Anyone running a Cabinet Simulator?

[rarebitusa]

Just wondering if anyone is running / or has run a cabinet simulator pedal off of the slave out?

Currently using a 1st gen Captor as a silent load and reamping with the slave out to a solid sate amp driving a live cab for lower vol work. Kinda a poor mans Fryette that seems to work pretty well. The Two Notes Wall of Sound plugin is nice recording wise, but overall DAW system latency doesn't really allow it for real time monitoring. Looking for something cost effective 8) Have dug around and read that the Flamma FS07 or Mooer Cab X2 are solutions. Experience / thoughts welcomed.

 

[CoG]

The older generation Two Notes stuff goes for pretty reasonable prices, long run you'd be better off dropping $500 on a used Torpedo Live than making a daisy chain of crappy knockoff boxes...

(edit - used a Torpedo Live for years and it's fantastic.)

 

[rarebitusa]

Well I know Thaymz uses one and he likes it. So there are two votes in that camp 8) Will need to add that to my list. Thanks for chiming in.

 

[Thaymz]

Hey mate

Mine is the reload which has no onboard cab sims. Yeah the Torpedo Live would be a good option, I think it's reactive similar to the reload and an upgrade from the captor.

Looks like they've discontinued it but the captor X has onboard Dynamic IR. Or even the new Cabclone IR. I think both have the option to load your own IRs, at least the Mesa does.

Twonotes
https://www.two-notes.com/en/torpedo-series/torpedo-captor-x/

Boogie
https://legacy.mesaboogie.com/cabinets--simulators/guitar-cabinets--simulators/guitar-cabinet-simulator/cabclone-ir-plus.html

Note the Torpedo live is a 1RU rack mount whereas these two are similar form factor to your captor. I don't think you use other rack gear atm right?

 

[CoG]

For what they go for I'd probably take a used Torpedo Live over a new Captor X. The Captor kinda chains you to the DAW, the Live has a perfectly good standalone interface.

 

[rarebitusa]

Hey mate

Mine is the reload which has no onboard cab sims. Yeah the Torpedo Live would be a good option, I think it's reactive similar to the reload and an upgrade from the captor.

Looks like they've discontinued it but the captor X has onboard Dynamic IR. Or even the new Cabclone IR. I think both have the option to load your own IRs, at least the Mesa does.

Twonotes
https://www.two-notes.com/en/torpedo-series/torpedo-captor-x/

Boogie
https://legacy.mesaboogie.com/cabinets--simulators/guitar-cabinets--simulators/guitar-cabinet-simulator/cabclone-ir-plus.html

Note the Torpedo live is a 1RU rack mount whereas these two are similar form factor to your captor. I don't think you use other rack gear atm right?

Mate, ahhh yes I stand corrected. The difference is the "active" attenuation with the Torpedo line and I suspect now it's definitely a significant upgrade. You know my rabbit hole dive into the Captor and it's improved over the original version now. It works well with the WOS on tracking. But I should revisit the Torpedo line, looks like there's some options there.

Yea, my rack stuff is on the recording / vox side, but I could make the rack format work 8)

 

[Thaymz]

Actually, it looks like the captor is reactive load as well.

 

[Eevil]

Actually, it looks like the captor is reactive load as well.

Yep.. reactive load in standard Captor

I actually pondered should I upgrade to Captor X but decided not to.. already I have Mooer Radar for my IR needs so upgrading felt pretty useless (and I could buy something else with that cash :mrgreen: )

 

[rarebitusa]

I for one appreciate the discussion. 8) Indeed both the Captor and the Torpedo are reactive loads... but Two Notes states there is a difference between them... active reactive vs passive reactive... which I've always been really curious about.

https://www.two-notes.com/en/knowledge-base/what-is-the-difference-between-the-torpedo-captor-and-the-torpedo-reload/

"If you’re after perfect, adjustable, no-compromise power attenuation, with no tone modification whatsoever, you should consider the Torpedo Reload. If you just need simple and affordable attenuation, the Torpedo Captor has you covered."

There actually may be something to "You get what you pay for" deal :lol: I've always thought the Captor colors the amp tone a bit, but the WOS makes up for it.

Anyway... getting the itch to expand beyond the Captor... in the meantime...

Evil does the Mooer provide enough useful variations, compared to the single Captor onboard "guitar sim"? I would think so. Just running it off the line out? I'm really just looking for something better then the onboard sim to monitor realtime.

 

[Eevil]

I for one appreciate the discussion. 8) Indeed both the Captor and the Torpedo are reactive loads... but Two Notes states there is a difference between them... active reactive vs passive reactive... which I've always been really curious about.

https://www.two-notes.com/en/knowledge-base/what-is-the-difference-between-the-torpedo-captor-and-the-torpedo-reload/

"If you’re after perfect, adjustable, no-compromise power attenuation, with no tone modification whatsoever, you should consider the Torpedo Reload. If you just need simple and affordable attenuation, the Torpedo Captor has you covered."

There actually may be something to "You get what you pay for" deal :lol: I've always thought the Captor colors the amp tone a bit, but the WOS makes up for it.

Anyway... getting the itch to expand beyond the Captor... in the meantime...

Evil does the Mooer provide enough useful variations, compared to the single Captor onboard "guitar sim"? I would think so. Just running it off the line out? I'm really just looking for something better then the onboard sim to monitor realtime.

The Captor X has an all-digital cab modelling and the plain Captor has some analogue filter type cab model. Yet I’m pretty certain the attenuator part is the same in both.

I’ve ran the signal from Captor to Mooer from Captor’s line out or from amps slave-out. Not that much of a difference..

Radar’s built in models are so-so: fiddle with them a while and start checking free IRs from the net :lol: I found some decent IR with V30 and also ML-Sound free IR - one can upload those into the Radar - and those I’ve been using..

I’ve never actually tried the tones with proper monitors or anything, but using the setup into an AKG K240 headphones and the tone is good enough for me :lol:

 

[jayh]

I have the Ironman II - have tried every just about every attenuator or box with an attenuation function, this one does it for me and if anyone in the market I highly recommend it. What I haven't done yet though is run it out and try a cab sim but will be very soon. I'm something of a novice when it comes to IRs, I used them a bunch for the time I was running with an Axe Fx 3 but not for proper recording. It's not strictly needed as I can mic my cabs well enough, but looking to keep options open in the case of my dual rec...I have a good space to crank it but it's still tough with wife home, if I can get away with the DR through the Ironman and a good cab sim that would be a great solution for me.

So I'm sure that doesn't help a bit but maybe I'll have time this or next weekend to test it out.

 

[Boogieloo]

Just wondering if anyone is running / or has run a cabinet simulator pedal off of the slave out?

Currently using a 1st gen Captor as a silent load and reamping with the slave out to a solid sate amp driving a live cab for lower vol work. Kinda a poor mans Fryette that seems to work pretty well. The Two Notes Wall of Sound plugin is nice recording wise, but overall DAW system latency doesn't really allow it for real time monitoring. Looking for something cost effective 8) Have dug around and read that the Flamma FS07 or Mooer Cab X2 are solutions. Experience / thoughts welcomed.

Yupp. I am running my trusted cab clone…. Works like a song…. Simple and phantastic….with my 96 Diezel Blueface or the King Snake which I am lucky to have snagged upon release….

 

[dcburn]

I don’t believe there was a Torpedo Reload when I purchased my Torpedo.
My whole complaint with the Torpedo was just two levels of attenuation.
I run a Fryette Power Station these days, fantastic piece of gear.

Can’t say I’ve ever done any cab simulation, only attenuation right now…

 

[waterboy]

I have a captor x and a fillmore 25 I use all the time at home and I think it sounds great! Here’s some sounds from my SoundCloud.
the newer ones are the captor. Some of the older ones are my helix. All with strats. jimmyjams1974

 

[Roctopus]

I run my Mesas through a Torpedo Captor X do demo-recording purposes. I have an awesome wife that lets me run a Mark III volume at 2 so I don’t need the attenuation, but I use it to keep my kids’ noise from getting into the recording.

The Torpedo can drop volume low enough to not wake the kids or wife if I get the itch to play in the wee hours and there’s minimal tone loss when the volume is switched down. For those who are concerned about being chained to Wall of Sound, just know that when you’re messing with DynIRs or uploading your own IRs, the Captor can save 6 for regular use on the machine itself. This is controlled by a knob in the front so you don’t need a computer unless you’re changing presets. I don’t use mine for liver performances, but it runs XLR out to my Mac mini for recording purposes without any noticeable latency so I’m sure it’ll do well sending signal direct to FoH if, for some reason, you don’t want a 412 behind you.

Overall, I always prefer mic’ing, but this little box does a formidable job with everything I’ve used it on.

 

[jayh]

I run my Mesas through a Torpedo Captor X do demo-recording purposes. I have an awesome wife that lets me run a Mark III volume at 2 so I don’t need the attenuation, but I use it to keep my kids’ noise from getting into the recording.

That's the other part of it for me. The wife is out enough that I can crank up pretty regularly, and I have this pretty isolated finished basement so no need to worry about the neighbors, but I have air purifiers running and you never know when the main air or heat will kick on. It's not a big deal when just getting ideas down but I would like a better solution when trying for polished tracks.

I'm putting together some ikea stuff and guitar wall mounts down here today, still a new house to me and I need something to get the amps off floor level and more storage in general, maybe can put the Ironman through its paces with the direct out tomorrow.

I do like mic'ing but it's a bit of work to dial in and I'm getting lazier as I get older

 

[dodger916]

I have the Ironman II - have tried every just about every attenuator or box with an attenuation function, this one does it for me and if anyone in the market I highly recommend it. What I haven't done yet though is run it out and try a cab sim but will be very soon. I'm something of a novice when it comes to IRs, I used them a bunch for the time I was running with an Axe Fx 3 but not for proper recording. It's not strictly needed as I can mic my cabs well enough, but looking to keep options open in the case of my dual rec...I have a good space to crank it but it's still tough with wife home, if I can get away with the DR through the Ironman and a good cab sim that would be a great solution for me.

+1. Love my Ironman II and always use it whenever volume might be an issue (rehearsals, gigging, practice, etc..) . I haven't used it for studio recording yet as I can tolerate the volumes when wearing recording headphones. I thought about using the direct out for gigging (instead of mic-ing my amp), and recorded two simultaneous test tracks: one with direct out and the other mic'd speaker. Although the tone was close (and probably good enough for gigging), I still prefer the mic'd speaker sound vs direct out. Good speakers help too. Highly recommend the Ironman II. It isn't cheap, and it's heavy for such a (relatively) small box, but well worth it IMO.

 

[mace]

I read somewhere (on this board, I think?) that the Mesa CabClone IR+ used the Two Notes IR engine. Someone had seen the Two Notes stamp on the internal electronics. Question: If true, does anyone know if the Mesa IR+ would be the Captor or Reload electronics?

I really don't understand the difference between "active reactive" and "passive reactive"? Is that just a term for the attenuation or does it have something to do with the IR function as well?

The original OP question of "running a cab simulator".... is using the Mesa CC IR+ the same as "running a cab simulator"?

Obviously, I'm pretty confused about all of this. I just know the Mesa CC IR+ sounds better than the CC (I own both). I also love the attenuation function of the IR+.

 

[FastRedPonyCar]

I have a captor X I use on stage and it's awesome. Perfect mic'd cab sound sent DI into the house and I use a QSC K12.2 on stage behind me getting the same signal so no big cab and mic to fool with.
Having a bluetooth app on the phone is super handy on stage to make quick tweaks or just to get it sounding perfect during sound check vs having to have a laptop and usb cable in your bag.

 

[rarebitusa]

I read somewhere (on this board, I think?) that the Mesa CabClone IR+ used the Two Notes IR engine. Someone had seen the Two Notes stamp on the internal electronics. Question: If true, does anyone know if the Mesa IR+ would be the Captor or Reload electronics?

I really don't understand the difference between "active reactive" and "passive reactive"? Is that just a term for the attenuation or does it have something to do with the IR function as well?

The original OP question of "running a cab simulator".... is using the Mesa CC IR+ the same as "running a cab simulator"?

Obviously, I'm pretty confused about all of this. I just know the Mesa CC IR+ sounds better than the CC (I own both). I also love the attenuation function of the IR+.

So I probably introduced some confusion here that hopefully can clear up. Two Notes had this marketing speak about the Torpedo Reload / Live they labeled Re-Act. Not to go down the technical rabbit hole too much here but I thought maybe it had something novel to do with the reactive components of the load (what the amps sees) being maybe a different approach then typical reactive load design (fixed caps,inductors resistor values) ie: Captor X, Suhr, but Two Notes was kind enough to explain it is more a reamping approach they use. Which would be more like a Waza or a Freyette approach. I humbly withdraw the terms "active / passive reactance" which don't make any sense really LOL

Now it would be interesting to see the inside of the CabClone IR and the actual load components used. FWIW I poked around in my 4 ohm Captor and this is what I found.