Product Overview
MORE CONTROL ON STAGE, INFINITELY MORE TONE AT HOME.
Every experienced player knows there’s nothing like a great tube amp running in the power band for Tone, feel and excitement. Be it a 30-watt Combo running 6V6 or EL84s, or a full-blown 100-watt Head cranking with 6L6 or EL34s, nothing compares to the dynamics, expressiveness, fullness and dimensionality of a tube power amp operating in “the zone”. However these days, venue volumes are down and neighbors everywhere aren’t as tolerant as they once were. That’s no reason to compromise your sound and run your favorite amp in its less dynamic idle zone because now we’ve got you covered with our PowerHouse® Reactive Load Attenuator.
THE ATTENUATOR YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR
Aficionados, this is the power attenuator you’ve been waiting for. One that puts Tone and feel first and includes valuable features you need while preserving the magic of your tube amp in all its harnessed-volume glory.
We start with a reactive Load, an expanded version of that used in our CabClone™ IR series, that protects your amp’s power section and imparts much the same frequency and response curve and reacts with your amp’s power section in much the same way your favorite speaker cabinet does, yet allows you to run silently and safely when a live speaker cabinet can’t be used.
Set to LOAD or SPEAKER, you can take a signal out the optimized LINE OUT ¼” output on the Rear Panel and feed your destination of choice, from Impulse Response players to additional amplification for headroom, consoles for re-amping to effects processors or anywhere an unprocessed signal (no Cabinet Simulation such as that found in our CabClone IR Series) is appropriate.
In SPEAKER Mode, the two ¼ SPEAKER jacks on the Rear Panel function just as those on your amplifier do. In either case, the Attenuator is active and you can use it to reduce the output of your amplifier safely The Attenuation Control in PowerHouse is full featured and provides a Bypass plus 4 Power Reduction levels, -4, -8, -12 and -16dB, with the lowest setting featuring an infinite attenuation LEVEL control that allows whisper soft volumes and below. A Voicing Switch rounds out the Front Panel and includes NORMAL, BRIGHT and WARM settings on the 3-position mini toggle. Output to your Live Cabinets are covered as well with two ¼” OUTPUT jacks wired in parallel, so running additional Extension Cabs is easy. The PowerHouse can handle amplifiers up to 150 Watts and is available in 4, 8 and 16 Ohm impedance versions/ratings.
FEATURES AND SPECIFICATIONS
POWERHOUSE® REACTIVE AMP LOAD ATTENUATOR
Made in our Petaluma, California "Home of Tone" with the finest materials and craftsmanship and includes:
- Dynamic new Reactive Load Circuit + Attenuation provides the feel and tone of your amp running at its optimum output at any volume, with or without a real speaker cabinet!
- Rated for Amps up to 150-Watts
- Attenuator Switch provides 4 levels of power/volume reduction, -4dB, -8dB, -12dB and -16dB
- -16dB Level Control allows infinite power/volume reduction down from the -16dB position
- Speaker/Load Switch – Choose between using your live speaker cabinet or the internal reactive load
- Normal/Bright/Warm Voicing Switch
- One ¼” Input Jack (From Amp Speaker Output)
- Two ¼” “To Live Spkr Cab” Output Jacks
- Independent ¼” Line Level “Dry” Output Jack (exact signal from amp’s speaker output) with Level Control
- Fan Cooled
- Tall Rubber Feet - Allows PowerHouse to sit on top of most amps, clearing the handle
SPECIFICATIONS
- Dimensions: 8” W (with knobs) x 7.375” D x 3.5" H (with feet)
- Weight: 4lbs 1.7 Oz
Reviews
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5 Great attenuator
Posted by Todd on Jan 12th 2021
Shipping was super fast and the Mesa Powerhouse is perfect for taming my Marshall SV20H. Amp at 5 watts and 2 clicks to 8db on the Mesa and it's pure plexi in the living room with no neighbors disturbed. Fits nicely on top and doesn't block vents.
