PRX150-Pro Power Attenuator Audio and Video Clips - Page 2
Brendan Delumpa, the founder of the GuitarGear.org, is currently working on material for his new CD. He sent us a few audio clips with recordings utilizing the PRX150-Pro power attenuator. The following audio clips are excerpts from songs that Brendan intends to include in his upcoming CD. Brendan uses his PRX150-Pro attenuator about once a week for live gigs and also for his recordings in his home studio. Since he often records late at night, frequently past midnight, Brendan uses the PRX150-Pro at or near maximum attenuation, in order not to disturb his sleeping family. The below clips were recorded with his amp turned up to hit the "tonal sweet spot" and the PRX150-Pro attenuator was used to reduce the power down to "bedroom" conversational levels.
Equipment used:
ARACOM VRX18 (18 watts, EL84 equipped) VRX22 (22 watts, 6V6 equipped), 1x12 VRX Extension Cabinet, Fender Strat with single coils, Fender Squier Classic Vibe Tele 50's with single coils, St.Guitar Company - Messenger guitar with humbuckers.
Rhythm: VRX22 Ch. 1, Fender Strat, no pedal effects
Lead 1: Fender Squier Classic Vibe Tele 50's (bridge) / VRX18 Channel 2, no pedal effects
Lead 2: Saint Guitars Messenger (bridge) / VRX22 Channel 2, no pedal effects
PRX150-Pro set at maximum attenuation (conversation volume level)
Excerpt from Brendan's "Sunset By The Bay" song.
Equipment used:
VRX22 (22 watts, 6V6 equipped), 1x12 VRX Extension Cabinet, Fender Strat with single coils, St.Guitar Company - Messenger guitar with humbuckers
Rhythm: VRX22 Ch. 1, Fender Strat, no pedal effects
Lead: VRX22 Ch. 1, Messenger guitar, no pedal effects
PRX150-Pro set near maximum attenuation (conversation level)
Excerpt from Brendan's "Sunset By The Bay" song.
Brendan's gear for the above clips:
Guitars: St.Guitar Company
Model: Messenger - solid body electric, handbuilt to Brendan's specifications, equipped with a Duncan Custom Custom humbucker in the neck and Duncan JB humbucker in the bridge. Fender Stat, stock with single coils
Amplifier: ARACOM VRX22 Head, VRX 1x12 Extension Cabinet equipped with a 12" Jensen P12N ALNICO speaker
Brendan's comments on recording the above clips: "All guitar parts were recorded in my home studio, at conversation levels, with a Nady RSM-2 Ribbon mic 2” from the grille cloth. The guitar tracks were all recorded raw with no EQ. The PRX150-Pro allowed me to record at a low volume level, late at night without disturbing my family or neighbors, all while maintaining my tone and dynamics. "
Complilation - Brendan's Clips featuring the ARACOM VRX22 amp, PLX BB18 amp and the PRX150-Pro
Stratacoustic
Brendan also submitted the following audio clip, with a clever method of using an acoustic guitar, an overdrive pedal, a standard tube guitar amplifier (non-acoustic guitar amp) along with the PRX150-Pro attenuator.
Brendan's gear for the above clips:
Guitars: Fender Stratacoustic, an acoustic guitar with a Strat style neck and head, equipped with a Fishman Classic IV MT (with tuner and blend controls) and Telecaster pickup
Amplifier: ARACOM VRX22 Head, VRX 1x12 Extension Cabinet equipped with a 12" Jensen P12N ALNICO speaker
Pedals: KASHA Overdrive, for the lead track
Brendan's comments on recording the Statacoustic clip:
For all of the tracks, I used an Aracom VRX22 amplifier, running into the PRX150-Pro and out to my custom VRX 1x12 extension cabinet. The amp was recorded with a Nady RSM-2 ribbon microphone placed approximately an inch away from the grille cloth, dead-center in relation to the speaker. The amp was set on the clean channel with the volume at about 12 o'clock, and the PRX150-Pro was in variable mode with the variable attenuation knob set at about 9 o'clock. This produced an output volume that was even lower than normal conversation levels; and even more amazing, at this attenuation level, the Stratacoustic's natural (acoustic) volume was actually LOUDER than the amp! But even at this super low volume level, the PRX150-Pro's SRT retains all the tone and dynamics of my guitar; no loss in highs or lows, and complete retention of dynamics. The tone coming through is simply crisp and clear. For the lead, still using the Stratacoustic, I kicked in my KASHA Overdrive to get a real nice, slightly dirty, sweet Strat tone.
For additional audio clips by Brendan recorded at conversational levels, with the use of the PRX150-Pro power attenuator please check out the ARACOM Amplifiers' Audio Clip page.
On the Aracom PRX150-Pro Attenuator
Brendan's GuitarGear.org Video - an Overview on Power Attenuators:
Brendan's comments on the PRX150-Pro power attenuator:
"I've had a chance to play the PRX150-Pro extensively in both my home studio and in gigs, and all I can say is that the PRX150-Pro has completely changed the way I approach my amps and tone. For years, I've relied on a variety of overdrive pedals to get that overdriven sound, and mind you, I'm an overdrive pedal freak! I love 'em! But since I've been using the PRX150-Pro, I'm increasingly finding myself gravitating towards the natural overdrive tone of my amps as I can crank them to higher gain levels at an output volume that's suitable to any venue I'm playing. With other attenuators in the past, at high attenuation levels, my drive tone just didn't cut it for me, as other attenuators had a tendency to suck my tone. But with the PRX150-Pro, I now have the full range of tone and dynamics of my amps available to me at ANY volume - even at conversation levels! Simply put, the PRX150-Pro has opened up a whole new world of tone exploration for me.
The PRX150-Pro is also about the safest attenuator I've ever used. With other attenuators that use a fixed resistor with no impedance matching, running high levels of attenuation had the potential of damaging my amps if I hit the attenuator too hard. But with the unique input and output impedance matching of the PRX150-Pro, I can rest assured that my amps "see" the impedance they expect, throughout the attenuation range, no matter which impedance speaker cabinet I am using.
For example: my Fender Deluxe Combo only has an 8 ohm speaker output and I like to use it with an Eminence 16 ohm speaker. With the PRX150, I am able to safely match the 8 ohm amp to the 16 ohm speaker. I simply set the PRX150's input selector to 8 ohm and the output selector to 16 ohm.
To me, the PRX150-Pro’s with its exclusive Speaker Reactance Thru (STR) technology is the secret sauce and the reason it stands head and shoulders above all the attenuators I've tried in both tone and safety.
The Line Out feature of the PRX150-Pro is simply the bomb! I use it to patch into the PA so I can keep my stage volume at a reasonable level and use the PA to get my sound out. But I also use it to re-amp into another amplifier to get huge tones when I need it.
As a studio tool, I couldn't be happier! With the PRX150-Pro, I can spend all night recording in my home studio without waking my family or getting called by the neighbors to turn down my volume. The songs I've recorded here were both recorded at conversation levels with my mic about two inches from the grille cloth of my cab, and they were both recorded at around 1am. While I did some light mastering on the songs, the guitars were all recorded raw with no EQ. The mere fact that I retain my guitar tone without having to compensate with EQ at these low volume levels is absolutely huge for me because I know that what I'm recording is the true sound of my rig!
Credits:
Brendan Delumpa: In addition to playing the guitar, Brendan is a singer, song writer, guitar instructor, overall guitar gear freak and the founder of guitargear.org, an awesome Guitar Gear blog and review site. Brendan puts his guitar skills and equipment to use by gigging and recording on a weekly basis. Being involved with guitargear.org, Brendan really knows a lot about guitar gear. Over the years he has owned or tried out many of the popular passive and active power attenuators on the market. Besure and check out GuitarGear.org on a daily basis.
Got a GAS (Guitar Acquisition Syndrome) attack? Check out Brendan's GAS Blues Song, a hilarious take on Johnny Cash’s "Folsom Prison Blues".
