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Thread: Pro Jr. IV Ltd: attenuator recommendations?

  1. #1

    Pro Jr. IV Ltd: attenuator recommendations?

    Hello all--

    Recently got this amp and love everything about it. My neighbors don't. I live in a highrise apartment, and I want the great cranked sound, but thought an attenuator with this might do the trick. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance

    Mark

  2. #2
    Forum Member Offshore Angler's Avatar
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    Re: Pro Jr. IV Ltd: attenuator recommendations?

    Quote Originally Posted by Mark J in DC 2021 View Post
    Hello all--

    Recently got this amp and love everything about it. My neighbors don't. I live in a highrise apartment, and I want the great cranked sound, but thought an attenuator with this might do the trick. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance

    Mark
    Mark, in your situation a tube amp is about as useful as a screen door on a submarine. If you want a great sound in an apartment I'd get a PODxt Pro and some good headphones. Learning to play through headphones is a skill all good guitar players need to develop. You'll also not be bound to one amp or cabinet.

    Tube amps are great when you can open them up, but at bedroom volumes a good modeler will outshine them day in and day out.

    Ultimately, a Pro Jr. isn't exactly what I think of when I think of "cranked" guitar sound even if you can throttle it up. The attenuator will only make matters worse, since the speaker won't break up.

    Chuck
    "No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim

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    Forum Member Don's Avatar
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    Re: Pro Jr. IV Ltd: attenuator recommendations?

    Chuck's right- a tube amp is not a great apartment tool. Even with an attenuator, I've yet to hear a tube amp sound great below about 100db- more like 105db and up. Below that, and the speaker isn't doing it's thing, plus we hear differently at that level- it's not very satisfying.

    Keep in mind that the SPL/efficiency/sensitivity on most guitar speakers is between about 95 and 100db at 3 feet with only a 1 watt load!

    I'm using a THD Hot Plate with a couple of amps- to get them down to about 105db and it sounds okay. Reactive load attenuators are supposed to sound better, but they're really expensive and I haven't tried one.

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    Forum Member blackonblack's Avatar
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    Re: Pro Jr. IV Ltd: attenuator recommendations?

    Some great ideas here. Back when I was analog, I used an attenuator, but what was better was building an ISO cabinet (actually I used a closet) and just ran a mic in there.
    Mark

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    Forum Member S. Cane's Avatar
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    Re: Pro Jr. IV Ltd: attenuator recommendations?

    Quote Originally Posted by Mark J in DC 2021 View Post
    Hello all--

    Recently got this amp and love everything about it. My neighbors don't. I live in a highrise apartment, and I want the great cranked sound, but thought an attenuator with this might do the trick. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance

    Mark
    It's a pretty good amp, but as the fellows said above: tube amps, no matter how small, aren't meant to be apartment creatures. Save your Pro Jr. for small jams in places where you can turn up the volume and get yourself a mini amp (that's what I'd do) or go digital (not my thing but to each his own).

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