THD Hot Plate

B

Bill Assumpcao

Member
'Mornin folks,
I've pretty much talked myself into buying a THD Hot Plate. But, before I go looking for one and plunking my $300 down on the counter, I was hoping that some of youse might share some inside info on this unit.
Has anyone ever worked with one?
Had any problems with tube wear or power supply overloads?
Does the tone change much when dialing it to -12db or less?
I will eventually make the 4hr. trip to Seattle to try one out but would like to be armed with all the information I can get my hands on when I do.
Thanks in advance,
Bill
 
before you lay down the $300, check the 'weber mass' or the load-box. i don't know the hot-plates, but i use a mass since a couple of week and it works great (with my fender: bassman-ri and a hot rod-deluxe). see webervst.com
 
I recently bought a Hot Plate. I have a Budda Superdrive 30 2x12 combo. I've only had the Hot Plate for about a month but here are my thoughts so far...

First of all, the Hot Plate is awesome for getting "bedroom" volume levels with decent tone. The key word there is decent. The tone does get altered after about -8db but it is really noticeable at after -12db. The hi-low switches do help replace some of the lost tone but, frankly, it does not sound nearly as good as my amp cranked with no Hot Plate. However, it sure beats the hell out of the alternative: not playing through an amp. I have a wife and daughter at home and they complain when I crank my amp to full output. :) The Hot Plate definitely sounds better than playing the amp and keeping the master volume below 9 o'clock.

As for playing gigs, I'm not sure how much help it would be. I was surprised that a -4db (or even -8db) cut is really not very much in terms of perceived volume. And after -8db there is a noticeable change in tone. I'm not in a band currently, but I was at a party a couple weekends ago and brought my rig. I cranked the master to full output and cut -4db. We were in a living room with drums, vocals, bass, etc. It sounded great, but I probably could've done without the Hot Plate.

However, the single best reason (for me) to own a Hot Plate is the Load function. I love being able to get decent guitar tone straight into the mixer without waking-up the neighbors (or blowing an output transformer). Granted, I'd much rather put a mic on the speaker for serious recording. But for composing songs, piddling around, or working on ideas... the Hot Plate kicks ass.

I'm very pleased with the Hot Plate but it's not the magic bullet I was hoping for (awesome cranked tube amp tone with low volume). It definitely sounds better than playing my amp with the master volume very low.

Hope this helps!

By the way... I bought it here ($279 shipping included):

http://www.portlandmusiccompany.com/
 
yes

You've helped a lot, damnit. I was hoping for the magic bullet. ;)
I've got a '72 Mesa Mark IIc and I love it. The clean channel sounds great at any volume (to me) but the OD needs to be cranked some to get nice and round. I live on a dead end street, surrounded by trees, so disturbing others isn't a real concern. But, this thing is really loud and has caused me pain. So, I'm gonna get an attenuator. From what I've read the Hot Plate sounded like the best.
Thanks for the info. It'll give me something to listen for when I do go to try them out.
Bill
p.s.
Norman OK, eh? I spent some time in Lawton. Went to some great parties in Norman. Go Sooners!
 
Re: yes

Bill Assumpcao said:
Norman OK, eh? I spent some time in Lawton. Went to some great parties in Norman. Go Sooners!
Click to expand...

Haha, yeah people bash Oklahoma all the time... but we do know how to party (that's the only thing to do here) :).

Good luck on your quest for tone! I love Budda's saying:

"Man with bad tone laughs alone."
 
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