THD Hotplate Attenuator (16 Ohm)

This little honey is way easy to use. You don't have to fiddle with knobs for hours to lock in tone, it's a simple unit to suppress a "Plexi's" volume. A small sheet of paper gives you all the scenarios for using your Hotplate including using the line out to plug it into a studio board or a rack mount. There is also a little trouble shooting section in the end of the manual to help you out if things go bad.

Let's get this straight. I am a TONE-A-HOLIC!! I don't settle for huge rack units, 100's of pedals a effects all over the floor, and other processors. The only way for me is to take my Les Paul Standard (with matching BurstBuckers... which sound a lot like PAFs), plug it into my Marshall 1959-SLP/1960AX cabinet with 25watt greenbacks and let the amp roll at about 3 for a nice all around sound. The ONLY thing I put between the guitar and my precious amp is a Vox-Wah, and that's it... PERIOD!!! However, this setup is very freaking loud. When you are at a small venue you may get signals from your soundman to turn your amp down. But do you want to do that, heck no! That pretty much means putting all your tone down the toilet. Until now........ The THD Hotplate comes into play. As soon as i set this thing up on my amp, i just slapped in to -16dB to see how quiet it could go. Wow was i impressed!! It made the amp pretty much three times quieter. Amazing! It did take away a little bit of the tone but i'm sure when i actually play a show i'll set it at -8dB to bring some of that stolen tone away. You will only notice this nauce if you are a tone freak like myself. What is also great is that the Hotplate also has a noise reducer. What a bargain. It does settle out some of the hiss in the amp but there will always be the presence of the "Marshall Hum".

No problems yet. I've heard THD has extreme care with customers, as they do with their products........ which are HAND BUILT IN THE USA!! The only thing i'm gonna have to fix is the cooling fan. When it sits flat a part of the fan is rubbing on the plastic making this scraping noise. A little adjustment should do it, but the scraping sound doesn't go to the signal, and it's barely touching the plastic anyway.

No problems yet.

Bottom line.... If you are a gigging "TONE-A-HOLIC" who likes it raw and full of guts, buy a THD Hotplate for your Plexi. Your audience and your ears with thank you.

It's pretty easy to use, although I got a little psyched out by reading their manual's disclaimer warnings. "If you hook this thing up wrong you could potentialy damage your amp!"
That is very true, but it's not difficult to hook ths thing up at all. It's even clearly marked on the unit where your speaker cables go. Amp here, speakers there. Even after realizing that I was still sniffing the air for smoke after a few chords.
As far as the actual use of the unit, all it really involves is turning a couple knobs and flicking a couple option switches until you get the right volume/tone. Also, it's ready to use right out of the box. Simple, yet unsettling.

I love the sound of my amp (Dr Z KT-45) wide open. However, the sound engineers at our live shows typically don't. They want total sonic control through the PA, and if stage volume conflicts with room sound they can get rather cranky. In fact, one engineer got so pissed at me that he decided to turn the entire PA off about three songs into our set. As unprofessional as that stunt was, it reminded me that the sound man has a very influencial effect on how good our performance sounds. It's best to keep them happy.
Enter the THD Hot Plate. This is the tool I needed for the job. Every show has gone over a lot smoother since I got it. When I use it I can almost get the same tone as if I were cranked up and peeling the paint off the walls. Notice I say almost. It IS a noticably different tone. Due to this fact, THD added bass and treble enhancing switches to the mix. An excellent feature, because without them the volume drop would really make your tone suffer. They help, but only so much. Although it's not a perfect recreation, it's still very true to my original tone. I don't think any other attenuator on the market could do any better, so even without a perfect ten in this category I still give THD credit where it is due.

Oh, yes. This thing is durable. Also, each one is hand assembled so I trust it's craftsmanship a lot more then something that was stamped out by a machine.

I emailed them before I bought one and their response was prompt, yet brief and a little condecending.

Overall, it's a very useful tool. One complaint would be that it's a very pricy piece of equipment at around $300 a pop (to save some money I got mine used from http://tonedogs.com). Another more obvious one would be the sacrifice of my tone. Still I think that this unit is a necessary addition to my set up, so mainly I am glad to have it in the chain. It does what it is supposed to do without any quirks or over-adjusting. It's a simple, effective unit. THD also makes a lot of other interesting tube amp related products. I would strongly recommend other serious players to look into them.

I originally got this thing for my Peavey 5150. I wanted to utilize my newly acquired JJ power tubes from Eurotubes. First things first, this thing WILL NOT allow your amp to produce true power tube distortion at bedroom levels. The ONLY way to do that is to crank the post gain on your amp and let the sucker rooooooooaaaaaaaarrrr.
Keeping that in mind, it's easy to see why the hotplate has treble and bass switches to compensate for the loss of tone, which occurs when the hotplate absorbs the full power of the amp and only allows a portion to be transfered to the speaker cabinet.
I will give the hotplate credit for giving this amp a little more versitility. Through tweeking I did discover the amps capability of producing new types of distortion that were otherwise unattainable. But... the higher the post gain on the amp, the lower you must set the volume on the hotplate, thus the more power is absorbed by the unit, resulting in more and more tone sucked away by the unit, neccessarily. Not only that, but the more dependent you are on the hotplate, the more the individual notes (especially the palm muted notes) lack clarity. The noise gets kind of annoying too. Sure the THD Hotplate IS the best attenuator on the market, but that's not saying much.

I'm a big fan of guys like Van Halen, Satriani, Vai, Johnson, and Malmsteen. So naturally I love speed/ shred metal with a pretty warm tube distortion. Not the overdriven solid state crap!!! So If your like me and your strickly looking to get closer to the perfect warm tube classic/ modern hard rock sound, take my advise, and stick with what you got and just crank the amp.

I'm giving the hotplate an 8 because it's the best on the market, but it won't give you the power tube sound at bedroom levels. Believe me, I've used this thing in conjunction with rack mounted processors, pre and post equalizers, and still no dice! I have to use it with an old unmodified Marshall ( which they say is what the hotplate was really made for) so I can't give an all inclisive hands down to this product. But as far as using this attenuator in conjunction with amps already designed to produce heavy distortion, it's just not worth it... not for $300 bucks, or even $150.

- Line out (but it must be connected to a power amp in order to use) w/ line out level control.
- Treble and Bass compensation swiches ( meant to restore lost tone)
- Versitile output load adjustment
- Cooling fins ( neccessary when this thing used for more than 10 minutes at a time)
- Noise reduction (w/ light to let you know when it's working)
- Cooling fan to help cool the resistors

* Very versitile, as far as attenuators and power brakes go, THE MOST VERSITILE... hands down.

Been using for six months now, no problems yet.

Everything I already said above.

i use this with a vox ac30, and a strat or tele.
basically this is a master volume for non-master volume amps, but with a difference, that difference bieng you get power amp distortion as well as preamp distortion.
how does it sound? the product itself has very little tone coloration. i find that highs and lows are there, and boosting both is a really good idea when you are playing at the maximum squeeze. i dig that i can play my ac30 at full crunch, and my neighbors dig it too! also a speaker iso booth was not an option, i can't play like that. maybe record, but not play. i didn't want to sell the amp, and power tube overdrive is way better sounding with a vox than any stomp box.
line out is pretty useless though as a guitar source. it's fine for rockman-esque practice sesh but not serious recording. i take line out and run it into my tc chorus and then into my p.c. for demos and whatnot. it works for me. note that the line out is UNBELEIVABLY hot. be careful!

decent features for the price.
noise reduction --good
line out --good. missing any speaker emulation, though.
bright/deep switches --good. quite useful at the lowest levels.
cool light that glows --good. looks like a selmer treble 'n bass!
dummy load --good.
multiple speaker outs --good. total must equal your old ohm load.
cooling fan/heatsink --good

only works at 16 ohms --bad. evidently it is possible to use at other loads, but it's not as good sounding. competition does this -- marshall powerbrake, for instance.
i liked the sound of this better than the powerbrake.

i've had it for a month, and it's been good to me thus far.
it gets hot, but not hot enough to burn you or anything. i bet a marshall 100watt head would warm up a cup of coffee, though.

ok, thd is one of the best companies to deal with on a techinical level, on a service level, on any level i've ever dealt with. they are gracious, knowledgable, informed and straigh up bro. i cannot regard them high enough, they are the best. every person there knows what's up, which is shocking these days. i gotta give it up for thd!

i would definitely replace this unit. this will become a key component of my sound.
i also practice a lot more, i can hear my phone ring when someone calls too!
i think a lot of thought went into this product. it doesn't do it all, but it does what it was designed to do really well. i am a little bummed that you can't hook this bad boy up to an 8 or 2 ohm load optimally, but that's the price you pay, i guess.
and i would like to add that when i floor my ac-30 i've yet to have problems with this unit and my output tranny. it stays cool, no strain at all on the unit.
please thd, make a hotplate that works with all amps!

VERY SIMPLE TO USE. IT ATTENUATES THE LEVEL OF SOUND FROM THE AMP TO THE SPEAKER AND CAN BE USED AS A LOAD BOX OR A LINE OUT W/ A LEVEL CONTROL. IT ALSO HAS DEEP & BRIGHT SWITCHES TO COMPENSATE FOR THE LOSS OF LOWS & HIGHS IF NEEDED. THE BULBS ACT AS A NOISE REDUCTION TO FILTER OUT UNWANTED NOISE. VERY USER FRIENDLY AND MANUAL WAS EASY TO UNDERSTAND. THERE IS A FAN ON THE BOTTOM OF THE UNIT WHICH SHOULD BE PLACED ON TOP OF THE AMP TO COOL THE TUBES. REQUIRES NO AC POWER.

MOST PEOPLE WOULD USE THIS ITEM ON NON-MASTER VOLUME HEADS BUT I USE IT ON MY 5150 AND IT IS EXCELLENT. I RUN THE VOLUME AT 5 AND USE THE LINE OUT TO FEED MY EFFECTS AND IT SOUNDS EXCELLENT. IT SOUNDS BEST WHEN SET AT -16db or -12db. I TRIED IT ON A MARSHALL PLEXI AND IT DOES THE BROWN SOUND (VH) VERY WELL. I SUGGEST USING A VARIAC W/ THE HOT PLATE TO ACHIEVE THE MARSHALLY VAN HALEN SOUND.

VERY RELIABLE BUT YOU MUST USE THE CORRECT OHM HOT PLATE W/ THE AMP AND SPEAKER. EX. 16OHM CAB, SET AMP AT 16OHM AND USE THE 16OHM HOTPLATE. VERY SIMPLE BUT IMPORTANT. IT WORKS GREAT AND HAVE HAD NO PROBLEMS. THD CUSTOMER SERVICE IS VERY HELPFUL.

VERY HELPFUL AND KNOWLEDGEABLE. THE MAUAL IS VERY USER FRIENDLY.

I PLAY ROCK AND BLUES AND HAVE BEEN PLAYING FOR 13 YEARS. I WOULD BUY IT AGAIN BECAUSE THE QUALITY IS THAT GOOD. I LIKE EVERYTHING ABOUT IT. I COMPERED IT TO THE GROOVE TUBES SEII AND THIS THING IS WAY BETTER. FORGET SPEAKER EMULATORS, THIS THING IS BETTER IN SOUND QUALITY AND EASE OF USE. IT IS SMALL AND EASY TO CARRY AROUND AND PLACE AROUND YOUR GEAR.

It was easy enough to read the directions and set it up. I'm a bit leary of being in a small room with a 100w Marshall turned to 10, so I read the directions carefully. There is also the issue of hurting the amplifier if the speakers are not connected to the head when it is on. The HotPlate goes between the amp head and the speakers, so read the directions first.

The sound at the quietest setting is, well, not like the sound of the amp, but not Unlike it enough that you wouldn't mind the tone you do get at the price of being able to hear people talking to you the next day. In between settings are better, in fact great, when one realizes the degree of volumn the Hot Plate is syphoning off. I got this unit for quiter practice moments, and becuase of all the choices out there, the HotPlate seems to be the best tone-wise. I am happy with it.

Yes, it feeds itself from the power sent from the amp to the speakers. Kind of nice to have something that can add to my sound capabilities without needing a battery or wall outlet.

This seems like a very nice, human company to deal with. I sent drawings of the back of my amp and speakers and asked them to recomend which HotPlate to use. They were a pleasure to deal with.

When I play through my small amp its jazz and blues, but when I'm in the mood I want to have the response and depth that only an old power tube can give where volume and attack have infinite influence on the sound of ones playing. Unfortunatly, one finds oneself in this mood at less than opportune times for cranking a 100w Marshall. There is also the pain associated with hearing loss... The HotPlate is a good compromise; good tone, at bearable (for all) rates. Not the same as an unimpeaded amp full out of course, but not bad for what it is.

Very easy to use. Goes between the amp and the speaker.

Great! See my review of the Marshall 2204, which I felt was too loud for my needs. The Hotplate makes it managable. There's been a lot of talk lately about power tube saturation at "bedroom level" and how desirable it would be. Well, the Hotplate WON'T do it for you. The highest attenuation setting is reminiscent of a really cheezy fuzzbox. But that's OK--I only ask my Hotplate to reduce volume to the point where my tone doesn't suffer, which is the -12dB mode. And that works just fine for real live musicians playing in real live rooms (even small rooms.) This comment will antagonize some people, but what the hell! I live in an apartment, too, (in crowded San Francisco, no less) and I make perfectly great recordings using a Blues Jr. in my closet during daytime hours. So what if I don't have a howling wall of Marshall stacks at whisper levels.

It seems really reliable. Study, simple design. Massive fan and heatsink. You could overclock this hotplate ;)

Hmmm. Andy Marshall's comments on USENET are appreciated, and he seems like a helpful guy. On the other hand, if you want to buy a new Hotplate from THD, be prepared for a lengthy wait. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth that you have to commit to a cabinet of a certain ohmage, or buy multiple Hotplates. I understand that this is to maximize sound quality, but I can't afford to buy a Hotplate for each possible head/speaker combination. I have no idea at which point a mismatch could damage my amp, so I'm cautious.

I like it. It sounds really good, and brings an insanely loud amp under control. Does it sound as good as my cranked 2204, sans Hotplate? It's way better than being an overly loud and obnoxious player with hearing damage who doesn't get invited back for another gig.

This is a hefty, extruded aluminum box 3"x6"x4". Details on the front panel left to right are an attenuation knob 0 to -16dB in -4dB increments, bright and deep switches, a continuously variable attenuation knob -16dB to max, and a light which blinks on power chords (cool). Back panel has an output line level knob, two speaker jacks, an input jack, and a line out jack. Only the large, garish "Hotplate" silk screened logo on the front panel makes this unit hard to use.

The unit is quiet. The signal to noise ratio of the amplifier (Marshall) appears to have improved with this device. The manual talks about the flashing light having something to do with the noise reduction circuitry. Well, it works. Only sonic drawback is some kind of inter-operability glitch between the line out and the attenuated speaker output. The bright switch brightens the speaker out but dulls the line out. This is OK for my application as I am able to achieve the right mix of attenuation and distortion at the -12dB setting, which doesn't require filtering to sound good.

My concern is not with the product itself, but its effects on the other parts of my amplifier. My Marshall head is old, feeble, expensive, and time-consuming to maintain or replace. So I really checked into the reliability before buying the box. I use the hotplate with confidence. Time will tell whether this is a good choice.

I would definitely buy the product again. It is built solidly. It has more features for less money than the Marshall Power Brake. A portion of the attenuated amp power drives a fan in both the PowerBrake and the Hotplate. However, the fan in the Hotplate draws air up from the bottom, so it sits nicely over the ventilation slots in the top of the Marshall head, giving better cooling to the output tubes. Clever, clever.

Very easy to use.Very few knobs and switches.2 speaker outputs,line output,amp in.I always double check to make sure the cables are in the right jacks because it is possible to fry your amp if you hook this thing up wrong.I gave it a 9 only because you do need to be conscious when hooking it up.

Sounds great.Some amp heads are not load resistor friendly.I haven't found one that doesn't sound very good through this unit.Its a power attenuator and or load resistor.You can use it between your head and speaker cabinet.Crank the head up and turn the Hot Plate down and you can play at room listening level and not lose any of the "thump."It has a little bit of eq which sounds nice.OR you can crank your head and put the Hot Plate in load resistor mode and run it through your rack or the power section in(return) of a Marshall or some other cool amp and that sounds really great.

Seems to be built like a rock.It has an internal fan which is powered by the amp head itself and only comes on when your driving it hard.Very cool.Haven't had a problem with it yet.

They answered my questions on the phone.

Mine is a 16 ohm model.They also have 4 and 8 ohm models.I'd buy it again.If you're tired of the sound of your rack mount pre-amp,this is a way cool way to go by loading down a head and running it through the rest of the junk.

Very easy to use.Very few knobs and switches.2 speaker outputs,line output,amp in.I always double check to make sure the cables are in the right jacks because it is possible to fry your amp if you hook this thing up wrong.I gave it a 9 only because you do need to be conscious when hooking it up.

Sounds great.Some amp heads are not load resistor friendly.I haven't found one that doesn't sound very good through this unit.Its a power attenuator and or load resistor.You can use it between your head and speaker cabinet.Crank the head up and turn the Hot Plate down and you can play at room listening level and not lose any of the "thump."It has a little bit of eq which sounds nice.OR you can crank your head and put the Hot Plate in load resistor mode and run it through your rack or the power section in(return) of a Marshall or some other cool amp and that sounds really great.

Seems to be built like a rock.It has an internal fan which is powered by the amp head itself and only comes on when your driving it hard.Very cool.Haven't had a problem with it yet.

They answered my questions on the phone.

Mine is a 16 ohm model.They also have 4 and 8 ohm models.I'd buy it again.If you're tired of the sound of your rack mount pre-amp,this is a way cool way to go by loading down a head and running it through the rest of the junk.