Loadbox w. real loudspeaker drivers : Tube-Town Tone-Hound 8 Ohm / 100 W

[Djabthrash]

I think the guys using amps for home recording might be interested :

Most loadboxes out there affect the amp response and tone, and one DIY way to get closer to the real deal (=the amp response and tone when plugged to a real cab / loudspeaker) is to use a loudspeaker whose diaphragm has been torn down for the most, so that it produces little or no sound (you can dampen it even more with blankets) yet has its real loudspeaker drivers to "fool" the amp.
A friend of mine did that and it seems to work great (as in "reacts like an amp plugged to a real cab / loudspeaker" and "sounds better"), at least way better than a "regular" loadbox (purchased (Tad Silencer, Palmer, ...) or DIY).

(Sorry if my explanation above sucks, i tried my best )

Now it seems there are some non-DIY ones on the market, anyone tried those (DIY or not) ?

Might be a great solution if you want something better than a "regular" loadbox, and yet can't afford the supposedly killer but pricey DAR or even Two Notes ones. Then you just need a great DI and your favourite impulses loaded in your DAW (be it third-party impulses or dedicated impulse plugins (Recabinet, Two Notes PI-FREE, Two Notes PI-101 / WOS, ...)) and you're rollin' !

This one of those non-DIY ones :

http://www.tube-town.net/ttstore/product_info.php/info/p3964_Tube-Town-Tone-Hound-8-Ohm---100-W.html

"Tube-Town Tone-Hound 8 Ohm / 100 W


Yet another Loadbox ?
There are more than enough load boxes on the market, but the Tonehound
is no normal load box, rather, it is an enhancement which eliminates
the disadvantages of reactive load boxes, beacuse it works with real
loudspeaker drivers!
As a result, no simulation of the response of a loudspeaker is
necessary, as is required by reactive loads. The Tonehound behaves in
an absolutely authentic manner, as is only possible when real physical
drivers are used.
With reactive loads, dummy loads, or other dampening units, increasing
power increasingly loads the amplifier and its output transformers,
preventing the amp from working optimially, resulting in a thin,
unpleasant tone.
Furthermore, the usual devices convert the output power of the
amplifier into heat. Transforming nearly the entire output power of a
100 watt amplifier can produce a great deal of warmth.

The Tonehound suffers from none of these disadvantages
The Tonehound is attacthed to an amplifier like a normal speaker cabinet. The signal
is diverted for further processing by a DI box inserted between the
amp and Tonehound. The amp can be turned up all the way, the output
is eaten by the Tonehound, your ears, partner, and neighbors are
happy, and unpleasant consequences are reduced to nothing. The only
thing which remains is a quiet tone from the Tonehound and the
acoustic sound of the strings.

Modular and Flexible
The Tonehound includes no built-in DI or line out or any other
component of this sort. Why not? There are enough high-quality DI
boxes on the market; why develop yet another? This way, whichever DI
box is desired can be used, and diffent boxes - depending on the
situation - can be used to provide the optimum solution. The price of
the Tonehound can be kept as low as possible, and an ideal solution is
available for everything from home recording to professional studio
applications.

Suggested DI boxes
Palmer PDI-09
H&K Red Box Classic
TAD FANTA
Radial Engineering JDI

Suggested audio interfaces
Tascam US-144 (incl. Cubase LE)
Alesis IO|2
M-Audio Fast Track

Size: 450 x 260 x 230 mm


139,00 EUR
incl. 19 % Tax excl. Shipping costs

Product No.: tt-toneh-8-100
Weight: 11.000 kg
Shipping time: ca. 1 Week"

 

[TRUIE]

I plan to buy one, so I'll tell you if it's worth it

 

[Djabthrash]

I plan to buy one, so I'll tell you if it's worth it

Cool ! I took the link from you actually

 

[voidar]

I've got an old Weber MASS unit which does this. However this looks better.

 

[Djabthrash]

I've got an old Weber MASS unit which does this. However this looks better.

Ever compared with a "regular" loadbox ?

 

[voidar]

Been ages, but I think it convinced me. If I were to tap an amp I would definitely reach for it for peace of mind. As for the physics, it makes sense; the amp will need to react to the mechanical mass aswell as the impedance load. I remember reading back in the day on http://www.amptone.com/ how some people would use broken speaker cones for the same "silent" recording approach.

Also it is fun to touch and feel how it vibrates.

 

[TRUIE]

Yeah, it doesn't even compare to a resistive loadbox IMHO, as it's a real speaker that take the load, like in a real head + cab setup.
The output transformer of your amp is not altered in a bad way like resistive loadboxes does (resulting in a thin and fizzy tone), it sounds like the real deal.
The cool thing is that you don't have to care about the speaker sound as it's silent, and you can push your amp harder.
A resistive loadbox just avoid your amp to fry, but it ruins your tone

 

[chrisjmp]

I think it was probably gearslutz where I saw it, a guy mentioned that he uses an iso cab basically as a load box and records the line out from his head.

 

[TRUIE]

That's a good alternative too.
For me it's the only reliable way to record a head (PA out) without killing the tone.
I'll post some samples when I'll have everything, I plan to buy a ToneHound + Egnater Tweaker head + Torpedo PI-101, but I first need to sell my ENGL Blackmore + VHT 2x12 Fat Bottom (I wish I could keep them but I'm in a small flat, and anyway, I think ENGL sound is not for me).

 

[Red Phoenix]

There was a discussion about the Tone Hound in the beginning of 2010 in this community (german). Seems it's not that new. But i also didn't know it before. Till last week i recorded through preamp out. Then i built my own loadbox with line out. And now, two days i finished it, i read this about the Tone Hound *grrrr*
From Preamp-Out to Line Out behind power-amp it was a good improvement. But again "upgrading" to a Tone Hound? Is it really worth it? I'm not sure if it will be silent enough like a resistive loadbox. In post #39 in the german community a user said that he couldn't crank up his 5 Watt amp with the Tone Hound. That makes me wonder.

 

[TRUIE]

Yeah, I think the difference between a resistive loadbox and the tone hound is pretty huge.
It doesn't prove anything, but on a french forum a guy tried a resistive loadbox and was disapointed because he didn't had the sound of his amp. Then he bought a cheap 1x12 cab, cut the cone and dampened the cab with blankets, and his sound was back, huge difference according to him.

I alos heard that the tonehound is not totally silent, apparently you hear something like a ugly fizzy speaker sound. Still have to try it, I hope it's not that disturbing (at least not louder than the monitored PA out + IR sound).

 

[Red Phoenix]

And when do you want to buy the Tone Hound? Or..when can we expect a review from you? :Spin:
I guess when buying the TH we pay for a chassis with a broken Speaker? Or did they build something special? The product description is not that detailed.

 

[TRUIE]

I quote myself

I plan to buy a ToneHound + Egnater Tweaker head + Torpedo PI-101, but I first need to sell my ENGL Blackmore + VHT 2x12 Fat Bottom

You don't need a ENGL Blackmore or VHT 2x12 ?

For the chasis + broken speaker, I think it's pretty much this. Maybe some dampening too.
You still can go DIY, but the first price on thomann for a closed back 1x12 is 73€ : http://www.thomann.de/fr/harley_benton_g112v.htm
You still have to open, cut and dampen yourself, it's only 80W and it take much more space (51cm x 27cm x 53cm) thant the tonehound, as it's designed at least to sound decent.
The Tonehound is only 45 x 26 x 23 cm.

 

[Red Phoenix]

Oh, excusez-moi! I read over that part with your Blackmore I could buy two of the ToneHounds and give one to you and you give me your Blackmore =D
Mhhh, DIY the broken speaker is to insecure for me. If there is something incorrect then i damage my ears. Maybe i try the TH as my own x-mas present. But before i obtain some more informations concerning the residual volume. And yes, the size of the tonehound is better than any normal 1*12 box. And building my own chassis with tolex isn't that cheap.

 

[Red Phoenix]

I found some additional information on the community site of tube-town:
The Tone Hound do not work with load resistors, and there are no built-in speaker, in which the membrane is removed, the basket is sawed off and the rest injected with expanding foam. And no power is burned up by chokes or coils or other inductive devices. But what is used instead is a secret unless somebody "dismembers" his TH.
So a destroyed speaker may be the "real deal".

 

[TRUIE]

No worries for the Blackmore thing (and great french speaking !).
Thanks for your offer too, pretty amazing deal... but I'll keep my Blackmore

I think the tonehound is not so overpriced, 139€ is OK for me, compared to the price of a shitty resistive loadbox that will sound a lot worse thant that.
Thanks for the infos about german forums, very helpful !

I've searched on some french forums too and I found only 1 review where the guy says :
- chassis is glued, so you have to break it if you want to look at what's inside
- with the master of his head at more than 12' o clock, the tonehound produced a tiny bit of noise, nothing disturbing according to him but a really shitty sound
- he tried it with Torpedo PI-101 plugin, and he insists on the fact that it sounds like his head, same as in rehersal. He tried with his bandmate rig, and same conclusion. So no tone sucking.

I answered to his post, asking if he can tell me more about the residual sound produced by the tonehound, if it's acceptable like a headphone set cranked or more disturbing than that. Hope he'll post back.

 

[AD Chaos]

Does this have any US distributor?

 

[Vendo]

Got this thing since January 2010, just a few words: its awesome. Used it with a Krank Rev, 2 Channel Dual and now with my Earforce II. Always used the Lineouts or Slaveouts. Couldnt figure out a difference with using a real cab so i guess it does not affect the sound in a bad way.

regards

 

[Red Phoenix]

yeah way back in school i learnd it and i put my whole french skills into this phrase!

yep, 140€ is a good price. With good diy you pay more...and it's a good tactic against snoopies to glue the chassis

@Vendo
good that you joined in..i decided to write you a pm on the musiker-board. But when you are also in this community..
But i guess you never used a simple resistive load, so you can not compare the TH against it, am i right?

Samples from resistive load vs. ToneHound would be a great thing if someone could find some.

@AD Chaos
No..it's a "little" shop in germany who build them, so i guess you can only buy it directly from that shop.

 

[TRUIE]

Vendo, thanks for your review.
What about the residual noise it produce ?
Is it acceptable or that loud ?

OFF TOPIC

yeah way back in school i learnd it and i put my whole french skills into this phrase!

Ahah, great ! It's a shame that I choose spanish as a 2nd language, I can't answer to you in german (the only words I know are "ich liebe dich", "ich bin ein berliner" and "buck dich", "mutter" and all that Rammstein stuff )