Available Now at Northeast Music Center!

MESA/Boogie PowerHouse Reactive Amp Load Attenuator – 4 Ohm

Turn up your tube amp without turning up the room. The MESA/Boogie PowerHouse 4-Ohm Reactive Load Attenuator lets you push your amplifier into its power-band sweet spot while controlling the final speaker volume—or use its internal reactive load for completely silent operation.

For players who love what happens when a great tube amplifier begins to work but don't always have the luxury of stage-level volume, the MESA/Boogie PowerHouse provides a remarkably practical solution.

This 4-ohm version handles amplifiers up to 150 watts and combines MESA's reactive-load technology with four attenuation levels, continuously variable low-volume control, silent-load capability, three voicing options, dual speaker outputs, and a dedicated dry Line Out. MESA offers separate 4-, 8-, and 16-ohm versions, making correct impedance matching essential.

Available from Northeast Music Center, the PowerHouse gives you greater control over the tube amplifier you already love—at home, in the studio, at rehearsal, or on stage.

KEY FEATURES & SPECIFICATIONS:

• 4-OHM VERSION
• Reactive Load + Power Attenuator
• Rated for amplifiers up to 150 watts
• Bypass plus four attenuation settings
• -4dB / -8dB / -12dB / -16dB
• Continuously variable Level control below -16dB
• Capable of extremely low / whisper-level speaker volume
• Speaker / Load switch
• Internal reactive load enables silent operation without a speaker cabinet
• Normal / Bright / Warm voicing switch
• 1 × 1/4" input from amplifier speaker output
• 2 × 1/4" parallel speaker-cabinet outputs
• Independent 1/4" Dry Line Out
• Dedicated Line Out Level control
• Line Out suitable for IR loaders, re-amping, effects processors and other line-level applications
• Fan cooled
• Tall rubber feet for amp-top placement
• Actual Weight: 4 lbs. 1.7 oz.
• Dimensions: 8" W × 7.375" D × 3.5" H
• Made in Petaluma, California

GET YOUR TUBE AMP WORKING

There is something special that happens when a great tube amplifier moves beyond its idle zone.

The power tubes begin working harder. The output section becomes a greater part of the sound and feel. Dynamics change. Harmonic complexity develops. The amplifier simply begins responding differently beneath your hands.

There's only one problem.

It gets loud.

The PowerHouse sits between your amplifier's speaker output and cabinet, allowing you to drive the amplifier harder while reducing the amount of power ultimately reaching the speakers.

Instead of keeping a great tube amp barely turned up simply because the room can't tolerate the volume, the PowerHouse gives you considerably more control over where the amplifier operates and how loudly you hear it.

At Northeast Music Center, that's why we see a serious attenuator as much more than a volume-control accessory.

It's a tool for getting more of the amplifier you already own.

REACTIVE LOAD TECHNOLOGY

This is the heart of the PowerHouse.

MESA developed its reactive-load circuit as an expanded version of the technology used in the company's CabClone IR products. The goal is to present the amplifier with behavior more representative of a real loudspeaker load rather than simply dissipating power through a basic resistive load.

That distinction matters.

A guitar speaker isn't simply a fixed resistor. Its impedance behavior varies with frequency, and that interaction influences how a tube amplifier's output section responds.

The PowerHouse is designed to maintain more of that dynamic interaction, response and feel while still giving you control over volume.

FIVE PRACTICAL OUTPUT LEVELS

The large Attenuation control gives you:

BYPASS (0dB) — No attenuation.

-4dB — Takes the edge off without dramatically changing stage volume.

-8dB — A substantial reduction while retaining plenty of live cabinet output.

-12dB — Allows the amplifier to work considerably harder at a much more manageable level.

-16dB — Major speaker-volume reduction.

And that's not where it stops.

At -16dB, the separate Level control becomes active and provides continuously variable attenuation below that setting, allowing you to bring the cabinet down to extremely low listening levels.

That means the same PowerHouse can solve two very different problems:

“The sound engineer wants my amp a little quieter.”

and

“Everyone in the house is asleep.”

SPEAKER MODE OR SILENT LOAD MODE

The PowerHouse can also function without a live speaker cabinet.

Set the front-panel switch to SPEAKER when using a connected cabinet.

Set it to LOAD and the PowerHouse's internal reactive load protects the amplifier while allowing silent operation without a speaker connected.

That opens up an entirely different use case.

Run your favorite tube amplifier into the PowerHouse.

Use the internal load.

Take the Dry Line Out into an external IR loader or suitable recording setup.

Now you can capture a driven tube amplifier without putting a microphone in front of a loud speaker cabinet.

DRY LINE OUT — USE YOUR FAVORITE IRs

It's important that customers understand what this output actually does.

The PowerHouse's Line Out does not contain cabinet simulation.

It supplies an adjustable line-level version of the amplifier's speaker-output signal, unaffected by the front-panel attenuation control.

That makes it ideal for players who already use a favorite external IR loader or cabinet-simulation platform.

It can also feed suitable effects processors, re-amping systems, consoles, or additional amplification.

Instead of locking you into one cabinet-simulation ecosystem, MESA gives you the amplifier signal and lets you decide what happens next.

NORMAL / BRIGHT / WARM

Attenuating a guitar amplifier substantially changes not only physical output but how we perceive its frequency response at lower listening levels.

MESA provides a simple Normal / Bright / Warm voicing switch to help compensate.

Use Normal for the standard response.

Choose Bright when heavily reduced volume seems to lose some presence.

Select Warm when you want to soften the upper response.

Simple.

Useful.

No menus required.

TWO PARALLEL SPEAKER OUTPUTS

The rear panel provides two parallel speaker outputs, allowing the PowerHouse to accommodate appropriate multi-cabinet configurations.

And this is where impedance becomes especially important.

Two identical cabinets connected in parallel produce half the impedance of either individual cabinet. For example, two 8-ohm cabinets in parallel create a 4-ohm total load—an application specifically discussed in MESA's PowerHouse manual.

That makes the 4-ohm PowerHouse particularly relevant for players whose amplifier/cabinet configuration operates at a 4-ohm load.

BUILT FOR AMPLIFIERS UP TO 150 WATTS

Despite measuring only 8 inches wide, the PowerHouse is rated for amplifiers up to 150 watts.

That gives it enough capacity for everything from relatively low-powered tube combos to substantial professional heads.

And at only 4 lbs. 1.7 oz., it doesn't become another enormous piece of equipment you have to transport.

MESA even gives the PowerHouse taller rubber feet so it can sit on top of many amplifier heads while clearing the amp's carrying handle.

That's a small detail.

It's also exactly the kind of detail musicians appreciate after actually using gear night after night.

At Northeast Music Center, we think the PowerHouse makes the most sense for a player who already owns an amplifier they love but wishes they could use more of that amplifier in more situations.

Recording.

Home practice.

Rehearsal.

Small stages.

Large stages with strict volume requirements.

Silent direct rigs.

The amplifier doesn't have to change.

You simply gain greater control over what happens after its power section.

And Northeast Music Center is proud to offer the MESA/Boogie PowerHouse to players who want to experience more of what their tube amplifiers were designed to do.

4 ohms. 150-watt capacity. Reactive load. Four attenuation stages. Continuously variable low-volume control. Silent operation. Dry Line Out.

Turn up the amplifier. Control the volume after it.

Northeast Music Center is a full line Music retailer located in Northeast Pennsylvania- We are an Authorized Mesa Boogie Dealer and purchase these products direct from MESA HEADQUARTERS IN PETALUMA CALIFORNIA. We do not obtain our MESA AMPLIFIERS or other MESA products from "jobbers" or other dealers. Our MESA AMPLIFIERS AND CABINETS come to you in the factory boxes with factory packing material. We will, upon request, and also randomly, open the box prior to shipping to check that all contents are included and that no damage has been found in shipping from MESA to our Store location. Northeast Music Center does reserve the right to sell these products in our store to daily walk in customers. It is our goal to always have this product in stock and if for any reason we sell out, we will reorder immediately as long as this MESA AMPLIFIER is currently produced for resale by the company. We will order the amplifier in a ample quantity to fill your order. It is our goal to make your experience a good one; We invite you to ask any and all questions about this product.  Please do not purchase this item if you can not pay. This is a new Mesa with full 5 Year factory warranty to the Original Owner. 3 Year Warranty on Speakers.