Attenuator and ohms

[runrunrun]

Silly question...

Can I use a 4ohm attenuator (weber minimass for example) between my Vibro Champ and the Weber speaker i have in it ? Makes me wonder because the Champ and the speaker are both 3,2ohms. Does the speaker mind in case it sees a bigger load than it should because of the 4ohm attenuator? Are speakers sensitive about too big ohm levels?

I´m not quite sure if the attenuator actually changes the ohm level or if it remains the same all the way to the speaker...

At least the amplifier part should be ok since it won´t see a smaller ohm level than it´s been designed for.

6 watt Vibro Champ with attenuator- WHY?? you ask. Because i need to get some natural crunch at home, at apartment levels... and this little bastard is REALLY LOUD when dimed.

Thanks in advance.

[Ryan]

The impedance is important on the amp side. And if the impedance (provided by the attenuator or the speakers) is MORE than the rated ohms, then it will generate less output, but will not harm the amp. LESS impedance, however, can seriously damage your amp. Using an attenuator provides a load for the amp but decreases some of the output and puts that to the speakers. The speakers will just play whatever's put through them.

The only time you have to worry about your speakers, is if you wire them up in such a way that the amp gives them more wattage than they can handle. For example. If you have an amp that's rated 100 watts at 4 ohms, 50 watts at 8 ohms, and 25 watts at 16ohms, you might buy two 25-watt, 8-ohm speakers. However, if you wired them up in parallel, you'd actually only be providing the amp with 4ohms impedance, and it would put 100 watts through 50 watts worth of speakers. If you wired the speakers in series, you'd be giving the amp 16 ohms of resistance, meaning the amp would put out 25 watts of power through 50 watts of speakers. That would be fine, but the speakers wouldn't get pushed and you wouldn't get that "cone breakup".

The attenuator is similar to the latter situation; the amp is seeing the same amount of impedance but the attenuator adds a volume control, and the speakers just get less wattage.

[runrunrun]

Ryan, thanks for the quick and educating answer!! It answers my question and more.

I now realize i had a bit of a misunderstanding regarding speakers and impedance...

[øøøøøøø]

Am I the only one who thinks that if you need an attenuator with a Champ you just need to either get a Zvex  Nano head, a headphone amp, or just stop playing guitar altogether? 

[chrisjedijane]

hehehe

I think it's a great idea - my SF champ's good (or at least was while it was working), but it is too loud for home playing at high volumes and that's where the nice distortion is

[runrunrun]

I don´t like nano sounds... sick of playing through earphones... can´t afford a house... SO I BETTER QUIT. DAMN. There goes 15years to waste...

[fuzzking]

you could get a 2nd hand honeytone. cheap as hell and overdrive galore.

[Ryan]

you could get a 2nd hand honeytone. cheap as hell and overdrive galore.

Second hand? At $31 new, how cheap are they used?

[fuzzking]

you could get a 2nd hand honeytone. cheap as hell and overdrive galore.

Second hand? At $31 new, how cheap are they used?

I don't know what they're going for, but what I meant to say was that if you find a 2nd hand one, you won't take much financial risk 

[Ryan]

Definately. You know, I keep the master volume on my 100 watt marshall at 1.75, and it does fine for my bedroom-level volumes. And I'm in an apartment.

Before this apartment and amp, I had a 10-watt Galaxie and used to play it around 75% all the time; my neighbors didn't even know I played.

[runrunrun]

Thanks for all the good info øøøøøøø!

Ryan u are very lucky... if i turn my champ past 4 in my apartment the old hag (or "eyebag-lady" as we call her) that live upstairs starts to jump on the floor and puts notes through the mailbox. So there´s no way i can crank the thing. I could crank it at rehearsal space but i need to play and record it in my apartment.

I found this, actually a review of the Minimass with a Champ! And seems to be working fine. I wish I found it a bit earlier. 
http://www.grailtone.com/guitar-reviews ... eview.html

I think I´ll buy the minimass anyway... I found a good deal on it and since I´ll be getting a bigger tube amp soon I can use the mass with that also if needed. Also there´s the line-out feature that might be useful when recording at home. If it doesn´t work for me i´ll sell it then. I´ll also think about changing the speaker to a less efficient as øøøøøøø mentioned, I might try that when i have the time.

[runrunrun]

Here´s another review actually...

http://grailtone.com/guitar-reviews/web ... eview.html

OK, other than the previous minimass breaking down these kinda stink like advertisements...