Amp + Impulses?

[polifemo]

Maybe this has been covered before, but what "tool" (dummy load or whatever) should one use for being able to use one´s favorite amp - without a speaker cab - with impulses when recording?

What I need is the "dummy load kind of thingey" that will bring my amp head signal down (without harming the power section of the amp!) to a signal level that I can feed into my soundcard for "silent recording".

Static or not, I´ve found the Redwirez IRs to be really useful.

 

[CAlexanderParra]

THD hotplate!

 

[CronosBeyond]

I'm using a "TAD Silencer" for that. It's connectet between my amps cabinet output and my cabinet. The silencer has a Line Out which I connect to my audio interface. You can set the damping to "load" so that you don't need to connect a cabinet.

 

[TonyS.]

Go and buildt it yourself...10 bucks, 10 minutes!

 

[polifemo]

Thanks for your reply guys!

I did not know that one could use the Hot Plate without having any sound coming out of the speakers.

Regarding attenuators the best one - by far - that I´ve used is the Ultimate Attenuator so I need to find out if that one has an "load option" as well.

Building one?
I´ve built lots of stuff, so that probably won´t be a problem, but will it really sound good?
Attenuating the signal from the amp AND keeping the good sound doesn´t seem that easy!

 

[hsinn3r]

You just need a dummy load, it won't make a difference on the sound that comes out of the preamp (which is what you're going for).
I've seen some schematics floating around the forums, it's dead easy to build.

 

[polifemo]

The tubes and OT in the power amp section is a vital part of the more "classic" rock tones as far as I´m concerned.
For "metal" I suppose that the sound from just the preamp is fine though.

 

[hsinn3r]

If you want to use the power amp output, you will probably need also something to match the impedance, after dealing with the wattage.

What most people do, is wire a dummy load on the power amp out (so that you don't need a cab, and don't fuck up your amp), and get the signal from the pre-amp. Most impulses include the power amp, too btw.

 

[006]

polifemo: impulses have a power section already in them, so if you are trying to get the OT section of your amp you are basically going through TWO power sections when running into an impulse. Unless you use something like Redwirez where I think they used a solid-state power amp to make the impulses.

 

[colonel_claypoo]

polifemo: impulses have a power section already in them, so if you are trying to get the OT section of your amp you are basically going through TWO power sections when running into an impulse. Unless you use something like Redwirez where I think they used a solid-state power amp to make the impulses.

wait, doesn't that render dummy loads unnecessary in conjunction with cab impulses?

if you didn't need the power amp section but just the preamp section, you could just use the fx send and hook up any old cab and have the master volume at 0.

 

[006]

Yes, you could do that, as long as you have a load connected to the head. But, some amps have to have the master volume turned up before any signal will go through any of the outputs.

 

[CAlexanderParra]

power amp out + cab impulse > preamp out + cab impulse

Sounds so much better, I don't care if there 2 power amps technically running in the chain.

 

[006]

It can sound better, sometimes.

 

[CAlexanderParra]

Hmm, I suppose I could see how it can be interchangeable on which would sound better depending on the amp/part being played/type of tone. For high gain stuff on my JSX the line out sounded far superior than the FX send...I'll have to do more tests with the two.

 

[TonyS.]

It can sound better, sometimes.

Yes..it depends.....I did tests with some Egnl amps and they there was no real difference between power amp out and FX send...with my old Rectifier, the poweramp out kills the FX send!

 

[Ermz]

A Countryman Type 85 is capable of taking a speaker-out line from your head, as long as you connect a dummy load in the parallel input. I do this whenever I run a real amp into impulses.

The result is better than using straight sims, for sure, but it's not the same as using a real cab. Impulses are one of the big limiting factors in attaining a realistic, dynamic, 3d guitar tone.

 

[viralz]

To me this sounds awesome!

 

[colonel_claypoo]

Yes..it depends.....I did tests with some Egnl amps and they there was no real difference between power amp out and FX send...with my old Rectifier, the poweramp out kills the FX send!

very interesting,

so bottom line: it depends on the amp.

good to know I didn't just build a load box for nothing.

 

[CAlexanderParra]

I did tests with some Egnl amps and they there was no real difference between power amp out and FX send

I'd like to know why. Does that mean the power amp is implemented onto the fx loop or that the power amp doesn't do jack shit?

 

[DanLights]

I'd like to know why. Does that mean the power amp is implemented onto the fx loop or that the power amp doesn't do jack shit?

Power amp out means you're sending the preamp signal into an external power amp, which means the power amp of the amp is in fact not affecting the tone, it's basically the same as an fx send AFAIK

Edit: ignore, I mixed the terms up