Attenuator History

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Attenuator History
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The First Attenuator - The Altair PW-5

• First Attenuator marketed was the Altair
• It used wavy tungsten elements to dissipate the
  load similar to toaster elements. These were
  reported to cause amp or tube damage.

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The 2nd Generation Attenuator was the Scholz
Power Soak (designed by Tom Scholz the guitarist
of Boston, he designed RockMan gear)

• This unit was a little better than the Altair. It
  uses banks of graduated resistors to dissipate
  load. This is identical to modern attenuator
  circuit design. It works better than the Altair,
  but users reported liability issues such as
• Not very road worthy, solder would melt from
  heat, the load would become disconnected, thus
  damaging the amp.
• Tone and feel were diminished. The higher the
  attenuation, the worse the effect.
• 3. 4db stepped attenuation - nearly impossible to
  set exact desired volume.

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All attenuators to come will use the same basic
circuit design used in the Scholz Power Soak!
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Next came the Trainwreck Airbreak

• Ken Fisher worked for Ampeg. In the 80s he
  designed his own line of amps called Trainwreck
  Amps. These amps are regarded as some of the best
  in the world. Mr. Fisher passed away on 12/23/06
  and is truly missed. His legacy lives on and some
  of his amps fetch around 30,000 each today.
• He also designed an attenuator called the
  Trainwreck Airbreak.
• It uses the same basic circuit design as the
  Scholz Power Soak .

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The Ken Fisher original design of the Trainwreck
Airbreak was then licensed to
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Kendrick Amplifiers for the Power Glide Attenuator
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Dr. Z Amplifiers for the Dr. Z Air Break
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Komet Amplifiers for the Komet Airbrake

• Unable to locate a photo of the Komet Airbreak
  Attenuator
• Very Limited Availability

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Then came THD Hotplate.

• It uses the same basic circuit design as the
  Scholz Power Soak .
• It is the best selling Attenuator on the market.
• Tone and dynamics are about the same as the
  Scholz Power Soak .
• THD case is used as the heat sync. Very cleaver
  design and this makes it smaller in size.

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Then came the Marshall Power Brake

• It uses the same basic circuit design for the
  Scholz Power Soak .
• Tone and dynamics are about the same as the
  Scholz Power Soak .
• It is huge in size and weight.

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Then came the Weber Mass line

• It uses the same circuitry design as the Scholz
  Power Soak
• One difference is it uses a Speaker Motor to
  dissipate load instead of resistors. The speaker
  motor moves like a speaker and is a good idea
  But it still has similar tone and dynamic issues.

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Then came the Bad Cat Leash

• It is the latest attenuator of the same basic
  circuit design as the Scholz Power Soak .
• Instead of using a fixed resistor to dissipate
  load, they use rheostats. This is great idea, but
  it still has the same inherent tone and feel
  problems of the other attenuators.

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Remember the Inherent Problem with most SPS type
design attenuators is

• Poor Sound Quality Diminished Tone Feel.
• Supports only one or two Ohm ratings.
• Stepped Attenuation Each step moves the signal
  thru another resistor bank in 4db steps thus
  degrading the original tone. The more Attenuation
  applied, the further degraded the tone sounds.

The Solution to these Tone Problems?
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The Ultimate Attenuator

• Continuous hi-fidelity smooth taper attenuation
  from 0 to 64db
• Total preservation of amps actual feel no
  frequency roll off
• Supports any Ohm rating You can safely mix and
  match head cab impedance!

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Ultimate Attenuator Options Include

• 100 Volt Tap Runs the Amp with Less Heat thus
  greatly preserving tube and component life.
• Bedroom Switch - Changes the volume pot to a
  higher impedance that allows you dial in a lower
  volume with no loss of tone feel Just Listen
  for Yourself!
• Plexi Switch - This boosts Presence and creates
  Bite that cuts through without changing original
  tone feel.
• Variable Line Out - The variable line level
  output is great for running a wet/dry rig setup,
  and/or line out to a board. It is voiced to sound
  excellent - many customers say it is the best
  sounding line out they have heard!
• 200 Watt Load Upgrade - This upgrade increases
  the maximum input load from 100watts to 200watts.
• Recommend for use with 6550 type output tubes or
  (4) or more EL34 output tubes.
• The 100 watt Marshalls run 4 EL34 output tubes
  and actually output 120 watts.

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The Ultimate Attenuator

• THE BEST SOUNDING ATTENUATOR AVAILIBLE TODAY!
• TRULY HEAR YOUR AMPS ACTUAL TONE FOR THE FIRST
  TIME GUARANTEED!