10, which I actually never do. I use a Blackstar HT-Dual (with a 12AX7 inside) as a "pre-amp" so can get the crunchy thing at "low" power volume, but your video definitely makes me think of investing in such an attenuator. Thanks again and if you can tell me what value were the two volume buttons during the test, I would appreciate. Tschüs from France, Olivier. PS: the last minute of the video is very helpful! (with all the attenuators getting tested in a row).

are the two volumes on the device not independent of each other? if i have a small tube amp plugged in and the Jet City Jettenuator and a small cab. on the device i have the non line level all the way up and the small cab is silent. i then try to do some silent recording and plan on using IRs later. but the two volumes seem to be connected,when the non line level is maxed out(at full volume) there seems to be no signal reaching the line level output. is this a problem with all of the Jet City Jettenuator???

Hello, I already have a torpedo live with tons of speaker IR's in the Torpedo Wall of sound. SO, the combination with the fryette powerstation would be (soundwise) the best solution for recording and bedroom level playing? Please correct me if Im wrong. Because of the corona situation, loud playing is over. (school and work happens at home...) THats why Im looking for the best solution while still using tube amps... otherwise im gonna sell everyting and buy the quad cortex from Neural dsp... Greetings and a better 2021 for all!

+1 for a silent recording vid!!

Maybe it’s time for Amp Co’s need to make alternative versions, making the power stage out put around 5w (single power tubes like a 6L6) so these can be played at a domestic dwelling/bedroom without pissing off your neighbors or your parents (if you’re still living at home with your parents after 25 you’ve got issues) then a larger version of power for events.. You had companies such as ALPINE and Nakamichi, to name only these two, but they made vehicle head units that had separate amplifiers that attached via wires/plugs if you weren’t going to go balls out on a full on component setup with a dozen amps in your car so you could just use the pre-amp side. Maybe, just maybe this is what guitar amp co. need to do, as you require more power you buy a bigger out put stage add on unit..

best soak ive ever used btw weber mass 200.by far the most superior soak out there,ive the suhr jim kelly its nice to but the mass 200 has the edge in overall tone from my testing

Guys, on the TAD Silencer the bite and punch switches don't work on -16dB setting, so there was no difference when you tried pushing back high frequencies. Great demonstration however!

What a lot of people don’t realize is that cab is loaded with vintage 30s and they are 100db speakers at 1 WATT 1METER. So it would be extremely hard to ever get that below 90db unless it’s attenuating down to a 1/4 watt. A less efficient speaker at say 97 dB would get you closer to desired bedroom volume. The reality is all of these attenuators are geared toward stage volume and being able to get your amp to a pushed setting without having the sound man and your band mates hating your guts. Lol. If your looking for bedroom volume just get a smaller amp.

For the record, in reference to the Jettenuator, Mike Soldano himself said he designed it to take a 100 watt amp at full tilt and I've definitely done that with my Jettenuator. I have a Bugera 1960 (which is basically a copy of the Marshall 1959RR Randy Rhoads, a modded late-'70s JMP 1959) and I've had all the controls dimed. Sure, the thing gets hot, but it's never failed after many an hour.

I have a 65 Fender Princeton reissue (which I love). Can an Attenuator Damage my Amp in any way? Which one do you recommend to be Safe & Effective? I can't even put my amp past 2 - it's Blasting Loud. Appreciate any input.

Great video. What is the make and model of the LCD Sound Decibel Meter?

I liked the sound of the T.A.D and the Two Notes the best...

Koch | LB120-II or two-notes captor ? has anyone any experience to share? I don't know what to chose? the attenuator and load box fonction is wonderful but which one has the best sound???

Yes in silent recording comparison!

In the manual of the TAD Silencer it says bite and punch don‘t do anything when DB is -16.

Great video:) what model is the db meter? Great tool while practising. Cheers

Should've used Humbuckers, we're looking for an overdriven sound, right? No mention of the box that started it all, The Altair PW5, made in the 70's, they were primitive, but oh so effective at taming tube amps.

Two best attenuators I've ever played (which I still own) are missing: the Aracom and the Ironman.

Would love to see a video on silent recording. Thank you!

Do you absolutely have to plug it into another cab as well? Is that the only way it works? I can't just suck some power out of my voxac10?

Ironically the best one out of the entire pile, the IronMan II isn't even mentioned......I've owned them all, IronMan rules.

The power station is also a load box that can run without a cab or even a power supply (unpluged), a silent recording video would be great, I have to check if you have as already made it ...

does anyone know which one would be best for a dual rectifier at "bedroom levels"? thanks :)

Does the EQ feature on the Rivera effect the speaker out? Or, is it just for the record/ line out?

Pease, can you review the new Fryette Power Load? There is no reviews on KZfaq. Thanks and go on!

YO! What kind of dBA unit are you using on top of the amp??

Wo befindet sich das Mikrofon des Lautstärkemessers? Direkt vor dem Speaker? Built-in in das Gerät?

Did you ever make the video about recording? I'm looking into different options for recording my valve amp and I'm pretty confused! A video like this one on recording with load boxes would be great :)

I have a triaxis and a 290 power amp which is all stereo. Do I need two power attenuators for each side?

Pozdro Paweł. Bardzo ładnie :}

Very interesting video. Can you give me the reference of the dB meter that you have used in this video please ? Thanks.

Great video! I'd love to see more content with similar stuff from you, guys.

Interesting vid, and yes I would love to see video about silent recording.... I use tonelab st from Vox and considering buying the scarlet focusrite for recording purpose

Hi! I don't know, for tone of Stevie ray Vaughan how you recommended? Thanks .)

Does using an attenuator damage the valves? I've had a few fellow musicians say that it does.

Does it work for Grunge? Intentional feedback etc.? For example Kurt Cobain Sound. That would be damn nice