Members CrateSmasher Posted October 22, 2010 Members Share Posted October 22, 2010 I think I want one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Nerine Posted October 22, 2010 Members Share Posted October 22, 2010 Because they were costing Marshall too much to make. True story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CrateSmasher Posted October 22, 2010 Author Members Share Posted October 22, 2010 Really? Whats in them other than a fan? Is the attenuation from resistors? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dave L Posted October 22, 2010 Members Share Posted October 22, 2010 Well, it must have had a fifteen-year run, so you should be able to find one used. I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members catalinagooseV2 Posted October 22, 2010 Members Share Posted October 22, 2010 Because the power brake liked to brake amps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CrateSmasher Posted October 22, 2010 Author Members Share Posted October 22, 2010 Yes ive heard the most hearsay bad storys about the power brake braking amps but I dont believe that at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Nerine Posted October 22, 2010 Members Share Posted October 22, 2010 Apparently the power brake is actually a better unit than the hot plate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members drewl Posted October 22, 2010 Members Share Posted October 22, 2010 Apparently the power brake is actually a better unit than the hot plate. Says who? I'll take the Hot Plate anyday over the PB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Oblivion DC Posted October 23, 2010 Members Share Posted October 23, 2010 Says who?I'll take the Hot Plate anyday over the PB. This. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members co&cafan808 Posted October 23, 2010 Members Share Posted October 23, 2010 I'm pretty sure they quit making them because nobody was buying them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Oblivion DC Posted October 23, 2010 Members Share Posted October 23, 2010 I'm pretty sure they quit making them because nobody was buying them. So the question remains - why was no one buying them?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jessexxx Posted October 23, 2010 Members Share Posted October 23, 2010 I'm pretty sure they quit making them because nobody was buying them. i think this is the truth!!...there of the old school of attentuators,...they caNT EVEN COME CLOSE to the new generation of attentuators,...ARACOM & PHAUSTINE,... for all of the people who loved/love ther powerbrakes,(or any other attantuator)...do your self a favor and try one of the 2 mentioned earlier,...it will do exactly what an attentuator should do,...(like you thought they would do before ya actualy got one),...i have the ARACOM PRX150 PRO,...it takes any cab/s ohmage ya wanna THROW AT IT,...ZERO TONE SUCKAGE,...virtualy invisible!!!,..it has become one of the most important pieces of gear i have!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mbarn3065 Posted October 23, 2010 Members Share Posted October 23, 2010 I have two Marshall Power Brakes and one THD Hot Plate. If you go more than three or four clicks on a cranked amp the Power Brake or the Hot Plate both start to squash the tone to mush. I use them to balance the volume when I'm using multiple speaker cabinets that have speakers with different efficiencies. As long as you are not clipping the power tubes you can use them as much as you want and they will not effect the tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members co&cafan808 Posted October 23, 2010 Members Share Posted October 23, 2010 So the question remains - why was no one buying them?? They are junk compared to the stuff on the market today plus the price point couldn't compete with the hot plate ect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mbarn3065 Posted October 23, 2010 Members Share Posted October 23, 2010 So the question remains - why was no one buying them?? The Marshall Power Brakes cost $750. when they stopped making them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Oblivion DC Posted October 23, 2010 Members Share Posted October 23, 2010 i think this is the truth!!...there of the old school of attentuators,...they caNT EVEN COME CLOSE to the new generation of attentuators,...ARACOM & PHAUSTINE,... for all of the people who loved/love ther powerbrakes,(or any other attantuator)...do your self a favor and try one of the 2 mentioned earlier,...it will do exactly what an attentuator should do,...(like you thought they would do before ya actualy got one),...i have the ARACOM PRX150 PRO,...it takes any cab/s ohmage ya wanna THROW AT IT,...ZERO TONE SUCKAGE,...virtualy invisible!!!,..it has become one of the most important pieces of gear i have!! That sounds pretty nice! Now if they could make it smaller it would kick ass. I got excited for a sec when I saw that there was a rack option. This however left me less than impressed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ron Burgandy Posted October 23, 2010 Members Share Posted October 23, 2010 The Marshall Power Brakes cost $750. when they stopped making them. Seriously?! Fuck... I remember wanting to buy one when they were "only" $300 brand new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Oblivion DC Posted October 23, 2010 Members Share Posted October 23, 2010 The Marshall Power Brakes cost $750. when they stopped making them. Definitely good reasons not to buy 'em. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brian May Posted October 23, 2010 Members Share Posted October 23, 2010 Well to anyone wanting a Powerbreak, there's plenty about on ebay or they come up fairly often. I use AC30's and with an attenuator called a Mango and it really works well! There's a guy on youtube called Peter who does a round up video comparison of several attenuators and says that the Hotplate may be a great attenuator but sounds not so great with an AC30! He prefers the Powerbreak over that! Check him out...his vids really interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mbarn3065 Posted October 23, 2010 Members Share Posted October 23, 2010 Well to anyone wanting a Powerbreak, there's plenty about on ebay or they come up fairly often. I use AC30's and with an attenuator called a Mango and it really works well! There's a guy on youtube called Peter who does a round up video comparison of several attenuators and says that the Hotplate may be a great attenuator but sounds not so great with an AC30! He prefers the Powerbreak over that! Check him out...his vids really interesting. [YOUTUBE]1MuU4xiQOO4[/YOUTUBE] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CrateSmasher Posted October 23, 2010 Author Members Share Posted October 23, 2010 I have two Marshall Power Brakes and one THD Hot Plate.If you go more than three or four clicks on a cranked amp the Power Brake or the Hot Plate both start to squash the tone to mush. I use them to balance the volume when I'm using multiple speaker cabinets that have speakers with different efficiencies. As long as you are not clipping the power tubes you can use them as much as you want and they will not effect the tone. Why cant I have tube clipping and use the attenuator more than a few clicks. Thats kind of the point.. to have the tubes clip at a softer vol. Id like to loose 10-12db ARACOM is a lot of money. You can get a used power brake for under 200$. So the brake is based off old technology? What dose it use, resistors? Is the weber mini mass, with the speaker motor, way superior to the brake? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CrateSmasher Posted October 23, 2010 Author Members Share Posted October 23, 2010 I thought the brake sounded good in that vid. The old weber with resistors sounds horrible. So again whats inside the brake? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mbarn3065 Posted October 23, 2010 Members Share Posted October 23, 2010 I thought the brake sounded good in that vid. The old weber with resistors sounds horrible. So again whats inside the brake? The Power Brake is basically a reactive load, and is almost identical to the electrical equivalent of a speaker. It has a "multi tap choke" that works exactly like an autotransformer. An autotransformer, is basically two inductors stacked on top of each other and are coupled magnetically. If the wiper is placed directly in the center, it splits the inductor into two. If you place 240VAC between the top and the bottom and then tap a signal from the centertap to either end you will get half the voltage out. Buy moving the center tap, you will vary the voltage between the center tap and each end. Instead of a "wiper" on the transformer, it has multiple taps that can be used as the center tap, and these are switched through S1b and S1a. S1a controls the signal flowing to the reactive load, and S1b the signal to the speaker. The signal and the reactive load are placed across the autotransformer, and the output to the speaker is taken from the centertap to one end of the transformer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Das Booty Posted October 23, 2010 Members Share Posted October 23, 2010 Says who?I'll take the Hot Plate anyday over the PB. I am assuming you have tried both? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members drewl Posted October 23, 2010 Members Share Posted October 23, 2010 I am assuming you have tried both? Yes, while neither is perfect, there seemed to be a "fizz" to the Power brake I didn't like.The Hot Plate at -8db (2 clicks) seems to be the sweet spot for me, gets the output stage of My Marshalls or AC30's cookin' and leaves enough headroom for volume boosts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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