Attenuator - Recycled Sound, 6/12, 8 ohm

I have used attenuators forever, starting with an old Fender Pro which was earth shattering loud without one. That said, this is as good an attenuator as any I've used with the exception of the very, I say overly, expensive ones. I think I got lucky as I purchased it AFTER I saw the manufacturer demonstrate this product on Youtube. It is clearly stated that it will NOT bring an amp down to bedroom volumes (absolutely will not). To accomplish this it is recommended to run two of these units in series. It works in the demonstration an comes with an quasi in depth explanation of decrease/increase dbs vs how your ear perceives volume/sound. Personally, I hesitate on running two units. Contrary to prevaing opinion over attenuation will not damage MOST amps but will DEVOUR TUBES.WARNING!! This item will handle 50 watts, maybe a bit more. I can't remember if that is made clear in the video but it does heat up. 100 watts could fry this thing.

I purchased the "Power Plug" 6/12 Attenuator from Recycled Sound as a back-up to my main Attenuator. I use a Marshall 100 watt Plexi clone and the Power Plug says right on the unit up to 100 watts so I thought it could handle the power. As it turns out it CAN'T!!! It basically blew up. It got so hot I actually burnt my hand trying to remove the speaker cable. Be VERY careful as this thing is a hazard and could cause a serious injury!I contacted Greg, the business owner at Recycled Sound, to see about getting it repaired or replaced or even a refund, which he agreed to do because the Power Plug malfunctioned. He told me that the unit can handle in "excess of 100 watts" and "was built to withstand MORE than 100 watts." Greg was even willing to pay to have me ship it back to him to get it repaired. However, when he learned that I purchased the unit 2nd hand and not directly through his company he rescinded his offer and told me I would need to pay $28 to have it repaired. Why should it matter? It's a faulty unit by his own admission. He then changed his tune and said the unit can NOT handle more than 100 watts, what??? You said it could and now you're saying it can't.I told Greg to just send the broken unit back to me as I didn't want to spend any more money on a product that I have zero confidence in (not to mentioned burnt me). Greg agreed to return the broken unit to me so long as I pay half the shipping cost, which I agreed. He then reneged on this because I told him I was going to be reviewing his product.Bottom line, DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT! It's cheaply made and it's a hazard and could cause a SERIOUS BURN.Here's a quick review of the facts:- I purchased a perfectly operational Power Plug 6/12 Attenuator- The unit got over heated and one side burnt out and burnt my hand because it was so hot- I contacted the manufacture who told me it can handle more than 100 watts and agreed to fix it for me at no cost (and pay for shipping)- When the manufacture found out I bought it 2nd hand the manufacture back peddled and told me the product can't handle 100 watt amplifiers and the repair would cost me approximately $28- Because I didn't want to spend anymore money on an inferior product I asked to have it returned without being repaired, which the manufacture agreed to so long as I pay half the cost- I sent half the shipping cost to have it returned and let the manufacture know that I would be reviewing his product- Manufacture didn't like that I was going to publicly review his product and felt "threatened" and rescinded his offer to pay half the shipping fee- Manufacture has my Power Plug and won't return it and all I have to show for it is a burnt hand and a really bad experience.

I have played guitar for ten years; being 26, surviving on part time paychecks and small gigs I decided to see if I could play my favorite Sovtek Mig-60 through a 1x12 Celestion Cab. I have looked around for an attenuator for such purpose for quite some time as I've been crippled to using my Line 6 Spider IV HD150 for apartment practice despite it's tonal difference, but even at night I could plug headphones into it and jam, but as I mentioned earlier the one thing I truly wanted was to use my gig set up at home, so I wouldn't have to waste time at practices "finding the right tone" while changing songs or writing new ones. My Sovtek Mig 60 does work at very low volumes but hardly overdrives to it's raunchy monster bright EL-34 tube grit I would get at roughly 10-12 oclock on master and 3oclock on gain in my friends house during practice.The problem was that I simply couldn't get the same results I'd get during practice at very low volumes; even with a 6"1/2 eight ohm speaker, which I probably destroyed, though I haven't tried anything smaller which is still an option despite the fact that it would cripple the tone and the speaker; or "brake the speaker in" as some people call it, thinking overdriving your speakers makes them sound better..SOO, i have decided to collect just enough money for a very Reasonably priced "Recycled" power plug. The price caught my attention, and the fact that it ran with no extra wires was a relief.The product is heavy and sturdy. Something a good attenuator should have as it would give the player a chance to use it at gigs to push the volume harder for more gain or whatever reason you find necessary.However, the dampening of the sound was so minimal that for apartment level practices I went from 8 oclock volume, which is the loudest I could do without hearing knocks from the room next to me [ 7 being zero volume ], to an 8.5 with both switches flipped that supposedly would lower the volume by 12 decibels. What that meant for the tone was that it went from poor tonal quality and gain I would normally get at 8 oclock, to a fuzzy brittle harsh tone on the Gain at 3 oclock as any further would be too loud for me to go any further. So, I lower the presence and the gain while raising the volume to around a 9, which brought it to a bluesy yet bright overdrive, which I could actually use, but that factor alone is not enough for me to sway the bar. The amp was still too loud at its best but completely useless for my intended application of fiddling with the gain/master channel to acquire knowledge about my amplifier which I happen to own and use.Second problem I had, might have been the manufactures fault, which may pose even more questions; but after letting my amp warm up for 30 minutes and waiting in anticipation tuning my 2 guitars and fiddling with my eq pedal, I started playing; after about fifteen minutes of the fuzzy mess I had the pleasure of dialing in, I noticed at times the tone of my amp would drop for as long as 10 seconds, in 3-4 minute intervals. It would go from a crisp response of the notes to a dull hollow sound as if someone put a pillow against my cabinet. It struck me as very odd, and instantly I blamed the amp as I maintain it and know that power tubes could be at fault but I just had got the amp out of a shop a month ago. The next day at practice I kept the volume at 10 oclock(sans attenuator) no problems were noted by me nor my bandmates as we progressed through a two hour grind. After a late lunch I decided to play around with the Power Plug and managed to crank the volume to a 12 with the gain slightly lowered but presence still pushed to a 3-1/2, & the same thing was noted as far as the loss in tone and muffled sound. it was very subtle at such high sound level, but my friends confirmed my bias and the attenuator was to blame.The Verdict:This product was clearly not designed to lower your gig set up to room volume levels, instead it's a tool to use on stage to push your amp if you desire to achieve more gain through pushing your amp. Though I warn you pushing your amp's volume past 12-2 can significantly reduce the lifetime of your tubes if you're on tour.To me what it offered was nothing that I needed sadly; as I'm satisfied with my gain at 12 oclock volumes on stage and at a solid 10 at practice.At living apartment room levels through a 12 inch celestion cab and an old 6"1/2 speaker to compare it with, it did very little to achieve what it promised.This product could use an improvement in design by lowering the decibel levels to -12 or even -24 on each switch. I'm sure the sound drop out I experienced was a mere manufacturer's defect. The device itself is a good concept, but it is simply too weak for the application which I intended to purchase this for..I was seduced by the price, and a lotta hope.I would still suggest it to those who want to spark their gain level on stage, without sounding like an ass in front of everybody(raising the volume level to piss your bandmates off, and muffling them out completely).

I love this piece of equipment. It is easy to set up and use. Think of this tool as an investment in bringing out the best in your amp at less decibels. At louder volumes, it really warms up and drives the power tubes. Also, Recycled Sound was a pleasure to work with. I had to exchange my 6/12 for the 100 because I found out my amp runs at a higher wattage. RC answered my questions and allowed me to upgrade to the 100. Thank you, RC, this has turned out to be a great piece of equipment for my rig.