Single Channel Attenuator

You can go to SamAsh music stor and get guitar attenuators.
Gibson might be expencive but I don't think over $100. I know they work great on DIY audio gear as well.

EVS makes a stepped attenuator with 2db increments (can be special ordered with 1dB steps), but it's $150 each.

A "single channel single ended passive attenuator" is a potentiometer (pot for short) and will cost you about $3.50 in Radio Shack. Throw in RCA plug and jack and you're up to $5.00. Assumng you have a solid state preamp with output impedance of 50 ohms or less, a 10K pot will work fine. If this is a temporary experiment, keep the output wire short and you don't need to install the Pot in any sort of enclosure.

RadioSnack ones to my belief has no application whatsoever and never last even a day or two before you start hearing the fried bacon out of them.
For a true budget high quality ones you should visit www.mouser.com Please note that from their catalogue you can have a greater choice rathrer than ordering from the internet.

Thanks I think the mouser or Gibson is just what I need.

With respect to Mouser. They are great for parts, especially of very hard to find illumination blubs. But, beware of shipping changes (ask first). If not, you can pay $6.00 UPS to have a $2.00 part delivered. Unless they have changed, they automatically ship UPS ground.

Thanks for the tip on mouser. It seems they are all raw parts, which is not what I need. I need a finished product. Yes, we could design and make it ourself very cheaply, but since I only need about 10 or 12 units and I need it to look finished it's not cost effective to build it myself or have our engineers design it. Looks like the Gibson suggestion will work well--I'll try Sam Ash and some other music stores (perhaps some local ones).

marakanetz...Perhaps RS parts are not of the quality one likes to have in the audio path, but, as a temporary device to determine needed attenuation a RS pot is fine. (And I have never had unusual problems with noise from RS pots, although all pots eventually get noisy and need a dose of contact cleaner..RS again). When the desired pot setting is determined, measure the resistance setting, and replace the pot with a couple of fixed resistors. Surely one wouldn't leave any extra adjustable attenuator device, Mouser or otherwise, in the circuit permanently.

Agree on that Eldartford, I too use RS pots to determine the right value of the resistor and than replace it with the high quality one...