Harley Benton PA-100 Power Attenuator 4-stars Reviews

Used as a load box

As i leave in an apartment i do not have the option to use a cabinet to mic up my Peavey 6505MH i decided to buy this and use it as a load box and from there straight into my audio interface and DAW to use IR's. So i do not know how this changes the sound compared to a real miced cabinet.

Now by using it as a load box with IR's this works really well. From the amp i go to the PA-100 and from the speaker out to the audio interface and into my DAW using 3rd party IR's.

The sound is amazing.

Only important thing is to keep the speaker volume at 1 otherwise the sound becomes really harsh.

Recommended to everyone who wants to use the same chain as me.

Good value for what it does

It's a simple box and therefore a simple setup. My band have been using this for a few weeks now and apart from a small scare at the beginning - it got very hot with a burning smell! - we are happy with it.

Use as a DI box

I bought this mainly to use as a DI box so that i could get the full potential of my amp while playing silently, and then i bought a pair of monitors so know i can run my amp into this and then into my interface and pc and can play through my monitors for recording and monitoring. It is a perfect device for my uses. I do not notice any sound degradation with using this

It's what you expect from a passive attenuator for the price

First of all, it works. I tame my Single Rectifier with it and it feels good.

Second of all, the quality of the product is what you would think of when you see the price tag. One of the knobs fell off of the box after 15 minutes of usage, and turning knobs makes a sound of a metal scratching metal. But, again, it does attenuate things, so who cares about the rest.

Finally, it starts squealing really loud when your amp output approaches 50 watts. So, even though the name of the product states it can handle 100 watts -- it cannot. I mean, it probably could: physically, it won't explode or melt down, I guess, but musically that squeal it makes is unbearable.

But as long as you keep your amp's output below 11 hours or so and don't mind gluing knobs back once upon a while , this attenuator works just fine. And the price is unbeatable.

Good for the money

Im using it to tame a bit a 20 watt Tube amp for home use.

It doesn't give the same sound when without it but i really need it so i can push the power tubes to the deegree i want. Better with the attenuator than with the Master volume down.

When the signal goes through the Attenuator to the speakers i notice it becomes a bit darker like a more compressed sound. I dont have a problem with that as it kinda replicates the thickness that volume gives and my treble knob can balance it at some point. Appart from that speakers need to push some air to give you their best so i belive that any attenuator will sound different in comparisson with high volume.

I havent tried the Line or Mic simulation outputs.

Good beginner attenuator

If you're just getting into attenuators and don't want to spend alot of money. You need to get this one.

It does everything you would expect from an attenuator and the pricepoint is very good for what you get.

I run a JCM800 and a Orange dark terror into it and it works but just know that you won't get the real cranked sound as you would crank it without an attenuator. The sound also tends to get a bit too compressed when using a driven amp and 2 OD pedals.

For the money it's a solid deal and if you like what it does, you can still invest in a better Attenuator later on.

i would recommend it to everyone.

Nice little passive attenuator.

great for those needing an attenuator/loadbox without breaking the bank.

not as good as my rivera rockcrusher (reactive better for recording with cab impulses) but at a fraction of the price it doesn't need to be.

i'm quite happy with it as i needed a second attenuator for my many tube amps and i didn't want to spring for another expensive one.

Replacement after 1st Failed

Nice little bit of kit, I use it with my Vox AC30 and Bugera T50, both work great through it when it works properly. Unfortunately my first one worked okay for a short while and then it developed a fault which caused all the sound to be distorted through the speaker even whebn the amp was set to a clean signal. I use it with my Bugera T50 to allow the use of a 25W Greenback in a Harley Benton 1x12 Cabinet and it works great like that. I have used it with the Vox AC30 to allow a line out signal to go direct to the mixer.

Works well, and good value compared to similar items.

Alone and with Helix

I got this unit and hoped it would work for me, and it does.

I wanted the mic sim and line out to be before the the dampening,

and thankfully it was easy to convert it to this.

I did not want the line out and mic sim to follow the dampening.

I added a 25 k pot on the mic sim out to add more control. Now I use it with my Marshall 6100 head and a VOX AC-10 (with a speaker in mod), and am quite pleased. I do find that mic micsim signal kind of collapses. But when using the linesignal through a Behringer Ultra-G Di. box I have a beautiful full signal. Of course it would be nice to have the micsim do it, but the Behringer just sounds better in every way. For the price of the PA-100 and the Ultra-G and my mods, you have a package that is hard to beat. ;-)

I do run presence on 100% on the 6100, and raise the treble on the AC-10 but it's fine.

What this unit allows for also, is use of the lineout in different ways;

1: Load your amp into a Helix.

I have patches in my Helix based on a VOX AC-15, but if I want to have my real AC-10 replacing the modelling amp, i can patch it in via one of the loops (line level) and it works like a charm.

I hear my amp in real life, the FOH gets a lineout from the Helix with the real amp through the Helix, and then I play with IR's, mainly Celestion Blues and Golds - sweet!

2: Lineout + IR's

The lineout without the micmod can have IR's added (Moer Radar etc.) to add flexibility and quality to the sound. Even using my Digitech RP-155 just as a cabinet simulator opens up a lot of sounds.

So there are a lot of sounds waiting to be heard.

Also in a DAW. Cheers ;-)

03-07-2018 Update

I tested running a JOYO JDI-01 from the line out, and man what a difference to the mic-mod out it is, it really works now, the cab sim on the JOYO is sooo much better in fidelity, the AC-10 really shines through the mixer now. It also beats the Behringer in clarity (the Behringer only has 1 cab sim, a 4x12, the JOYO has a 2x12 combo sim and a 4x 12 sim), I am very very pleased with this new dicovery!