Harley Benton PA-100 Power Attenuator Reviews

Affordable attennuator that does the job

Gear used:

Marshall DSL20HR

Bugera G5

Sound: does the job for both the amps listed above. I am able to crank the amps and get the desired tube distortion without the high volume.

Feature: the line out and DI out is a nice touch. Separate speaker out and line level out control is also a good addition.

Build quality: The housing doesn't feel to good and is quite thin , the knobs also feel scratchy. Not so good on the build quality.

TOP attenuator

Prons: Price, quality of build, doesnt change the sound of the amp.

Cons: too big in size.

Does what it is supposed to do and does it very good

I had a problem with my amp being too loud. This solved the issue and now I can crank it up and get the sound I want. I really like that I can adjust the volume on this device. Very good! You can't find another one for the same price.

Cheap solution

Pos

-cheap attenuator

-line out helps for rec

-XLR out works like DI box

Neg

-cheap manufacture

-change the sound a little bit (its not tube creaspy sound)

for this money it's a one-way purchase!!!

Works like it's suposed to!

I'm using it primarily with a Marshal plexi and it's exactly what I needed to get the tone out of the amp without the excessive volume levels.

its amazing for your tube amp, just an really good tube overdrive without your ears bleeding. Its also really cool for my old transistor amp from the 70s its an amazing punk tone when you put every knob on 11 ;)

the only thing is that you lose a bit of high, that is a bit annoyning

Does everything as described

I am absolutely amazed by this little metal box. I can use my 100W Peavey Valveking as practice amp at home, even when kids are asleep, and it is more quiet than TV my wife is watching next room. And then, when they are not home, just little adjustment and you have full on tube amp sound...in sturdy metal box for little as 70€

best thing ever

Good Attenuator for the price

The only thing that was needed was to strengthen the volume knobs.

Snatch this up

I use this with:

Guitar - 1960 Fender Concert Brownface - Weber Z-Matcher - HB Power Attenuator - 1961 Jensen 15 inch Concert speaker (MI-150) . I love the sound of the Concert as it is on the edge of breakup, but the amp is LOUD! This product tames that down to a practice level nicely. I don't notice a difference in sound quality except the effect of filling the room in that special Fender way. I guess there is no substitute for volume. However, at low volumes it doesn't seem to change the color noticeably. I'm sure that if you ran sound wave comparison, it would show a difference. I also use this to go direct to a sound system when playing larger venues as it keeps the sound guy happy with his levels.

I sometimes use it with my Peavey Bravo as the Bravo shines with the tube saturation on the clean channel and the OD Channel is a monster when cranked. The HB Power Attenuator lets the true tone come out of this amp.

I also have a Peavey Classic 50/50 power amp that is an older setup which I use Boss Multi effects with and put it through 2 4x12 cabs. I don't use this as much any more due to the fact that I can now get tube saturation from the amps and keep my sound guy happy.

I may end up with more than one of these just for convenience sake.

It does what it does well and at a great price.

Thanks to HB for a quality product at a great price.

Totally satisfied. Gives me greater confidence to play

I use 2 amp both with a 1 watt setting. Both of these are tube amps and even at 1 watt they are pretty loud. To make even a 1 watt a tube amp playable at bedroom levels you are going to need one of these. I was initially dubious because I didn't think it would work on my 1 watt setting or make a huge difference: I was wrong. I makes a tremendous difference. You could play with sleeping children in house or people watching TV in the adjoining room. It does away with the need to use headphones which is so much more comfortable. One of my best investments. Remember to check that your amp has a speaker disconnection system ( some don't) which allows you to use an external speaker. Also always use Speaker Cable to loop this unit in. And because you don't want loads of people hearing your mistakes when you practice it gives you a greater sense of confidence to just play.

Great tone at any volume

I have 3 "lunchbox" amps and one homemade cabinet. Living in a townhouse means I can't generally crank up my amps meaning little or no tone. This allows me to get the tone at any volume. I use it with a Joyo Bantamp Jackman, a Orange Micro Terror, and a Hughes & Kettner Spirit of Vintage... and YES, this works for Solid State amps as well as tube amps

Does what it's supposed to.

Does what it's supposed to and at a very reasonable price. Good stuff.

Loved it!!!

I bought the attenuator because i needed a dummy load for my amplifier since i don't have a cabinet for now!! After buying i found quite a few reviews saying that it has different resistance than what the input resistance on the box says and it ia dangerous for your amp! Also they said that the line volume doesn't work!! After reading the manual i figured out that you need to turn the right knob to 2-3 o'clock and leave it there! I tested it with a multimeter and it gives the exact resistance it is supposed to!! Then you just play with the line volume that is the left knob on the box and it works like a charm!! I am pretty sure when i get a speker for my amp it will sound awesome in combination with the attenuator!!! I really like it and i can recommend the product!! I left 3 stars on quality because mine looked like it was an open box! Scratches and fingerprints everywhere but it works so i will keep it!

All works fine, except…

The cab simulation out of the xlr works quite meh. Other than that, works fine.

Blown away

I’ll be honest, when I bought this I wasn’t expecting much for the price. But wow, what a product!

I’m blown away by how great it actually is. The Harley Benton range continues to blow my mind

Finally, I can enjoy my tube amps without ******* off my neighbours

Does what says on the solid steel enclosure. Allows you to hear the tone of your cranked tube amp at ear friendly levels. Everything you need, none of the frilly extras you don't.

very useful

The time when you had to pay above 200 USD for similar devices is long gone thanks to this very well built attenuator!

Brilliant! *****

the answer to using valve/tube amps at home.

Good for the price, but...

It's a good power soak if you want to have a DI after the amp to capture the post-power amp goodness. The sound produced by the speaker after going through the PA-100 is... acceptable, but I would advise against getting this if you want to record the cab. For practice purposes it will do.

The line out on mine does not work properly. Turning the Line Level knob produces no result whatsoever. Turning the speaker level knob however, adjusts both the line level and the speaker level. I suspect this is not the case for everyone, since no other reviews I've seen mention it.

Okay attenuator, great dummy load

As the headline says, as an attenuator it's not the best. It does the job, it lowers the volume, but like other reviews says it does change the sound quite a bit.

However, if you want to record your valve amp silently and directly, this thing is great for the money! The XLR output with a speaker sim is sh*t tbh, but the line out is where it's at. Besides, why would you want to record and not add your own IRs?

Of course, for this price there are some drawbacks. There's obviously no way of loading your own IRs in to the thing, so if you want to play live you have to make do with the previously mentioned sh*t XLR out. The speaker level knob also feels scratchy, while the line level knob is fine.

All in all this is a sturdy little box that works great for the bedroom musician who want the valve amp sound and the goodwill of the neighbours.