I didn't want to do a NPD thread, since this isn't really a *new* device for me anymore. I bought one used on CL for $300 (Canadian!) back in early March, and have been using it since then quite a lot. At that point in the calendar, my gigging schedule was very light, so I wanted to wait until it had accrued some more real-world experience before doing a post.
First thoughts/quick take: This is a surprisingly good piece of kit! I was inherently skeptical, after being so unimpressed with early modelling technology (Line 6, v1 Axe-FX), of going the digital/IR route. But, at the price it came up, and with a glowing endorsement from a friend who uses a Two Notes Captor X, I decided it'd be worth the punt. In fullness of hindsight, it appears to have been a good gamble!
My needs: I gig a lot, and maybe 5% of the time, my cab actually gets mic'd up, but the rest of the gigs I'm running a DI line out to FOH. After a Scotland tour in January, where every night would yield a WILDLY different bass sound in my monitor mix, I realized I needed a bit more control over what I'm sending to FOH. I use a few effects regularly in the touring band (sub-octave, overdrive, and envelope filter mostly), and while they all sounded great through my amp/cab on stage, what FOH was delivering me (monitor mix) and to the crowd (I have a wireless cable, so am able to walk out and hear the audience mix) was, at best, a mixed bag! At least in my setup, all those effects need some sort of taming in the highest freq ranges, and sometimes in the low end, too. I've learned that many FOH techs out there either don't know to do that, or can't be bothered. Plenty can! But I simply can't leave it to chance.
Additionally, I wanted something for my at-home recording setup. It mostly consists of me doing stupid YouTube videos and such, but I do also get some requests for "proper" bass tracks, and since this is a shoebox condo and I can't turn an amp up to recording volume without being a terrible neighbour, I need a good straight-to-desk sound.
I was initially looking at something like a high/low pass filter pedal (Broughton has a couple, I saw that Vong Filterung kit, too), since it'd be a pretty simple (all analogue!) solution to my issues. But... my pedalboard is/was full, and I didn't want to make any changes there. And I didn't own any sort of direct box, but the DI line out from my Mesa head (D-350) was standing in admirably. So now, I run from the DI out of the amp head into the C.A.B, and from there I send the XLR out to FOH (or my little home interface). This means any adjustments I make to volume/EQ on my amp only impact the on-stage sound, and the FOH line stays consistent.
I am not sure this is exactly how Two Notes envisaged this unit getting used; it seems the primary function is to put it BETWEEN the amp head and cab (typically a tube amp), in order to send the full tube compliment to the DI line. Nothing in the literature anywhere mentions running a DI line the way I am; had to actually go buy a small female XLR-to-1/4" stereo cable in order to rig this up properly. Anyways, now I've got a little "DI" box that lives on top of my amp head at gigs, and it fits in the front pouch of either the Mesa, or pedalboard, carrying cases; easy peasy!
So... how easy is it to use, and how does it sound? I've found it to be a pretty intuitive learning process, and did not take long at all to get up to speed with the software. I think, like what I've read on most of these modelling/IR units, it's best to make big edits and adjustments on a computer or tablet, rather than on the unit itself. The biggest learning curve is probably deciding how best to "mic" the "cabinet". It gives you a LOT of adjustment, several microphone options, and the ability to dual mic any cab. I've had good success with putting a close mic slightly off axis from the speaker centre, and then another one further back to capture "room" sound. For someone who has never tried putting a mic on a speaker, it could be daunting, but it's also easy to just "restart" if you don't like where things have ended up after a little messing about.
You can also start getting very surgical with EQ points, if you know specifically what you want to dial in or out, but I also think they did a good job of setting things up out of the box that you don't need to start messing with EQs at all once you have a cab mic'd up to your liking. Speaking of the cabs (the free ones that come pre-packaged)... there aren't a whole lot to choose from as a bassist. Guitar? No worries; there's dozens if not hundreds. Bass? There's like, less than 6. IIRC, there was only a Rumble 210, a "modern" 410, Ampeg Classic-series 810, and a B15. The only one of those I liked the sound of was the B15, but YMMV depending on what tones you like. Full disclosure, I eventually spent ~$10 in the Two Notes store on a Mesa Subway 212 IR. The reason being that Mesa actually make their own IRs in-house; all the others were done by Two Notes. And I think it shows; the Mesa SMOKES the rest of the captures, IMHO. I really dig the sound, and am getting nothing but compliments from the sound techs regarding the DI line I'm sending them.
Because the captures are technically only the speaker cabs alone, the software editor does offer the ability to turn on digital preamp and power amp sections, in order to create a "full" amp sound if you need/want. I use a Sushi Box tube preamp on my board, so I don't typically use the amp sims on my IR. But the "tube" power section actually sounds great for dialling in a gnarly rock tone, and I have a couple IRs set up with it; occasionally I sub in on a RAWK gig, and for those occasions, I like the extra grit from the power section.
Wow, this got really long! Bottom line: this was a purchase I have zero regrets over, and am very happy with. If there is any appreciable difference between the IRs available here, and a mic'd up cabinet, they are pretty minimal. And good luck noticing anything in a full band mix at a live show! I doubt I'd take it to a proper studio session with me, but so far when I've sent bass tracks at home to clients, they have been opting for the C.A.B recordings (I send two takes; one right to the interface, and one via the Torpedo). So it's seemingly viable for that as well.
And this is proving great for touring/fly outs, and IEM gigs; I just need a bass, my pedals, and the Torpedo. Between the IRs and the Sushi Box preamp, I've got a consistent FOH/IEM sound night-to-night that sounds like a full tube amp.
The technology has come a long way! Colour me impressed. The final test will be seeing how well it holds up to gigging life, but so far, so good.
First thoughts/quick take: This is a surprisingly good piece of kit! I was inherently skeptical, after being so unimpressed with early modelling technology (Line 6, v1 Axe-FX), of going the digital/IR route. But, at the price it came up, and with a glowing endorsement from a friend who uses a Two Notes Captor X, I decided it'd be worth the punt. In fullness of hindsight, it appears to have been a good gamble!
My needs: I gig a lot, and maybe 5% of the time, my cab actually gets mic'd up, but the rest of the gigs I'm running a DI line out to FOH. After a Scotland tour in January, where every night would yield a WILDLY different bass sound in my monitor mix, I realized I needed a bit more control over what I'm sending to FOH. I use a few effects regularly in the touring band (sub-octave, overdrive, and envelope filter mostly), and while they all sounded great through my amp/cab on stage, what FOH was delivering me (monitor mix) and to the crowd (I have a wireless cable, so am able to walk out and hear the audience mix) was, at best, a mixed bag! At least in my setup, all those effects need some sort of taming in the highest freq ranges, and sometimes in the low end, too. I've learned that many FOH techs out there either don't know to do that, or can't be bothered. Plenty can! But I simply can't leave it to chance.
Additionally, I wanted something for my at-home recording setup. It mostly consists of me doing stupid YouTube videos and such, but I do also get some requests for "proper" bass tracks, and since this is a shoebox condo and I can't turn an amp up to recording volume without being a terrible neighbour, I need a good straight-to-desk sound.
I was initially looking at something like a high/low pass filter pedal (Broughton has a couple, I saw that Vong Filterung kit, too), since it'd be a pretty simple (all analogue!) solution to my issues. But... my pedalboard is/was full, and I didn't want to make any changes there. And I didn't own any sort of direct box, but the DI line out from my Mesa head (D-350) was standing in admirably. So now, I run from the DI out of the amp head into the C.A.B, and from there I send the XLR out to FOH (or my little home interface). This means any adjustments I make to volume/EQ on my amp only impact the on-stage sound, and the FOH line stays consistent.
I am not sure this is exactly how Two Notes envisaged this unit getting used; it seems the primary function is to put it BETWEEN the amp head and cab (typically a tube amp), in order to send the full tube compliment to the DI line. Nothing in the literature anywhere mentions running a DI line the way I am; had to actually go buy a small female XLR-to-1/4" stereo cable in order to rig this up properly. Anyways, now I've got a little "DI" box that lives on top of my amp head at gigs, and it fits in the front pouch of either the Mesa, or pedalboard, carrying cases; easy peasy!
So... how easy is it to use, and how does it sound? I've found it to be a pretty intuitive learning process, and did not take long at all to get up to speed with the software. I think, like what I've read on most of these modelling/IR units, it's best to make big edits and adjustments on a computer or tablet, rather than on the unit itself. The biggest learning curve is probably deciding how best to "mic" the "cabinet". It gives you a LOT of adjustment, several microphone options, and the ability to dual mic any cab. I've had good success with putting a close mic slightly off axis from the speaker centre, and then another one further back to capture "room" sound. For someone who has never tried putting a mic on a speaker, it could be daunting, but it's also easy to just "restart" if you don't like where things have ended up after a little messing about.
You can also start getting very surgical with EQ points, if you know specifically what you want to dial in or out, but I also think they did a good job of setting things up out of the box that you don't need to start messing with EQs at all once you have a cab mic'd up to your liking. Speaking of the cabs (the free ones that come pre-packaged)... there aren't a whole lot to choose from as a bassist. Guitar? No worries; there's dozens if not hundreds. Bass? There's like, less than 6. IIRC, there was only a Rumble 210, a "modern" 410, Ampeg Classic-series 810, and a B15. The only one of those I liked the sound of was the B15, but YMMV depending on what tones you like. Full disclosure, I eventually spent ~$10 in the Two Notes store on a Mesa Subway 212 IR. The reason being that Mesa actually make their own IRs in-house; all the others were done by Two Notes. And I think it shows; the Mesa SMOKES the rest of the captures, IMHO. I really dig the sound, and am getting nothing but compliments from the sound techs regarding the DI line I'm sending them.
Because the captures are technically only the speaker cabs alone, the software editor does offer the ability to turn on digital preamp and power amp sections, in order to create a "full" amp sound if you need/want. I use a Sushi Box tube preamp on my board, so I don't typically use the amp sims on my IR. But the "tube" power section actually sounds great for dialling in a gnarly rock tone, and I have a couple IRs set up with it; occasionally I sub in on a RAWK gig, and for those occasions, I like the extra grit from the power section.
Wow, this got really long! Bottom line: this was a purchase I have zero regrets over, and am very happy with. If there is any appreciable difference between the IRs available here, and a mic'd up cabinet, they are pretty minimal. And good luck noticing anything in a full band mix at a live show! I doubt I'd take it to a proper studio session with me, but so far when I've sent bass tracks at home to clients, they have been opting for the C.A.B recordings (I send two takes; one right to the interface, and one via the Torpedo). So it's seemingly viable for that as well.
And this is proving great for touring/fly outs, and IEM gigs; I just need a bass, my pedals, and the Torpedo. Between the IRs and the Sushi Box preamp, I've got a consistent FOH/IEM sound night-to-night that sounds like a full tube amp.
The technology has come a long way! Colour me impressed. The final test will be seeing how well it holds up to gigging life, but so far, so good.
