Are you getting complaints about being too noisy when you play your electric guitar? And that’s why you’re looking for the best guitar amp attenuators?
Yes, instead of having to turn down the volume, which can weaken your sound, you can use an attenuator to get a full sound from your amp without annoying your neighbors every time you practice.
Below is some useful information that can help you select the best guitar amp attenuator.
Top 5 Best Guitar Amp Attenuators:
AmpRX Brown Box Attenuator (Editor’s Choice)
When you want the best sound out of a tube amp while performing or recording, this is one of the ultimate solutions you can consider. It is used by popular rock players like Joe Hottinger, Joe Walsh, and many more. With this, your tube amp sounds good as it should be. This is a voltage optimizer that is created to provide the safest voltage reduction range for which vintage tube amplifiers are designed.
As a result, you get an authentic and pure tube tone. It gives rich harmonic content and classic tube saturation that is required from a vintage tube amp. Once you use this device, it will become an important part of your performance. This is made truly for vintage boutique amplifiers as it reduces the line voltages and meters it cleverly so can be lowered to the required amount.
Running an amplifier at adequate voltage means that your tubes will be long-lasting. This is more effective and safer because it limits input voltage and reduces output voltage. It improves amplifier performance by giving optimized voltage. Protective bar and metal chassis can resist harsh touring conditions. This is great value product.
Pros
- Vintage power
- Great quality
- Affordable
Cons
- None we could find
KLD PB-1 Attenuator
Keep your amp tone maintained with a PB-1 attenuator. It gives superior flexibility everywhere whether on stage or studio for different volume levels. This maintains dynamic response too and keeps the volume under control. It can attenuate volume to less than 1 watt at home studio. This is one of the most affordable attenuators on the market and works as intended.
This is sturdy and large with solid controls. It works extremely well and plays with amazing distortion. Your amp breathes more power to the tubes and does not make you deaf. With this product, your amp can attain great tones. This works according to your expectation.
With its sturdy build, the product looks amazing and serves the spirit that you like. It perfectly preserves the tone richness at every attenuation level. You must keep in mind that attenuators do not create sound but color it and this is created for tube amp exclusively. An optimized voltage improves amp performance dramatically.
Pros
- Great for indoor practice
- Value for money
- Does not affect the real tone
Cons
- None we could find
KLD/PAN PB1 Attenuator
The KLD/PAN PB1 attenuator is a studio-quality guitar amp attenuator used with tube amplifiers with a watt rating of up to 100. It features a simple design with just two knobs: an attenuation knob and a level knob.
The attenuation knob offers five different settings, ranging from true bypass to 7.2-decibel attenuation. This unit is ideal for you if you need to fine-tune sound on the stage.
If you play your guitar in a studio or practice room, you can use the level knob. This knob has a rheostat that provides attenuation of up to 30 decibels.
The PB1’s aluminum alloy casing can disperse heat more effectively than most resistance load amp attenuators. Also, you can match it with speakers with any impedance rating.
Carl’s Custom Guitars Speaker Soak Attenuator
The Carl’s Custom Guitars Speaker Soak attenuator is a guitar amp attenuator working on 16-ohm amplifiers, 60 watts or less.
This amp attenuator may not look very attractive, but it may surprise you with its excellent sound quality and power.
It is specially designed to enable you to turn the gain to maximum level without producing an unpleasant screaming sound.
You can directly plug it into your amplifier’s effects loop without any fiddling, tweaking, or modification, making it a very efficient piece of equipment.
It is undoubtedly one of the best guitar amp attenuators with its low price in value for money.
The Carl’s Custom Guitars Speaker Soak attenuator measures 4.5 x 3.5 x 2 inches. It is made in the USA and comes with a full money-back guarantee.
Weber MicroMass Attenuator
The Weber MicroMass Attenuator is a reliable 15-watt attenuator used with 4-ohm, 8-ohm, and 16-ohm amplifiers.
It has a low-mid knob and a mid-high knob. The former is used for controlling the master volume, while the latter adjusts the treble to warm up or brighten the tone.
This unit offers complete control to an attenuation of -50 decibels. A speaker motor is used for the load, allowing the attenuator to interact more with the amplifier’s output circuit and resulting in a more realistic load.
That ensures that you will minimize tone loss at all attenuation levels. Like with other Weber attenuators, you can turn it into a dummy load for testing if the attenuation controls are set to minimum.
Weber is a trusted brand in the guitar equipment industry. The MicroMass attenuator reflects its commitment to producing the best musical equipment.
Now that you know what to look for in a guitar amp attenuator, you can start doing some comparison shopping to find one that offers the best value for your money.
How to Choose the Right Guitar Amp Attenuator
Presently, there is an extensive selection of guitar amp attenuators available in the market, and it isn’t easy to know which one is most suitable for you.
To make the right buying decision, you need to have some knowledge of attenuators. Here are several things that you should consider before you buy.
Passive or Active Attenuator?
There are two types of guitar amp attenuators, and they are passive attenuators and active attenuators. A passive attenuator does not need to be connected to an external power supply.
It usually has a network of high-power resistors. It also may come with bulbs and fans that are powered by signal from the amplifier.
On the other hand, an active attenuator requires an external power supply because it has an amplifier stage. When the amp signal detects a dummy load, a small portion of it is transmitted to an onboard amplifier, which feeds the speakers.
The main benefit of an active attenuator is that you can use it to increase or decrease the signal that is being transmitted to the speakers.
So, besides taming the amplifier, it can also boost a small or medium-power amplifier’s volume level, making it a useful gigging tool.
Power-Scaling
Power-scaling works by changing the B+ voltage in the amplifier. It enables the maintenance of full heater voltage at all settings. One of the advantages of power-scaling is that it can extend the life of the valves.
Reliability
Attenuators are sometimes seen as the cause of amplifier failures. However, you should also note that they enable amplifiers to be run flat out for a long time.
If you use your amplifier continually at or close to its limits, it is only logical that it is more prone to breaking down.
Impedance Matching
Impedance matching can have a significant effect on reliability. When buying a guitar amp attenuator, you must make sure that its power rating matches your amplifier’s power rating.
Bear in mind that the maximum power of an amplifier is always greater than its stated power. So, if you match a 100-watt attenuator with a 100-watt amplifier, you can expect it to blow up.
Conclusion: the Best Guitar Amp Attenuators
When you are purchasing a guitar amp attenuator, your first considerations should be impedance and power handling.
You have to decide whether you prefer a stepped attenuator control with preset increments or a continually adjustable control that gives a more refined range.
Some other features that you may find useful include impedance switching and equalization controls. It is also a good idea to get a guitar amp attenuator that comes with dummy load switching.
Dummy load switching can silence your amplifier safely and route the direct output to a power amplifier for re-amping.