The THD Hot Plate (8 Ohms version) is a unique device which allows you to exert the full power of your tube amplifier without being too loud.<span> </span>It is main for the player with a tube amp, and those of us who have them understand that they sound at their best when they are turned up.<span> </span>What the Hot Plate allows your amp to do is to achieve this sound without blowing out the room, and is especially useful for playing in smaller sized clubs.<span> </span>The unit has ¼ inch connections and will fit nicely on top of your amp, as it isn’t rack mountable.After you’ve got the THD Hot Plate all plugged in and good to go, using the unit isn’t too hard.<span> </span>This isn’t to say that set up is hard either, as it only takes some simple connections between this, your guitar, and your amplifier.<span> </span>The parameters that you’ve got to work with include load, volume output, as well as switches for deep, bright, and a selector to have the bulbs either on or off.<span> </span>I don’t think that a manual is necessary, although I haven’t seen one so I can’t say anything about its make up.Let me start off by reiterating that the THD Hot Plate is only for tube amps!<span> </span>It shouldn’t be used with a solid state amp, as it would serve no purpose.<span> </span>Also, there are a variety of different versions of the Hot Plate, I believe ranging from 2 ohms to 16 ohms.<span> </span>The amp that I have used the unit with is a 1976 Fender Twin Reverb, which requires the 8 ohm version, but different amps will require different amounts of ohm age.<span> </span>The THD Hot Plate does exactly what it advertises to do, and really doesn’t add any sound to your signal, it just harnesses the power of your amp to create its best tone possible…While the THD Hot Plate isn’t the cheapest unit in the world, if you’re looking to get maximum power from your tube amp to get that incredible full tube sound in all its glory, it is definitely worth it.<span> </span>Overall, a very cool product and a great idea from THD here…