Well, I still use my old Palmer PDI-03 rack version and I am still satisfied with the sound. A comparison to this great Redseven unit would be interesting.
What Bohdan said! The react:IR was the clear winner of all the ones I tested: the impedance curve is super close to a real cabinet (especially compared to the Two Notes stuff) and the feature set is insane: you can mix up to 8 IR’s (which are automatically internally phase aligned) and send them through a separate room/reverb IR, it has a great noise gate, parametric EQ, power amp stimulation and a lot more! Also super affordable and yet quite unknown!
What a great review, thank you Kristian! It's cool to have a proper A/B, nothing was made in so accurate way before this video. We definitely need to send you a Levi for a check ;). Take care buddy, cheers from Italy.
I'm glad to see the loadbox/IR combo compared favorably to the real thing. I've been using a loadbox with IRs in my recordings the last few years simply because I have a bedroom studio and can't really crank a 4x12 in here. I've been happy with my results, but seeing a professional agree helps me feel good about what I've been doing. Cheers!
This is what i've wanted to hear for a long time, an actual apples to apples comparison. And the conclusion ia if you capture the IR well, it sounds the same. Thanks for doing this :)
That's what I always wanted to do: record my own IRs and test them immediately against the recording setup so that I can match them as close as possible
That is how a comparison should look like! Nothing more to say than thank you (again)! I would love to see the Two Notes Torpedo Captor (not the X)! It's a very common loadbox I think and I'm pretty happy with it.
Oh dude FIIIIIINALLY a proper IR vs cab comparison, I was waiting for this for roughly 7 years... There are some others out there but far from this quality ! Thanks a lot
Man kann hier richtig schön sehen wie sehr die Interaktion zwischen Endstufe und Cab/Loadbox den Ton noch beeinflusst. Im reaktiven Modus bildet die Loadbox den Impedanzverlauf eines Lautsprechers nach, denn dieser ist keineswegs flach sondern variiert teils stark mit der Frequenz. Dieser krumme Impedanzverlauf kombiniert mit einer Röhrenendstufe bringt primär die Bässe und Höhen hervor, sodass es weniger flach klingt. Bei echten Boxen haben die Lautsprecher und auch die Gehäuse Konstruktion auf den Impedanzverlauf einen maßgeblichen Einfluss. Auch der Verstärker hat noch einen gewaltigen Einfluss auf das Verhalten, je nachdem wie hoch sein Innenwiderstand ist. Wenn du dein Video mit deinem Rectifier im Modern Mode gemacht hättest wäre der Unterschied (zwischen resistiv und reaktiv) noch sehr viel krasser gewesen. Im resistiven Modus ist der der Impedanzverlauf dafür ganz gerade und es findet nicht diese Interaktion zwischen Last und Verstärker statt. Es gibt durchaus Anwendungen dafür, wenn man z.B. einen Verstärker in die Loadbox arbeiten lässt und anschließend mit dem Signal (durch Effekte) in eine weitere Endstufe in seine Boxen geht. In den 80er wurden solche Setups gerne gemacht. Van Halen hatte vor dem Peavey 5150 solch ein Setup, wo sein Marshall auf 10 lief und nur auf einen Lastwiderstand gearbeitet hat. Mit dem Signal wurden anschließend Effekte und Endstufen angefahren, die dann seine 4x12 antrieben. Kirk Hammett hatte während der 90er/2000er auch so ein Rig wobei er einen Mesa Rectifier in eine Loadbox nutzte und anschließend über Mesa Strategy 400 Endstufen auf seine Cabs ging. Im Grunde genommen nutzt man dann seinen Verstärker nur als eine Art sehr großes Verzerrerpedal. Für Verstärker ohne Master ist dies auch der einzige Weg hinter die Verzerrung seine Effekte einzuschleifen. Bei den RedSeven Sachen habe ich ein wenig die Vermutung, dass es sich dabei um Amps handelt, die stark auf den Bognern Ecstasy/Überschall basieren. Zumindest was das Layout, Funktionen und die Frontplattenbelegung angeht orientiert man sich da offensichtlich stark an Bogner. Ein Vergleich wäre da auf jedefall sehr spannend. Bei dem Video mit Glenn hatte ich schon das Gefühl, dass die Klangregelung des Amps sehr stark einem Überschall ähnelt.
@@KohleAudioKult Kein Problem! Das bestätigt ja meine These. Es gibt noch ein Modell das sich Duality nennt, bei dem bin ich mir sicher, dass es auf dem Ecstasy basiert.
The differences are minimal, enough that the IR nuances will get lost in a full band mix. I've been loving this hybrid approach for years now and it makes having an apartment studio and playing n a metal band a truly feasible feat. This is one of the better comparisons out there, and I think the video is highly educational. Keep up the kick ass work.
Hi Kohle. In our measurements the one and only loadbox that does a perfect job capturing the amp sound with an accurate impedance curve is amt pe-120. The suhr sounds brittle. The torpedo are all missing the low end resonance peak. Amt was the only device that sounded 95% as my t75 and v30 cabinets as a load. Just a 1.5db more low end on that peak. Spot on. The suhr is no good, less mids and noticeably more shrill
Deliverance sounds so damn good. I tweaked my 120 to the point that it just blows minds through a MESA cab. The deliverance is hard to beat, for all out tonality.
I actually built a massive isobox that I can fit in a PPC412 cab, with 3 mics. Always set up and ready to go, always sounds amazing, and always quiet to play at night after the kids are in bed. 🤘🏼😁. I run Rockerverbs 100 in there! 🙂🤷🏽♂️
I was very surprised at the 'Reactive Mode' result. It was spot on to the amp/cab. I remember back in the early 80's when I saw my first load box. It was simply used to tame a fully cranked Marshall JMP 50 head in a studio I started working in, and you could fry an egg on top of it after the first song due to the heat it dissipated. Now they have progressed to IR loading and other whiz bang doo dads. Pretty cool stuff. Gotta get me one of those baritone axes immediately. That's some wicked noise right there.
Great video man! Gotta love modern technology. I’ve been using St. Rock & Suhr reactive loads with your & Jens’ IRs on all albums, singles, recordings, hired gun work etc. for the last couple of years in my studio and works like a charm. I’ve sold all my cabinets except one (Fryette FatBottom) ’cos I didn’t need them anymore and the main reason I kept that one is ’cos sometimes you just wanna get naked and make the grandma & neighbours annoyed 😁. And it looks good too (the cabinet 😎).
Love that Fernadez man. Sucks man been dealing with Health issues. Has to sell everything and I had a good setup. I don't even have an acoustic right now. All I have is an Electric I redid with no hardware. Times are rough, Lol. I'm over here drooling over that Fernadez
I'm still using a rackmount Palmer PDI-03 and record the built in cabinet tone and the raw line out with IR's in my Daw and blend them both in my mix, to this day the Palmer still holds up
Reactive load boxes isnt anything new, but it may be as you say that most were resistive in the past. I have an old Marshall SE100 reactive loadbox/analog speaker emulator (rack unit) that is about 30 years old and it has an output without speaker emulation so that i can use it with IRs in the DAW.
Anyone else notice the change in sound, for the worst, when using the line out knob of the Amp Central anywhere else than at maximum? Great demonstration i love your channel man!!
If you're in the market for a loadbox I can't recommend them. There's a few misleading things going on in this video. Reactive loads don't respond properly with the presence knobs on tube amps. You'll notice he's cranking a knob that emulates presence but doesn't quite get you there. If you like bright, sparkling, tone and higher presence settings that make your amp feel alive just stick with a tube amp and a speaker cab. There's a reason tube amps sound so good to us and it's because of the magic of power tubes, feedback circuits, output transformers and speakers all interacting with each other and all these direct boxes, kempers and amp sims STILL can't touch it.
Really appreciate your videos! Always entertaining- Btw I use Camden preamps as well and find them really effective for room mics picking up a piano, or guitar cab
This is a great video, I've just bought a Captor (waiting for the delivery), and I was wondering how close I could get to the real thing, now I know.....thanks Kristian, by the way, my neighbours hate me.....horns up!
I'm nothing like a Kristian Kohle audio engineering guru, but the real cab still sounds like the desirable deal :) Though yeah the reactive mode was just killing it!
What is the average length of an IR? You mentioned that this unit was limited to 20 milliseconds. I believe and should be longer . Thanks great review. So many options out there these days.
I picked up a Captor X a while ago and don't feel the need to mic cabs anymore. I love my mid 80s Mesa halfback, but I get such great tones from IRs, it's just not worth the trouble. My mic preamps are all about the voodoo though.
I personally use a Two Notes Torpedo Captor (the regular one) that does a great job! Although, the Red Seven looks to be very good quality. I've been trying to research what levels I should record IRs at, but can't find information anywhere about how much level should be sent to the cabinet to capture an accurate IR. Is it a case of listening to hear what sounds best for the cabinet, or is there a specific level that is better for accuracy?
@@KohleAudioKult I suppose both? How much do you drive your power amp to capture the IR? How loud is the cabinet as you're playing the sweep? I suspect the cabinet needs to be driven to the around same level as what you'd typically hear when playing a real guitar amp through it, but is there such a thing as making the cabinet "too loud" when capturing an IR, resulting in an inaccurate capture?
I use the UAD OxBox and love it (please add more cabs, speakers and mic's!!!). I really like the blend of the room sound and the speaker drive as options. I've heard very good things about the Suhr reactive load an am considering that for adding my own IR's.
I used loadboxes for a long time. Very nice solution, sounds good. It depends on which cab or a speaker you compere it to. Some may have very similar impedance curve and sound the same and some may not. Bot now I use a cab. Its just more fun.
I have a dual rectifier and use it with a soldano jettenuator, but I don't feel it sounds good compared to the 4x12. I would like to see a video of you comparing them.
If you, who has knowledge in recording and guitar sound, have difficulty differentiate real cab vs IR, imagine us, mere mortal, who may never own a mesa cab. To me, when IR is made very carefully, then it's enough. No need to spend a huge chunk of money to buy a real cab and deal with space and loud volume. Btw, I enjoy your DV30 IR. It's brutal !!!
Yrs there is a difference. Would it be apparent without the a/b? Nope. These things do bring another option to the table, capturing the dry amp signal before the cab. Can still send the signal to the cab at full power through probably most of these load boxes. What did you use for making the IR? Mostly the software signal processing side. Hardware you already said in the video.
I do love your methodology. Comparing things in an A/B comparison, giving both sides of the comparison the best chance of sounding good. Can you hear the difference in them today? Yes. Yes you can. However the difference isn't mix ruining, it's just there. Nothing about the IR sound is bad or unusable. I seem to recall this methodology changing the way I dial in tones because we had a bit of a disagreement over pushing the power section too hard. The end result of that talk was me doing an A/B recording my way and yours, and sitting here at my desk after going "Fuck... He's right." lol Well done, love everything about it.
I'm pretty sure that RedSeven uses an AMT Pangaea CP-16 module for IRs and that's why they are unable to use impulses with more length. But 20ms is more then enough. Anyway AMT has their own loadbox PE120, a pretty good one. Similar with Suhr schematic wise. Torpedo is not so accurate and doesn have the low resonance.
i just bought a 5150 Block Letter, and i wanna use it for recording aswell, not just live. Since i have Neighbours, would this Load Box work for it since it's rated for 100W according to their homepage and the 5150 is 120W? Hard to find definitive info on this kind of thing 😅
There is a difference between the reactive mode and the real thing, mainly in the dynamic range and response. The load box is more compressed (like a brickwall limiter). Also, I feel it adds more unnecessary high frequencies
But real cabinet is brighter and has less smothering lows. It's like a sound of guitar for the real cab+mic and a function of guitar for loadbox+IR. Maybe it's how IR convolvers work - don't know.
Every single youtuber who has reviewed the deliverance never reads the manual: Gain 1 adjusts the voicing and gain 2 is the saturation. It's on page 1 of the manual.
This is what I’ve been doing for my guitar tones as of late. Sounds better than any modelers and amp sims out there. Mesa badlander with the dv77 ir mixed with my mini nightmare and the same ir just insane tones.
That DV77 ir is my go to as well. Im running a blend of my Framus Cobra and 6505+ through a Captor X my rhythm guitars are crushing. Ive used a bunch of amp sims downloaded all the trials etc and feel the same. Amps just have more presence in the mix imo the amp sims always feel thinner in comparison to me.
@@KohleAudioKult your ir pack on the eminence site you put out a while ago. If I remember correctly it’s the “angry” one. Then a fortin 33 into a Mesa badlander.
@@KohleAudioKult I use the "DV77 Presence Boost" IR with my Baritone. I also use the Grindstein plugin with only the EQ section engaged its very easy to automate it in the mix. If I need a little more attack on parts I boost the Chainsaw etc etc. There's a couple things I like to see updated with the Grindstein but its worth every dollar.
1 dB louder? No wonder I preferred the load box for a while... 😉 BTW. You should consider doing these shoot outs, with two left/right guitar tracks as well. Easier to get a feel of the small nuances that way, IMO. Often I find the low mids, in the real cap/mic, to retain a little more dynamics. Making them sounding slightly more wider in the stereo perspective. Anyways, that's just me. Great video as always and greetings from Denmark... 😀
Hi Kristian, interessting what the Cranborne pre does to the guitar sound, and that it decreases the amplitudes in the lower mids frequency range when increasing the Mojo. With vocals the oposite should be achieved, doesn't it? Or in your video about the best budget drum mics, where the kick drum get a nice bottom end with the cranked mojo knob. Did you meanwhile did a video about preamps? I didn't find it at your channel. Maybe I overlooked it? Best regards!!
@@KohleAudioKult Thanks for fast response! Ah, yes, the "thump" and "cream". Yeah, I am very interessted in your video about preamps, because currently I am struggling like F*** with the decision, which preamp to purchase for my home recodring setup. I'm looking forward to your video!! 😀
Nice vid man!! A quick question: When you create an IR you record with mics at different cone positions (I assume to sample certain frequencies better). So I guess that the recorded signal contains sonic signatures also from the cab, cables and mic preamps used. In that case shouldn't they be understood more like cab/speaker/mic/preamp combo IRs instead of as "speaker" IRs (which I think is what most people believe IRs to be)?
i’m looking at the new version from st rock. it’s price is more digestible. the driftwood load box sounds good too but has no other features. chugga chugga broh!
Hi metal heads! What makes you believe spending 400eu for reactive load is a good idea? Kohle proved that power amp overdrive is no good for metal while reactive loads make sense to capture that overdrive you don't use. So anybody ever tried if using 10eu resistor network and applying power amp freq response (captured between PA and speaker) would do the job?
@@KohleAudioKult What I am saying is to check out if 10eu resistive load and matching EQ can do equally good job as a reactive load when you don't use power amp distortion. Reactive load emulating a cab is effective to force frequency dependent tube power amp distortion. In case of modern metal it can be redundant.
Excellent video and it answered some things for me, because I have been contemplating getting a loadbox for a while as I do really wanna use tube amps drunk and naked at 3am. But more than that I've just been stuck with amp sims for so long and really wanna record some cranked tube amps without the police visits! 😜
@@KohleAudioKult I didn't mean the same ir you used here, I mean the same ir through each different load box. Honestly to save some time, you could use this ir, amp and settings, and just add some more load boxes like budget friendly versions all the way up to this one. Basically an a/b/c/d/etc vs the real amp/cab setup instead of only this a/b demo (which is awesome btw, thank you!) I'd like to get this box, but if I spend that much, it'd be on a new head lol
I love IR loader for how quickly I can plug in a guitar and be ready to play anytime a tube amp….but I hate so much that I have to chop most of my IR to 20ms….and most of them sound simply awful when you chop them, which leave you with just a few IR that you can really load #LONGERIR
@@KohleAudioKult I have a Captor X and it can load IRs that are 200ms long and it gives you a few options of phase adjustment and length adjustment if you want to use them with other IRs which otherwise might not be a perfect match
Has anyone compared the two notes captor to the load box used here? I own the two notes and it has been one of the best purchases for my home studio. For anyone who owns several tube amps a load box is a no brainer. Plugins are getting stupid good but everyone has the same plugins. I love neural dsp but its become a predictable sound. If you've invested time and money into your "live sound" this is the easiest way to capture it without waking the kids or grandma. Still is there a notable tonal or feel difference between the two notes and this model?
When you have been playing through tube amps for a long time. You start to feel how the amp reacts in your hands when your play. This is a really subtle thing. Every amp sim I have ever tried has no feel to them at all. In some cases the amp sim may even sound a little better than my amp but it just dosnt feel right.
How the sound responds to your playing. Especially when you're used to something, you hit the strings with a certain amount of gain, and it sounds and reacts in a certain way. If the "Feel" is off, it can feel like there's a disconnect. Like, you're playing, and listening to a different recording of the same playing. You hit the strings hard, and it doesn't sag/bloom the way you're expecting. In my opinion, it's more about "different" than bad v. good. I vastly prefer the solid state rectifier in Mesa Rectos, and many agree. (Including Mesa, as they removed the tube rectifier for the Badlander, haha). It's a feel and responsiveness thing. How big is the difference? Eh, that depends wildly on the player and rest of the rig. But yeah, it's just latency, delayed onset saturation, how saturation responds to changing dynamics, resonance of certain harmonic frequencies, etc. Most of which has to do with saturation in some way. But it affects the player. How much? Eh. We can all see how running in tight jeans would be different than in jogging pants or leggings. But the difference between cheap leggings from Amazon and over-engineered athlete kit is probably gonna be lost unless you're a competition-grade runner. And Usain Bolt would outrun us all in a Chicken Costume. Anyway, hope that's useful. :)
@@whatskraken3886 it is how the amp responds to your playing. how hard you pick where you pick ect. depends on the sound you are using but in a high gain situation its feels like you can control the gain with you pick. its a subtle thing could be 100% psychological. But i have heard meany peoeple say the same thing.
![ILLSLICK - KILLSHOT REMIX [FULL VERSION]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/RIK8RrqIAzE/mqdefault.jpg)
Any other great sounding loadboxes out there? Which one should I try next? 🤔
React:IR form St.Rock
Well, I still use my old Palmer PDI-03 rack version and I am still satisfied with the sound. A comparison to this great Redseven unit would be interesting.
Suhr Reactive Load IR
What Bohdan said! The react:IR was the clear winner of all the ones I tested: the impedance curve is super close to a real cabinet (especially compared to the Two Notes stuff) and the feature set is insane: you can mix up to 8 IR’s (which are automatically internally phase aligned) and send them through a separate room/reverb IR, it has a great noise gate, parametric EQ, power amp stimulation and a lot more! Also super affordable and yet quite unknown!
The two notes torpedo captor please! It's the most affordable and it's probably quite common.
What a great review, thank you Kristian! It's cool to have a proper A/B, nothing was made in so accurate way before this video. We definitely need to send you a Levi for a check ;). Take care buddy, cheers from Italy.
Absolutely! Let’s do this!
Yes, please, send a Leviathan asap to Kristian in order to be dissected and showing all the insights ! Kristian is DA Man for sure !
I'm glad to see the loadbox/IR combo compared favorably to the real thing. I've been using a loadbox with IRs in my recordings the last few years simply because I have a bedroom studio and can't really crank a 4x12 in here. I've been happy with my results, but seeing a professional agree helps me feel good about what I've been doing. Cheers!
At least this one sounds good. Then it depends on the quality of the IRs
This is what i've wanted to hear for a long time, an actual apples to apples comparison. And the conclusion ia if you capture the IR well, it sounds the same. Thanks for doing this :)
hardest part... getting a good ir.. ive yet to find literally any single one that sounds even as good as the tow notes captor built in cab sim myself
You unlocked the hidden SHRED 🤘 feature of our preamps.... nicely done 😎 Great video Kristian!
That's what I always wanted to do: record my own IRs and test them immediately against the recording setup so that I can match them as close as possible
That is how a comparison should look like! Nothing more to say than thank you (again)!
I would love to see the Two Notes Torpedo Captor (not the X)! It's a very common loadbox I think and I'm pretty happy with it.
Thanks for this video man! Truth!
Oh dude FIIIIIINALLY a proper IR vs cab comparison, I was waiting for this for roughly 7 years... There are some others out there but far from this quality ! Thanks a lot
Man kann hier richtig schön sehen wie sehr die Interaktion zwischen Endstufe und Cab/Loadbox den Ton noch beeinflusst.
Im reaktiven Modus bildet die Loadbox den Impedanzverlauf eines Lautsprechers nach, denn dieser ist keineswegs flach sondern variiert teils stark mit der Frequenz.
Dieser krumme Impedanzverlauf kombiniert mit einer Röhrenendstufe bringt primär die Bässe und Höhen hervor, sodass es weniger flach klingt.
Bei echten Boxen haben die Lautsprecher und auch die Gehäuse Konstruktion auf den Impedanzverlauf einen maßgeblichen Einfluss.
Auch der Verstärker hat noch einen gewaltigen Einfluss auf das Verhalten, je nachdem wie hoch sein Innenwiderstand ist.
Wenn du dein Video mit deinem Rectifier im Modern Mode gemacht hättest wäre der Unterschied (zwischen resistiv und reaktiv) noch sehr viel krasser gewesen.
Im resistiven Modus ist der der Impedanzverlauf dafür ganz gerade und es findet nicht diese Interaktion zwischen Last und Verstärker statt.
Es gibt durchaus Anwendungen dafür, wenn man z.B. einen Verstärker in die Loadbox arbeiten lässt und anschließend mit dem Signal (durch Effekte) in eine weitere Endstufe in seine Boxen geht.
In den 80er wurden solche Setups gerne gemacht. Van Halen hatte vor dem Peavey 5150 solch ein Setup, wo sein Marshall auf 10 lief und nur auf einen Lastwiderstand gearbeitet hat. Mit dem Signal wurden anschließend Effekte und Endstufen angefahren, die dann seine 4x12 antrieben.
Kirk Hammett hatte während der 90er/2000er auch so ein Rig wobei er einen Mesa Rectifier in eine Loadbox nutzte und anschließend über Mesa Strategy 400 Endstufen auf seine Cabs ging.
Im Grunde genommen nutzt man dann seinen Verstärker nur als eine Art sehr großes Verzerrerpedal. Für Verstärker ohne Master ist dies auch der einzige Weg hinter die Verzerrung seine Effekte einzuschleifen.
Bei den RedSeven Sachen habe ich ein wenig die Vermutung, dass es sich dabei um Amps handelt, die stark auf den Bognern Ecstasy/Überschall basieren. Zumindest was das Layout, Funktionen und die Frontplattenbelegung angeht orientiert man sich da offensichtlich stark an Bogner.
Ein Vergleich wäre da auf jedefall sehr spannend. Bei dem Video mit Glenn hatte ich schon das Gefühl, dass die Klangregelung des Amps sehr stark einem Überschall ähnelt.
Wie immer danke für die Info!
Und ja, der High Gain amp ist Überschall inspiriert.
@@KohleAudioKult Kein Problem!
Das bestätigt ja meine These. Es gibt noch ein Modell das sich Duality nennt, bei dem bin ich mir sicher, dass es auf dem Ecstasy basiert.
The differences are minimal, enough that the IR nuances will get lost in a full band mix. I've been loving this hybrid approach for years now and it makes having an apartment studio and playing n a metal band a truly feasible feat.
This is one of the better comparisons out there, and I think the video is highly educational. Keep up the kick ass work.
Hi Kohle. In our measurements the one and only loadbox that does a perfect job capturing the amp sound with an accurate impedance curve is amt pe-120. The suhr sounds brittle. The torpedo are all missing the low end resonance peak. Amt was the only device that sounded 95% as my t75 and v30 cabinets as a load. Just a 1.5db more low end on that peak. Spot on. The suhr is no good, less mids and noticeably more shrill
Interesting! Thank you!
Deliverance sounds so damn good. I tweaked my 120 to the point that it just blows minds through a MESA cab. The deliverance is hard to beat, for all out tonality.
I actually built a massive isobox that I can fit in a PPC412 cab, with 3 mics. Always set up and ready to go, always sounds amazing, and always quiet to play at night after the kids are in bed.
🤘🏼😁. I run Rockerverbs 100 in there! 🙂🤷🏽♂️
Go big or go home!
@@luisguimaraes2176 yessir!! 😉
The faces you make are absolutely perfect cuz I realize that I'm here making the same faces.
Just ordered a Two Notes Captor X. Looking forward to try my Mesa Boogie Mk V:25 with your Rainbows & Chainsaws IRs!
I was very surprised at the 'Reactive Mode' result. It was spot on to the amp/cab. I remember back in the early 80's when I saw my first load box. It was simply used to tame a fully cranked Marshall JMP 50 head in a studio I started working in, and you could fry an egg on top of it after the first song due to the heat it dissipated. Now they have progressed to IR loading and other whiz bang doo dads. Pretty cool stuff. Gotta get me one of those baritone axes immediately. That's some wicked noise right there.
Everyone knows that if you want to wake up your Grandma you play King Diamond.
Haha! Good one! 🤣
Thanks Kohle! Answered my questions about load boxes… Appreciate your time and effort as always!
Great video man! Gotta love modern technology. I’ve been using St. Rock & Suhr reactive loads with your & Jens’ IRs on all albums, singles, recordings, hired gun work etc. for the last couple of years in my studio and works like a charm. I’ve sold all my cabinets except one (Fryette FatBottom) ’cos I didn’t need them anymore and the main reason I kept that one is ’cos sometimes you just wanna get naked and make the grandma & neighbours annoyed 😁. And it looks good too (the cabinet 😎).
My Suhr Reactive Load's impedence curve is moddeled after a Greenback, sounds rad.
Love that Fernadez man. Sucks man been dealing with Health issues. Has to sell everything and I had a good setup. I don't even have an acoustic right now. All I have is an Electric I redid with no hardware. Times are rough, Lol. I'm over here drooling over that Fernadez
I'm still using a rackmount Palmer PDI-03 and record the built in cabinet tone and the raw line out with IR's in my Daw and blend them both in my mix, to this day the Palmer still holds up
A lot great information in this video, thank you! I also need that shirt to go with my Oh My Goat pedal!
Reactive load boxes isnt anything new, but it may be as you say that most were resistive in the past. I have an old Marshall SE100 reactive loadbox/analog speaker emulator (rack unit) that is about 30 years old and it has an output without speaker emulation so that i can use it with IRs in the DAW.
Anyone else notice the change in sound, for the worst, when using the line out knob of the Amp Central anywhere else than at maximum? Great demonstration i love your channel man!!
If you're in the market for a loadbox I can't recommend them. There's a few misleading things going on in this video. Reactive loads don't respond properly with the presence knobs on tube amps. You'll notice he's cranking a knob that emulates presence but doesn't quite get you there. If you like bright, sparkling, tone and higher presence settings that make your amp feel alive just stick with a tube amp and a speaker cab. There's a reason tube amps sound so good to us and it's because of the magic of power tubes, feedback circuits, output transformers and speakers all interacting with each other and all these direct boxes, kempers and amp sims STILL can't touch it.
Naked on a BC Rich drunk jamming on riffs.
You did get my contest video. :D
Haha! 🍺❤️
Love your IRs from Bogren Digital--super cool to hear that you used the Lewit mic for those! I love that mic on guitar cabs. I feel validated hahaha
now the world needs a video on how Kohle makes IR
Really appreciate your videos! Always entertaining- Btw I use Camden preamps as well and find them really effective for room mics picking up a piano, or guitar cab
They’re some very clean sounding preamps with some nice sound options.
The only thing I don’t like about them is the missing pad!
I just recently found your channel and love the content. I'm learning quite a bit. Love the humor you add in the channel too. Thank you from AZ!
Welcome! Spread the word!
the sandy distortion should be nice for desert rock...
This is a great video, I've just bought a Captor (waiting for the delivery), and I was wondering how close I could get to the real thing, now I know.....thanks Kristian, by the way, my neighbours hate me.....horns up!
I'm nothing like a Kristian Kohle audio engineering guru, but the real cab still sounds like the desirable deal :) Though yeah the reactive mode was just killing it!
Thanks, Kristian. Grandma says hi.
What is the average length of an IR? You mentioned that this unit was limited to 20 milliseconds. I believe and should be longer . Thanks great review. So many options out there these days.
I picked up a Captor X a while ago and don't feel the need to mic cabs anymore. I love my mid 80s Mesa halfback, but I get such great tones from IRs, it's just not worth the trouble. My mic preamps are all about the voodoo though.
I made my own LoadBox and my friends loved it 🤣
I personally use a Two Notes Torpedo Captor (the regular one) that does a great job! Although, the Red Seven looks to be very good quality. I've been trying to research what levels I should record IRs at, but can't find information anywhere about how much level should be sent to the cabinet to capture an accurate IR. Is it a case of listening to hear what sounds best for the cabinet, or is there a specific level that is better for accuracy?
You mean how load the power amp should be?
@@KohleAudioKult I suppose both? How much do you drive your power amp to capture the IR? How loud is the cabinet as you're playing the sweep? I suspect the cabinet needs to be driven to the around same level as what you'd typically hear when playing a real guitar amp through it, but is there such a thing as making the cabinet "too loud" when capturing an IR, resulting in an inaccurate capture?
I use the UAD OxBox and love it (please add more cabs, speakers and mic's!!!). I really like the blend of the room sound and the speaker drive as options. I've heard very good things about the Suhr reactive load an am considering that for adding my own IR's.
I used loadboxes for a long time. Very nice solution, sounds good. It depends on which cab or a speaker you compere it to. Some may have very similar impedance curve and sound the same and some may not. Bot now I use a cab. Its just more fun.
More fun for sure! It's just quite convenient to be able to skip the cab.
I'm out of the loop on this. But what happened to the 2 notes torpedo live rack mount? Weird that they stopped making it.
Wow! This is realy close and usable! Maybe a video on how you make your impulses at some point if you feel like it. Thnx!
I have a dual rectifier and use it with a soldano jettenuator, but I don't feel it sounds good compared to the 4x12. I would like to see a video of you comparing them.
Excellent A/B brother, thank you
I love RedSeven. I have their chorus pedal, and it's incredible.
But I've been using a Suhr Reactive Load Box lately and I'm tickled pink with it.
yeah like all load boxes , the bass frequency punch isnt quite there, all of them are suffering from this proximity sound
If you, who has knowledge in recording and guitar sound, have difficulty differentiate real cab vs IR, imagine us, mere mortal, who may never own a mesa cab. To me, when IR is made very carefully, then it's enough. No need to spend a huge chunk of money to buy a real cab and deal with space and loud volume. Btw, I enjoy your DV30 IR. It's brutal !!!
hi bro, i wanna ask some questions, your loadbox output to your microphone preamp? or go directly to the audio interface? line in or? thx u
It’s a line out. So no micpre needed.
Happy new year Kohle!
could you please check out the 412 Synergy cab? the one with greenbacks and v30's, some say its the same as the Friedman but cheaper
Yrs there is a difference. Would it be apparent without the a/b? Nope. These things do bring another option to the table, capturing the dry amp signal before the cab. Can still send the signal to the cab at full power through probably most of these load boxes.
What did you use for making the IR? Mostly the software signal processing side. Hardware you already said in the video.
That's exactly why I would use a loadbox. For capturing the amp's tone for re-cabing 🤣.
I used the Voxengo plugin for the IR
I do love your methodology. Comparing things in an A/B comparison, giving both sides of the comparison the best chance of sounding good. Can you hear the difference in them today? Yes. Yes you can. However the difference isn't mix ruining, it's just there. Nothing about the IR sound is bad or unusable.
I seem to recall this methodology changing the way I dial in tones because we had a bit of a disagreement over pushing the power section too hard. The end result of that talk was me doing an A/B recording my way and yours, and sitting here at my desk after going "Fuck... He's right." lol Well done, love everything about it.
Thanks man!
I'm pretty sure that RedSeven uses an AMT Pangaea CP-16 module for IRs and that's why they are unable to use impulses with more length. But 20ms is more then enough. Anyway AMT has their own loadbox PE120, a pretty good one. Similar with Suhr schematic wise. Torpedo is not so accurate and doesn have the low resonance.
Yes. It's some kind of third party IR loading element. Hence the limitation
I've been using plugins most of the time! But a loadbox it's really useful!
9:53 Anakin: ¨I don´t like sand¨
So how much better is it than the Captor X? Way better?
Best thing you can do when you're new to the game. Real Amp into IR's
i just bought a 5150 Block Letter, and i wanna use it for recording aswell, not just live. Since i have Neighbours, would this Load Box work for it since it's rated for 100W according to their homepage and the 5150 is 120W? Hard to find definitive info on this kind of thing 😅
There is a difference between the reactive mode and the real thing, mainly in the dynamic range and response.
The load box is more compressed (like a brickwall limiter).
Also, I feel it adds more unnecessary high frequencies
I think that’s just the brickwall limiter on the main bus of the video. And the fact that the loader is a little louder = more limiting
@@KohleAudioKult Makes sense
Thanks for this nice experiment man, this was awesome. Very close to the amp sound indeed! Now i feel crap for selling my amp...🥲 Cheers! 🤘
I’m sorry! 🤣
How’s the build quality of the RedSeven? Thanks.
Looking good!
But real cabinet is brighter and has less smothering lows. It's like a sound of guitar for the real cab+mic and a function of guitar for loadbox+IR. Maybe it's how IR convolvers work - don't know.
Great video as always. I like the fact you are telling your honest opinion. Its really refreshing. Keep up:)
Great video, danke dude!
Every single youtuber who has reviewed the deliverance never reads the manual: Gain 1 adjusts the voicing and gain 2 is the saturation. It's on page 1 of the manual.
"Whenever you have bright switch - engage it". Omg, I just don't know a case when bright switch off ever worked out =)
Like Kohle mentioned as you turn up the gain the bright switch's capacitor has less effect on the overall tone
Synergy preamp stuff always sounds good. I have heard mixed opinions about the power amp other places.
Yes. The power amp is not my cup of beer either.
This is what I’ve been doing for my guitar tones as of late. Sounds better than any modelers and amp sims out there. Mesa badlander with the dv77 ir mixed with my mini nightmare and the same ir just insane tones.
That DV77 ir is my go to as well. Im running a blend of my Framus Cobra and 6505+ through a Captor X my rhythm guitars are crushing. Ive used a bunch of amp sims downloaded all the trials etc and feel the same. Amps just have more presence in the mix imo the amp sims always feel thinner in comparison to me.
Which DV77 IR are you guys using?
@@KohleAudioKult your ir pack on the eminence site you put out a while ago. If I remember correctly it’s the “angry” one. Then a fortin 33 into a Mesa badlander.
@@KohleAudioKult I use the "DV77 Presence Boost" IR with my Baritone. I also use the Grindstein plugin with only the EQ section engaged its very easy to automate it in the mix. If I need a little more attack on parts I boost the Chainsaw etc etc. There's a couple things I like to see updated with the Grindstein but its worth every dollar.
1 dB louder? No wonder I preferred the load box for a while... 😉 BTW. You should consider doing these shoot outs, with two left/right guitar tracks as well. Easier to get a feel of the small nuances that way, IMO. Often I find the low mids, in the real cap/mic, to retain a little more dynamics. Making them sounding slightly more wider in the stereo perspective. Anyways, that's just me. Great video as always and greetings from Denmark... 😀
Informative and had me gigglin a couple times... and WHY am i gigglin to myself? Because I really do play my BC Rich guitars naked...
Happy new year
Tone Captor X Is working great.
Hi Kristian,
interessting what the Cranborne pre does to the guitar sound, and that it decreases the amplitudes in the lower mids frequency range when increasing the Mojo. With vocals the oposite should be achieved, doesn't it? Or in your video about the best budget drum mics, where the kick drum get a nice bottom end with the cranked mojo knob. Did you meanwhile did a video about preamps? I didn't find it at your channel. Maybe I overlooked it?
Best regards!!
I’m gonna do a video about it.
But there are two modes. One is used in the kick drum video, one in this one
@@KohleAudioKult Thanks for fast response! Ah, yes, the "thump" and "cream". Yeah, I am very interessted in your video about preamps, because currently I am struggling like F*** with the decision, which preamp to purchase for my home recodring setup. I'm looking forward to your video!! 😀
This was a great video man. I’ve been flirting with getting a load box for my 5150iii for such a long time.
Nice vid man!! A quick question: When you create an IR you record with mics at different cone positions (I assume to sample certain frequencies better). So I guess that the recorded signal contains sonic signatures also from the cab, cables and mic preamps used. In that case shouldn't they be understood more like cab/speaker/mic/preamp combo IRs instead of as "speaker" IRs (which I think is what most people believe IRs to be)?
Yes and no. You do capture any frequency change that any gear might introduce, but the speaker / mic combo will be responsible for 98%.
@@KohleAudioKult thanks man! That cleared it...
can you use pedals in the effects loop with a load box??? Like a WAH pedal or an expression pedal foot switch?
Of course. You can use your amp exactly like you are used to.
Fantastic Baritone🔥
Make this channel Great again! )))
RIP Kristian's Omas
Wundervoll!
mesa now has a reactive loadbox too
Good to know!
I wish the IR length was longer than 20ms, prevents me from buying the ampcentral :( it would be the perfect product for me otherwise.
Yeah, that’s a bummer!
Which loadbox/ir loader with a 200watt Randall amp?
If it’s not a tube amp you don’t need a load box!
I want to get a Randall titan 2 it is a hybrid amp. What do you recommend?
Sounds like the resistive mode gets rid of the impedance curve.
Yes
Im so upset i sold my cranborn pre to someones grandma before i saw you use it on guitar....thought it was just for her voice....blast it.
i’m looking at the new version from st rock. it’s price is more digestible. the driftwood load box sounds good too but has no other features. chugga chugga broh!
what if you´re coming home slightly dunk at 3 am and your grandma is shredding away, amp set to 11? o.0
Hi metal heads! What makes you believe spending 400eu for reactive load is a good idea? Kohle proved that power amp overdrive is no good for metal while reactive loads make sense to capture that overdrive you don't use.
So anybody ever tried if using 10eu resistor network and applying power amp freq response (captured between PA and speaker) would do the job?
I'm not saying you don't want a tube power amp. I have just shown that cranking your tube power amp does not make sense for modern metal guitar tones.
@@KohleAudioKult What I am saying is to check out if 10eu resistive load and matching EQ can do equally good job as a reactive load when you don't use power amp distortion.
Reactive load emulating a cab is effective to force frequency dependent tube power amp distortion. In case of modern metal it can be redundant.
Excellent video and it answered some things for me, because I have been contemplating getting a loadbox for a while as I do really wanna use tube amps drunk and naked at 3am. But more than that I've just been stuck with amp sims for so long and really wanna record some cranked tube amps without the police visits! 😜
I can confirm you’re the right guy for the 3 am drunk performance! 😘🤣
@Kohlekeller Studio 🤣🤣🤣😜🍻
Can you give us a load box shootout with the same custom ir? I'm in the market, but don't wanna spend 1k for an ir loader to get some good tone
That IR only made sense as long as I could switch to the real setup.
But yeah. I can do a shoot out to see how big the difference is.
@@KohleAudioKult I didn't mean the same ir you used here, I mean the same ir through each different load box.
Honestly to save some time, you could use this ir, amp and settings, and just add some more load boxes like budget friendly versions all the way up to this one.
Basically an a/b/c/d/etc vs the real amp/cab setup instead of only this a/b demo (which is awesome btw, thank you!) I'd like to get this box, but if I spend that much, it'd be on a new head lol
@@KohleAudioKult also, preferable a load box or 2 that I can use your eminence ir pack on. You mentioned this particular one can't?
ui hast du ne neue Kamera ? Die Farben sind plötzlich so punchy und schön :)
I love IR loader for how quickly I can plug in a guitar and be ready to play anytime a tube amp….but I hate so much that I have to chop most of my IR to 20ms….and most of them sound simply awful when you chop them, which leave you with just a few IR that you can really load #LONGERIR
That sucks! The Suhr has the same problem.
Two Notes can load longer IRs from what I remember!
@@KohleAudioKult I have a Captor X and it can load IRs that are 200ms long and it gives you a few options of phase adjustment and length adjustment if you want to use them with other IRs which otherwise might not be a perfect match
@@KohleAudioKult I was talking right about my Suhr Reactive Load Ir 🤣🤣🤣
@@frankscassi4960 Captor has 200msec but what latency in this mode??? haha
@@stRockOfficial I actually use 100ms IRs, never tried 200 i think
I don’t have to be piss drunk at 3 am to want to get naked and play some riffs
Even better!
Has anyone compared the two notes captor to the load box used here? I own the two notes and it has been one of the best purchases for my home studio. For anyone who owns several tube amps a load box is a no brainer. Plugins are getting stupid good but everyone has the same plugins. I love neural dsp but its become a predictable sound. If you've invested time and money into your "live sound" this is the easiest way to capture it without waking the kids or grandma. Still is there a notable tonal or feel difference between the two notes and this model?
Nope. I haven't checked it out yet. I have heard mixed reviews, but I have no first hand experience.
Load box is a hair more exaggerated in how saturated it sounds in the low end. Still DAMN close.
This video is sponsored by sleepy grandma.
Please buy the load-box!
I do this too but I keep my socks cause the basement floor is cold...
Haha! Even better.
I have never understood the meaning of "feel." what does it mean?
When you have been playing through tube amps for a long time. You start to feel how the amp reacts in your hands when your play. This is a really subtle thing. Every amp sim I have ever tried has no feel to them at all. In some cases the amp sim may even sound a little better than my amp but it just dosnt feel right.
Dito! Thanks for explaining
How the sound responds to your playing. Especially when you're used to something, you hit the strings with a certain amount of gain, and it sounds and reacts in a certain way.
If the "Feel" is off, it can feel like there's a disconnect. Like, you're playing, and listening to a different recording of the same playing. You hit the strings hard, and it doesn't sag/bloom the way you're expecting.
In my opinion, it's more about "different" than bad v. good. I vastly prefer the solid state rectifier in Mesa Rectos, and many agree. (Including Mesa, as they removed the tube rectifier for the Badlander, haha). It's a feel and responsiveness thing.
How big is the difference? Eh, that depends wildly on the player and rest of the rig.
But yeah, it's just latency, delayed onset saturation, how saturation responds to changing dynamics, resonance of certain harmonic frequencies, etc. Most of which has to do with saturation in some way. But it affects the player. How much? Eh.
We can all see how running in tight jeans would be different than in jogging pants or leggings. But the difference between cheap leggings from Amazon and over-engineered athlete kit is probably gonna be lost unless you're a competition-grade runner.
And Usain Bolt would outrun us all in a Chicken Costume.
Anyway, hope that's useful. :)
@@gaustinus8735 what does "react" mean? compression, distortion, volume?
@@whatskraken3886 it is how the amp responds to your playing. how hard you pick where you pick ect. depends on the sound you are using but in a high gain situation its feels like you can control the gain with you pick. its a subtle thing could be 100% psychological. But i have heard meany peoeple say the same thing.