Rivera Rock Crusher Power Attenuator

Anyone have an opportunity to try the Rivera Rock Crusher Power Attenuator yet? Thoughts?

I believe it's the same as the THD HotPlate, right. If so they are IMO the best attenuators out there. I used one with a Marshall DSL and a Peavey 6534. They do what they are supposed to do and don't kill your tone as much as you'd think. For some reason they cost a lot more than when THD made them. They were $325 and now they cost around $500 I think.

I use a Rock Crusher with an Electra Dyne and I love it. Check the ElectrDyne forum for my comments.

I had the opportunity to borrow one of these from a local music store yesterday. I messed with it for a few hours last night and I suspect I'll do some more tinkering later today. My initial thought is that it does what its supposed to do very well. I couldnt tell too much of a difference in tone and this thing gets down to whisper quiet (in studio mode.)

Accepts 8 and 16 ohm loads which is really cool.

I ran a Peters Custom Dual Channel, Boogie Mini Rec and a Marshall Class 5 through it. Although it doesnt suck your tone it does neuter it as the depth and bottom end fall in proportion to the amount of attenuation but that is to be expected and there is simply no way around it. Although not really for me I give it two thumbs up for what it does.

I could see maybe using this thing at the -3 or -8 db setting with a 50 watt or higher amp blasting at full volume. In my opinion, a really high end quality overdrive/ distortion pedal sounds better at low volume than an amp that is dramatically attenuated.

I experimented with a combo of a nice OD and my Marshall Class 5 attenuated at various settings and you can mix and match to get some cool tones.

I agree. The Deep and Edge controls can help, but at really low volume my BBPre sounds much more lively than the Vintage LO channel of my Dyne.

HOWEVER, with mild attenuation (up to 12dB or so) I love the tone, and it lets me run the amp wide open at a volume that doesn't tear paint off the walls in big chunks. I think it's perfect for setting levels for band practice or small gigs without starving the power stage of the amp.

I have a Weber MASS stereo, it only works if you pull the nob all the way down (if not, it attenuates only a little, but i need mine at bedroom levels). The Hotplate works much better, but it sucks more tone. To my ears, that is.