Speaker simulator

[Matt_B]

A local shop had a used one that I tried out and while it sounded really good, it didn't sound any better than my ADA MicroCabs. For the money, the MicroCabs are amazing if you can find them on eBay. There's been a lot of them on there lately ranging in price from $150 (if you're lucky) to $300 (the extreme high end). The MicroCab is much more versatile than the Palmer as well.

All that being said, the Palmer is definitely built better and is definitely a professional piece of gear. The MicroCab is a bit "chintzier" but the ones I have are over 10 years old and they still work great so I can't complain.

 

[MrT-Man]

I own the Palmer PGA-04 and the Motherload. The Palmer is good, the Motherload is better (but pricier), particularly for rhythm parts.

 

[ytse_jam]

A local shop had a used one that I tried out and while it sounded really good, it didn't sound any better than my ADA MicroCabs. For the money, the MicroCabs are amazing if you can find them on eBay. There's been a lot of them on there lately ranging in price from $150 (if you're lucky) to $300 (the extreme high end). The MicroCab is much more versatile than the Palmer as well.

All that being said, the Palmer is definitely built better and is definitely a professional piece of gear. The MicroCab is a bit "chintzier" but the ones I have are over 10 years old and they still work great so I can't complain.

do you know what's the difference between Microcab and Microcab II?

 

[Matt_B]

The differences between the MicroCab I and II are:

MicroCab I - AC adaptor
MicroCab II - internal power supply

MicroCab I - line level input only
MicroCab II - line level or speaker level input BUT it does not have a load box built in. In other words you still have to run a speaker cabinet.

You can get mods for the MicroCab I and II that give you an internal power supply. a variable resistance load (you don't have to use a speaker cab) and a headphone jack.

One little quirk (sort of) is that the XLR outputs on both units is mic level only. This is fine if you're feeding a mixer but useless if you want to run balanced lines in your rig.

 

[Matt_B]

I recorded all the guitars on this tune were recorded direct with a Mesa Studio Preamp and MicroCab I and I was very happy with the tone. Please bear in mind that it was recorded almost 9 years ago on a Tascam 488 cassette 8 track.

That's the Spirit Dear Heart.

 

[ytse_jam]

Cool Riffs!!! thanks for sharing.. I thought Mesa studio pre has direct also?

hi anomaly, i've got a studio pre too and since i don't own a good poweramp yet, i play it straight into the mixer using the recording outputs you were talking about. I found them very good for solos and cleans, but i think these direct outs sound too sweet and juicy for hi-gain riffs (you also loose attack using them...). Finally (i hope this won't happen with a good poweramp), i found them to be really midrangeish and even with the graphic EQ set to "V" shape i could not get a really scooped tone (and i think this is the main reason for which some people on harmony-central.com say they can't get really hi-gain tones from this preamp... i think it is only a problem of equalization, because i found my studio pre to be plenty of gain).

 

[Matt_B]

I thought Mesa studio pre has direct also?

Yes, the Studio preamp has recording outputs but they don't sound that great IMHO. Besides that, there are no varieties of cabinets to choose from. Mesa made the recording outs sound like one particular cab/speaker combination whatever it maybe.