Any body experience an THD Hotplate?

A

Amateur Eric

New member
I've been asked to play electric guitar in a small club venue and am thinking about using my Carvin vintage 33 tube amp. The thing is, I won't be able to turn up and that amp has a really sweet sound when its volume is at about 6.
I've read some reviews and the factory literature on THD's "Hotplate" attenuator and it "sounds" like it will fit the bill very nicely. But, has anyone here had any experience with it?
Does it work like advertised and will it cause problems with my amp?
All replies 'n suggestions appreciated.

Thanks
Eric
 
There was a thread not too long ago discussing the Hot Plate.

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?threadid=98616&highlight=hot+plate

I've had much more time to play with my Hot Plate since that thread. I'm more and more convinced that it really won't be that much help in a gig setting. My Budda sounds killer with the Master anywhere above 12 o'clock. A -4db or -8db cut isn't really that much in terms of perceived volume. So if you are playing in a really small club (and cannot crank your amp), I don't know if a -4 or -8 db cut will be enough to allow you to crank the Master.

I haven't played any gigs since getting the Hot Plate, so heed my thoughts accordingly. In my opinion, the Hot Plate really shines in two applications: getting bedroom level volumes with decent tone and playing/recording direct with no sound coming from the amp's speaker(s) (the load function). I was using the load function this weekend while we were recording some drum tracks. It's so awesome to get live guitar into the drummer's cans without the guitar amp bleeding into drum mics.

Hopefully some other people will post who have used the Hot Plate in small club settings.
 
Mornin' Eric,
A postscript to the other thread.
I talked to my Mesa customer service dude. He assured me that the Hot Plate would not hurt my amp, anymore than just running the amp at high volumes.
FWIW,
Bill
 
I forgot to add...

There are more options on the Hot Plate than just a -4 and -8db cut. The problem is that when you start attenuating more than -8db, you get a noticable change in tone. This is the crux of the situation: you want to crank your amp because there is a less desirable tone at lower volumes but when you attenuate more than -8db with the Hot Plate, you also have a less desirable tone. Therefore, it really doesn't make much sense to use a Hot Plate at that point.

That's just my thoughts. You might find that you still like the tone at -12db or more on the Hot Plate.
 
thanks guys, the hot plate is here...

Okay, got my hot plate here (in the 8 ohm version) and plugged it in at my last rehersal. wow. i'm grinnin' just thinkin' bout it.
True, anything past -8 and it does effect the tone a bit, but it also has two switches (a "bright" switch and a "deep" switch) that work kinda like the "loudness" button on cheap stereos. i've been using mostly -12 with the bright switch on and the deep switch off and its great. switching to the lead channel gives me excellent crunch (a nestle's crunch bar would be jealous) and if i turn the gain up far enough, a stunningly controllable round of feedback.
So in case i didn't make it clear.... I like it!

Eric
 
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