With the Bugera PS1 Power Soak, guitar amplifiers can easily be tamed and played at neighbor-friendly levels without significantly affecting the sound. Up to 100 watts of power can be continuously reduced, whereby connections with 4 ohms, 8 ohms and 16 ohms ensure broad compatibility with tops and combos. The reduced guitar signal can be passed on to the guitar speaker via the speaker output, while an unbalanced line out with level control and a balanced output are available for recording purposes. Thanks to mic simulation, the latter delivers the sound of a microphones in a guitar cabinet.
First I tried it stock, between my Marshall origin 20 and the speaker with the amp on my normal settings, but the sound instantly became mushy, no definition whatsoever.
Bugera reduced the volume really well but soaked up all the highs and presence, so the sound was extremely uninspiring.
I was thinking about selling the unit, but then I decided to try putting an eq pedal in the fx loop of my amp. I dialled down the mids on the eq and bumped up the highs.
The results were amazing! Clear and defined sound at bedroom/night playing levels with the amps master volume almost cranked.
I can recommend this unit paired with an eq pedal for all hobby players who don't have enough $$ for a high-end reactive load.
Please note that even at 100% level bugera soaks up a lot of power, so your amp won't sound the same as without it and there's no way to easily bypass the box.
For the price it's good, but if you can spend more look at the ox box or some higher end options.