|
Post by Hohn on Dec 9, 2006 12:31:27 GMT -7
I love my Hot Plate, as it seems to allow an amp to not get silly loud when you crank it to get some drive.
But I've noticed that all the sparkle and magic of the Ray just doesn't come through when I run my 'plate.
Even on -4, I found that that sparlle and shimmer of the top end just doesn't come through.
The Ray sounds so good even at "barely on" volume levels, that I find I don't need an attenutator, and turning it up even just a bit takes you from really nice tone to purely magical tone.
With a darker amp, it would be a small price to pay, but the Ray is so perfect out of the box, that messing with it is a step backwards in this case.
JMO
|
|
|
Post by billyguitar on Dec 9, 2006 13:36:22 GMT -7
I have mine hooked to an Air Brake and the amp really loses tone after the first click down. Better than nothing but it is quite a compromise. I have a Hot Plate that Andy Marshall converted to be 2db per click for me but it's a 2 ohm for my Bassmans so I can't try it. I would like to try it because of the extra switches on it. The HP is really a nice small dewsign but that 4db per click was way too much for me. I have an expensive rackmount Marshall that also doubles as a direct box and it's 6db per click! One time at a music store here they were having some kind of Marshall clinic and I asked the guy how to change it from 6db to something less and he just looked away and changed the subject. I wasn't impressed by the dude.
|
|
|
Post by benttop (Steve) on Dec 9, 2006 13:42:53 GMT -7
I have two hot plates here, and the Airbrake. I've noticed that the Hot Plates seem to work better with much higher power amps. And that 4db thing definitley works better on a 50 watt amp or higher. The Airbrake seems to be better suited to a 30 watt or less amp. Anyway, my Stingray likes the Airbrake fine. I usually end up with it one click down from the top, but I've played all night with it on two clicks down and didn't feel I was being penalized in the tone department.
Like I've said elsewhere, our ears are more part of the problem than the gear when it comes to perception of tone at various volumes. As you lower it, your ears are perceiving the lows a lot less than the mids so it sounds like the attenuator is messing with your tone. It's really your ears that are doing that. Obviously you CAN compensate by adjusting the tone control, but I haven't found a need to here. This is one of those very personal percpetion things - some perceive things one way, others the other. YMMV.
|
|
|
Post by dock66 on Dec 9, 2006 20:39:18 GMT -7
I use a Z Air Brake with my StingRay.At two clicks down,there is still a whole lot of sweetness in tone at that level , at least to my ears anyways.
|
|