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Author Topic: Cabinet Simulators  (Read 69764 times)

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trader144

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Cabinet Simulators
« on: Time Format »

So since cabinet simulators are a big deal these days, it would be great if someone like MarshallJMP would share some thoughts on what makes the best (including his Monstercab).

I bought the new ADA GCS-3 due to (a) the mic placement feature and (b) price. The Celestion and closed back sounds are really good, and the mic placement is critical....however....you only get one mic so you miss out on the other mic positions that are quite common in a studio. I thought ADA would have seen this and offer dual mics.....

Anyway it is decent as a DI box, still has a little direct clipping to the sound.

Any others?
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MarshallJMP

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Re: Cabinet Simulators
« Reply #1 on: Time Format »

The monstercab doesn't alter the sound of the microcab,the advantage is that you will have a build in power supply and dual 100W loads.This way you can capture the sound of the power amp too.

Another great cabsim is the ampulator,too bad it's so hard to find.Palmer also makes good cabsims.

But,for me personally,nothing can beat a true amp,cab,mic setup.
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trader144

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Re: Cabinet Simulators
« Reply #2 on: Time Format »

thank you. there were a few ampulators on ebay recently for $700.

what makes them so good?
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rnolan

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Re: Cabinet Simulators
« Reply #3 on: Time Format »

But,for me personally,nothing can beat a true amp,cab,mic setup.
I'm with MJMP here, however, I've made good use of and been very happy with the cab emulated outs on my MP2
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trader144

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Re: Cabinet Simulators
« Reply #4 on: Time Format »

thank you. i agree that the actual speaker cabinet is the best sound.
it is getting harder to justify one on stage as people use DI more and more.

still wondering what qualities separate the best cabinet simulators from the average.
for me the celestion, closed back, 12", and mic placement features are a must have.
but it gets me to 80% of the way there. i can add low end with an EQ and recapture
some of the mic placement miss but it moves closer processed.

someone has to be 90% or more.


are people getting better sims by plugging into a computer?
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rnolan

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Re: Cabinet Simulators
« Reply #5 on: Time Format »

People are doing all sorts of stuff with computers but it's all DSP and tone cloning.  While these are valid they still don't sound as good and also PC based DSPs vary markedly (the free DSPs are usually pretty ordinary).  Dedicated outboard gear (effects etc) generally have much wider (sometimes 128bit) back planes and just do what they are there for, also you can mix them in with the analogue signal and not digitise everything.
For me, the more analogue I can keep the sound the better (that said, the gap is narrowing).  The MP2 cab sims give you closed/open back options but no mic placement variances.  I've used the cab sims of my MP2 for the majority of recordings for over 10 years now and they do rather well, no additional eq required and the convenience of recoding in your lounge room.
I've no direct experience with the ampulator but it looks like a good solution if you can get your hands on one.
For recording, the AxeFX seems to be up there, it uses fractal algorithms and a dedicated DSP CPU.  Not so great live according to some.
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McLeanAB

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Re: Cabinet Simulators
« Reply #6 on: Time Format »

Best?  I think it's a matter of taste...

I think the Torpedo Two Notes is about as "realistic" as you can get with a TON of options... however, I personally LOVE the cab sims on my Lexicon MPX-G2 and Rocktron Xpression the "best."  I hated the Palmer PDI-09, but I only used it with a line level from a preamp, never from a tube amp speaker out.  Same with the Behringer unit, the H&K Red boxes... yuck.  I did like the old DMC Voodoo Labs Cab Tone... very similar to the ADA Microcab.

There's so much IR stuff out there now, I just don't like fiddling with it on my computer...
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-Adam
ISP Theta Preamp, ISP Theta PRO, ISP Theta Combo and Vector 2x12 with Celestion Alnico Creams, and Charvel Wildcards with EMGs!

Sparker

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Re: Cabinet Simulators
« Reply #7 on: Time Format »

Are there any "cheap" standalone IR boxes available yet, not PC based?
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McLeanAB

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Re: Cabinet Simulators
« Reply #8 on: Time Format »

Are there any "cheap" standalone IR boxes available yet, not PC based?

Yup... search on ebay for "cabinet emulator" "cabinet simulator" "speaker simulator" or "speaker emulator" and there's all sorts of stuff... right now there are three or more ADA Ampulators, a Microcab, the new ADA box, Palmer units, a couple of Behringers, an old Ibanez Parrot, a bunch of Two Notes rack and box units, an old Groove Tube unit (can't do line level), a couple of Marshall SE100 that I've always been curious about, and a few others like the new H&K... some $80 Micro boxes...

ooops... you meant just IR boxes?  The Two Notes is the only one I know about...
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-Adam
ISP Theta Preamp, ISP Theta PRO, ISP Theta Combo and Vector 2x12 with Celestion Alnico Creams, and Charvel Wildcards with EMGs!

MarshallJMP

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Re: Cabinet Simulators
« Reply #9 on: Time Format »

thank you. there were a few ampulators on ebay recently for $700.

what makes them so good?

Well it's not just a cab sim but also an amp sim with a real tube in it and alot of dials to finetune the sound.It's my favorite cabsim altough my palmer is also good.

I also have the new ADA GCS-2 lying around (from the other guitar player in the band) and altough not bad i prefer the microcab (monstercab) and the ampulator.

What i usually do is use both micing and cabsims and mixing the sounds,a cabsim usually gives a better bottom end.
« Last Edit: Time Format by MarshallJMP »
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El Chiguete

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Re: Cabinet Simulators
« Reply #10 on: Time Format »

I wish I could go all out and record using a loud amp and mics... but for convenience and at least as a starting point I want to use cab sims to record videos and post them on youtube, so I will start using the Torpedo Two Notes software (but I need to buy a decent interface/sound card first).
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trader144

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Re: Cabinet Simulators
« Reply #11 on: Time Format »

McLeanAB

I listened to some demos online, and the Torpedo sounded the best to me....it could have been the demo but it still sounded like there was some digital clipping.

So....maybe a better idea is to get a cab simulator to get the cabinet sound and address the sound squeeze with some sort of tone shaping effect (for those of us who don't want to fork over $700 for an ampulator).

Any ideas on a tone shaping effects (probably not a standard EQ, but something analog that contains guitar sound shaping attributes like presence, resonance, etc)?
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McLeanAB

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Re: Cabinet Simulators
« Reply #12 on: Time Format »


I listened to some demos online, and the Torpedo sounded the best to me....it could have been the demo but it still sounded like there was some digital clipping.

So....maybe a better idea is to get a cab simulator to get the cabinet sound and address the sound squeeze with some sort of tone shaping effect (for those of us who don't want to fork over $700 for an ampulator).

Any ideas on a tone shaping effects (probably not a standard EQ, but something analog that contains guitar sound shaping attributes like presence, resonance, etc)?

Read up on the Two Notes Torpedo stuff... I believe there are tons of that in the software... even my trial/demo version had EQ and resonance and some other stuff... it's quite detailed.  I hear the Peavey Revalver stuff and the LEPOU POULIN plugins are fairly sophisticated too.

Again, can't say enough about the Rocktron Xpression, Lexicon MPX-G2 cam sims and the Microcab.  They won't give you as much of that "realistic" sound, but to each their own...
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-Adam
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McLeanAB

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Re: Cabinet Simulators
« Reply #13 on: Time Format »

I don't know about anyone else on here, but having had the Microcab I and II (although I never used the load, it was all preamps in), and now years with the Rocktron Xpression and that being stomped by the cab sims in the Lexicon MPX-G2, I really REALLY want to try out the AMPULATOR... $700 is steep, but...

Anyone on here had/have an Ampulator?  How different from the Microcab does it sound?
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-Adam
ISP Theta Preamp, ISP Theta PRO, ISP Theta Combo and Vector 2x12 with Celestion Alnico Creams, and Charvel Wildcards with EMGs!

McLeanAB

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Re: Cabinet Simulators
« Reply #14 on: Time Format »

...AND/OR...

Has anyone tried the new ADA GCS-2 or GCS-3 and compared them to the Microcabs?  I know Michael Thompson (who demoed the Carl Martin Chorus in the vid I posted a few days ago) digs the snot out of the new ADA Cabinet Simulators... just curious how they stack up against the old Microcab and how different the Ampulator is to all of the above...

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-Adam
ISP Theta Preamp, ISP Theta PRO, ISP Theta Combo and Vector 2x12 with Celestion Alnico Creams, and Charvel Wildcards with EMGs!
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