Scott Henderson Discussion

[Roman Hampacher]

hello scott,
first thanks for the opportunity to ask directly yourself.
what do you think about power attenuators? (i use TAD) i have marshall 50W plexi head and i find it mostly useless in small and middle size clubs without attenuator. i tried several combos (HRD included) but i finally stayed by power attenuation.
thank you, all the best from prague and i hope i will see you soon on stage,
rom

[Scott Henderson]

I've never liked what they do to the tone. On every one I've tried, anything below the first notch starts to change the EQ too much, though that might not be as noticeable live as it is in the studio. My amps have master volume circuits so I don't need extra gear on stage. For recording loud amps, I thought a variac sounded better. I used one with my 1968 Marshall plexi because I had no choice - without it, the speakers would blow up. Those amps are designed to be used with two 4x12 cabs, and will destroy just one cab. Variacs are safe as long as you get your amp biased for the voltage you're running, otherwise the tubes will burn up faster. I ran my plexi at 85 volts - it was still loud as hell but it turned the amp down enough to save my speakers from an untimely death.

[Roman Hampacher]

Thank you I hear that changes in sound, but it is smaller evil than killing people in the audience When I record, i dont use it, it sounds thin. Anyway thank you for your reply.