|
Post by wiz on Jan 8, 2020 21:58:50 GMT -6
Can you load IR’s into the Captor? That’s where the money is at. There are some excellent cab IR’s available and I wouldn’t want to be limited to just what the box has. Not directly, but it comes with software that lets you run it as a plug in inside your DAW cheers Wiz
|
|
|
Post by BenjaminAshlin on Jan 9, 2020 0:00:55 GMT -6
Hi Wiz, The captor does not have a proper reactive/resonant load. If you can swing it get the suhr. I'll send you my prototype to check out if you want. Should be done by feb. Its listed as a reactive load, could you elaborate when you have a chance please? Cheers Wiz It technically is a reactive load but the impedance is not really modeled after a guitar speaker. A guitar speaker cab has a large impedance spike with a narrow Q around 100hz then a steep high shelf from ~2k. The captor (and OX) just have a smiley face curve (which is probably cheaper to implement). I haven't used/opened any other units myself so I can't answer what other units do. 4x12 marshall cab impedance Captor impedance Suhr impedance There may not be a huge difference in practice, but a more resistive load will feel a bit more stiff and won't stress the amp as much. A reactive load will have a bit more "squish" and drive more output current from the amp. Lots of people get good results with all these new units. :-)
|
|
|
Post by mcirish on Jan 9, 2020 12:21:35 GMT -6
Its listed as a reactive load, could you elaborate when you have a chance please? Cheers Wiz It technically is a reactive load but the impedance is not really modeled after a guitar speaker. A guitar speaker cab has a large impedance spike with a narrow Q around 100hz then a steep high shelf from ~2k. The captor (and OX) just have a smiley face curve (which is probably cheaper to implement). I haven't used/opened any other units myself so I can't answer what other units do. 4x12 marshall cab impedance Captor impedance Suhr impedance There may not be a huge difference in practice, but a more resistive load will feel a bit more stiff and won't stress the amp as much. A reactive load will have a bit more "squish" and drive more output current from the amp. Lots of people get good results with all these new units. :-) I picked up a Weber Mass 100 from a forum member recently. It has a speaker voice coil inside as well as some load resistors. The voice coil does move, though not huge. When set for the quietest output, it only uses the voice coil and is basically shorting out the other load resistors so they are not in the circuit. I was wondering if I should have got the Captor, but since it appears to be a resistive load, it probably is no better than the Weber. BTW, I have been messing with silent recording of a DRRI and an Egnater with the Weber and IRs. I've got some very good sounds without micing a cabinet and did it all at 1am. I'm still curious about the Suhr. I may have to check it out if funds become available.
|
|
|
Post by BenjaminAshlin on Jan 9, 2020 14:13:22 GMT -6
It technically is a reactive load but the impedance is not really modeled after a guitar speaker. A guitar speaker cab has a large impedance spike with a narrow Q around 100hz then a steep high shelf from ~2k. The captor (and OX) just have a smiley face curve (which is probably cheaper to implement). I haven't used/opened any other units myself so I can't answer what other units do. 4x12 marshall cab impedance Captor impedance Suhr impedance There may not be a huge difference in practice, but a more resistive load will feel a bit more stiff and won't stress the amp as much. A reactive load will have a bit more "squish" and drive more output current from the amp. Lots of people get good results with all these new units. :-) I picked up a Weber Mass 100 from a forum member recently. It has a speaker voice coil inside as well as some load resistors. The voice coil does move, though not huge. When set for the quietest output, it only uses the voice coil and is basically shorting out the other load resistors so they are not in the circuit. I was wondering if I should have got the Captor, but since it appears to be a resistive load, it probably is no better than the Weber. BTW, I have been messing with silent recording of a DRRI and an Egnater with the Weber and IRs. I've got some very good sounds without micing a cabinet and did it all at 1am. I'm still curious about the Suhr. I may have to check it out if funds become available. I have never seen a weber mass. But using an actual speaker coil seems like it would work well.
|
|
|
Post by stratboy on Jan 9, 2020 14:58:44 GMT -6
When I was looking for a solution to the ‘how do I record noisy amps at 1 AM’ problem, it came down to the Weber or the Captor. I chose the Captor because of the versatility and the IRs. I can’t offer any direct comparisons with any of the others mentioned here, but I’ve been very happy with the Captor, FWIW. It gives you three ways to get the job done, two of which are totally silent. Plus, the -20 dB passthru lets me get great live tones out of my AC30CCH, which otherwise would be unbearably loud.
|
|
|
Post by Guitar on Jan 10, 2020 9:22:05 GMT -6
I use the Torpedo Captor 8 ohm. I find that it sounds pretty excellent when I have used it.
You can mis-match tube amp output impedance to load impedance but you are "playing with fire" it's not recommended. I have heard those old anecdotes, too, about Fenders. I guess some amps do survive this treatment. Some might not.
The Two Notes Wall Of Sound plugin is complete trash. It's over complicated, buggy as heck when it works, and currently it doesn't even work. Cubase has "blacklisted" the plugin and it won't even load on my PC. It will crash my DAW if I attempt to load it. It's the only plugin that I own out of hundreds upon hundreds that does this.
However I rate the Captor highly as a load box / DI. It's a good value and it's built pretty well. In use it's pretty elegant and functional. I like the way that the power amp audio signal is the same signal that powers the inbuilt cooling fan, kind of neat.
There are some free IR loaders that are very good you can use. I use NadIR and also Pulse. Both seem to be associated with a company called Ignite Amps. If you need something more advanced there are similar ones you can purchase, with expanded features. Own Hammer IR's are very good, I got that tip from Pete Thorn also.
You can also make your own IR files, which is something I mean to do, with my favorite cabinet / mic setups.
One day I would really like to buy the Boss Waza Craft Tube Amp Expander to "make my life easier." Since all in one setups are less of a hassle than these simple solutions mentioned above. The BOSS also beats OX in all of the videos I have watched, to my taste. Another $1,300 device, though.
All of this stuff is kind of annoying and fiddly so I usually just use a real amp and a microphone, or an amp sim. Most of the fascination to me is simply the novelty of learning a different technique.
It is a good way to crank up a 100 watt amp in a small room, though, to get that kind of tone. But so is a box like the Bugera PS1, which is half of the price. The Bugera is an attenuator though, not a load box. But here, it gets used more often than the Torpedo Captor.
|
|
|
Post by Guitar on Jan 10, 2020 9:23:59 GMT -6
When I was looking for a solution to the ‘how do I record noisy amps at 1 AM’ problem, it came down to the Weber or the Captor. I chose the Captor because of the versatility and the IRs. I can’t offer any direct comparisons with any of the others mentioned here, but I’ve been very happy with the Captor, FWIW. It gives you three ways to get the job done, two of which are totally silent. Plus, the -20 dB passthru lets me get great live tones out of my AC30CCH, which otherwise would be unbearably loud. The Torpedo Captor -20 on my Vox AC30HW was completely unsatisfactory to me, in this room. It was too quiet. I might buy another Bugera PS1 for that amp, but the master volume control works well enough that I just use that most of the time.
|
|
|
Post by Ned Ward on Jan 10, 2020 10:13:34 GMT -6
On the impedance mismatch on Fenders, I'm wondering that exact thing - I have a Princeton Reverb (updated with a DR OT) that's 8 ohms; a Dr. Z MAZ 18 that's 4 or 8 ohms, and a 65 Tremolux that's 4 ohms. would rather not have to buy two load boxes... thanks as well for the notes on the WOS plug-in - I downloaded it but haven't ever substantiated it in Pro Tools - now wondering if it's an issue across all DAWs or just VST?
|
|
|
Post by indiehouse on Jan 10, 2020 10:40:48 GMT -6
I’m going to try to find a used Suhr Reactive Load (non-IR) for around 250 and run that into the Iridium for IR’s and room tone.
|
|
|
Post by stratboy on Jan 10, 2020 11:09:11 GMT -6
On the impedance mismatch on Fenders, I'm wondering that exact thing - I have a Princeton Reverb (updated with a DR OT) that's 8 ohms; a Dr. Z MAZ 18 that's 4 or 8 ohms, and a 65 Tremolux that's 4 ohms. would rather not have to buy two load boxes... thanks as well for the notes on the WOS plug-in - I downloaded it but haven't ever substantiated it in Pro Tools - now wondering if it's an issue across all DAWs or just VST? Weber makes a pretty cool gadget called the Z-matcher. It’s an impedence matching box you put between the amp head and speaker cabinet. I use it before my 8-ohm Captor to get the right impedence match between the amp, Captor and cabinet. Most of my amps are 8 ohms, but I have a couple (4x10 Bassman, BF VibroChamp for example) that are odd impedence. The Z-matcher takes care of those.
|
|
|
Post by Guitar on Jan 10, 2020 14:12:04 GMT -6
On the impedance mismatch on Fenders, I'm wondering that exact thing - I have a Princeton Reverb (updated with a DR OT) that's 8 ohms; a Dr. Z MAZ 18 that's 4 or 8 ohms, and a 65 Tremolux that's 4 ohms. would rather not have to buy two load boxes... thanks as well for the notes on the WOS plug-in - I downloaded it but haven't ever substantiated it in Pro Tools - now wondering if it's an issue across all DAWs or just VST? The Wall Of Sound plugin is strange and bewildering in its scope and layout, and it has a "store" built into it, which makes it even weirder. If you're trying to do something super simple, such as "LOAD AN IR FILE" the free plugins I mentioned above are much more simple and straightforward to use. I'd be a little bit interested to buy an advanced IR loader plugin for things like blending more than two IR's.
|
|
|
Post by indiehouse on Jan 11, 2020 16:38:06 GMT -6
Scored a used Suhr in my target price range. I’m pretty stoked to fire up my Swart AST again.
|
|
|
Post by EmRR on Jan 11, 2020 22:47:24 GMT -6
I've never seen load mismatch be a problem in lower power tube amps. 100W+ with higher voltages and currents, maybe.
|
|
|
Post by stormymondays on Jan 12, 2020 4:01:21 GMT -6
I've never seen load mismatch be a problem in lower power tube amps. 100W+ with higher voltages and currents, maybe. The problem is that attenuators and load boxes encourage you to abuse the amps in ways you wouldn’t if there’s a speaker attached to them making your ears bleed :-)
|
|
|
Post by indiehouse on Jan 12, 2020 7:21:36 GMT -6
I've never seen load mismatch be a problem in lower power tube amps. 100W+ with higher voltages and currents, maybe. The problem is that attenuators and load boxes encourage you to abuse the amps in ways you wouldn’t if there’s a speaker attached to them making your ears bleed :-) Problem or advantage?
|
|
|
Post by stormymondays on Jan 12, 2020 7:39:29 GMT -6
In the context of load mismatch, problem Same for tube life. It’s essential to remember that the amp is working very hard if it’s dimed and plugged into an attenuator.
|
|
|
Post by wiz on Jan 12, 2020 22:26:43 GMT -6
The Two Notes Captor turned up this morning.
Spent a few hours playing with it.
Its a nice little box.
I think I will keep it. I tried their software program for a gazillion cabinets, not for me. I will stick with just the one that is on board. I tried some other IRs, and honestly, it doesn't matter that much, and is just another great rabbit hole to go down and not get anything done.
I can run the amps without fear of volume pissing anyone off, need to be mindful of "stressing" the amp.
So far so good.... I have 30 days to change my mind.
I would like to try the iridium, no one has one.... Hey, if someone wants to swap me and iridium for a softube console one with API neve 4000 and 9000 and Neve consoles included, you ship to me I ship to you... its a deal
cheers
Wiz
|
|
|
Post by Guitar on Jan 18, 2020 18:53:39 GMT -6
I was thinking it would be cool to combing a Torpedo Captor with a Strymon Iridium, since the Iridium is also an IR loader (you can bypass the amp simulator, or vice versa).
Two Notes also released the Captor X which has built in cab simulation and other effects and is about $550 or so. It is 8 ohm only. I guess that would be a little cheaper than buying two separate boxes. This one has way more capabilities than a simple IR loader also, reverb, gate, double trackers, enhancer, etc. This thing sounds really good in the demo video from EytschPi42.
Strymon Iridium does give a reverb though as well.
|
|
|
Post by wiz on Jan 18, 2020 19:16:49 GMT -6
I am super happy with my Captor 8 been running my AC30CCH into it, my Tone King Imperial, Marshall JTM1 and HI Watt...
My AC30 never sounded better..... I could never run it that loud before.... I am recording using the internal cab simulator... I tried the software... I just get paralysis by choice.... I don't want 3000 options the internal one sounds good enough for me.
Cheap it was too..
Highly recommended
In fact it makes me want to buy more amps 8) or DIY heads
Cheers
Wiz
|
|
|
Post by kcatthedog on Jan 18, 2020 19:23:46 GMT -6
What about the new Warm active box with Cinemags?
|
|
|
Post by indiehouse on Jan 18, 2020 19:33:06 GMT -6
I was thinking it would be cool to combing a Torpedo Captor with a Strymon Iridium, since the Iridium is also an IR loader (you can bypass the amp simulator, or vice versa). Two Notes also released the Captor X which has built in cab simulation and other effects and is about $550 or so. It is 8 ohm only. I guess that would be a little cheaper than buying two separate boxes. This one has way more capabilities than a simple IR loader also, reverb, gate, double trackers, enhancer, etc. This thing sounds really good in the demo video from EytschPi42. Strymon Iridium does give a reverb though as well. I just got my Suhr Reactive Load yesterday, running it into a Strymon Iridium. The reason I opted for this over the one with the built in IR loader is to capitalize on the different amp options of the Strymon. I picked my Suhr up used off Reverb. The dude just threw this in a box with some bubble wrap and called it good enough. Naturally it was damaged in shipping, so I will get an even better deal for a couple of bent corners and an idiotic packing job. Problem is I’m not sure the Strymon is bypassing the cab section. Sounds compressed and wildly different between amp settings. Like amp on amp. Need more investigating. If I can get it legit working, it’s gonna be sweet. I get my tube amp for main gtr tones, and the amps in the Iridium for options/double tracking.
|
|
|
Post by indiehouse on Jan 18, 2020 19:34:09 GMT -6
I don’t want built in cab IRs. I want to be able to load my own. Surprising how much cabs change the sound.
|
|
|
Post by Ward on Jan 18, 2020 19:57:42 GMT -6
There’s a relatively new one from Two Notes. UA copied it for the OX THIS ONE IS BETTER!!
|
|
|
Post by Guitar on Jan 19, 2020 7:45:38 GMT -6
I don’t want built in cab IRs. I want to be able to load my own. Surprising how much cabs change the sound. Read the Strymon manual!!! There is a boot up option to bypass the amp simulator, or the cabinet loader. If you just use it stock it's got both turned on. so yeah you would be 'double amping' You're going to need a cab loader somewhere. either in the Iridium, or in the computer. Without a speaker the amp is going to sound buzzy and "direct" You CAN load your own IR's in the Iridium! I think that's a super cool feature. Check out the manual and download the software to do this if you want/need to.
|
|
|
Post by indiehouse on Jan 19, 2020 8:46:45 GMT -6
I don’t want built in cab IRs. I want to be able to load my own. Surprising how much cabs change the sound. Read the Strymon manual!!! There is a boot up option to bypass the amp simulator, or the cabinet loader. If you just use it stock it's got both turned on. so yeah you would be 'double amping' You're going to need a cab loader somewhere. either in the Iridium, or in the computer. Without a speaker the amp is going to sound buzzy and "direct" You CAN load your own IR's in the Iridium! I think that's a super cool feature. Check out the manual and download the software to do this if you want/need to. I think we crossed wires. I don’t want a built in IR in my reactive box because I AM using the Iridium for cab IR’s. I have the Iridium in amp bypass mode (as well as line level mode), but I am still getting strange behavior from the Iridium, like the amps aren’t actually being bypassed. I expanded on this in the Iridium thread.
|
|