So I recently purchased a Weber Mass III, which is a 150-watt attenuator. It has three large knobs, bass mid and treble, that control the attenuation, plus a line out with volume/tone and a relay-driven footswitch. It also has a wall-wart which is only used for powering the footswitch; the attenuator itself is passive.
I'm gonna rate it at 8/10. Pros and cons:
Pros:
- Cheap for an attenuator! Cheaper than either Power Brake or Hot Plate.
- Sounds really really good.
Finally I can get that awesome Led Zeppelin EL34 distortion at low volumes!!
- Goes to apartment volume, even with my 100W Carvin dimed into it. Though you have to turn the knobs almost to zero to get apartment volumes with 100W pouring into it!
- The knobs are actual pots, unlike the Marshall Power Brake which has a rotary switch.
- Ted Weber says it has a nominal 8 ohm impedance but will work with 2 to 16 ohm amps. Not sure how, and I haven't tested it, but I have no reason to doubt him.
Cons:
- The treble and mid knobs don't do a whole lot to the sound. The bass knob is basically the volume knob, and the other two let you add in some frequencies.
- The pots are big industrial 100W deals, but unfortunately they're not very mechanically strong. I actually broke one by turning the knob (not too hard!) and had to send it back to Ted to be replaced (which he did free of charge). Then it happened AGAIN when I got it back! Rather than send it back again, I just opened it up and took a look... easy to repair, there's a claw holding a metal slug against the resistive element. The slug had slipped out of the claw, so I put it back. Presto. So understand that you have to be gentle with the knobs and they may require maintenance.
- One of the solder joints is not too impressive. Not a big deal but I expected to see all good solder joints on a piece of boutique gear, especially since it handles high power.
My overall impression is that it's a good design and very useful, but there might be some QC issues. In fact, the sensitive bass knob/insensitive mid and high knobs might indicate some problem with my specimen... others might be better. :dontknow: If anyone else has one I'd love to know.
In answer to "the Harmony Central question," if it got stolen, I'd probably get one of the two more popular attenuators (Power Brake/Hot Plate) just because they're known to be reliable. But Ted has been communicative and helpful.
I'm gonna rate it at 8/10. Pros and cons:
Pros:
- Cheap for an attenuator! Cheaper than either Power Brake or Hot Plate.
- Sounds really really good.
Finally I can get that awesome Led Zeppelin EL34 distortion at low volumes!!- Goes to apartment volume, even with my 100W Carvin dimed into it. Though you have to turn the knobs almost to zero to get apartment volumes with 100W pouring into it!
- The knobs are actual pots, unlike the Marshall Power Brake which has a rotary switch.
- Ted Weber says it has a nominal 8 ohm impedance but will work with 2 to 16 ohm amps. Not sure how, and I haven't tested it, but I have no reason to doubt him.
Cons:
- The treble and mid knobs don't do a whole lot to the sound. The bass knob is basically the volume knob, and the other two let you add in some frequencies.
- The pots are big industrial 100W deals, but unfortunately they're not very mechanically strong. I actually broke one by turning the knob (not too hard!) and had to send it back to Ted to be replaced (which he did free of charge). Then it happened AGAIN when I got it back! Rather than send it back again, I just opened it up and took a look... easy to repair, there's a claw holding a metal slug against the resistive element. The slug had slipped out of the claw, so I put it back. Presto. So understand that you have to be gentle with the knobs and they may require maintenance.
- One of the solder joints is not too impressive. Not a big deal but I expected to see all good solder joints on a piece of boutique gear, especially since it handles high power.
My overall impression is that it's a good design and very useful, but there might be some QC issues. In fact, the sensitive bass knob/insensitive mid and high knobs might indicate some problem with my specimen... others might be better. :dontknow: If anyone else has one I'd love to know.
In answer to "the Harmony Central question," if it got stolen, I'd probably get one of the two more popular attenuators (Power Brake/Hot Plate) just because they're known to be reliable. But Ted has been communicative and helpful.
