Cab Clone

[Len Rabinowitz]

Anybody used the cab clone with the Express Series? I'm curious; GAS is setting in!

 

[mjongkamp]

Yes, I have one.

Sounds good to me with speaker still attached and clone into my recording software or monitoring (active load).
I don't like it so much without speaker connected. then it has passive load and sounds/feels kinda sterile/brittle/full spectrum to me.

(EDIT: after some more experimenting silently (without speaker) I can say that to me it sounds more like a digital guitar plugin such as guitar rig 5 but better. So it isn't that bad)

I don't care about the headphone output.

I think silently it can do well for practice and I am happy with it for recording/monitoring/FOH purposes

 

[Len Rabinowitz]

Yeah, I checked it out and decided against it. I thought it had an attenuator function but it doesn't.

 

[8d2studios]

It was never advertised as an attenuator and for the price and what it offers it would have been extremely difficult for Mesa to offer an attenuation option at that price point!.

 

[mjongkamp]

Yeah, I checked it out and decided against it. I thought it had an attenuator function but it doesn't.

I also looked at attenuators with speaker simulation first but opted for the cab clone eventually.
Only reactive load attenuation would be an option for me. Passive load attenuators (like THD) sucks (tone). An attenuator with reactive technology like the two note torpedo/reload or rivera rock crusher studio would do the trick but is 3 or 4 times more expensive than the cab clone.
I have a 5:25+ combo and I use the cab clone as a microphone straight into my audio interface. I run my 5:25+ at low volume with speaker connected and it sounds great in my DAW. It sounds better to me than passive load (speaker disconnected) and cranked amp. So I can record at low volume without recording string rattle, chair squeeks or cars driving by.