ultimate attenuator schem?

gkaiomenos · Post by **gkaiomenos** » 12 Dec 2008, 20:19

heard of some clips online and liked it a lot
is there any schem lying around?

soulsonic · Post by **soulsonic** » 13 Dec 2008, 05:58

I haven't seen a scheme, but I really like the concept. The idea is simple, it's a fixed dummy load with a solid state power amp to drive the speaker. It's similar to how most Slave setups are done. You could build something similar pretty easily. I had actually planned on building something like that before I'd even heard of it.

TragicTravisty · Post by **TragicTravisty** » 13 Dec 2008, 06:29

so it attenuates the volume to a fixed point and then drives the speaker with a solid state power amp? does it go to 0 watts?

soulsonic · Post by **soulsonic** » 13 Dec 2008, 08:15

All the power from the main amp goes into the dummy load. It taps off a line level signal that goes to the solid state amp. The power of the solid state amp depends on the model, I guess. I'm not sure what you mean by "0 Watts"... I guess that's what you would get if you turn it off. If you're talking about a silent speaker line out sort of thing, then that's just the function of a dummy load, you don't need an entire attenuator circuit for that.

gkaiomenos · Post by **gkaiomenos** » 13 Dec 2008, 15:26

so to get this straight what people (including me ) like when they hear the UA is a solid state power amp
wow that's the least bit frightening...
got to check my ears

Ripdivot · Post by **Ripdivot** » 13 Dec 2008, 15:28

This sounds a lot like Van Halen's old rig. Crank the marshalls, run them into a dummy load which feeds the signal to the H&H Mosfet poweramps to drive the speaker cabs...

soulsonic · Post by **soulsonic** » 14 Dec 2008, 04:40

Ripdivot wrote:This sounds a lot like Van Halen's old rig. Crank the marshalls, run them into a dummy load which feeds the signal to the H&H Mosfet poweramps to drive the speaker cabs...

Exactly! It's exactly that sort of thing. This sort of arrangement has been used for a long time in serious pro rigs, though many times it's used to increase volume and allow the ability to run a wall of cabs (for those bands that actually have real speakers in their walls of cabs). I'm a big fan of the versatility available of a good slave setup.

TragicTravisty · Post by **TragicTravisty** » 14 Dec 2008, 05:57

by 0 watts i mean can it go from full on to totally quiet, and everywhere in between? the everywhere part's the question.

soulsonic · Post by **soulsonic** » 14 Dec 2008, 08:39

I'm fairly certain the volume control on this kind of thing works the same as any usual volume control.