Effects loop 'attenuator' pedals?

[Quitty]

Seeing as i'm soon to be dealing with a 100W head with no master volume at home, i was looking at some attenuators -
and seeing as i'm a cheap ass student, they're all way out of budget.

I keep seeing effects loop attenuators -
my guess is these are just volume pedals with a low impedance input/output. Am i getting it right or did i miss something?
If that's the case, it might be worth to just get a simple EQ pedal, or cut the effects loop level, as all it's ever going to do is drive the PI tube.

Any insight?

[Dead Undead]

Master Volume, sure
Little Black Amp Box

[djpharoah]

Basically if you have a series FX loop you can put in a line level volume pedal and control the level of the signal going to the power amp section allowing you to get some great preamp gain but at very manageable volumes.

[Quitty]

So it is, in fact just a volume pedal. I think i'll build my own

Thanks!

[Chris O]

Yep. I used "The Suck Box", and it was okay. It had a marked effect on tone however, and not in a good way. It gets you through in a pinch though.

[Quitty]

Originally Posted by Chris O

Yep. I used "The Suck Box", and it was okay. It had a marked effect on tone however, and not in a good way. It gets you through in a pinch though.

Care to explain?

[Chris O]

Originally Posted by Quitty

Care to explain?

Tough to explain exactly, but it does effect the high end - makes it a bit sizzly and less musical. The low end is lessened, but no big deal for me since I HATE boomy low end. The mids stay intact, but not as rich.

Again, it's a "patch", but not THE answer.

[ConnorGilks]

Visual Sound make a clean boost pedal that can also LOWER volume. I believe it's called the Visual Sound Truetone?

[Dead Undead]

Originally Posted by Chris O

Tough to explain exactly, but it does effect the high end - makes it a bit sizzly and less musical. The low end is lessened, but no big deal for me since I HATE boomy low end. The mids stay intact, but not as rich.

Again, it's a "patch", but not THE answer.

This is what happens when I use the master volume on the VH100R. It take all the life out of the tone. The high end gets scratchy and fizzy, the low end cuts out but not in such a way that it makes for a tighter response, and dynamics are lost. It's good for low-volume practicing/noodling, but nothing else.

[kurviak]

Morley Little Alligator

[VBCheeseGrater]

Originally Posted by Quitty

So it is, in fact just a volume pedal. I think i'll build my own

Thanks!

Yup, i just built one, my first pedal build actually, works pretty well actually. I call it the "Lo Fi", but use it out front instead of in the loop to clean up the distortion channel.