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Used Rivera RockCrusher Power Attenuator/Load Box for Amps
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Rivera RockCrusher Power Attenuator/Load Box for Amps

Power Attenuator and Load Box for Tube Amps
$649.00

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Rivera RockCrusher Power Attenuator/Load Box for Amps
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Cut the Volume, Keep the Tube-amp Tone

Rivera's RockCrusher power attenuator and load box could be your gateway to epic tube-amp tonal bliss. The tone of a tube amp is directly related to the power of the signal it receives and how much amplification is added by the tubes themselves. In other words, if you're not cranking up your tube amp, you're not really hearing its full tone! Unfortunately, it's not always possible (or comfortable!) to turn up your tube amp to its tonal sweet spot, and that's where Rivera's RockCrusher comes in. Put the RockCrusher between your amp and speaker cabinet, and you'll be able to crank up the tone on your amp while keeping your volume down.

The RockCrusher's reactive load network is constantly maintaining the proper relationship of impedance and inductive/capacitive reactance. In guitar-speak, that means the RockCrusher lets you push your amp to its limits so that your tubes reach their tonal potential all while keeping your volume down. If you play a tube amp and want the ability to get killer tone out of it at reasonable volumes, the Rivera RockCrusher is a must-have.

Why you need the RockCrusher for live performance

  • Get the true tone of your amp for in-ear monitoring
  • Leave your cabinet at home and still get great tone
  • For home recording, record real tube tone without waking the baby
  • No worries about mic choice or placement
  • For professional recording, greater mic isolation during live sessions
  • Expanded volume control opens up your miking possibilities

Great Tube Tone for Every Occasion

Perfect for stages and studios of any size

Tube amps interact with the impedance load that a speaker cabinet puts on the amp's output — if you plug into your amp and just hook the amp's direct output to a recording device, you won't get the tone you expect. By hooking up the RockCrusher to your amp's speaker outputs, it interacts with all of the tubes in your amp — not just the preamp tubes you hear from your amp's direct output — to provide the true articulate and responsive tone you're looking for.

What does this mean for you? You can harness every tiny bit of tone your tubes have been designed to put out, and you get the sound of your amp and pedals, all without worrying about volume. Onstage, the decreased stage volume allows for better monitoring situations and lets your front-of-house engineer mix your signal without fighting your stage levels. In the studio, this means you get to lay down no-compromise guitar tone without bleeding sound into other mics. You paid for every last tube in your amp, so use them!

Rivera RockCrusher Features:

  • Use with a single 8-ohm cab or dual 16-ohm cabs
  • Lets you hear your tube amp's tone as you've never heard it before
  • Bombproof construction lets you take it to even the wildest gigs
  • Balanced XLR and unbalanced 1/4" outputs let you easily interface with your recording gear
  • Tonally transparent so that you hear your amp, not the RockCrusher

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Tech Specs

  • Power Handling: 120W RMS
  • Impedance: 8/16 ohms
  • Inputs: 1 x 1/4" (powered signal in)
  • Outputs: 2 x 1/4" (speaker out), 1 x XLR (line out), 1 x 1/4" (line out)
  • Manufacturer Part Number: RockCrusher

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Customer Reviews

Write your review
Rated 5/5

Thanks Bob

Bob my sales god, some how got me one of these and got it delivered prior to my leaving for Ohio to pick up my old school 100w Plexi. It tamed my old plexi and it sounds sooo good. Can't say enouth good about the Team, or the product.
Rated 5/5

Awesome Attenuator

The RockCrusher is great!!!! I bought a PRS MT15 and the volume knob goes from no sound to crazy loud very quickly, but with the RockCrusher i'm able to dial in the sweet sound of the amp (gain or clean channel) and then use the attenuator so my ears don't bleed. I also use it on my Orange TH30 and Marshall Classic head and it works great for all three amps. It certainly isn't cheap, but it's so worth it to be able to get that great tube saturation at a bedroom volume.
Music background: Home Jamming
Rated 5/5

Job Well Done

Have been using the Rock Crusher going on 7 years now. Couldn't be more pleased with it's rock solid reliability and performance. Very transparent, allowing the tone of your amp to pass through with almost no "coloring" (and then, only at the highest attenuation settings). The Rock Crusher unit never gets hot, only warm even after extended playing sessions. I've been using it to tame my Marshall 1987X Plexi with fantastic results. No regrets...
Music background: Seasoned...
Rated 5/5

Keep Your Volume Down Without Losing Your Tone!

Excellent addition to any amp where you need the volume higher to get your best tone from your tube amp. I like the power amp up enough to get just a little breakup. Even on my Rivera Venus 6 at half wattage (17w), it's still too loud in the home studio. The Rockcrusher allows that sweet power tube overdrive at manageable volumes with no coloration to the tone. Plenty of great settings to get the sound you need, then it's good to go and you can enjoy all that wonderful tone without disturbing everyone around you.
Like all things Rivera, extremely well built and rugged. I use it for both studio and live shows where full amp is too much.
Rated 5/5

Just Right for in-home Playing and Practice

My Carvin Nomad 112 is 50W and honestly, FAR too loud for playing at home. Even when I practice with my band it never goes over ~1.5 on the volume... In steps the Rivera RockCrusher, and as advertised, this thing quiets everything down without sacrificing tone. Now I can get my tubes warmer and nicer sounding by turning up the amp volume some and turning down the output through the attenuator. Worth every penny, and I highly recommend it to anyone trying to keep the volume down some while hanging onto the powerful tone we get at higher levels.
Music background: Recreational Guitarist

Hear from a Sales Engineer

What Do Our In-house Gear Experts Think?

David Hess

The Rivera RockCrusher is is the finest device of its type in the marketplace. Period.

Charlie Davis

Using the Rivera RockCrusher for the first time was an eye-opening experience. I have a Mesa Express 5:50 combo amp, which I like in the 50-watt setting for maximum headroom. However, at that setting, I can barely turn the amp up and it's basically unusuable at home, practice, or even most gigs. It has lower wattage settings, but these do change the feel of the amp (and sound great but not my preference), so I wanted another solution. This is where the RockCrusher came into play. It was so easy to set up. I basically dialed in the amp where I would ideally want to use it if volume wasn't an issue and then increased the attenuation on the RockCrusher until it was the right volume. At home it was on 20db of attenuation, which cut out some of my top end. No problem, I turned on the Edge switch to bring back some top end and viola! Cranked up tone at bedroom volume. I flipped the bypass back and forth a few times and sure enough, it sounded the exact same except quieter. Now I can run my amp in the sweet spot 100% of the time. If I'm at home, I use the highest attenuation setting, and at practice or gigs all I have to do is reduce the amount of attenuation to fit the size of the venue. My amp settings never change. This is the best and most consistent tone I've ever had. Imagine having the best tone your amp can produce every time you turn it on, and not having to worry about volume. This is not a piece just for guys with 100 watt full stacks. If you have a head or combo over 30 watts, you need to be checking one of these out.
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