Hello everyone,
just joined here looking for information about power attenuators. I am a total newb with no experience of electronics other than a little bit of playing with RC models (yes I am a geek too).
I just bought myself a 15watt valve amplifier with the sole intention of it being a small recording amp that would sound good as I would be able to crank it to a level that I would get natural 'valve breakup'. Excuse me If I am getting terminology wrong, this is my first valve amp. It is a chinese variant of a Fender Blues Junior. Anyhow I totally underestimated how loud it would be and just how bad it would sound when not turned up somewhat. Returning it is out of the question as I would have to ship it back to germany (from the UK!). So I will need to find a way to make it sound good quietly.
It has no master volume, which I may consider installing if the most convenient. But this wont give me the same sound as a cranked amp right? The power valves need to be working hard yes? (correct me if im wrong).
After doing some reading I learnt of power attenuators and google led me here. There seems to be a lot of people making their own units. Such as the very long weber mass thread.
Well, as a total newb I am somewhat confused as what to do. I can barely read a schematic but I do have access to a multimeter and a soldering iron. Are there any forms of attenuator that are simple enough for someone like me to put together? Will it be good enough for recording (best possible tone) ?
I would greatly appreciate any advice. Thank you.