Volume box ?

Stretchy · 10-29-2008, 07:31 AM

I see those volume boxes a lot on ebay.

You guys knows about those things, they plug in the effect loop and basically supposed to do the same thing as a attenuator... but for 20$.

I bought a hotplate for 220$ I think the tone is great, would I have the same tone for the fraction of the price ?

Also, I saw a guy on the net that does. The guy's name is David Bray and he does lots of mod on amps. He also offer a solution "à la" hotplate by inserting a master volume on the amp. He put the volume knob in a speaker jack so that the front is still stock looking. Here's the section of his site modding Plexis. Go see the "Master Volume" section.

Anybody knows if those thing are better or comparable to a hotplate solution tone wise ?

Thanks!

Brett Blackmore · 10-29-2008, 08:31 AM

Hi,

Volume switches in the fx-loop like the Rath Solo switch work quite well. You lower normal playing levels to allow enough headroom and when you switch it off the signal then jumps to the full unresticted level - good for solos. I have never used one but I hear there is only a minimal detrimental effect on the sound. However they are not designed to allow you to crank up your amp and attenuate the speaker output. These only work ok for solo boosts - it is not true attenuation as boasted by recent fx-loop products on FleaBay.

Attenuators come in several sorts and sizes and do allow you to crank up your amp and attenuate the speaker output. However there are some detrimental side effects if you attenuate too much - at least on mine. I hear the THD HotPlate is one of the better ones - but it they are expensive.

There are several Mods available but they are all workarounds and there are some risks involved too - who wants to blow trannies? If these Mods were so good (attenuation only) then why don't all amp manufacturers do it? You also have the problem that some Mods lower the value of vintage amps and it may not work as well as you though it would.

My suggestion:- Try a solo switch for 20 Euros and resell it again if you don't like it. Try a hotplate from a friend and if you like that then buy one.

Cheers brett

steelhorse · 10-29-2008, 12:56 PM

Get a real attenuator if you're looking for more volume control, those cheap volume boxes aren't the way to go and David's mods while good, are pricey especially when you consider shipping both ways to get it done unless of course you're within driving distance.

imho

Stretchy · 10-29-2008, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steelhorse

Get a real attenuator if you're looking for more volume control, those cheap volume boxes aren't the way to go and David's mods while good, are pricey especially when you consider shipping both ways to get it done unless of course you're within driving distance.

imho

Ho... I already have a hotplate... and it's really great. I was just wondering if those hacks were as good as a hotplate!

steelhorse · 10-29-2008, 04:30 PM

I think it's safe to say the answer to that would be 'no'

Stretchy · 10-29-2008, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steelhorse

I think it's safe to say the answer to that would be 'no'

That I got loud and clear! Thanks dude!

steelhorse · 10-29-2008, 05:54 PM

Sorry bout that bro! I was like that dinky box compared to a hotplate?

jtm-series player · 10-29-2008, 05:57 PM

I don't have a attenuator, but I sometimes use a
rath soloswitch (as mentioned before) to "boost" my solos.

The cool thing about it is that you dont really boost (and change!)
your sound up to solo level, but you adjust your leadtone
(including driven poweramp-tubes),
and then use the switch to lower the volume down to rythm level.

this is nothing else then a switchable (second) mastervolume knob!!!
means: you do not crank your poweramp!
you can turn up your mastervolume as much as you want,
but there is not much coming through the firstMV/VolumeBox/soloswitch.

In case you dont have a MV-knob on your amp the poweramp is
cranked by the high-set volume of the pre-amp. But if you don't let
the high volume pass the fx-loop...? right! you don't crank the poweramp!

I'm not a technician, but I'm pretty sure that's the way it is.

steelhorse · 10-29-2008, 06:19 PM

That's right jtm and it's not even close to being an attenuator however, a few ebay sellers like to try and pass them off as such.

RachelMorgan · 10-30-2008, 03:36 PM

It allows people to get PREAMP distortion without having to blow their eardrums. I built one for about $25 - because I had to buy a soldering iron. They work best on non-MV amps, essentially making that amp a MV amp. Put them last in the loop. However if you've already got a MV amp and want to get power section saturation the attenuator is the solution.

It's not a bad thing. You can also use an equalizer in your loop and reduce the volume on that as well to accomplish the same thing.

steelhorse · 10-30-2008, 04:16 PM

It seems to have it's place but I go with an EQ before I'd go with a volume box.

jtm-series player · 10-30-2008, 07:04 PM

as I said I like those boxes for switching between two levels of volume
and RachelMorgan is also exactely right: they make your nonMV-amp a
MV-amp without modifying it.

means: you can perfektly use them, but not to saturate the poweramp

steelhorse · 10-30-2008, 07:22 PM

I use my EQ or volume pedal or my guitar to switch levels because that's how I've done it for years but it's cool that they have a cheap solution for switching levels and non MV amps.

Which of these type of boxes work best jtm? Are they noiseless and do they really only change the volume without altering the tone?

Does anyone make one that can be switched on or off because the one's I've seen had to be run through a looper which just adds one more pedal.

I may check one out for my VM if that's the case because I'm curious...

sojatriani · 10-30-2008, 10:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steelhorse

I use my EQ or volume pedal or my guitar to switch levels because that's how I've done it for years but it's cool that they have a cheap solution for switching levels and non MV amps.

Which of these type of boxes work best jtm? Are they noiseless and do they really only change the volume without altering the tone?

Does anyone make one that can be switched on or off because the one's I've seen had to be run through a looper which just adds one more pedal.

I may check one out for my VM if that's the case because I'm curious...

NO! The VM has good trannys, don't blow 'em.....I bought one. They DO NOT act like hotplates or powerbrakes. They can be used as Jtm stated as a lead boost if the cut is not too much, say you have your sound set and you crank the "volume box" down 15db or so, it works,kick it on and the 15dbs' are back, yea, but you CAN NOT crank your amp and then turn down the "volume box" to bedroom levels and retain any tone at all, it is exactly like putting your volume pedal in the loop, everyone has those right, throw that in the loop and play with it, the people who sell these are misleading, a freind of mine , as mentioned, blew his Drake and now he has to shell out the $$ to replace it, he should have bought a Hotplate. Sorry about the rant but ****, if it were that easy Hotplates wouldn't cost $230. The is no substitute for the real thang....

steelhorse · 10-30-2008, 10:47 PM

Thanks bro, I wasn't planning on using it as an attenuator, simply as a volume boost type effect, but no worries, I'll just hook it up to the DSL100 instead!

(j/k)

sojatriani · 10-30-2008, 10:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steelhorse

Thanks bro, I wasn't planning on using it as an attenuator, simply as a volume boost type effect, but no worries, I'll just hook it up to the DSL100 instead!

(j/k)

OH man, that was low!!! LOL

steelhorse · 10-30-2008, 10:51 PM

ACK!! hahaha

jtm-series player · 10-31-2008, 06:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steelhorse

Which of these type of boxes work best jtm? Are they noiseless and do they really only change the volume without altering the tone?

Does anyone make one that can be switched on or off because the one's I've seen had to be run through a looper which just adds one more pedal.

I may check one out for my VM if that's the case because I'm curious...

The only one I know is the rathamp soloswitch.
there are two versions: one is to be used before the preamp;
that is as you can imagine just another "guitar volume knob"
and mainly changes preampGAIN.
The one I have is to be used in the FX-loop und there of course
changes the volume.

as you can see you can switch them on and off by foot, which is no
problem in case of the "pre"-amp version - for the guy in the fx-loop
you'd probably add a remote-switchable looper and with it another
pedal, you are perfektly right there!

as for the sound: They are noiseless - yes! but I'm not the kind of
guy who can hear different
cables, pots and resistors, so if you are interested just have a go -
they are not really expensive. why should they? as far as I know
they're just a pot + a resistor... actually you can build one yourself.
There are a lot of DIY-sets too.

steelhorse · 10-31-2008, 07:24 AM

Thanks jtm!

steelhorse · 10-31-2008, 07:33 AM

I found one place in Europe that has them for 100 euros. Yikes. May as well get another hotplate for that kind of money!

RachelMorgan · 10-31-2008, 03:33 PM

They won't harm your amp. Seriously I bought all the parts at Radio Shack. I have a Fender HR Deville and we know the drive channel on that sucks shit. So that leaves the clean channel. The clean channel is non-MV. Turn it up past 2 and you can't stand to be in the same room. So this allows you to turn it up to that point where it doesn't really get any louder -- that point is 4 to 4.5. Then you can roll it the pot back to 50%. Better preamp saturation. Your Fuzz type pedals sound better. You just can't dime the volume then roll it back. I don't advise that at all.

Best situation for those clean amps to get distortion is to run a POD in the FX Loop and use one of the amp models for distortion. I used this thing until I got my POD.

A Hot Plate works best though for tone at lower volumes. Still you will burn through your power tubes faster than without the Hot Plate.

10-29-2008, 07:31 AM	#1 (permalink)
Stretchy Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Québec, Québec, Canada Posts: 215	Volume box ? I see those volume boxes a lot on ebay. You guys knows about those things, they plug in the effect loop and basically supposed to do the same thing as a attenuator... but for 20$. I bought a hotplate for 220$ I think the tone is great, would I have the same tone for the fraction of the price ? Also, I saw a guy on the net that does. The guy's name is David Bray and he does lots of mod on amps. He also offer a solution "à la" hotplate by inserting a master volume on the amp. He put the volume knob in a speaker jack so that the front is still stock looking. Here's the section of his site modding Plexis. Go see the "Master Volume" section. Anybody knows if those thing are better or comparable to a hotplate solution tone wise ? Thanks! __________________ Epiphone SG400 with 498t Epiphone LP Standard with DiMarzio SD 1987x head with a vintage 1936 cab

10-29-2008, 08:31 AM	#2 (permalink)
Brett Blackmore Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Bingen, Germany Posts: 344	Re: Volume box ? Hi, Volume switches in the fx-loop like the Rath Solo switch work quite well. You lower normal playing levels to allow enough headroom and when you switch it off the signal then jumps to the full unresticted level - good for solos. I have never used one but I hear there is only a minimal detrimental effect on the sound. However they are not designed to allow you to crank up your amp and attenuate the speaker output. These only work ok for solo boosts - it is not true attenuation as boasted by recent fx-loop products on FleaBay. Attenuators come in several sorts and sizes and do allow you to crank up your amp and attenuate the speaker output. However there are some detrimental side effects if you attenuate too much - at least on mine. I hear the THD HotPlate is one of the better ones - but it they are expensive. There are several Mods available but they are all workarounds and there are some risks involved too - who wants to blow trannies? If these Mods were so good (attenuation only) then why don't all amp manufacturers do it? You also have the problem that some Mods lower the value of vintage amps and it may not work as well as you though it would. My suggestion:- Try a solo switch for 20 Euros and resell it again if you don't like it. Try a hotplate from a friend and if you like that then buy one. Cheers brett

10-29-2008, 12:56 PM	#3 (permalink)
steelhorse Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 3,888	Re: Volume box ? Get a real attenuator if you're looking for more volume control, those cheap volume boxes aren't the way to go and David's mods while good, are pricey especially when you consider shipping both ways to get it done unless of course you're within driving distance. imho __________________ www.ricojronline.com 760-956-6619 Garmopat Pedal Mods "I wouldn't mind hearing your head smash through a glass door. That would be cool..." luekmeyer

10-29-2008, 04:30 PM	#5 (permalink)
steelhorse Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 3,888	Re: Volume box ? I think it's safe to say the answer to that would be 'no' __________________ www.ricojronline.com 760-956-6619 Garmopat Pedal Mods "I wouldn't mind hearing your head smash through a glass door. That would be cool..." luekmeyer

10-29-2008, 05:54 PM	#7 (permalink)
steelhorse Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 3,888	Re: Volume box ? Sorry bout that bro! I was like that dinky box compared to a hotplate? __________________ www.ricojronline.com 760-956-6619 Garmopat Pedal Mods "I wouldn't mind hearing your head smash through a glass door. That would be cool..." luekmeyer

10-29-2008, 05:57 PM	#8 (permalink)
jtm-series player Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: europe/austria/graz Posts: 331	Re: Volume box ? I don't have a attenuator, but I sometimes use a rath soloswitch (as mentioned before) to "boost" my solos. The cool thing about it is that you dont really boost (and change!) your sound up to solo level, but you adjust your leadtone (including driven poweramp-tubes), and then use the switch to lower the volume down to rythm level. this is nothing else then a switchable (second) mastervolume knob!!! means: you do not crank your poweramp! you can turn up your mastervolume as much as you want, but there is not much coming through the firstMV/VolumeBox/soloswitch. In case you dont have a MV-knob on your amp the poweramp is cranked by the high-set volume of the pre-amp. But if you don't let the high volume pass the fx-loop...? right! you don't crank the poweramp! I'm not a technician, but I'm pretty sure that's the way it is. __________________ WTB: Ibanez AD202 Analog Delay (european version) Marshall JTM622 + JTMc 220 Marshall JTM600 + JTMc 410 Marshall JTM312 + JTMc 112 Marshall 2558 (silver jubilee) for sale

10-29-2008, 06:19 PM	#9 (permalink)
steelhorse Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 3,888	Re: Volume box ? That's right jtm and it's not even close to being an attenuator however, a few ebay sellers like to try and pass them off as such. __________________ www.ricojronline.com 760-956-6619 Garmopat Pedal Mods "I wouldn't mind hearing your head smash through a glass door. That would be cool..." luekmeyer

10-30-2008, 03:36 PM	#10 (permalink)
RachelMorgan Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Seattle Posts: 207	Re: Volume box ? It allows people to get PREAMP distortion without having to blow their eardrums. I built one for about $25 - because I had to buy a soldering iron. They work best on non-MV amps, essentially making that amp a MV amp. Put them last in the loop. However if you've already got a MV amp and want to get power section saturation the attenuator is the solution. It's not a bad thing. You can also use an equalizer in your loop and reduce the volume on that as well to accomplish the same thing. __________________ Guitars: ESP LTD Alexi-600 V; Gibson SG Standard; Schecter C-1 Hellraiser (JB/'59 w/ JB coil tap) Amps: Randall Lynch Box; Peavey 6505+; Fender HR Deville. Board: Typically a tuner and TS808 Speakers: Two Avatar Contemporary 212s

10-30-2008, 04:16 PM	#11 (permalink)
steelhorse Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 3,888	Re: Volume box ? It seems to have it's place but I go with an EQ before I'd go with a volume box. __________________ www.ricojronline.com 760-956-6619 Garmopat Pedal Mods "I wouldn't mind hearing your head smash through a glass door. That would be cool..." luekmeyer

10-30-2008, 07:04 PM	#12 (permalink)
jtm-series player Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: europe/austria/graz Posts: 331	Re: Volume box ? as I said I like those boxes for switching between two levels of volume and RachelMorgan is also exactely right: they make your nonMV-amp a MV-amp without modifying it. means: you can perfektly use them, but not to saturate the poweramp __________________ WTB: Ibanez AD202 Analog Delay (european version) Marshall JTM622 + JTMc 220 Marshall JTM600 + JTMc 410 Marshall JTM312 + JTMc 112 Marshall 2558 (silver jubilee) for sale

10-30-2008, 07:22 PM	#13 (permalink)
steelhorse Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 3,888	Re: Volume box ? I use my EQ or volume pedal or my guitar to switch levels because that's how I've done it for years but it's cool that they have a cheap solution for switching levels and non MV amps. Which of these type of boxes work best jtm? Are they noiseless and do they really only change the volume without altering the tone? Does anyone make one that can be switched on or off because the one's I've seen had to be run through a looper which just adds one more pedal. I may check one out for my VM if that's the case because I'm curious... __________________ www.ricojronline.com 760-956-6619 Garmopat Pedal Mods "I wouldn't mind hearing your head smash through a glass door. That would be cool..." luekmeyer

10-30-2008, 10:47 PM	#15 (permalink)
steelhorse Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 3,888	Re: Volume box ? Thanks bro, I wasn't planning on using it as an attenuator, simply as a volume boost type effect, but no worries, I'll just hook it up to the DSL100 instead! (j/k) __________________ www.ricojronline.com 760-956-6619 Garmopat Pedal Mods "I wouldn't mind hearing your head smash through a glass door. That would be cool..." luekmeyer

10-30-2008, 10:51 PM	#17 (permalink)
steelhorse Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 3,888	Re: Volume box ? ACK!! hahaha __________________ www.ricojronline.com 760-956-6619 Garmopat Pedal Mods "I wouldn't mind hearing your head smash through a glass door. That would be cool..." luekmeyer

10-31-2008, 07:24 AM	#19 (permalink)
steelhorse Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 3,888	Re: Volume box ? Thanks jtm! __________________ www.ricojronline.com 760-956-6619 Garmopat Pedal Mods "I wouldn't mind hearing your head smash through a glass door. That would be cool..." luekmeyer

10-31-2008, 07:33 AM	#20 (permalink)
steelhorse Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 3,888	Re: Volume box ? I found one place in Europe that has them for 100 euros. Yikes. May as well get another hotplate for that kind of money! __________________ www.ricojronline.com 760-956-6619 Garmopat Pedal Mods "I wouldn't mind hearing your head smash through a glass door. That would be cool..." luekmeyer

10-31-2008, 03:33 PM	#21 (permalink)
RachelMorgan Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Seattle Posts: 207	Re: Volume box ? They won't harm your amp. Seriously I bought all the parts at Radio Shack. I have a Fender HR Deville and we know the drive channel on that sucks shit. So that leaves the clean channel. The clean channel is non-MV. Turn it up past 2 and you can't stand to be in the same room. So this allows you to turn it up to that point where it doesn't really get any louder -- that point is 4 to 4.5. Then you can roll it the pot back to 50%. Better preamp saturation. Your Fuzz type pedals sound better. You just can't dime the volume then roll it back. I don't advise that at all. Best situation for those clean amps to get distortion is to run a POD in the FX Loop and use one of the amp models for distortion. I used this thing until I got my POD. A Hot Plate works best though for tone at lower volumes. Still you will burn through your power tubes faster than without the Hot Plate. __________________ Guitars: ESP LTD Alexi-600 V; Gibson SG Standard; Schecter C-1 Hellraiser (JB/'59 w/ JB coil tap) Amps: Randall Lynch Box; Peavey 6505+; Fender HR Deville. Board: Typically a tuner and TS808 Speakers: Two Avatar Contemporary 212s

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode