Fryette PS-2

[Tisca]

The only real thing I'm hesitant on is how well the volume actually tapers on the power amp. Say I load my Mark IV into it, crank it up a bit to get the power amp cooking and then send the PS-2 to my cab - how well can I actually control the volume?

Fairly well but it still is a 50W tube amp. Neighbor friendly volumes are always achievable but 'someone sleeping in the same apartment' -volumes can be a challenge. Depends on the situation and setup. for that extra attenuation I sometimes run sort of a master volume in the loop of the PS-2. I use a parametric rack EQ. Also great for hi pass filtering etc. Depends on the amp and cab. Speaker sensitivity might be an important factor.

 

[DudeManBrother]

Is the Two Notes just easier because it has an IR loader built in, or?

Yeah basically. 150W load box with all my favorite IR combos already stored for easy recall, and the software is simple to load up something new if necessary.

I can load my amps with the PL and use the analog speaker sim, which works okay in some situations, but is time consuming to dial in. I can run it into a poweramp and mic a cab, which works well; but usually when I’m mic’ing the cab, I just do it at full volume. I could also use it to load down the amp, send that signal into my DAW, and us an IR loader/Wall of Sound; but my Two Notes Studio is already connected and does all that, plus I can run it into analog eq/comp before getting recorded. With the PL setup I have to go in the box, then route back out to my analog gear, and back in again.

 

[MatrixClaw]

I have the Bogner Goldfinger 45 Superlead. Basically Fender clean channel, Marshall overdrive channel spanning Superlead to JCM800. I have tried it every which way and it just does not get better sounding when cranked to powertube distortion. Of course like any tube amp it sounds better when it's louder, but not to cranked volume levels. This is more to do with how we perceive the tone at louder volume than anything the amp does and an attenuator quickly shows this. The amp works just fine with only its own master volume and to me sounds the best like that too.

Interesting. That's the exact kind of amp I'd assume would benefit from turning it up louder. Bogner must've done a great job with the circuit on it, then!

Fairly well but it still is a 50W tube amp. Neighbor friendly volumes are always achievable but 'someone sleeping in the same apartment' -volumes can be a challenge. Depends on the situation and setup. for that extra attenuation I sometimes run sort of a master volume in the loop of the PS-2. I use a parametric rack EQ. Also great for hi pass filtering etc. Depends on the amp and cab. Speaker sensitivity might be an important factor.

Ah, screw it - just to satiate my curiosity, I ordered all the parts to build my own JHS Little Black Box clone. For $11 in parts, it's worth seeing how much better a linear pot controls the volume in the loop, haha!

Yeah basically. 150W load box with all my favorite IR combos already stored for easy recall, and the software is simple to load up something new if necessary.

I can load my amps with the PL and use the analog speaker sim, which works okay in some situations, but is time consuming to dial in. I can run it into a poweramp and mic a cab, which works well; but usually when I’m mic’ing the cab, I just do it at full volume. I could also use it to load down the amp, send that signal into my DAW, and us an IR loader/Wall of Sound; but my Two Notes Studio is already connected and does all that, plus I can run it into analog eq/comp before getting recorded. With the PL setup I have to go in the box, then route back out to my analog gear, and back in again.

Gotcha. I definitely don't mind running IRs on my PC for recording. I've been doing it for years and would probably prefer the flexibility of it vs doing it all on the Captor. If I was playing live, I could definitely see the big benefit of the built in IR loader, though. I think for me, the features of the PS would get used more. If I need to, I can load IRs into my PowerCab+ and use it as my power amp instead of the PS-2, which is the idea that had me most excited about getting a reactive load in the first place.

 

[Tisca]

Ah, screw it - just to satiate my curiosity, I ordered all the parts to build my own JHS Little Black Box clone. For $11 in parts, it's worth seeing how much better a linear pot controls the volume in the loop, haha!

You bought a linear pot? I do believe what you want is a logarithmic low impedance pot (~25k).

 

[etohk]

Good to know! I'd say my use for needing it with the Mark IV is about 75%/25% attenuated/non-attenuated. I can turn it up plenty loud at home and no one will complain about it but we have a 1 year old that takes late naps and with me working from home and my wife working on her Master's online, I don't often have time to play during the week until he's napping or my wife is doing school work, so I'd like to keep it under control for the people in the house. I haven't tried a volume pedal as I don't have one - I've been thinking of grabbing one just to see if it solves the jumpy MV problem on the Mark IV but the PS-2 has so many applications for me outside of just using it with a tube amp, which is mostly why I'm really considering it. I'd like to pick up a KSR Ceres and some of the Joyo Bantam amps and having a tube power amp to use with them would be cool. I also tend to prefer the sound of my TA-15 at the 25w setting but cranking it up for a little power tube saturation is LOUD, so loading it into this and gaining an FX loop along the way would be super cool.

Ah I see, the reason I kept the PS1 was because of its versatility to recording and boosting the volume of my KSR Ceres, Joyo Zombie and PRS MT15. I got rid of my bigger wattage heads. I know I'll miss them, but I wont miss lugging them around. The volume pedal in the loop trick worked well for my MT15, it also has a notorious jumpy volume.

 

[Shask]

You bought a linear pot? I do believe what you want is a logarithmic low impedance pot (~25k).

Yeah, a Log (Audio) pot is better for low volume gradual volume increase.

I generally use some sort of rack effects processor for this.

 

[rokket2005]

Sure!

I don't actually need a whole list, I'm pretty much just looking for an empirical mike e or distessor for a good price. Selling one of those?

 

[MatrixClaw]

You bought a linear pot? I do believe what you want is a logarithmic low impedance pot (~25k).

Yeah, I got a logarithmic pot, I wrote that with like 3 hours of sleep the night before at 11 at night

I don't actually need a whole list, I'm pretty much just looking for an empirical mike e or distessor for a good price. Selling one of those?

I do have a distressor, but that's a piece I plan on keeping.

 

[c7spheres]

Since the baby trying to sleep is the issue here you can just put the baby somewhere else, like in the attic, car or the refrigerator etc. Give baby some ear plugs and shot of Jack and you're golden! kidding.

 

[MatrixClaw]

Since the baby trying to sleep is the issue here you can just put the baby somewhere else, like in the attic, car or the refrigerator etc. Give baby some ear plugs and shot of Jack and you're golden! kidding.

Hahaha. Honestly I don't even know if I'd wake him up cause he's a pretty sound sleeper, but I also don't really want to deal him not getting sleep, so I'm not willing to experiment with it

 

[Poul Winther Knudsen]

Hey guys, I've been toying with the idea of getting a reactive load lately and was fairly set on the Suhr because it's pretty much universally preferred in sound over the Captor X, but was kinda hesitant because it doesn't have an attentuator built in so it wouldn't make any difference if I still wanted to play through my cab. I saw some people talking about the Fryette PS-2 and watched some shootouts online and tend to prefer its sound in almost everything, plus it has more features I'd use which makes the price a lot easier to swallow.

Anyone on here own one? It looks like you can run the reactive load passively and keep the power amp off if you don't need it, which is cool. I really like the idea of the power amp for running my FM3 and preamp pedals through if I want to, plus the idea of loading an amp into it and then using the power amp to control the volume as an attenuator is pretty awesome. You can even load it's power amp into the reactive load, which is super cool. I'll also be able to have an effects loop with my TA-15!

The only real thing I'm hesitant on is how well the volume actually tapers on the power amp. Say I load my Mark IV into it, crank it up a bit to get the power amp cooking and then send the PS-2 to my cab - how well can I actually control the volume? As a high gain amp, my Mark IV sounds great at "low volume," but it still goes from "whisper quiet" to "loud yelling" with a millimeter's turn, which makes it unusable when my 1-year-old is sleeping (mostly because it sounds like shit at whisper volumes, really it needs to be able that yelling volume to get good). By contrast, I can plug my FM3 into my PowerCab+ and play at reasonable levels so as not to wake anyone. Is this possible with the PS-2?

With my 6262 Infinium I had some trouble controlling the volume when blowing it up, but mind that it's 120W while the PS2 is only rated for 100W load capacity. I can't imagine you will have a problem with anything smaller than that.

I got mine because I "universally prefer" the attenuated sound over units like the Suhr and the Ox. Perhaps the Boss is also up there but it also comes at a hefty tag and the extra features you already have in the DAW anyway.

I confirm that it can run as a passive dummy attenuator.

 

[The Thing Upstairs]

I had a PS2 for a couple of weeks and sent it back before the return window closed. It's a great unit with an excellent taper but the fan noise annoyed me. I ended up with a Boss TAE that sounded as good and had a slightly better taper (if I remember correctly). Comparing the two I'd say for super low volume, the TAE nudges it but either are great.

You could also look at one of the ironman attenuators (think that's the make) - they are supposed to be good.

I use my TAE with all my amps - even the ones with excellent MV circuits. The difference on the really good MV amps is subtle in the sound (but is noticeable) and a change in the feel and interaction.

You don't 'need' one, but they do have their uses and add value/enjoyment depending on what your use case is

I had a choice to play low volume through a roadster/5153/sc20 into a TAE or use an AXeFx3. I chose the amps most of the time. I ended up selling the AxeFx - I do miss it because it was an amazing central point in my guitar room and super convenient when used as an interface. I'd have the TAE outs going into the AF3 so I could have a DI track and some tracks from the TAE with and without cab as an example.

I think I either need to go buy an interface or an AF3Mk2.....