The Truth About Guitar Amp Attenuators, Bugera PS1 UAD OX Fryette Powerstation PS-2
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- Опубліковано 28 тра 2021
- I talk about some of the most popular guitar amp attenuators and have side by side comparison audio at the end of the video. Recorded with a vintage SM57 straight into a MOTU 828es, at 40db gain, the attenuation levels are at "bedroom" levels to demonstrate the largest difference in sound quality.
Gear used, Fender Custom Shop Rory Gallager strat into a Boss Loop Station, then into a Fender reissue Vibroverb with the stock speaker.
Bugera PS1 ~$100
Fryette Powerstation PS-2 ~$800
UAD OX ~$1300
To cut to the chase, if you want to try an amp attenuator, get the Bugera.
If you got the money and want the best live sound, get the Fryette Powerstation.
If you want to record at home using headphones then its all about the UAD OX box.
Great video, thank you for the time to make it. Surprisingly I don't hear much if at all any difference from my work speakers. WIll try tonight on my studio monitors, but even so, I'm impressed with the PS1 for the money.
The OX looks like a 1950’s kitchen appliance.
The Fryette allows you to take a Fender Champ and boost the wattage to gig levels. It also has an effects loop so that you can add reverb after the overdriven amp.
Awesome playing Dude! Great comparison vid!
Thank you for the comparison.
I have the burgera and assumed I was missing out compared to more expensive options.
I use it on a 5w 68 Vibrochamp at home and it’s been so useful to get all the drive sounds at comfortable volume levels.
Great comparison. Thanks for your time. 👍
Useful and informative, thank you!
Killer playing.
Thanks for the video.
Love the playing man!
Nice playing and tone!!!
Great comparison! Thanks!
You raised some great points there, well done !
I have both the Bugera and the Fryette. IMO the Bugera looses a lot when turned down. The Fryette however sounds fantastic turned down, or turned up. The Bugera starts to shine when you crank it up (like more than half way), which maybe kinda defeats its purpose somewhat.
If you’ve got the dough, buy Fryette, you won’t be disappointed.
If you don’t have the dough, buy Bugera, it’s satisfactory.
Bugera is a fire starter and an amp destroyer. Works until it doesn't, which doesn't take long.
@@aaron9142 mine worked fine everyday for a year, then I got a Fryette and sold the bugera.
Nice! Can you make the Fryette sound virtually the same as if it wasn’t there tone and feel wise? Still working good? Thanks.
The Fryette Power Station you have is 6L6’s for 50 watt output on the power section. It basically reduces the amp output to line level, then re-amplifies the signal through the tube power section to get your various volume levels. The depth and presence controls the power section EQ, while the switches for deep and bright vary the reactive load on the amp. Expensive unit, but really cool. The PS100 is better yet with 2 foot switchable channels and 100 watt power section with 6550’s. You can independently adjust the volume and power section depth and presence controls for each of the 2 channels to use one for rhythm and 5e other for leads.
Is this why when I hook the PS1 up to my 30 watt hot Rod deluxe it’s too low , because it’s meant to be used on higher wattage amps ?
@@benallmark9671 the ps2 can be used to increase volume as well as attenuate so if you have say, a 5w amp there’s a button on the face that you can hit to increase its volume. Check your manual for correct settings. I don’t have my PS2 in front of me so I can’t say for sure which is correct but you want the same setting for your 30 watter as you’d use for 100 watts.
Also the re-amp on the Fryette is maintaining the pure analog signal…whilst also having a buffered effects loop, but many people don’t realise that on the Boss TAE, (the only other device like this with an effects loop), it converts the signal to digital, re-amps in digital so you can use a cab sim and effects and attenuate digitally, then converts back to line level to go out… which is why in a side by side comparison the Fryette always sounds better as it extends your tube tone purity… whereas the Boss TAE converts all tube amps tones into a solid state format, which is a real bummer if you just spent all this time buying tickets to tone town on the tube train.
And not just reduces to different volume levels, but you can reduce to zero and still get a power amp'ed line level for recording - without the DSP trickery of the OX with it's ever-buggy software.
You can also use ot as a power amp for any preamps you may have.
The power staton did sound more well rounded and natural. The Bugera was great for the $$
I took an 60’s black face vibro-champ made it rackable basically using as a preamp into a powerstation works awesome gets great sparkly tones with a strat and it’s great with a p90 les Paul really nice natural overdrive
Thanks, man, a very good comparison video.
For just simply power attenuation, the Bugera PS1 is the way to go. Good sound , much cheaper. It's a no-brainer.
Man, your guitar lick is pretty good and the amp sounds great!
The lick is actually a Freddie king thing called hideaway. He’s playing in the style of SRV, it’s pretty fun to play, check it out sometime!
@@Mshifter Cool, good to know!
What attenuator you would recommend to get the poweramp distortion from the fryette powerstation? Would the bad cat unleash work as it has transistor based poweramp? Oh and what germanium transistors you would recommend for the unleash to get that Hendrix\Monterey Pop tone?
Excellent comparison vid! I have the Bugera to go with Marshall SV20, only using it for home practice situations and have been totally blown away by it’s performance! Fryette IMO sounds best but for the PRICE of the Bugera…only Joe Bonamassa and dogs can hear the difference 😉
I have the Marshall sv20 and the bugera too since two weeks, what do you use for recording?
I just got both myself fellas. Just lacking one speaker cable to use it and we're snowed in...
I own both, and completely agree with you. If money is no object, then that Fryette is IMO the best in the biz. But, I'm old school, and just shove an SM57 in front of the speaker cabinet when recording. The idea of going direct then having to open up a bunch of windows, VST's, etc.. is nauseating to me....lol. Guess I'm getting old :-) But, that Bugera for what it costs is outstanding.
Yeah this is a great vid. I'm kind of amazed how the Bugera really outshines the UA Ox. And not by a bit either imo.
The Fryette to me is the clear winner here. But it's also an 'ultimate' piece of gear: I mean I want that Super Reverb sound at home. But I can barely afford a Super Reverb. Let alone drop another grand on the Fyette. Still, it would be, and still is my dream combo
The UA though... Doesn't it look phenomenal? Doesn't that combination of wood and brushed metal look just perfect and sleek? Wouldn't playing it make you look like the perfect and knowledgeable geargeek? Well yes it would! But I've dated girls like that. And just like the UA, they looked fantastic but didn't have much interesting sounds on to the output. I get what UA is doing. It's marketing and looks are targeted at people that like, well.. marketing and looks from a certain era.
My personal conclusion: get the Bugera. It did a great job. Not even "for the price". To me, it actually outshines the UA. You got 1k to spare? Go for the Fyette. It's ridiculously priced, but if money was no issue, I'd be all over it.
I have both the fryette and the bugera. I love the bugera and at one point I had two of them. When I got the fryette I didn't need both of them so I kept one and gave the other to a friend.
I still use the bugera regularly with my 15 and 20 watt amps. I use the fryette with my vintage amps that don't have an effects loop or my 100 and 120 watt amps. I think for most people that just want a basic attenuator the bugera is fantastic.
For the people that can afford it and would use all of its functions and features, the fryette is an incredible piece of gear but it's so much more than just an attenuator.
when you use the power soak it's like an underpowered amplifier to its speaker, would it damage itself or the speaker? thanks!
Very interesting- thanks
Hi Chris, nice comparison. I'm expecting my fryette PS-2A for next week. Just out of curiosity, is your amplifier's speaker cable long enough to connect directly to the Fryette PS-2A speaker output or are you using a 1/4 Female/Female adapter as written in the manual? Thanks
On the newer Fender combos theres usually enough slack to plug in the speaker cable direct, but your probably going to want a few short to medium length speaker cables to use with it experimenting.
Great stuff. Tell you what u would need to be really really fussy on tone to say there's much difference between them, yer sure you can add I.R on the most expensive but surely just a tweak on amp would be just fine. Subscribed 👍big thumbs up.. I've got the bugera run with marshall origin and it's ace 👌 ... thanks amigo
Very nice Video…. All I would say is that these are three completely different products for three different applications. The attenuation is the only thing they have in common hence the price differential! All great units in their own right though.
I listened to it a couple more times. The power station is amazing.
using the loop station for this demo is really smart 💯🤯 thanks for the vid!
Good idea for a video. Thanks, Would have been better to hear the amp at the unattenuated volume first as a reference though.
Love my ox and my captor x
I have this Vibroverb amp, and it is incredibly loud. I’ve never played a gig that I could turn the volume up over 4. I let a friend borrow it for an outdoor festival and could hear the clean tone over a half-mile away; he said he only turned it up to 7!
Stevie always had all settings on 10 at the end of each gig! Playing with 2 Vibroverb's and 2 Super's fucking cool!
@@lthoedt yeah! I’ve turned mine up to 10 and played very lightly just to feel the power. It’s an incredible feeling, and, I’ll admit, kinda nerve-rattling.
@@MicahFoxxMusic When I was still gigging, (with an obnoxiously loud drummer)I turned my 65 twin reverb just past 4, and was literally getting disoriented from how loud it was. AND I WAS WEARING EARPLUGS!
@@platinumpengwinmusic5564 that’s a good reminder that sound can be used for all sorts of purposes, including healing and weaponry! Using such powerful amplifiers comes with great responsibility. I’ve felt that same disorientation at times from the volume of my Vibroverb.
@@MicahFoxxMusic Indeed!
I liked the tone on the first one you did the most. 2nd one was thin and they both lacked the tone of the first for me.
How did the lowest volume setting compare between the Bugera and Fryette decibel wise?
The lowest volume of the Fryette is zero.
The fender ox colored it beyond and smash the highs. The bugera was the most transparent and the last one sounded nice but if I already have a tube amp I don't need this. Bugera makes the most sense for me.
Oh yea… that was some good pick’n bro!
I'm missing the 'here's my clean tone' bit where we hear the amp but appreciate that's probably not possible given that it would be too loud in the setting. I've ordered a PS-1 anyway, my Deluxe Reverb is only on 7 treble on both channels, I'll just make it one more trebleier, job done.
On the Fryette, both the Presence and Depth knobs fully counter-clockwise is "0"
Thanks, great video! I have a 85w fender 65 twin reverb amp, wondering if I could use the Bugera on a 85W amp
I believe the max is 50w for the Bugera
Thanks, thanks, thanks!!!!
I feel that the OX and Freyette sound brighter, and the Bugera sounds darker.
I also feel that the Bugera captures openness and nuances better, I figure that’s because it’s passive and it’s not taking the signal and technically changing it.
Do I want my left leg or my right?
Haha. I’m starting to see they all tone suck in some way or another.
Fryette is thr ɓest you can get. If you cant afford one , check out the HO attenuator or Magus Ultimate Attenuator.
Theyre similar to the fryette as they all re-amp your signal .
Ive built lots of old school resistive Lpad ones. And a trainwreck one. Theyre ok but the HO is a huge step up. It has a variac setting as well to run your.amp at 93 volts.
Thanks Chris - you have the best video on these units I’ve seen to date. I am leaning towards the PS1.
Ive a Z-brake. It’s awesome
Hello! Thanks for the video. Ive left the following mail to fryette can you relate to this problem as well?
"
Hello,
I have the Fryette PS100 and I connected my 1964 Super Reverb.
When playing the amp on 6-10 on the volume with the PS100, I'm experiencing weird distorted noises coming out from the speakers. Especially when picking hard. Like there's another layer of low distortion noise that added to the tone
I've checked the impedance of the PS100 and the amplifier and speaker are set to 2/4.
I've also tried swapping power tubes in my amp but the noise is still there.
I've checked all the speaker cables and everything is fine.
I've also played the amp without the PS100 on the same volume range and the amp played great with no weird noises.
Would you happen to have any idea what the problem is? Can you recommend more steps to try to fix this problem?
I hope you can answer this time. I've left numerous messages that you didn't reply to. This is a VERY expensive unit so I expect at least a decent answer.
"
I haven't run into this problem, and I've used it with my 1980 Super Reverb so I honestly don't know what the issue could be offhand.
@@streetrockusa fixed it. It was a bad soldering on the speaker input board
Honedtly, for live i would use a kemper, fractal or helix. But for recording, i would use ox or ps2
How do you connect these attenuators to the combo amp?
They go between the amps speaker out jack and the speaker.
the power station os incredible and very versatile
The Fryette PS-1 is still the best option today.
I used to use a Marshall Power Brake with a Rivera 55/12 combo and it really did have a negative impact on the tone of that great amp. Wasn't something you could easily put your finger on but the amp had _magic_ in it that was stripped. Relatively cheap the Marshall however.
Fryette has a video about changing the tubes and fuses. The tubes don't need to by biased in the Power Station.
And if you love the sound of a cranked champ or any other low-wattage amp, you can get that same great sound amplified with the Fryeete power station for giging volumes.
But you can’t with the PS1 because it’s meant for higher wattage amps ? Is this the case ?
@@benallmark9671 No the PS1 is passive. The Fryette is a super clean 50 watt power amp, so any amp that you plug into it is kinda like a preamp.
Anyone know if he has a video teaching something similar to what he's playing in the video? Would love to learn it.
It my sad rendition of SRVs rendition of "Hideaway" a Freddie King song, Stevie played it at his first Montreux Festival performance as his intro song. Theres tabs online if you search for Freddie King Hideaway.
@@streetrockusa Great, thanks for replying back.
I hope you're in a band, because playing like that, especially attenuated from a blackface combo, should be heard. THANKS
Ox was my favorite here
The The Fryette controls should be at 12... your dimming presence and depth
If the Fryette reamplifies yr guitar amp signal, it would colour the tone..
Sounds like the Bugera lost the bass/lows push. The ox was pretty damn awesome but it’s pretty expensive
Though, I have the Bugera and I don't really notice the difference in tone too much between when I have it attached and when I don't. So in real world usage I don't feel like it's such a big deal.
Not sure why you have the presence/depth turned all the way down on the fryette that’s why it sounded lifeless. That’s like running your bass/presence at 0 on an amp. I own the ps2 it blows the others out of the water if you use the knobs correctly
UA Ox Box never impresses. I have the Boss Waza TAE and the Bugera. Doing fryette next. All Les Paul into Marshall Studios Vintage 20 and Fender Deluxe Reverb. The TAE is everything.
I have both TAE and UA Ox. I prefer UAover TAE for recording. TAE for live playing. both great.
Also the TAE has AD converters, the fryette is all analog
What's your take on the Bugera?
@@frabber321 when I bought I thought I needed to get something better but now I look at it as an awesome arsenal piece. Like a good pedal to use sometime. It’s a dream on the deluxe with a Les Paul honestly. For the price - it’s a yes.
@@78thandSynth exactly what I was hoping for, given the price. I'll give it a shot.
Wow. The fryette won hands down!
The Ox sounds ready to rumble. The bugera and fryette are comparable.
jumps right out of the monitors into the room this video, so raw. awesome.
Bugera is not in the same hemisphere as the Freyette. But it is definitely a great bargain. I needed the best for my plexi.
1:37 2:50 4:37
Interestingly the Burgera sounds best over here
@@rocknfroll Well I've never compared these three attenuators in person, but I own a Harley Benton Pa 100 (basically the same as Bugera) and it does the trick pretty well. Attenuation wise, for the price, I think it is hard to beat.
The thing that seems to be common to all attenuator regardless of their price range is that the more you turn them down, the more you lose in tone (I don't take into account speaker volume, and the Fletcher Munson curve, they are other variables). However, the Harley Benton already knocks off some decibels when ran completely open (i.e. without turning down the knob), and is quite transparent on this setting: I guess you might as well stack two or three of them completely open, and still have a very transparent sound at an acceptable volume, and it would still cost you very little compare to the UA OX and Fryette PS.
Now, of course these have a bunch of other features for studio use and so on.
I also like to play with headphones, and what I do is that I run the Speaker Out of my Marshall 100w tube head into a Torpedo Cab M+, and from the Cab M +, I run the Speaker Out /Through into the Harley Benton that I turn completely down, using it as a load box. That way I am getting a great sound from the Marshall into my headphones, for a reasonable price.
Ox I can understand the other two never heard of. You should of tested the ironman 2 and the two notes captor x which are the best two attenuators on the market!
I’ve been a big user of multiple TK Ironman ii attenuators for years. Loved the mini and 100w versions. But last month I tried a Fryette PS2A for the first time. Hmmm :-(
Promptly ordered my own PS2A’s and PS100’s to replace my Ironman ii’s. In my setup the PS’s came across way more transparent/natural. I really did love my TK’s and the way they did their job passively (with world wide voltage) rather than reamping, (and fixed voltage) but I do not care any more as the PS’s really won me over that much for studio use. Gear is very much dependent on personal preference and the synergy of item(s) A with items (B) and the room you play in. With my current environment PS’s now get my no1 vote. The ability to use an FX loop post the guitars original power amp is pretty damn cool too. But hey maybe I should keep my TK’s as maybe I’ll prefer them again in different scenarios or just traveling with any gear across continents. I’ve never tried the Captor X’s, but needing to pick a unit for fixed ohm’s and with only a couple of preset attenuation settings it doesn’t grab my attention. It’s more of a tool for
comparison with the OX than Ironman’s and PS’s anyway. Good luck on your own tone journey. 👍
@@djt6546 dude try a captor x the cab sim is awesome. You were spouting about it only having a few settings? So I assume you have never used one?!
@@somethingoff1327 Yep I’ve never used one because I have no interest in the interface aspects for which they come highly recommended as does the OX. I’m only looking for the most transparent attenuators between real amps and speaker cabinets. The Captor X’s are great value though if the computer interface is what you want to work with. It’s just a shame you have to buy separate boxes for 8ohm and 16ohm and the control of attenuation is not the same as a dedicated attenuators like Ironman ii or PS. Clearly this video indicates there are other cheaper attenuators that do a reasonable job for great value. I’m just looking for the most transparent for real speaker cabinet use. Cheers
@@somethingoff1327 The Captor X doesn't have many attenuation settings, I think that's what @DJ T may meant. It has a shitload of IR's though.
@@djt6546 I'm actually also looking for what you described: a transparent attenuator to use between the amp and the speaker so I can push the amp and have it sound great, but with lower volume. It makes home recording possible without disturbing the whole neighborhood. I'm waiting for a guy to send the Bugera to be. I bought it used on Friday.
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1:36
Harley Benton ra 250
Was pretty bored with this video…… until the playing started!
1) Get a low-powered amp and change the V1 preamp tube to a 12AT7. (Tip: don't ever buy anything more powerful that a Princeton or like.) There's a reason that those things are overpriced.
2) Get a _really_ low-powered amp and don't do anything.
3) See a psychiatrist to address your obsession with loud music or really loud distortion, like setting up a blast room in your basement for those 100 watt Marshalls. ...Sheesh. Instead, get a CHEAP pedal such as those offered by Joyo. They're all pretty much clones of one another.
4) Or...do like I did and see an audiologist to address your loss of hearing after you've waited way too late in the game to get over your delusion that all that loud stuff (including, but certainly not limited to music) isn't going to come back and bite you. Tip: hearing aids are useless to correct nerve damage. Once you lose it, you will never get it back.
5) Meanwhile, consider that what you're eventually hearing from tube amps is a lot of the time being piped through solid state equipment. You think all those tube amps being miked you're hearing at concerts are going through $60k worth of tube equipment to reach your ears? Likewise, are you listening to all these tube amp videos on YT through a gaggle of tube equipment? The controlled environment of the recording studio is far different from real life.
6) Don't concern yourself with the Fryette - even though they're still supposedly in business, they're as rare as hen's teeth now when it comes to actually _finding_ one for sale.
7) Unless you're as crazy as I am, just go with the Bugera. I went with the Waza (by Boss) Tube Amp Expander, and ONLY because I got it for $789 on Amazon as "used." (It wasn't, actually - it was brand new.)
It re-amps (and attenuates) the tube signal through - you guessed it - a solid state amp of it's own. Plus, it has an effects loop...and it gets me lots of wimmen who beg and plead to ogle at all its routing parameters and the vintage-type knobs, etc. It has like 2 million ground-lift switches. But what do you expect for 789 bucks.
Thanks. This has definitely made me decide to not buy a PS1. That shit sounded terrible.
Fryette makes the guitar become one dimensional. Really dont like that. All the tone gets lost with the unnecessary extra power stage (compare with PS1) . Just use a simple powersoak and you wont get this tone-loss. The only great use for the fryette is to boost the output of very small amps. There it is unchallenged.
This is a worthless review. You should have done your research.