Hotplates...Do they really sound good?

[Kyle DiSanto]

I have been wanting to get one for some time now...but I'm concerned with what they claim to do tonally.

 

Sure the reduce the volume, but do they kill the tone?

 

Experiences? Comments?

 

-KYLE

[yabba]

if used minimally, they minimally effect the tone

 

if you use too much attenuation, yeah it kills the tone/dynamics

[worldoftone]

In my experience, they compress it a bit - squash it - when really dialed down. I have a 2-ohm Hotplate here for my BFSR.

 

- WOT

[chrispsullivan]

the ones ive used i wasnt a big fan of

[JKD]

compress the tone and maybe thin out the high end a little....

 

if set for 4 or 8dB they do a respectable job of quietening down the amp without too much squashing.

 

Some amps better than others...no ENGL I've owned (SE, BM or Powerball) really needed or liked it.

[tommythelurker]

The more you attenuate, the more it affects the tone. simple.

 

For band volumes with NMV amps that you need to crank they're a god send. With master volume amps and/or choking a cranked amp down to bedroom volumes they're kinda iffy.

[guitarbilly74]

The #1 mistake people make with attenuators is to crank the amp to 10 and then try to reduce the volume to bedroom level with the attenuator. It totally kills the tone.

Now when used with moderation they're a very useful tool.

[tlbonehead]

I have been wanting to get one for some time now...but I'm concerned with what they claim to do tonally. Sure the reduce the volume, but do they kill the tone? Experiences? Comments? -KYLE

I've never played directly through a hot plate.

[mysticaxe]

as people have said - great for taking the edge off (volume-wise), but not so much for killing cranked amp... unless you use the line out for slaving!

[tommythelurker]

 

unless you use the line out for slaving!

 

 

That actually works surprisingly well!

[tri99er]

I picked one up for my Mark III, and it has been a godsend when used correctly, if you plan on cranking the living hell out of an amp and plan on using the Hotplate to get bedroom levels, you will be very dissapointed, but if you just need to get the volume down a touch it is great, basically if you need to go lower than -8db, it won't work as well as you would like.

[Urban Ghandi]

They seem to work differently with each amp.

 

I own a Hotplate and have used it with a Mesa 2- channel DR, Splawn QR and Mesa 3-channel DR.

 

It really helps the Mesa 3-Channel DR as it give you a chance to really crank it up and get those power tubes glowing!

 

Neither the Splawn or the 2-Channel needed it...or, it took too much of the amps tonal characteristics away for it to be used.

[Johansolo]

i ordered a 8 ohm hotplate to use with my Framus cobra.

im hoping i cna just set it to -4/-8db to nudge my master vol to AT least 9oclock as im not playing live. its taking it sweet time getting delivered to me thou

[ericwylde]

and what about the weber mass lite? it costs half of a thd

[jschweid]

I've used a hotplate with my Marshall JCM Dual superlead. It works fairly well without obliterating the tone--however, it does kill some of the low end, I felt.

 

Now, I have recently switched and used it in a slave amp setup. With it set to "load" it seems that it bypasses all the tone controls on the box--and with a good power amp to plug into, the tone is rather amazing. For whatever reason, using it to attenuate the volume flattens the tone out--but when bypassing that setup and just using it as a dummy load...it works great.

 

Jonathan

[Minnie The Moocher]

Best settings with the hotplate are -4dB (without treble and bass corrections engaged) and -12dB (WITH T&B corrections engaged). Someone had analysed the audio signal and noticed this last setting was the closest to the original signal - but of course, the speaker moves a lot less, so you still loose some dynamics.

[9ball]

i use my hotplate on my amp at all times usually on -4 or -8db with both the deep and bright switches on and it sounds good.

[duodecim]

 

 

 

Hmm... interesting. Somebody should come up with an attenuator and low-wattage power amp combined. Dummy load for the head's power amp and input from the amp in slave mode. You could just use that very low wattage power amp instead of the one in your amp.

 

Ofcourse, tone won't be exactly the same, but it might sound better than heavy attenuation as the dynamics are preserved.

[yabba]

 

Hmm... interesting. Somebody should come up with an attenuator and low-wattage power amp combined. Dummy load for the head's power amp and input from the amp in slave mode. You could just use that very low wattage power amp instead of the one in your amp. Ofcourse, tone won't be exactly the same, but it might sound better than heavy attenuation as the dynamics are preserved.

 

I believe the 'Ultimate Attenuator' is just that, an attenuator and a power amp in the same box