THD Hotplate Attenuator (2 Ohm)

The Hotplate is as easy to use as any other attenuator.

I use the 2 ohm Hotplate with my vintage 5F6A Bassmans and brownface Concert. My guitars are mainly P90 equipped. Each increment on the dial lowers the volume and squashes the sound. The tone even at the -4dB setting is noticeably different than when the amp is unattenuated. When the dial is turned to -16 dB, the sound is completely unusable. People who intend to use the Hotplate as a way to turn a Bassman into a bedroom amp should look elsewhere.

The Hotplate interferes with picking sensitivity and the effectiveness of the volume knobs on my guitars. I can't roll off the volume to clean up the sound. This is not so noticeable at -4dB, but increases with the amount of attenuation.

The only use for which I can recommend the Hotplate is for very moderate attenuation (-4 and possibly -8 dB).

I have several small amps, but I prefer the sound of my bigger amps. I'm still looking for something that will work with my 2 ohm amps. The UA is 30 ohms, so I won't risk using that. Perhaps the 4 ohm setting on the Faustine Phantom. Eventually I will find something.

I'm rating this a 5 because it does attenuate the volume, and it doesn't hiss or hum. But, it is not transparent at all. On every setting the A/Bed sound is different from direct sound.

The Hotplate seems well-built. I use it without a backup. But, not so much as an attenuator as I use it for a wet/dry setup. I keep the setting on -0 dB and run the line out to a Time Factor and into another amp.

Not an issue. Mine works fine, and it is going back on eBay as soon as I find something to replace it with.

This is fine for wet/dry rigs, but pretty much useless as an attenuator. If 4dB is all you need subtract from your volume, this may be the unit for you. But, if you need to get any quieter, look elsewhere.

This will definitely not turn your Bassman into a bedroom amp!

I'm giving this a 7 because it does have a few redeeming qualities, but sounds bad.

Very easy to use. Has categories of attenuation; -4db, -8db, -12db, and -16db. The -16db setting also has a volume knob for additional adjustment. On the back you have additional speaker out and line out with level knob. Also has noise suppression, and bass and treble boost switches.

I am using this on a 59 Bassman LTD. I have used this with the stock Groove Tube 6l6's, and also with YJSD EL84 Yellow Jackets. The Hot Plate definately helps tame the volume of the Bassman to more useable levels, especially with the 6l6's. It's still pretty loud at -8dbs with the amp set around 7. At that level the amp really purrs with either a Paul or a Strat. The addition of an over drive at this level really produces a great lead tone. Once you get above the -8db to -12 or -16, the sound gets to squashed and flabby. My favorite setup is with the THD YJSD Converters. They break up at a much lower volume, around 4, plus the tone, sustain, and attack contollablity get much more manageble than with the 6L6's. The Hot Plate allows you to push the amp into the sweet zone at much lower volumes. I really like what the Hot Plate does at the lower levels of attenuation. Everything just sounds better when you can push the tubes to the point of breakup. Cleans up when you roll off the volume on the guitar.

Probably...

THD has always gotten back to me when I have had questions.They have always responded, via email, within 24 hours.

I like the product. It does what I intended it to do. It does alter the tone fairly severly above -8dbs of attenuation. If you have to play that quiet, you need a low powered practice amp or some headphones. As long as I have a Bassman, Super Reverb etc., I would certainly replace this unit if it got stolen.

Pretty simple to use. The instructions were helpful since the Deep and Bright switches had no on/off label.

I play with Fender USA strats loaded with texas specials. I bought this to use with a Fender Super Reverb Reissue (side note, if you are going to use it with a super reverb you will need to extend the speaker wires so you can put the unit on the top of the amp or some other usable place). I usually have the volume on my amp at about 2. This is a moderate level for playing in my house. I know the sweet spot for a super is about 4-5 so that's where I wanted to be. The 2db setting had almost no effect on the volume. With it set at 4, I could turn the volume on the amp up to about 3. At 8, I could go to about 3.5 - 4. The only way to really get to the sweet spot and maintain resonable bedroom levels was to set it at 12db and use the know to the right to adjust the level. This sucks the tone pretty bad. The sound became to bright for me so I had to turn down the treble on the amp. The nice thick low end of the super reverb went away and I couldn't compensate with the Deep switch on the unit. The low e string sounded like the amp was in a box. All in all I'm dissapointed. I feel that I can get better overdrive tones by using my $39 Digitech Bad Monkey overdrive pedal. And in case you were wondering, my amp has all new tubes and uses TAD 6L6 power tubes. No problem there.

The level knob get scratchy but can be fixed with contact cleaner I would imagine.

Haven't delt with c/s

I love the tones that SRV gets. I was hoping to get those with this unit. The overall overdrive tone you can get sounds nice, but with the low end squashed, it defeats the purpose.

Very simple to use.

Like many, I've spent countless hundreds (perhaps thousands) of dollars on various amps, overdrives, and even other power attenuators just trying to strike the right balance of tone and volume at the various venues I play. My recent purchase of a "blackfaced" 1969 Super Reverb just about nailed a perfect balance. The tone is THE tone for blues. With a strat, you can't go wrong. There are some rooms that won't permit turning up to the "sweet spot" of 4 or 5. The Hot Plate with just a bit of attenuation (-4db or -8db) is a dream come true. This adds all the flexiblity I need. In any room, I can use my guitar's volume knob to achieve clean (but ballsy) rhythm tones and a sublime lead tone. Your can sell all the other stuff because you won't need it. Beyond -12db, I begin hearing a change in the character of the tone which the eq toggle switches don't fully address. This level of attenuation, however, is quite a bit and would not provide enough stage volume anyway. If people want or expect a 40W - 100W amp to serve as a bedroom practice amp, I feel they're misguided to start with. I prefer the sound of my Super Reverb putting out half power, not fully cranked. For this application, the Hot Plate is by far the best investment I've made. Having owned a Power Soak, there is no comparison.

I just got it, but it seems very well made & I've only heard good things about the company

They were helpful in making sure I was getting the proper Hot Plate to match the impedence of my amp.

A great investment for anyone needing to tame their amp's output and still reap the benefits of power tube grind. It makes a great rig that much more flexible. It is expensive, though. That's the only reason I'm not giving it a 10.

Extremely easy to use. It sits on top of your amp - you plug it in - pick your level of attenuation and away you go.

Mine's the 2 ohm model that I use with my Super Reverb. I play a lot of small to mid size gig venues where the SR past volume 3 is just too loud for the room. I have used pedals for low volume overdrive for years with my current pedal being the excellent Fulldrive2. I went to the Hot Plate because I wanted more pure power tube OD as opposed to the preamp type OD of a pedal.

The Hot Plate does exactly what it says it will do. It lowers the sound volume level while the amp's volume control is set at level's that will drive the power tubes into as much distortion as you want. And it does this without changing the tone of the amp. Now, as you attenuate down there are some sonic changes but they have more to do with slight EQ adjustment and speaker reaction to the physically lower sound level .At any rate my Super still sounds like my Super and the sound is changed even less than the Fulldrive changes it (and I think the Fulldrive is the most transparent pedal on the market).

The attenuation settings are -4db, -8db, -12db, -16db. At -16db there is a useless variable switch that takes you from -16 to no volume. I NEVER use the -16d setting because it "squashes" the tone too much. The -12 is good home basement practice level. The -8 is small club level. The -4 is a good medium club level and 0 is back to full power amp. As a point of interest I still hook up my Fulldrive with the Hot Plate. Several times in a gig I'll use it as a boost or if I want that super-sustain Santana tone.

My guitars are 335, a Strat and a Tele. Each is very friendly to the Hot Plate but the humbuckers in the 335 especially make the Hot Plate sing. An interesting side note. The Hotplate takes away almost all of the 60 cycle hum that I get with my Strat and Tele.

I don't try to grok anybody's sound but I strive for warm and mild to mid overdrive tones. The Hot Plate definitely contributes to that kind of tone. The amp/guitar provides the warm but the HotPlate provided the right OD at the right volume.

It's an expensive tool and at first I wasn't sure that it was worth that kind of money compared to a pedal. But now that I've gigged with it about a half dozen times I find it indispensable now.

So far so good. Too bad I can only use it with my Super Reverb. You have to buy the Hot Plate that fits your amp's impedence.

No experience here yet.

I wish this came in a floor pedal style.Sometimes in a gig a song requires a cleaner tone with more headroom. If I were at -8 and could stomp on a button that takes it to -4 that would be useful.