Lotus M3 120 Watt Attenuator (Pre-order)

Crank your amp, keep the tone, control the volume. The Lotus M3 is a passive reactive attenuator from the Fromel bench, built on John Hewitt's (JohnH) design. It is our Lotus JohnH M2, upgraded: it starts at −3.5 dB instead of −7, moves in 1.75 dB steps instead of 3.5, runs with greatly improved cooling, and its fan takes optional external power.

Pre-order price $429 through December 1, 2026. From December 2, 2026, the price is $449. Pay now, get it before the holidays: shipping is estimated to begin the last week of November 2026.

Operation is simple: amp output → Lotus Amp jack, Lotus output → speaker. A first-stage toggle selects 3½ or 7 dB, and four stage toggles add 14, 7, 3½ and 1¾ dB: 18 settings from 3.5 dB to 33.25 dB in 1.75 dB steps. With a 120-watt amp that is about 54 watts at the lightest setting and 0.057 watts at the deepest.

It can also be safely used as a dummy load for direct-to-DAW, board or bench testing an amp.

Which impedance do I need?

Match the Lotus to your amp's speaker output: for example, a Super Reverb is 2Ω and a Deluxe Reverb is 8Ω. If your amp has multiple output taps, the 8Ω model is the most versatile.

The 8Ω model drives one 8Ω cab, two 16Ω cabs on the stacked pair of jacks, or a 4Ω cab (or two 8Ω cabs with the center jack). Each model's jack panel is lettered for its own loads.

Specs

• 120 watts max input, passive reactive load
• Attenuation 3.5–33.25 dB in 1.75 dB steps (18 settings)
• Bypass / Run switch (don't switch it while the amp is running)
• Greatly improved cooling: 92 mm Thermalright TL-9015 fan (the M2 had a 40 mm fan), powered by the amp's speaker signal. Optional external power through the EXT Power jack: 9–18 V AC or 9–24 V DC
• Shell 3D printed in glass-filled PET (PET-GF), heat deflection temperature 150 °C
• Front and rear panels: matte black circuit boards with exposed copper art
• 167 × 115 × 90 mm on its feet, including switches and jacks; about 850 g
• 1-year warranty

What's in the box

The Lotus M3 attenuator, a manual and a sticker.

User manual

The manual is online at lotus.fromelelectronics.com: the front and back panels, every setting, and what's inside. The QR code on the back of the Lotus opens it too.

Pre-order

• Pay now, get it before the holidays. Shipping is estimated to begin the last week of November 2026; we'll email you when yours ships.
• 14-day refund, no questions asked.
• Price includes shipping in the US; $39 shipping international.
• The pre-order price ends at midnight Pacific time, December 1, 2026.

Open circuit

The QR code on the back opens lotus.fromelelectronics.com: settings and the design's lineage. As with the M2, the circuit's schematic is open source (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial); the M3's art and circuit boards are Fromel's own.