A Power Attenuator enables a player to obtain power-tube distortion independently of listening volume. A power attenuator is a dummy load placed between the guitar amplifier’s power tubes and the guitar speaker, or a power-supply based circuit to reduce the plate voltage on the power tubes. This is essentially a commercially packaged version of what Eddie Van Halen has done for years to achieve his famous “brown sound.”
Examples of power attenuators are:
- Rockman Power Soak
- THD Hot Plate
- Marshall Power Brake
- London Power Power Scaling circuit
- Dr. Z Air Brake