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For me it would be: 1.redseven 2.react:ir 3.fractal x load ----no buy line---- 4.two notes 5.driftwood But all thing considered (price, features etc.) - React:IR is what I considering going with.
A little insight into why the rectifier shows a much bigger tonal difference than the Plexi; The rectifier in the modern setting does not apply any (or very little, at least) negative feedback from the power transformer. This is usually done to minimise the distortion in the power section and flatten the frequency response, and it's also where the presence control usually lives... except in the recto modern signal path, where the presence is implemented differently. Because there is limited feedback, it means that the load has a much greater effect on the signal, because there is no negative feedback to flatten the frequency response.
Negative feedback is to reduce distortion though. So then that mode would have *more* negative feedback by your explanation (or I read it wrong). If it has no negative feedback, there would be more distortion, because none of it is filtered out by any negative feedback.
Just to clarify, the modern setting has NO negative feedback, increasing distortion in the power section, and since the presence control would be part of negative feedback, they had to get creative for it.
@@void_snw no negative feedback = more distortion, that's correct. And the dual rec famously needs to be cranked VERY loud to get the full dual rec experience :)
I've been waiting for this for a while. after watching the St. Rock React:IR 2 review video I ended up getting it thanks to you. and now after watching the comparison I'm happy that I was able to get an amazing loadbox thanks to your reviews. Thank You John
I am consistently blown away by the quality of your riffs across different genres! I watch your videos primarily for the music/playing/production quality and secondarily for the actual point of the video. 😝 Thanks for another great video!
Couple more that have ended up being my favorites are the Rivera Rockcrusher and the Fryette power load. I had a UA oxbox for a bit but wasnt really excited about how it sounded. I got the Rivera right after and was amazed how much better it was. I think the Rivera gets overlooked because it's not very new 'flavor of the day', but to my ears it's the most natural and true sounding 🤘👍
I've been strugling with reactive loads on my rectifier. It's bizarre, the diferences between all of them, only in the rectifier. So I tried this. I have a Samson Direct-S active DI box, it can handle speaker outputs, with 40db attenuation pad, I conected the DI THRU out on my cabinet to load the amp. I loaded the signal on the speakers, and recorded a loop, through the amp getting the D.I signal between the speaker and the amp, it was GREAT!!! Then, I use the same loop to reamp with settings at noon, to compare loadboxes. I tried, torpedo captor, torpedo live, surh reactive load (passive version), fractal x-load and a T-miranda resistive load. It was shocking, but the best results in my case was the Suhr Reactive load and the T-Miranda Resistive Load compared to the original DI signal loaded with a real cabinet. Surh Reactive load gave me a little softer low end, but in general sounded preetty close the DI track. The Resistive load SHOCKED me!! mid range sounded exactly the same. It attenuates a little of low end and hi end, but then I inserted the output in a graphic EQ and matched with the original DI signal. VERY IMPRESSIVE. So, today with the rectifier I use an especific signal chain. AMP>RESISTIVE LOAD>GRAPHIC EQ (+3db at 50hz and +3db at 10khz). I use the MINI RECTIFIER with EL84 which is more mid pronounce than the big brothers.
The thing is u've got the sound of that Samson Direct-S active DI box. I mean... I did same test but with bunch of DI boxes that can handle speaker out and guess what. They all sound different. For example i've tried Neve RNDI DI box, Warm audio Wa DI box or such as Suhr iso line out box. They all sound different. At the end of the day i went with Fractal LB2. To my ears it''s sound closer to real mesa cab and feels good. BTW I''ve had almost all load boxes that are on the market today.
I only tried a few but kept the Fryette Power Station. Without having any digital on board it still has loads of features, like working as a separate tube power amp or connecting a preamp or modeler to that tube amp, then reloading it back down to interface level to get real tube power warmth to a digital signal but still in silent mode. It sounds briliant.
i tried several attenuator/loadbox (Rivera , Two notes…) and honestly none of them can compare to Fryette stuffs. The reactive loadbox which is part of the Powerstation and of the power load + IR is simply the best loadbox on the market. You can cranked what ever amp you want there’s no signal lost, no additional compression…
what do you find the best for getting a line signal to the computer ? For example I've read that the Ironman II has amazing attenuation to a cab, but the line-out sucks.
Thanks John, this is great work and very valuable content! I wish you also tried the Suhr reactive load. I have one and sounds great IMO, but could not compare it to others
I love the sound that I get with my Two Notes Captor X. I'm curious how you dialed the amps in? Was it to one of the reactive load boxes? That might give one an advantage over the others. The point I'm making is that I think all of the boxes would be good options. At the end of the day if you own one of these you'll be dialing in your amp to the box you own. Another awesome video! Love your channel. Keep 'em coming! 🔥
This confirms for me again I like the RedSeven Ampcentral best. That's why I have it and love it. A comparison between the RedSeven Ampcentral Evo would be more interesting for me.
great video 🙌 was quite a difference for me upgrading to a suhr reactive load (apparently more of a greenback impedance curve) from an oldschool captor 8ohms, strangely their older reactive rack loads from what i've seen seemed to have a nicer response curve to it, the RedSeven here seemed to be the most pleasing/consistent otherwise
Yeah, I saw Mendels video on Loadboxes, and there the Torpedo Reload I believe it was sounded absolutely great! The Captor on the other hand lacked in all videos I saw.
Funny you explained curve differences and people are attributing it to quality. Without a reference point it doesn’t matter. What speakers impedance curve are they trying to match? what I heard is just enough to be differences from speaker to speaker of the same model. Is it just a curve that tries to work with everything?
Great point. This video just shows that these loadboxes sound different :) For instance the Driftwood seems muffled in comparison and the Two Notes seems thinner in comparison but i guess you can counteract that by tweaking your tone differently.
In the US, price wise the x-load is king. Its very simple and sounds awesome. I do like both the red7 and St.Rock, but they do cost more. I had a captor and ended up getting an X-load myself. You know me I love Loads!
I have become very pleased with the x load now that I’ve compared it and learned more about it. The st rock seems to be on par sound wise but with more bells and whistles. And I will admit the two notes doesn’t sound good alone but in a mix it’s totally cool and does the job in a mix.
Very informative comparison ! Well done ! ♪♥♥♪ As a long time Recto user i have to say - with your presence setting at 3 o clock, the React Ir was the most accurate to a real cab , followed by the X-Load which was not as open sounding. The Redseven is cool if you want more of a polished sound - so it`s the "ENGL" under the reactive loads ;-)
Jon we need an Attenuator shoot out !!! Come on man… I have faith in you. I got a captor X and it’s just seems meh ok 🫤 for everything from attenuation to reactive load recording (actually can never seem to record a sound I like with the captor X). Let’s get an attenuator shoot out !!! Some freyette , captor X, st rocks would be cool 😎 I know u got us here 😎
I think you are a bit hard on the Two Notes - the Mesa sounds good through it, some of other sound worse. Also, a bit too 1st world complaining about Two Notes - 'too many options'... Really? Thanks for your work though. Make more about St Rock React ir 2 - compare its attenuator capabilities to as many others as possible. I have great hopes for that one.
I agree, but also in situations like this I prefer to have a flatter response if I'm going to be using IR's and plugins in my DAW anyway. The IRs in my Captor 8's aren't great at all but as far as DI sound they work awesome.
Totally mix dependent eh? If someone wants the captor x to sound more like the others adding a little ‘thickness’ enhancement, and reducing a touch of high end via onboard eq works wonders. Here’s to trying to ease any Captor X owners who might feel remorse and envy!
Very, very interesting. Good food for thought here. I wonder if the differences are quality or perhaps designed for different workflows...or maybe a bit of both?
Redseven for consistency. LB-2 or St. Rock for best individual tones. Then, X-Captor even though it lost alot of bottom end. Tbh, I don't know that the Driftwood was usable at all.
Someone on youtube has gone through a ton of trouble to measure the "accuracy" of loadboxes. Aka comparing the signal that goes in vs the one that comes out. The only one that doesnt seem to affect the frequency response internally is the fractal X-load. So its not just about the load specifics, but also if the audio isnt further affected in the device.
Maybe not for the target audience of the channel, but and clean/edge of breakup tone comparison would have been nice for the sake of amplifying the dynamics differences even more! Follow up vid? 😎
I was waiting for this comparison, thank you. I don't know why the manufacturers want to add so many things to load boxes. I, like you would only use the reactive load. I can add IR's and effects later with a miriad of things. The only one that its like this is the Driftwood that it is still too expensive compared to the St. Rock and its the one that I liked the least. Most likely with some EQ would work great. Maybe a good part 2 for this video would be to make them sound the best you can, with different equalization and compare them again.
Maybe to play in headphones with your preferred sound while still having di signal to edit post later. So you Don't need to load daw with your plugins and irs everytime when you don't want to. Just turn the amp, take a guitar, put on headphones and go (with ir, gate, reverb etc)
I'm a Marshall guy and for me, the Fractal had a great mid bite. The other units didn't sound bad at all, but there was something exciting with the Fractal tone
Comparing rubber women. IMHO in this test it's more like comparing different speakers. Something like v30 vs GBack vs H30 vs etc. In such a sort of comparison the loabox with cut in mid range will sound preferred.V sound. But real cab have more open midrange. Also, for perception, the order of files is important. For example : Fractal th-cam.com/video/Y43rJMsuOSs/w-d-xo.html React:IR th-cam.com/video/Y43rJMsuOSs/w-d-xo.html Red7 th-cam.com/video/Y43rJMsuOSs/w-d-xo.html Driftwood th-cam.com/video/Y43rJMsuOSs/w-d-xo.html In this order you will move from an open clear sound to a darker one. My opinion is needed comparing different cabs with different loadboxes. In this case you can hear character and balance of frequencies in real cab and in the loadbox. And draw conclusions. But this is just the opinion of one interested person.
Red 7 and React IR sounded best to my ears. Driftwood sounded like a wet blanket over the speakers. TwoNotes lost bottom end. Fractal was a close 2nd to Red7 and React IR.
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The St Rock measures closest to a Mesa 4x12 with V30s if that's what you're in to (I am). Otherwise these are all decent options except the Two Notes which presents a 'generic' impedance curve to the amplifier which isn't as realistic. The Driftwood is definitely exaggerated low end and diminished top end but I think it can sound cool if you dial in the amp for it.
The driftwood sounds atrocious. I bet if you put it against a Bugera power soak, it will sound the same 😂😂😂
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@JohnWiku that's why I said 'if you dial the amp in for it'; load boxes are like different cabs in a way, if you dial the amp in for one it may not sound as good with another using the same settings. I've actually owned and used the Driftwood and it can sound pretty cool if you like darker / beefier type tones. It can certainly sound much better than it did here.
The Fractal comes out on top as the best bang for the buck at $300. Compared to the Red7 up at $800, the St. Rock at $650, the Two Notes $600, and the Driftwood at $460. Especially as it was ranked as one of the top sounding units.
I think my st rock all-in shipped to California was $650 usd? And captor x you can get all day on reverb for $400 used. Imho Bang for the buck depends on what features you want to use annnd the quality of the sound.
@@whataguitarnerd The St Rock, I didn't see that they have a Euro to US price already there and they don't really up charge for Euros and keep the same price in dollars. So yea I'll revise that price to $650. As for the comparison well I'm looking at new to new as that's really only fair way to compare. If someone can find a used one at a good value that is always a good option to save money, no matter which one you purchase. If you don't need an IR loader than I still stand that what this video is about "Reactive Loadbox", than the Fractal which even you said was about as good a sounding as any would still be the "best bang for buck."
I have the driftwood along with a suhr reactive load IR and I think it's worth pointing out that while the driftwood is definitely much less useful generally, there are amps it's perfect for. I hate it on both my mesa triple rec and Marshall plexi, but it sounds amazing on my evh 5150 iii (a much higher gain, aggressive amp). I wouldn't recommend it if you are buying only one reactive load for multiple amps. As a specific tool for taming fire breathing dragon amps though, it really does sound fantastic. I guess that kinda makes sense if you consider the amps the company themselves make.
I would love to see a demonstration of some of the best amp/load boxes vs. best of breed amp modeling paired with best of breed IR's. I suspect they would sound extremely close.
Great video. The two notes stuff all sounds sort of weak to me. In my own studio, I find that the UA OX has the best FEEL but its useless live out of cab if you're relying on tone out of the cab because it doesn't have any compensation EQ, its incredible if you can EQ it in post or through a PA however. For me the best all around straight out of a cab that I have found is the Rivera Rock Crusher.
I'm thinking RedSeven for the win here.... I own a Fryette Reactance load amp. Which I LOVE. But that RedSeven is well, suddenly wished for lol. Two different animals of course. Expected more from the TwoNotes, but I guess that is what the Wall of Sound app is for lol.
in the high gain recto can hear most on the mutes. i think the fractal sound best then the rock react IR .the other i do not like. the red seven also not good maybe other virtual cabinet settings is better. to get good sound there need hear if in mutes the pick scrape sound crisp and with good attack transients. then it is right
Hey this was a really cool video and I actually really love the sound of that Marshall!! I recently got a ksr pa50... And I was kind of wondering what the negative feedback knob did.... After some comment reading now I understand LOL
Personally to my ears I prefer them in this order. I could really go back and forth with the LB2 and the Redseven. Easily the best two. Fractal -LB2 Redseven React: IR Driftwood Captor X
I got the REACT:IR II here recently, got to find the time during weekend to check it out. But I have to be honest, that the RedSeven sounded best on both amps in my opinion, at least on your demo here., although the st. rock was super close chasing behind. Eager to see how the integrated DSP of the REACT:IR II will fair! Thanks for making this video, super interesting!
Great comparison. I lean toward the Fractal reactive load in this video. The width of your recorded guitars is fantastic. If I may ask, how did you get that width?
Fractal & ST.Load were very close, both sounded really good. And so I wonder if they are just doing the job well. The Captor did better than I thought it did, having skimmed the comments before listening. Especially given the price, and that there is Torpedo cheaper non-X Captor 8/16 range too. I thought it sounded perfectly useable, if not in the same league as the two best. I think I liked it better than the Driftwood & Redseven. I use the Captor 16 to tame my Marshall ST20H JTM, Vox AC30 and it doesn't sound bad. Also will use it with the second-hand amp that just arrived today. That I need to thank you for highlighting - the mighty Orange Rocker 30. Thanks man! I really looooove it. Next year, I want me a Wangs 1987HW Plexi, another amp I discovered through your channel. Makes me wonder if there must exist an amp switcher with built in reactive loadbox?
I too was surprised of the two notes, considering the load in it is a bit simplified, more a bathtub than a resonant peak and then slow rise. I've been GASing for a fractal x-load, owning the two notes torpedo, but now I think I'm really just fine.
@@void_snw I feel similarly, have one Torpedo 16. And was thinking of getting a Torpedo 8, for another amp. They're pretty affordable in Europe. But, that said, I think the Fractal X-Load did sound good enough, that if I saw one for maybe 299eur on sale, or second-hand, I'd probably spend the extra 100 over a second Torpedo. But, I wouldn't go selling my existing Torpedo for one.
For my headphone in the high gain Fractal won, and interestingly Two notes was very nice in the mix (with the missing low-end and forward mids). Driftwood was way too muffled and the St. Rock had too much highs. The x-load is not so crazily expensive. With the Marshall it was Red Seven and St. Rock who won. The Fractal was a bit darker. Driftwood was the most muffled here as well and the Two notes was indeed the "most digital" feeling. BTW I love your rich chords.
19:48 having different loadboxes to match different amps seems very overkill... I'd say get a good one and just use proper amp settings and/or mic placement and/or post EQ and that's it.
I’m listening to this on Momentum 4’s. Not the greatest cans but not crap either. The differences are nominal at best. Certainly nothing fiddling with the tone stack on the amp can’t handle.
Greeting from Finland, excellent video! Question: have you tried the "classic" Marshall SE-100? It of course has no IR and its cab simulation (eq curve) sucks. But as attenuator and reactive load I think it's fine. But how does it compare to the modern alternatives?
To my ears the St. Rock React:IR 2 is the winner, but i don't think the two notes captor X sounded that much different with the rectifier..? I think a 100w or even 120W amp would have been nice in this test though.. Anyway - Great work Jon.
I’ve been looking into this unit for years to upgrade from the captor x and I’ve finally pulled the trigger on the new evo unit. Just waiting! When you use the line out of the amp central, do you use a standard guitar cable? Just curious on that. I’ve read through the amp central manual but can’t seem to find much on using the line out. I’m coming from using xlr’s which I’ll try those too on the amp central but want to try the line out also to see which method sounds and works better for my needs
I've commented here based on far wider research. The fact is that the impedance curve will vary for a specific speaker depending on various factors. That aside I'm not sure that these load boxes truly emulate that perfectly and some have been designed with a specific speaker in mind. The real issue is how really perform in this use case, as some have more features and cover a greater range of use case. So how do they perform as would be the how do they perform both dynamically and across the frequency spectrum which you have demonstrated. Fractal and Red 7 are great, St Rock is really good and also have additional features Driftwood is just that. I personally have the Captor X procured for a different use case and its certainly does not have the dynamics and also not the frequency response and is also not the best as an attenuator as it only has two setting, I suppose their marketecture.. is based on their DynIR stuff and Wall of Sound.. I would go for the ST Rock for my case if I had to buy again based on this and your previous comparison. Thanks for your demos and comparisons I do enjoy them. Dig your playing so maybe I should listen some of your productions etc.
High gain preferences: Red7, St Rock, Two Notes, Fractal, and then Driftwood I think Red7 seems the most balanced sounding across the spectrum. I will say that in recto's I expect more fizz so it did remove some out for better or for worse. It definitely sounds the price that it is though since it's the most expensive. St. Rock to me had that upper fizz I was listening for and still nice lows/mids. Maybe more highs than I wanted but changing the amp settings to adjust for that, plus you may actually want that and it sounds like the Red7 is going to be more smooth in the high end when you really need it to be present up there. Two Notes is missing a ton of low end. It's mostly high mids and treble. Sounds like a high pass at like 150 or something. I put it here because the others were worse. Fractal was having a REALLY strange pump, like it's too too reactive and dynamic to the playing in a strange way. Some moments felt blown out in the palm mutes like it was getting a proximity effect as it went along. It also has the high highs a bit too aggressive, like above 9k highs which is a bit unpleasant. Driftwood way too dull. This helps validate my purchase for the St. Rock lol. Thanks for the vid!
The St. Rock sounded as good as the Redseven, and boy does it have a ton of goodies to play with!! I would be happy with either loads, but the st. rock wins on functionality. Would you mind telling me how the ordering process went for the St. Rock unit? I'm from EU, but I'm not sure if i am going to get charged taxes by importing the St. Rock from Ukraine. You know, the standard VAT + extra fees because they say so 😂😂 It would add a lot of cost to the final price if it happens... Did you get those charges or the final price paid to St. Rock was it?
@@JohnWiku I’m shipping to the US so I can’t say unfortunately! The shipping was quite expensive, almost $100 dollars but I did choose that over the Red7 because of features like you said
@@JohnWiku Found in their terms and conditions: "All the prices of our products delivered to Europe are denoted in euros inclusive of VAT without forwarding charges."
Jon, have you ever used the ‘speaker thru’ jack which allows you to use your cabinet as the load, as well as use amps in 16ohms? It’s a game changer and i am a proud RedSeven owner! Hope You give this a try if not already. Cheers!
It would be interesting to try to get the tones as close as possible no matter how much you'd have to change the settings on the amp.Fractal sounded the best and more alive to me.I have the Two Notes and I have to say after that video, I'm kind of disapointed...
"It would be interesting to try to get the tones as close as possible no matter how much you'd have to change the settings on the amp." exactly or with post EQ or different mic placement
Is the Driftwood broken? Sounds dull and numb... I had the CapX and there is something about the mids which - in my opinion - doesn't sound right. Harsh - unnatural... The Fractal Audio sounds awesome. Unfortunately you cannot load IRs in it. Maybe I take a shot at the React:IR II. Sounds awesome!
The only difference I could really hear was between the Two Notes and the Driftwood. The Driftwood just sounds bad, the Two Notes sounded like it was clipping. Not sure whats going on with the Driftwood. To me it just sounded like the rest were either louder or quieter lol. Could be my headphones but good vid!
Juuusst ordered a captor x last week for my rectifier 😂 a bit brighter than the pricier options so seems like a good value overall, can’t wait for delivery
I would like to have seen the St Rock compared more directly to the Red Seven and Fractal, I think having it come after the Driftwood gives the St Rock a massive advantage, seeing as the Driftwood sounds so bad in this one.
I use the "Silencer" by "Tube Amp Doctor" and it sounds great with all of my amps. I have a Diezel Herbert, a Mesa Mark lll, an Engl Fireball 100, an Orange #4 and a PRS MT 15 in my studio. I had a Dual Rectifier, that I sold one day, but it had an direct out, so it was possible to compare the direct out signal from the Rectifier to the signal, the Silencer gives me. It was 100% identical. Does your Rectifier have that feature too? It would have been interesting to hear that.
Do you know a good load box for higher wattage amps? I have a Sunn 300T (300w) that i'd like to get a loadbox for but what I can find only go up to 100/150.
captor x got a firmware update recently, not sure what changed since i haven't used it after, still sounds the best to me, more balanced and waiting for me to make the changes.
Hey John, off topic here, but have you ever used the Synergy stuff? I'm looking at those small modular preamps along with their poweramp. Pretty attractive concept anyway. Not seeing anything in a search, but do you maybe have any testing plans? Or have any thoughts atm? Thanks!
Very interesting video. I don't understand how the driftwood one sounds like there's a blanket over the speaker. Mendel did a similar video and got really good results with the driftwood... Even though (from memory) you both used different amps from each other and in the tests... I have the captor x and can't really gel with it using a Savage 120 MKII, Archon 50 or any of my lunchboxes (EVH,Orange and a couple Joyo amps). Since I saw Mendels video a while back I've been very interested in the driftwood one but with your tests it seems to be worse than the captor x in some ways. I live very far away from europe and the U.S so testing different loadboxes before buying is simply impossible for me so I have to rely on videos from others before I buy something (pretty much goes for anything music related actually). I would love to see a comparison graph between all these loadboxes.
If you make a very balanced sound with the Driftwood then all the other loadboxes (with the same settings) will sound too harsh in comparison :) Being more muffled than the others doesn't necessarily mean that it's bad :)
Totally new to physical amps but on the brink of purchasing an engl so it might be a complete noob question: you plug the speaker out of the amp directly into the loadbox?
A while ago I had a Two Notes Torpedo Reload which I used with my Rectifier. When I played silently without a cab I could hear each notes coming out of the device as some sort of buzzing electric sound. Does all loadbox devices do this?
Hey Jon was wondering why you didn't include a Fryette Power Station in the test as it also works as a reactive load, and reactive attenuator and many find it the most realistic sounding. Would be interesting to see how it holds up against your Red Seven and React IR 2.
I can confirm, I have 3 powerstation 2A and I had a Power Load + IR. No signal loss, no weird frequencies, no extra compression. Very transparent. I share the 3 Powerstations with KHEs and Ampete Switchers on the following amps: Driftwood Purple Nightmare 100w KT88+6L6 Revv GEN 7-40 Friedman Runt 50W JCM 800 2203 Peavey 6505II PRS MT100 Syn5050 + Syn2 Engl E840+E530 Splawn Quick Rod 100W Splawn Nitro 100W PRS Archon 50W KSR Orthos II 100W Diezel VH2 Peavey 6505 Redseven Duality RS 100W EVH 5150 III 6L6 50W EVH 5150 III EL34 50W So I can assure you that this is the best Attenuator/Loadbox knowing that I've owned a Rivera Rockcrusher Recording, a Two Notes captor X and a Two notes Torpedo Reload.
Hey man I watched your Hughes & kettner 40 Tubemeister video. I think you are using a loadbox in that video as well am I right? That amp (And almost evry other amp) doesnt sound as good in other videos. You make everything sound incredible. I plan on making silent recordings using DI output of the amp. If I buy a Tubemeister 40, will I be able to get similar tones to yours without buying a loadbox as well? I have a few Ownhammer IR's and I really loved the tones in your video. I have a stratocaster
@@bigpiper2103 What I’m curious about is how different the DI output of the Tubemeister 40 + Ownhammer IR's without the load box. I wanted to know if the quality difference is huge. I am aware that I would need the exact same gear to get a close tone. Similar tones to his video would be more than enough. Most videos of H&K TM40 sound good to me already. But this channel has the best sounding video of it. Which makes me wonder if a load box makes that much of a difference in the recording.
On plexi I nothing to say, but on Recto I like the Captor (maybe is the youtube compression but is not too bad). I don't like the Driftwood in any of 2 cases, sorry: maybe can you try it with a Driftwood head? Cheers 😊
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Isolated High Gain
Redseven 15:52
Fractal 16:00
Driftwood 16:07
St Rock 16:15
Captor X 16:23
Isolated Crunch
Redseven 6:50
Fractal 7:04
Driftwood 7:18
St Rock 7:31
Captor X 7:45
Thanks for this. You can tell there is pretty much no difference 😂
@@the92project No, please listen a good headphones or studio monitors. I can say there is a difference. Big and important
@@the92project there definitely is ...
For me it would be:
1.redseven
2.react:ir
3.fractal x load
----no buy line----
4.two notes
5.driftwood
But all thing considered (price, features etc.) - React:IR is what I considering going with.
St. Rock's device is pure gold in features, really the best gang for the buck with the best bang regardless of price!!
Funny, another trusted TH-cam picked the Driftwood above the redseven, and the choice was clear in that video. 🤷🏻♂️
A little insight into why the rectifier shows a much bigger tonal difference than the Plexi; The rectifier in the modern setting does not apply any (or very little, at least) negative feedback from the power transformer. This is usually done to minimise the distortion in the power section and flatten the frequency response, and it's also where the presence control usually lives... except in the recto modern signal path, where the presence is implemented differently. Because there is limited feedback, it means that the load has a much greater effect on the signal, because there is no negative feedback to flatten the frequency response.
Dead right, also the same with things like Vox AC30s and other amps with no negative feedback, they’re way more sensitive to what load they’re seeing!
Negative feedback is to reduce distortion though. So then that mode would have *more* negative feedback by your explanation (or I read it wrong). If it has no negative feedback, there would be more distortion, because none of it is filtered out by any negative feedback.
Just to clarify, the modern setting has NO negative feedback, increasing distortion in the power section, and since the presence control would be part of negative feedback, they had to get creative for it.
@@void_snw no negative feedback = more distortion, that's correct. And the dual rec famously needs to be cranked VERY loud to get the full dual rec experience :)
How does the presence work in modern mode in that case if someone doesn't mind elaborating?
I've been waiting for this for a while. after watching the St. Rock React:IR 2 review video I ended up getting it thanks to you. and now after watching the comparison I'm happy that I was able to get an amazing loadbox thanks to your reviews. Thank You John
16:00 Fractal
16:15 St.Rock
I am consistently blown away by the quality of your riffs across different genres! I watch your videos primarily for the music/playing/production quality and secondarily for the actual point of the video. 😝 Thanks for another great video!
Couple more that have ended up being my favorites are the Rivera Rockcrusher and the Fryette power load. I had a UA oxbox for a bit but wasnt really excited about how it sounded. I got the Rivera right after and was amazed how much better it was. I think the Rivera gets overlooked because it's not very new 'flavor of the day', but to my ears it's the most natural and true sounding 🤘👍
That fryette is the best. I don’t want anymore people to know about it than already do though
I would have loved to hear a Tube Amp Doctor Silencer in this! maybe there'll be a round 2
I've always loved the way the X-Load sounds. Great mix of organic and hi-fidelity.
It sounds like the axe fx 😂
I've been strugling with reactive loads on my rectifier. It's bizarre, the diferences between all of them, only in the rectifier. So I tried this. I have a Samson Direct-S active DI box, it can handle speaker outputs, with 40db attenuation pad, I conected the DI THRU out on my cabinet to load the amp. I loaded the signal on the speakers, and recorded a loop, through the amp getting the D.I signal between the speaker and the amp, it was GREAT!!!
Then, I use the same loop to reamp with settings at noon, to compare loadboxes. I tried, torpedo captor, torpedo live, surh reactive load (passive version), fractal x-load and a T-miranda resistive load.
It was shocking, but the best results in my case was the Suhr Reactive load and the T-Miranda Resistive Load compared to the original DI signal loaded with a real cabinet.
Surh Reactive load gave me a little softer low end, but in general sounded preetty close the DI track. The Resistive load SHOCKED me!! mid range sounded exactly the same. It attenuates a little of low end and hi end, but then I inserted the output in a graphic EQ and matched with the original DI signal. VERY IMPRESSIVE. So, today with the rectifier I use an especific signal chain. AMP>RESISTIVE LOAD>GRAPHIC EQ (+3db at 50hz and +3db at 10khz).
I use the MINI RECTIFIER with EL84 which is more mid pronounce than the big brothers.
The thing is u've got the sound of that Samson Direct-S active DI box. I mean... I did same test but with bunch of DI boxes that can handle speaker out and guess what. They all sound different. For example i've tried Neve RNDI DI box, Warm audio Wa DI box or such as Suhr iso line out box. They all sound different. At the end of the day i went with Fractal LB2. To my ears it''s sound closer to real mesa cab and feels good. BTW I''ve had almost all load boxes that are on the market today.
I only tried a few but kept the Fryette Power Station. Without having any digital on board it still has loads of features, like working as a separate tube power amp or connecting a preamp or modeler to that tube amp, then reloading it back down to interface level to get real tube power warmth to a digital signal but still in silent mode. It sounds briliant.
i tried several attenuator/loadbox (Rivera , Two notes…) and honestly none of them can compare to Fryette stuffs. The reactive loadbox which is part of the Powerstation and of the power load + IR is simply the best loadbox on the market. You can cranked what ever amp you want there’s no signal lost, no additional compression…
Fryette PS-100 all day!
what do you find the best for getting a line signal to the computer ? For example I've read that the Ironman II has amazing attenuation to a cab, but the line-out sucks.
Thanks John, this is great work and very valuable content! I wish you also tried the Suhr reactive load. I have one and sounds great IMO, but could not compare it to others
Great review. I missed the Suhr RL-IR, I believe you used this in some videos.
Interesting results - Driftwood really didn't like the Recto! Fractal X-Load was my favourite, sounded very natural. St Rock was a close second
Yeah, the Recto really exaggerated the differences... cheers man!
Fractal for the win EZ.
I love the sound that I get with my Two Notes Captor X. I'm curious how you dialed the amps in? Was it to one of the reactive load boxes? That might give one an advantage over the others.
The point I'm making is that I think all of the boxes would be good options. At the end of the day if you own one of these you'll be dialing in your amp to the box you own.
Another awesome video! Love your channel. Keep 'em coming! 🔥
" I'm curious how you dialed the amps in? Was it to one of the reactive load boxes? That might give one an advantage over the others. "
+1
This confirms for me again I like the RedSeven Ampcentral best. That's why I have it and love it. A comparison between the RedSeven Ampcentral Evo would be more interesting for me.
I think they sound the same in terms of the IC
Thank you for this comparison !
LB-2 X-Load for me, all day
great video 🙌 was quite a difference for me upgrading to a suhr reactive load (apparently more of a greenback impedance curve) from an oldschool captor 8ohms, strangely their older reactive rack loads from what i've seen seemed to have a nicer response curve to it,
the RedSeven here seemed to be the most pleasing/consistent otherwise
The RedSeven sounds wonderful indeed!
Yeah, I saw Mendels video on Loadboxes, and there the Torpedo Reload I believe it was sounded absolutely great! The Captor on the other hand lacked in all videos I saw.
Funny you explained curve differences and people are attributing it to quality. Without a reference point it doesn’t matter. What speakers impedance curve are they trying to match? what I heard is just enough to be differences from speaker to speaker of the same model. Is it just a curve that tries to work with everything?
Great point.
This video just shows that these loadboxes sound different :)
For instance the Driftwood seems muffled in comparison and the Two Notes seems thinner in comparison but i guess you can counteract that by tweaking your tone differently.
In the US, price wise the x-load is king. Its very simple and sounds awesome. I do like both the red7 and St.Rock, but they do cost more. I had a captor and ended up getting an X-load myself. You know me I love Loads!
I have become very pleased with the x load now that I’ve compared it and learned more about it. The st rock seems to be on par sound wise but with more bells and whistles. And I will admit the two notes doesn’t sound good alone but in a mix it’s totally cool and does the job in a mix.
Very informative comparison ! Well done ! ♪♥♥♪
As a long time Recto user i have to say - with your presence setting at 3 o clock, the React Ir was the most accurate to a real cab , followed by the X-Load which was not as open sounding. The Redseven is cool if you want more of a polished sound - so it`s the "ENGL" under the reactive loads ;-)
Jon we need an Attenuator shoot out !!! Come on man… I have faith in you.
I got a captor X and it’s just seems meh ok 🫤 for everything from attenuation to reactive load recording (actually can never seem to record a sound I like with the captor X). Let’s get an attenuator shoot out !!! Some freyette , captor X, st rocks would be cool 😎 I know u got us here 😎
I think you are a bit hard on the Two Notes - the Mesa sounds good through it, some of other sound worse. Also, a bit too 1st world complaining about Two Notes - 'too many options'... Really?
Thanks for your work though. Make more about St Rock React ir 2 - compare its attenuator capabilities to as many others as possible. I have great hopes for that one.
I agree, but also in situations like this I prefer to have a flatter response if I'm going to be using IR's and plugins in my DAW anyway. The IRs in my Captor 8's aren't great at all but as far as DI sound they work awesome.
Totally mix dependent eh? If someone wants the captor x to sound more like the others adding a little ‘thickness’ enhancement, and reducing a touch of high end via onboard eq works wonders. Here’s to trying to ease any Captor X owners who might feel remorse and envy!
UA OX box? You missed the best one. Pricey, but still the best
Very, very interesting. Good food for thought here. I wonder if the differences are quality or perhaps designed for different workflows...or maybe a bit of both?
Redseven for consistency. LB-2 or St. Rock for best individual tones. Then, X-Captor even though it lost alot of bottom end. Tbh, I don't know that the Driftwood was usable at all.
You can use the onboard thickness enhancer, and eq out a couple db of the harsh top end and you’re gtg on the Captor X.
Someone on youtube has gone through a ton of trouble to measure the "accuracy" of loadboxes. Aka comparing the signal that goes in vs the one that comes out. The only one that doesnt seem to affect the frequency response internally is the fractal X-load.
So its not just about the load specifics, but also if the audio isnt further affected in the device.
Maybe not for the target audience of the channel, but and clean/edge of breakup tone comparison would have been nice for the sake of amplifying the dynamics differences even more! Follow up vid? 😎
I was waiting for this comparison, thank you. I don't know why the manufacturers want to add so many things to load boxes. I, like you would only use the reactive load. I can add IR's and effects later with a miriad of things. The only one that its like this is the Driftwood that it is still too expensive compared to the St. Rock and its the one that I liked the least. Most likely with some EQ would work great. Maybe a good part 2 for this video would be to make them sound the best you can, with different equalization and compare them again.
Maybe to play in headphones with your preferred sound while still having di signal to edit post later.
So you Don't need to load daw with your plugins and irs everytime when you don't want to. Just turn the amp, take a guitar, put on headphones and go (with ir, gate, reverb etc)
Great guitar playing. I mean. Really!
I'm a Marshall guy and for me, the Fractal had a great mid bite. The other units didn't sound bad at all, but there was something exciting with the Fractal tone
Comparing rubber women. IMHO in this test it's more like comparing different speakers.
Something like v30 vs GBack vs H30 vs etc. In such a sort of comparison the loabox with cut in mid range will sound preferred.V sound. But real cab have more open midrange. Also, for perception, the order of files is important.
For example :
Fractal th-cam.com/video/Y43rJMsuOSs/w-d-xo.html
React:IR th-cam.com/video/Y43rJMsuOSs/w-d-xo.html
Red7 th-cam.com/video/Y43rJMsuOSs/w-d-xo.html
Driftwood th-cam.com/video/Y43rJMsuOSs/w-d-xo.html
In this order you will move from an open clear sound to a darker one.
My opinion is needed comparing different cabs with different loadboxes. In this case you can hear character and balance of frequencies in real cab and in the loadbox. And draw conclusions.
But this is just the opinion of one interested person.
great points
Red 7 and React IR sounded best to my ears. Driftwood sounded like a wet blanket over the speakers. TwoNotes lost bottom end. Fractal was a close 2nd to Red7 and React IR.
The St Rock measures closest to a Mesa 4x12 with V30s if that's what you're in to (I am). Otherwise these are all decent options except the Two Notes which presents a 'generic' impedance curve to the amplifier which isn't as realistic. The Driftwood is definitely exaggerated low end and diminished top end but I think it can sound cool if you dial in the amp for it.
The driftwood sounds atrocious. I bet if you put it against a Bugera power soak, it will sound the same 😂😂😂
@JohnWiku that's why I said 'if you dial the amp in for it'; load boxes are like different cabs in a way, if you dial the amp in for one it may not sound as good with another using the same settings. I've actually owned and used the Driftwood and it can sound pretty cool if you like darker / beefier type tones. It can certainly sound much better than it did here.
The Fractal comes out on top as the best bang for the buck at $300. Compared to the Red7 up at $800, the St. Rock at $650, the Two Notes $600, and the Driftwood at $460. Especially as it was ranked as one of the top sounding units.
I think my st rock all-in shipped to California was $650 usd? And captor x you can get all day on reverb for $400 used. Imho Bang for the buck depends on what features you want to use annnd the quality of the sound.
@@whataguitarnerd The St Rock, I didn't see that they have a Euro to US price already there and they don't really up charge for Euros and keep the same price in dollars. So yea I'll revise that price to $650. As for the comparison well I'm looking at new to new as that's really only fair way to compare. If someone can find a used one at a good value that is always a good option to save money, no matter which one you purchase. If you don't need an IR loader than I still stand that what this video is about "Reactive Loadbox", than the Fractal which even you said was about as good a sounding as any would still be the "best bang for buck."
I have the driftwood along with a suhr reactive load IR and I think it's worth pointing out that while the driftwood is definitely much less useful generally, there are amps it's perfect for. I hate it on both my mesa triple rec and Marshall plexi, but it sounds amazing on my evh 5150 iii (a much higher gain, aggressive amp). I wouldn't recommend it if you are buying only one reactive load for multiple amps. As a specific tool for taming fire breathing dragon amps though, it really does sound fantastic. I guess that kinda makes sense if you consider the amps the company themselves make.
I would love to see a demonstration of some of the best amp/load boxes vs. best of breed amp modeling paired with best of breed IR's. I suspect they would sound extremely close.
We are watching redseven commercial right now:)
Great video. The two notes stuff all sounds sort of weak to me. In my own studio, I find that the UA OX has the best FEEL but its useless live out of cab if you're relying on tone out of the cab because it doesn't have any compensation EQ, its incredible if you can EQ it in post or through a PA however. For me the best all around straight out of a cab that I have found is the Rivera Rock Crusher.
Oh, that's a Load of Boxes... I'm sorry I had to
Great video btw, very insightful
🤦♂️😅
Great vid Jon, I thought the Red Seven had more clarity.
The R7 is really good overall! Cheers!
RedSeven all the way!!!
Excellent video as usual!
Thank you good sir!
I'm thinking RedSeven for the win here.... I own a Fryette Reactance load amp. Which I LOVE. But that RedSeven is well, suddenly wished for lol. Two different animals of course.
Expected more from the TwoNotes, but I guess that is what the Wall of Sound app is for lol.
in the high gain recto can hear most on the mutes. i think the fractal sound best then the rock react IR .the other i do not like. the red seven also not good maybe other virtual cabinet settings is better. to get good sound there need hear if in mutes the pick scrape sound crisp and with good attack transients. then it is right
IMO 1 Red 2 Fractal 3 St Rock 4 Captor 5 drift. I wish you had the Fryette PS in there.
Hey this was a really cool video and I actually really love the sound of that Marshall!! I recently got a ksr pa50... And I was kind of wondering what the negative feedback knob did.... After some comment reading now I understand LOL
Personally to my ears I prefer them in this order. I could really go back and forth with the LB2 and the Redseven. Easily the best two.
Fractal -LB2
Redseven
React: IR
Driftwood
Captor X
I got the REACT:IR II here recently, got to find the time during weekend to check it out. But I have to be honest, that the RedSeven sounded best on both amps in my opinion, at least on your demo here., although the st. rock was super close chasing behind. Eager to see how the integrated DSP of the REACT:IR II will fair!
Thanks for making this video, super interesting!
Lonely rocker and I both have vids that show off some dsp features of the st.rock. Check em out if you please!
I had two notes and quickly sold for a Fryette Power Station. It may be bigger, but sounds closest to amp
RED SEVEN sounding the best in this comparison, the rest has some muddy and different EQ. cheers
awsome review😊
how about suhr reactive load ir?
React IR - the best (sound and overall (PRICE, attenuation, functions)
Driftwood - the worst (sound)
Great comparison. I lean toward the Fractal reactive load in this video. The width of your recorded guitars is fantastic. If I may ask, how did you get that width?
Curious to know if you could have made them sound closer to each other, or even very similar or nearly identical with just some post EQ.
Did someone test the fryette loadbox ?
Fractal & ST.Load were very close, both sounded really good. And so I wonder if they are just doing the job well. The Captor did better than I thought it did, having skimmed the comments before listening. Especially given the price, and that there is Torpedo cheaper non-X Captor 8/16 range too. I thought it sounded perfectly useable, if not in the same league as the two best. I think I liked it better than the Driftwood & Redseven. I use the Captor 16 to tame my Marshall ST20H JTM, Vox AC30 and it doesn't sound bad. Also will use it with the second-hand amp that just arrived today. That I need to thank you for highlighting - the mighty Orange Rocker 30. Thanks man! I really looooove it. Next year, I want me a Wangs 1987HW Plexi, another amp I discovered through your channel. Makes me wonder if there must exist an amp switcher with built in reactive loadbox?
I too was surprised of the two notes, considering the load in it is a bit simplified, more a bathtub than a resonant peak and then slow rise. I've been GASing for a fractal x-load, owning the two notes torpedo, but now I think I'm really just fine.
@@void_snw I feel similarly, have one Torpedo 16. And was thinking of getting a Torpedo 8, for another amp. They're pretty affordable in Europe. But, that said, I think the Fractal X-Load did sound good enough, that if I saw one for maybe 299eur on sale, or second-hand, I'd probably spend the extra 100 over a second Torpedo. But, I wouldn't go selling my existing Torpedo for one.
Fractal sounded best with the Recto, RedSeven with the Plexi, IMO.
For my headphone in the high gain Fractal won, and interestingly Two notes was very nice in the mix (with the missing low-end and forward mids). Driftwood was way too muffled and the St. Rock had too much highs. The x-load is not so crazily expensive. With the Marshall it was Red Seven and St. Rock who won. The Fractal was a bit darker. Driftwood was the most muffled here as well and the Two notes was indeed the "most digital" feeling.
BTW I love your rich chords.
1) fractal 2) saint rock
19:48 having different loadboxes to match different amps seems very overkill... I'd say get a good one and just use proper amp settings and/or mic placement and/or post EQ and that's it.
Very interesting vid!!!
Cheers!
I’m listening to this on Momentum 4’s. Not the greatest cans but not crap either. The differences are nominal at best. Certainly nothing fiddling with the tone stack on the amp can’t handle.
Greeting from Finland, excellent video!
Question: have you tried the "classic" Marshall SE-100? It of course has no IR and its cab simulation (eq curve) sucks. But as attenuator and reactive load I think it's fine. But how does it compare to the modern alternatives?
To my ears the St. Rock React:IR 2 is the winner, but i don't think the two notes captor X sounded that much different with the rectifier..?
I think a 100w or even 120W amp would have been nice in this test though.. Anyway - Great work Jon.
I’ve been looking into this unit for years to upgrade from the captor x and I’ve finally pulled the trigger on the new evo unit. Just waiting! When you use the line out of the amp central, do you use a standard guitar cable? Just curious on that. I’ve read through the amp central manual but can’t seem to find much on using the line out. I’m coming from using xlr’s which I’ll try those too on the amp central but want to try the line out also to see which method sounds and works better for my needs
John did you used the Driftwood with the pad switch on? On mine I've noticed the mid-hi/hi frequency roll off is more evident with the pad on
I've commented here based on far wider research. The fact is that the impedance curve will vary for a specific speaker depending on various factors. That aside I'm not sure that these load boxes truly emulate that perfectly and some have been designed with a specific speaker in mind. The real issue is how really perform in this use case, as some have more features and cover a greater range of use case. So how do they perform as would be the how do they perform both dynamically and across the frequency spectrum which you have demonstrated. Fractal and Red 7 are great, St Rock is really good and also have additional features Driftwood is just that. I personally have the Captor X procured for a different use case and its certainly does not have the dynamics and also not the frequency response and is also not the best as an attenuator as it only has two setting, I suppose their marketecture.. is based on their DynIR stuff and Wall of Sound.. I would go for the ST Rock for my case if I had to buy again based on this and your previous comparison. Thanks for your demos and comparisons I do enjoy them. Dig your playing so maybe I should listen some of your productions etc.
High gain preferences: Red7, St Rock, Two Notes, Fractal, and then Driftwood
I think Red7 seems the most balanced sounding across the spectrum. I will say that in recto's I expect more fizz so it did remove some out for better or for worse. It definitely sounds the price that it is though since it's the most expensive.
St. Rock to me had that upper fizz I was listening for and still nice lows/mids. Maybe more highs than I wanted but changing the amp settings to adjust for that, plus you may actually want that and it sounds like the Red7 is going to be more smooth in the high end when you really need it to be present up there.
Two Notes is missing a ton of low end. It's mostly high mids and treble. Sounds like a high pass at like 150 or something. I put it here because the others were worse.
Fractal was having a REALLY strange pump, like it's too too reactive and dynamic to the playing in a strange way. Some moments felt blown out in the palm mutes like it was getting a proximity effect as it went along. It also has the high highs a bit too aggressive, like above 9k highs which is a bit unpleasant.
Driftwood way too dull.
This helps validate my purchase for the St. Rock lol. Thanks for the vid!
Thanks for your in depth review!
@@SonicDriveStudio thanks for hearing my yap session 😂
The St. Rock sounded as good as the Redseven, and boy does it have a ton of goodies to play with!!
I would be happy with either loads, but the st. rock wins on functionality.
Would you mind telling me how the ordering process went for the St. Rock unit?
I'm from EU, but I'm not sure if i am going to get charged taxes by importing the St. Rock from Ukraine. You know, the standard VAT + extra fees because they say so 😂😂
It would add a lot of cost to the final price if it happens... Did you get those charges or the final price paid to St. Rock was it?
@@JohnWiku I’m shipping to the US so I can’t say unfortunately! The shipping was quite expensive, almost $100 dollars but I did choose that over the Red7 because of features like you said
@@JohnWiku Found in their terms and conditions: "All the prices of our products delivered to Europe are denoted in euros inclusive of VAT without forwarding charges."
Jon, have you ever used the ‘speaker thru’ jack which allows you to use your cabinet as the load, as well as use amps in 16ohms? It’s a game changer and i am a proud RedSeven owner! Hope
You give this a try if not already. Cheers!
You should also try a Garland reactive load box
I really like the Ironman loadbox from ToneKing.
Great video! Have you ever tried Fryette Power station?
It would be interesting to try to get the tones as close as possible no matter how much you'd have to change the settings on the amp.Fractal sounded the best and more alive to me.I have the Two Notes and I have to say after that video, I'm kind of disapointed...
"It would be interesting to try to get the tones as close as possible no matter how much you'd have to change the settings on the amp."
exactly
or with post EQ or different mic placement
Is the Driftwood broken? Sounds dull and numb...
I had the CapX and there is something about the mids which - in my opinion - doesn't sound right. Harsh - unnatural...
The Fractal Audio sounds awesome. Unfortunately you cannot load IRs in it.
Maybe I take a shot at the React:IR II. Sounds awesome!
To my ears the X Load sounds the best followed by red seven and St Rock. I wouldn’t consider the other two.
The only difference I could really hear was between the Two Notes and the Driftwood. The Driftwood just sounds bad, the Two Notes sounded like it was clipping. Not sure whats going on with the Driftwood. To me it just sounded like the rest were either louder or quieter lol. Could be my headphones but good vid!
Juuusst ordered a captor x last week for my rectifier 😂 a bit brighter than the pricier options so seems like a good value overall, can’t wait for delivery
love mine, just had a firmware update a few days ago and haven't gotten to see if it sounds different.
From these purely on sound I would take the Fractal but I would want to compare it with a Suhr.
No Fryette Power Station?
I would like to have seen the St Rock compared more directly to the Red Seven and Fractal, I think having it come after the Driftwood gives the St Rock a massive advantage, seeing as the Driftwood sounds so bad in this one.
I use the "Silencer" by "Tube Amp Doctor" and it sounds great with all of my amps. I have a Diezel Herbert, a Mesa Mark lll, an Engl Fireball 100, an Orange #4 and a PRS MT 15 in my studio. I had a Dual Rectifier, that I sold one day, but it had an direct out, so it was possible to compare the direct out signal from the Rectifier to the signal, the Silencer gives me. It was 100% identical. Does your Rectifier have that feature too? It would have been interesting to hear that.
It's either the Redseven or the St. Rock for me.
Do you know a good load box for higher wattage amps? I have a Sunn 300T (300w) that i'd like to get a loadbox for but what I can find only go up to 100/150.
captor x got a firmware update recently, not sure what changed since i haven't used it after, still sounds the best to me, more balanced and waiting for me to make the changes.
Hey John, off topic here, but have you ever used the Synergy stuff? I'm looking at those small modular preamps along with their poweramp. Pretty attractive concept anyway.
Not seeing anything in a search, but do you maybe have any testing plans? Or have any thoughts atm? Thanks!
I almost never use the reactive load in my Two Notes. I just use it to tap the signal between the amp and cab to send to FOH.
Awesome!
Very interesting video. I don't understand how the driftwood one sounds like there's a blanket over the speaker. Mendel did a similar video and got really good results with the driftwood... Even though (from memory) you both used different amps from each other and in the tests... I have the captor x and can't really gel with it using a Savage 120 MKII, Archon 50 or any of my lunchboxes (EVH,Orange and a couple Joyo amps). Since I saw Mendels video a while back I've been very interested in the driftwood one but with your tests it seems to be worse than the captor x in some ways. I live very far away from europe and the U.S so testing different loadboxes before buying is simply impossible for me so I have to rely on videos from others before I buy something (pretty much goes for anything music related actually). I would love to see a comparison graph between all these loadboxes.
If you make a very balanced sound with the Driftwood then all the other loadboxes (with the same settings) will sound too harsh in comparison :)
Being more muffled than the others doesn't necessarily mean that it's bad :)
Just here for the Tie Fighter t-shirt.
Totally new to physical amps but on the brink of purchasing an engl so it might be a complete noob question: you plug the speaker out of the amp directly into the loadbox?
Yes
🔥
A while ago I had a Two Notes Torpedo Reload which I used with my Rectifier. When I played silently without a cab I could hear each notes coming out of the device as some sort of buzzing electric sound. Does all loadbox devices do this?
Most of them do that, yes
@@SonicDriveStudio Can you tell me some that aren't doing that? Is it because of a specific type of technology some of them use?
It is perfectly normal. There is a Fryette video about that.
Hey Jon was wondering why you didn't include a Fryette Power Station in the test as it also works as a reactive load, and reactive attenuator and many find it the most realistic sounding. Would be interesting to see how it holds up against your Red Seven and React IR 2.
Don't have one
I can confirm, I have 3 powerstation 2A and I had a Power Load + IR. No signal loss, no weird frequencies, no extra compression. Very transparent. I share the 3 Powerstations with KHEs and Ampete Switchers on the following amps:
Driftwood Purple Nightmare 100w
KT88+6L6
Revv GEN 7-40
Friedman Runt 50W
JCM 800 2203
Peavey 6505II
PRS MT100
Syn5050 + Syn2
Engl E840+E530
Splawn Quick Rod 100W
Splawn Nitro 100W
PRS Archon 50W
KSR Orthos II 100W
Diezel VH2
Peavey 6505
Redseven Duality RS 100W
EVH 5150 III 6L6 50W
EVH 5150 III EL34 50W
So I can assure you that this is the best Attenuator/Loadbox knowing that I've owned a Rivera Rockcrusher Recording, a Two Notes captor X and a Two notes Torpedo Reload.
Ahh I wish you included the tone king ironman 2
Hey man I watched your Hughes & kettner 40 Tubemeister video. I think you are using a loadbox in that video as well am I right? That amp (And almost evry other amp) doesnt sound as good in other videos. You make everything sound incredible.
I plan on making silent recordings using DI output of the amp. If I buy a Tubemeister 40, will I be able to get similar tones to yours without buying a loadbox as well? I have a few Ownhammer IR's and I really loved the tones in your video.
I have a stratocaster
Realistically, you'd need the same guitar, amp, loadbox and IR to get close
@@bigpiper2103 What I’m curious about is how different the DI output of the Tubemeister 40 + Ownhammer IR's without the load box. I wanted to know if the quality difference is huge.
I am aware that I would need the exact same gear to get a close tone. Similar tones to his video would be more than enough. Most videos of H&K TM40 sound good to me already. But this channel has the best sounding video of it.
Which makes me wonder if a load box makes that much of a difference in the recording.
If there's a way to turn off speaker emulation on the Redbox, you could use your own hammer IRs in your computer. No need for a load box
On plexi I nothing to say, but on Recto I like the Captor (maybe is the youtube compression but is not too bad).
I don't like the Driftwood in any of 2 cases, sorry: maybe can you try it with a Driftwood head?
Cheers 😊