Anyone built an attenuator?
Moderators: Slowy, Capt. Black
- Miza
- Vintage Post Junkie
- Posts: 2309
- meble-kuchenne.warszawa.pl
- Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2007 1:07 pm
- Location: Hamilton
- Has liked: 755 times
- Been liked: 254 times
Anyone built an attenuator?
Been thinking about buying or building an attenuator for my Fender Pro Jr, just to match it better to my Vox AC4HW for home use when playing in stereo. Since I've built a few pedals, I figure I'll try and save some coin and go DIY.
Has anyone built one before? Any tips or warnings?
Some of the L-Pad designs look pretty simple. Jansen has this on their website, but it's only rated for 10 watts:
https://jansen.nz/product/alps-8-ohm-l- ... 22381.htmx
Then there's this part, which is 15 watts, but is it better to overcompensate rather than match the wattage?
https://www.parts-express.com/L-Pad-15W ... hm-260-248
Has anyone built one before? Any tips or warnings?
Some of the L-Pad designs look pretty simple. Jansen has this on their website, but it's only rated for 10 watts:
https://jansen.nz/product/alps-8-ohm-l- ... 22381.htmx
Then there's this part, which is 15 watts, but is it better to overcompensate rather than match the wattage?
https://www.parts-express.com/L-Pad-15W ... hm-260-248
Nothing to see here.
- sizzlingbadger
- Vintage Post Junkie
- Posts: 8262
- Joined: Sat Jan 15, 2011 7:12 am
- Location: Wire Wrapper
- Has liked: 1208 times
- Been liked: 1401 times
Re: Anyone built an attenuator?
You want a 30W attenuator to be safe, you may as well build a 50W attenuator and then it will be more useful in the future.
Tube amp and guitar tones straight from 1958… amazing how believable the sounds were back then, even without the modellers...
- calling card
- Vintage Post Junkie
- Posts: 4290
- Joined: Fri Nov 23, 2007 10:56 am
- Location: Hoodoo dump, BOP
- Has liked: 857 times
- Been liked: 276 times
Re: Anyone built an attenuator?
I bought a couple of those Lpads from Parts Express once, 50w - 75w power handling? (memory is poor). I went down the THD Hotplate path instead. Nuisance though as you need a lot of THD's to match different amp types/impedance.
2024; I have explored the extent of the perimeter dome, there is no escape. I am become Morpheus
- sizzlingbadger
- Vintage Post Junkie
- Posts: 8262
- Joined: Sat Jan 15, 2011 7:12 am
- Location: Wire Wrapper
- Has liked: 1208 times
- Been liked: 1401 times
Re: Anyone built an attenuator?
Tube amp and guitar tones straight from 1958… amazing how believable the sounds were back then, even without the modellers...
- Miza
- Vintage Post Junkie
- Posts: 2309
- Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2007 1:07 pm
- Location: Hamilton
- Has liked: 755 times
- Been liked: 254 times
Re: Anyone built an attenuator?
Cheers for the link.sizzlingbadger wrote: ↑Mon Aug 01, 2022 3:00 pm https://guitar.com/guides/diy-workshop/ ... ttenuator/
Looks easy enough, the hard part will just be finding all the parts (that is to say, avoiding $$ shipping fees).
Nothing to see here.
- TmcB
- I may have a problem
- Posts: 7707
- Joined: Fri Aug 22, 2008 12:17 pm
- Location: Kapiti
- Has liked: 655 times
- Been liked: 561 times
Re: Anyone built an attenuator?
I have built a couple of Brakelite's – the parts are annoying to source, the testing is stressful but it's good
I actually have a bunch of parts to make one still if you'd like me to dig them out
I actually have a bunch of parts to make one still if you'd like me to dig them out
Family Music Store - http://familymusic.co.nzGrantB wrote:Tony, your taste is, as always, very refined. Or as HG would say, "bloody awful".
- TmcB
- I may have a problem
- Posts: 7707
- Joined: Fri Aug 22, 2008 12:17 pm
- Location: Kapiti
- Has liked: 655 times
- Been liked: 561 times
Re: Anyone built an attenuator?
Innards of a brakelite
Family Music Store - http://familymusic.co.nzGrantB wrote:Tony, your taste is, as always, very refined. Or as HG would say, "bloody awful".
- wavesofffear
- Stagg
- Posts: 48
- Joined: Sun Nov 21, 2021 1:08 pm
- Has liked: 116 times
- Been liked: 50 times
Re: Anyone built an attenuator?
I haven't, but if I did, I would probably build one like so: https://www.marshallforum.com/threads/s ... ing.98285/
"JohnH" is in Aus, so he has some good advice on which parts can be sourced from Jaycar in there too!
"JohnH" is in Aus, so he has some good advice on which parts can be sourced from Jaycar in there too!
- Molly
- Vintage Post Junkie
- Posts: 24960
- Joined: Sat Dec 21, 2013 12:17 pm
- Has liked: 2488 times
- Been liked: 2799 times
Re: Anyone built an attenuator?
I once looked inside my Dr Z attenuator and there seemed nothing to it.
- StrummersOfThunder
- Vintage Post Junkie
- Posts: 7194
- Joined: Sun Jul 15, 2012 2:23 pm
- Has liked: 815 times
- Been liked: 1304 times
- Miza
- Vintage Post Junkie
- Posts: 2309
- Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2007 1:07 pm
- Location: Hamilton
- Has liked: 755 times
- Been liked: 254 times
Re: Anyone built an attenuator?
Yeah cool, let me know what you got!
I need to place an order with Tayda sometime soon, so I'll be able to get an enclosure and jacks easy enough.
Nothing to see here.
- calling card
- Vintage Post Junkie
- Posts: 4290
- Joined: Fri Nov 23, 2007 10:56 am
- Location: Hoodoo dump, BOP
- Has liked: 857 times
- Been liked: 276 times
Re: Anyone built an attenuator?
Is the impedance variable on the Brakelite?
2024; I have explored the extent of the perimeter dome, there is no escape. I am become Morpheus
- TmcB
- I may have a problem
- Posts: 7707
- Joined: Fri Aug 22, 2008 12:17 pm
- Location: Kapiti
- Has liked: 655 times
- Been liked: 561 times
Re: Anyone built an attenuator?
Sort of – it's variable in the sense that its method of working varies the impedance to achieve the attenuation. But yes, it's not like the Hotplates where you have a fixed impedance
Family Music Store - http://familymusic.co.nzGrantB wrote:Tony, your taste is, as always, very refined. Or as HG would say, "bloody awful".
- griff
- Vintage Post Junkie
- Posts: 1746
- Joined: Sun Feb 12, 2017 6:57 pm
- Has liked: 499 times
- Been liked: 248 times
- wavesofffear
- Stagg
- Posts: 48
- Joined: Sun Nov 21, 2021 1:08 pm
- Has liked: 116 times
- Been liked: 50 times
Re: Anyone built an attenuator?
The Brake-Lite is a resistive load (as opposed to a reactive load).TmcB wrote: ↑Tue Aug 02, 2022 9:02 amSort of – it's variable in the sense that its method of working varies the impedance to achieve the attenuation. But yes, it's not like the Hotplates where you have a fixed impedance