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Power Brake


84LPCustom

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Hi everyone,

 

I've been playing for 25+ years, but am just returning from a non-voluntary medical hiatus. Since I last played, I got married, have 2 kids, and live in a very family-oriented suburb.

 

I've been using my trusty original Rockman for practice, but I've been dying to break out my big amps, especially my Marshall Bluesbreaker. Unfortunately, to get the overdrive tone I want from the Marshall I have to crank the volume to the point it would probably crack the foundation of my house in my small basement practice area, and also start a neighborhood petition to make me move.

 

Is it possible to use a Marshall Power Brake (or any other power soak device) with a combo amp? I know they're great for a head and cabinet, but can they be rigged for a combo? Keep in mind my technical knowledge of amps is limited to turning them on and dialing in the tone I want.

 

Thanks!

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If your combo is wired such that the speaker is plugged into a 1/4 inch jack, then a power attenuator should be easy to use. In this case you would simply unplug the speaker cable from the amp and plug it into the attenuators out. Then you would use another speaker cable to plug into the amps output jack and into the input of the attenuator. I don't know if your specific amp has this configuration, but if the speaker is hard wired you could always modify it. I would suggest either a hot plate or a webber mass, rather than the powerbrake. I have heard of some reliability issues with the marshall.

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sorry no one answered earlier. yeah it will work. youll have to run from the speaker out on the back of the amp (maybe its embedded somewhere if its an old combo) and run the cable, instead of to the speakers, to the power brake. the power brake to the speakers, and youre done. just make sure the ohms match and you should be ready to go.

i hope im not making this in any way confusing so that he ends up blowing up his prized classic amp

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yes you can but you may need to extend the speaker lead....

 

I disagree with tubeby12..... I have a hotplate and a powerbrake...and nothing beats the powerbrake with my marshalls... it sounded fantastic with my jmp, his 2203 and my jtm45..... sounded awful with my el84 and fender based amps though... the hotplate sounds great with those but more compressed, buzzy and boxy with the marshalls...which is why i think they're more popular. In reality you need to try em both with your amp!

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