THD Hotplate

[Fish Out of Water]

Just wondering if any one out there has had any experience with the hot plate attenuators by THD.  I've been considering trying to pick one up but have been unable to find any one who has had any experience with them... Any feedback would be appreciated...Thanks in advance

 

[Volitions Advocate]

I only tried one out at the store.

Its got some options most attenuators don't. but I dont remember what they are... something like a bright switch or something.  I dont really remember.

What I do remember was that you could have it plugged in and still send full power to the speakers if you wanted to, and as you turned the volume down with the attenuator it was incremental, not smooth, until you hit the last increment, then the 2nd dial on the front controlled the volume directly from where it was all the way down to no sound at all.

 

[tfarny]

It's my next gear purchase, I'll try and remember to report back in a few weeks.

 

[GoDrex]

I felt they were kind of expensive - that's why I went with a Weber Mini Mass. Also they're not adjustable for ohms - so you have to buy the correct one for the rig you're going to use it with and if you want to use it with an amp that uses different ohms you can't use it. Another reason why the Weber ones are more appealing to me.

The Mini Mass doesn't really lower the volume so much that you can play very quietly, but it does tame the amp so you can crank it. My amp is still somewhat loud, but without it it's extremely loud in my small room.

edit - I assumed wrong

 

[DocNrock]

Actually, my THD does not require a plug-in. 

I like mine.  VA described its functions well.  Agreed that the impedence cannot be changed.  It really does tame the amp so that you can get a more saturated tube sound at a lower volume.

 

[GoDrex]

Actually, my THD does not require a plug-in. 

looks like I'm wrong about that

 

[DocNrock]

Actually, my THD does not require a plug-in. 

what powers the fan? - - looks like I'm wrong about that

Fan?   :icon_scratch:

It has external metal fins.

 

[GoDrex]

Some THD Hotplates have an internal fan. I'm reading up on them right now. The lower impedance ones (2 ohms) don't have them because no amp on the market can do 2 ohms that is above 50 watts. So it won't get hot enough to need it. The fan only works while you're playing.

According to the THD manual the signal from the amp powers the fan and also makes the light bulbs light up.

Oh and you can use one that has different impedance - if it is great than or equal that of the amp. It says it will lessen the effectiveness of the tone controls.

 

[DocNrock]

Some THD Hotplates have an internal fan. I'm reading up on them right now. The lower impedance ones (2 ohms) don't have them because no amp on the market can do 2 ohms that is above 50 watts. So it won't get hot enough to need it. The fan only works while you're playing.

According to the THD manual the signal from the amp powers the fan and also makes the light bulbs light up.

Oh and you can use one that has different impedance - if it is great than or equal that of the amp. It says it will lessen the effectiveness of the tone controls.

I've had the amp turned up high enough to see the bulb glow, but I did not know that it had a fan.  Mine is the 16 ohm model.

 

[GoDrex]

This is what I'm reading:

http://www.thdelectronics.com/pdf/HP%20Manual%20060405.pdf

 

[DocNrock]

This is what I'm reading:

http://www.thdelectronics.com/pdf/HP%20Manual%20060405.pdf

Yup, that's the sheet that came with my Hot Plate.  I never read the FAQ on the back.

 

[Patrick from Davis]

I got a Marshall PowerBrake about 10 years ago.  The price was a bit more reasonable back then.  It accomplishes the same goal.  It has a fan that is powered by the amps output, you can change the impedance 8/16, and it has one of those click setting knobs, not a pot.  It sucks tone at the high settings, but you can play with the amp if it is loud.  The HotRod Deluxe that I have with the clean channel's gain dimed will give a pretty good Sultans of Swing lead tone with it.
Patrick

 

[Superlizard]

so you have to buy the correct one for the rig you're going to use it with and if you want to use it with an amp that uses different ohms you can't use it.

That's not correct.  To quote Ed DeGenaro on a question I asked him years ago on the Plexi Palace BBS:

posted June 20, 2002 08:44 AM

Here's the deal...a matched impedance IMO always sounds better.
The Hotplate you'd want for both 8 ohm cabs is a 4 ohm model. BUT, you can use the 8 ohm model with them, just make sure to set the amps impednce to 4 ohm when using both cabs.

The 8 ohm Hotplate won't be as efficient as the 4 ohm in this application. Since we do compensate for the Fletcher-Munson curve the boost switches frequency peaks will be a bit off. But it's still better than any other option unless we're talking matched load.

That said, I've been using a 16 ohm Hotplate since years on all my 8 and 16 ohm loads myself.

Ed DeGenaro
Product Development & Support
THD Electronics, Ltd.

 

[Superlizard]

BTW, the light bulb is a "primitive" noise gate.

 

[Superlizard]

To answer the OP, if you have a tube amp that's "too loud", or vintage (and you don't want to fry it), it's a great tool to have.  Like others have mentioned, it allows you to "go to 11" without pissing off the neighbors.  Keep in mind, however, that the more you attenuate, the more the signal gets squashed - so it won't sound as good at high attenuation compared to some/little attenuation.

 

[Wana_make_a_guitar]

To answer the OP, if you have a tube amp that's "too loud", or vintage (and you don't want to fry it), it's a great tool to have.  Like others have mentioned, it allows you to "go to 11" without pissing off the neighbors.  Keep in mind, however, that the more you attenuate, the more the signal gets squashed - so it won't sound as good at high attenuation compared to some/little attenuation.

I imagine it'd still sound better than just turning the amp down without the attenuator though.

 

[Patrick from Davis]

Yeah it does sound better than just turning the amp down to 0.5.  It also is great when your amp is just plain too loud, it reels it in to a workable sound level.  For that, some tone loss and an amp you can actually play through is much better than nothing.
Patrick

 

[GoDrex]

so you have to buy the correct one for the rig you're going to use it with and if you want to use it with an amp that uses different ohms you can't use it.

That's not correct.  To quote Ed DeGenaro on a question I asked him years ago on the Plexi Palace BBS:

I corrected myself later on.

 

[Fish Out of Water]

Thanks guys... from what I've read here  I am assuming that while you can acheive a full tube crunch at more workable volume levels the end result is that the volume is still pretty substantal.  I was hoping that I'd be able to get that great Marshall tube saturated crunch at relatively low volumes. My practice room is pretty small and I haven't been able to get that crunchy tone without jacking up the volume and then having my ears ring for about an hour afterwards.  I will assume that the hot plate won't be able to allow me to play at low volumes.

 

[Funky Phil]

IMO the THD Hotplate works well.
(Avoid the "noise reduction", and the bright and deep switches)

You will notice a change in tone from running without the Hotplate, but perhaps that has a lot to do with the way our ears/ brains process sound? (Music sounds different when it's loud!)
Also the speaker not being driven so hard makes a difference...

If anyone here has a Hotplate and decent recording equipment then a good experiment would be to record the amp (set LOUD), with and without the Hotplate...that way a genuine comparison could be made...