Want to attenuate your the volume of your amp with no apparent loss of tone? Our novel, patent-pending, trans-tenuation innovation is the ticket to completely transparent attenuation, and it's available only from ToneDoctor.
The trans-tenuation concept is simple yet powerful. It's a "Gee, why didn't I think of that" idea. Its theoretical basis derives from the fact that guitar speakers are inherently nonlinear devices, responding in fundamentally different ways to different input signal levels. You recognize this as cone breakup, which becomes more pronounced the harder a speaker is driven. And we all know how critical a factor cone breakup is to guitar tone!
When your amp is running unattenuated at full power, driving a pair of speakers, each speaker is being driven with half the amplifier's full power. This sets the all-important tonal characteristics of the speaker related to cone breakup and other nonlinear speaker operating characteristics.
When your amp is running attenuated at half power with other attenuators, each of the two speakers is now being driven by only a quarter of the amplifier's full power. This dramatically changes the power level of each speaker in comparison to the unattenuated full power case. The result? Loss of speaker cone breakup and corresponding loss of tone! Attempts to "mimic" the lost speaker cone breakup using equilization circuitry built into the attenuator never completely correct for the change in the actual speaker cone breakup, and this circuitry significantly complicates the signal path, causing loss of sonic integrity and tonal purity.
When your amp is running trans-tenuated at half power, only one of the two speakers is running, so it's driven by half the amplifier's full power, exactly as it is driven in the unattenuated full power case. As a result, the cone breakup level in the trans-tenuated case is the same as it is in the unattenuated full power case! And there's no need whatsoever for any tone robbing equilization circuitry!
Our trans-tenuation innovation is the basis for our Tres product line. Why Tres? Tres is Spanish for the number three, and these products allow you to attenuate to half power, which reduces your volume by three dBA. Just enough to "take the edge off" your volume for small gigs or home practice, but not enough to take the excitement and fun out of playing. With a simple flick of a switch. And with no apparent loss of tone!
Just listen to the Tres sound clips. You'll like what your hear. And you'll especially like what you don't hear!