Two-Note "Torpedo PI Free" Test (Keith Merrow riffage!)

[Fugdup]

Did a quick demo, because this plugin drastically improved my Guitar-rig tone instantly!
Definately gonna buy the full version, or even better, save up for the Torpedo live.

 

[TRUIE]

Nice one !
Are your really pushing the poweramp to max, like we can se on the screenshot at the beginning ?
Anyway, it sounds very good.

I own the full version of the plugin, and it slays (I use it mainly with amps, preamps and stomboxes).
Many many cabs to pick (and lots of bass cabs too !), enough mics to do the job, and all the poweramp options are amazing when using with sims or real guitar / bass pres or stompboxes.

 

[Heabow]

I use the PI-101 Metal and it kills! Gotta upgrade this to the WoS version asap! BTW if you need it for studio purpose only, I think the plugin version would be fine and it sounds exactly the same.

Oh and I also bought Recabinet 3 with that awesome dynamic option... Sounds different than the Torpedo but it's really great. I often use them both to get a guitar tone I like.

 

[TRUIE]

BTW if you need it for studio purpose only, I think the plugin version would be fine and it sounds exactly the same.

But if he don't have any loadbox, the Live can be a great all-in-one calibrated solution too (loadbox + line out + quality converters + cooling and all that things).

Anyway, I don't see myself running all my guitar tracks to a Torpedo Live with printed settings, much better flexybilty with the plugin.

 

[Fugdup]

@ TRUIE: yup! The settings you see is what is used.

@Heabow: I'm curious as to what it would sound like with a torpedo live and my ENGL blackmore running through it. It's doomed to sound better then guitar rig + the plugin
But yeah, it's not exactly cheap, so there's probably tons of other gear i'll get before that.

 

[TRUIE]

Or you can get a loadbox with a line out + the plugin, so that you can use it with your ENGL Blackmore for way cheaper !

For the poweramp thing, I'm used to set way lower values (10-12 dB gains max).
What benefits do you hear in using it to max ? (here I get too many distortion and audible noise).

 

[Fugdup]

Or you can get a loadbox with a line out + the plugin, so that you can use it with your ENGL Blackmore for way cheaper !

For the poweramp thing, I'm used to set way lower values (10-12 dB gains max).
What benefits do you hear in using it to max ? (here I get too many distortion and audible noise).

Dunno, probably no benefits
I havent spent that much time with it, i just fired it up and turned some knobs and i liked the sound. I'll see if i can hear any difference.

 

[TLTD]

Nice!!!! You could say it was the Axe FX and I'd not know the difference.

 

[blue_fAng]

It sounds killer! Did you use a DI box or straight into an interface?

 

[Fugdup]

It sounds killer! Did you use a DI box or straight into an interface?

Straight into Line 6 Pod UX1

 

[FF666]

Killer??
Torpedo is worst than built in guitar rig cabs.
It has no lows, and highs sound like shit.
I would say even a palmer di speaker simulation sounds better.

 

[TRUIE]

Worst than Guitar Rig built in cabs ?!
Are you serious ??
OK, the free version has not the best poweramp and cabs options (EL34, Marshall Slash Signature V30 and SM57 only), but the technology sounds actually pretty damn good.

Here's the last thing I did with it :
TEST HM2 V-TWIN 2013 0129 Mix1 MASTER

For guitars, there are :
- 2 tracks of Maxon OD808 > Mesa V-Twin rack Dist Channel > Torpedo PI-101 (PP KT88 Pentode + Bogner 4x12 + SM57)
- 2 tracks of Boss HM-2 Jap > Mesa V-Twin rack Clean Channel > Torpedo PI-101 (PP EL84 Pentode + CAA 4x12 + SM57)

No EQ on guitars, except HP/LP.

Some samples using the same technology :



To me it's the best cab / miking solution on the market, way better than simples IRs.

 

[TLTD]

That's interesting about the Palmer stuff...I was playing around A/Bing my Palmer tracked guitars yesterday and they were pretty good, I ended up sticking with those over the torpedo sound BUT for ease of use, we're talking about the Torpedo PLUGIN and with AMP SIM SOFTWARE it gets guitars in the mix better than anything else. It's a highly useful tool, even the free version.

Some things I liked were the presence and depth. Initially, I thought I don't want to touch those but they make things really 3D (NOT like presence knobs on an amp). The Torpedo software is excellent. Maybe not for just playing around solo, but in the mix it's definitely useful and I dunno...kinda speaks for itself. You go from listening to professionally recorded albums and stuff and listen to this it's much closer than the boxy cabinet sims & impulses that sound interesting like you are in a room with an amp or listening to a mic'd cabinet THROUGH monitors from a few feet away or something but aren't really what you need in a mix. It's more like the signal chain of mic>mic pre>mixer than mic>monitor>air. Both are cool but silly to argue about it really.

 

[TRUIE]

You're comparing Palmer recorded guitars (so a real head > poweramp out > palmer) to an ampsim followed by Torpedo VST, right ?
Because with your amp head, a good loadbox and the Torpedo PI-101, you can achieve way better results than with a Palmer (to me, the Torpedo cab/miking technology is far better than Palmer one, wich consists only on some filters and old things like that IIRC, where the Torpedo are real measures of the real deal).

Here is a sample made with my Jet City JCA50H head and a Tubetown ToneHound loadbox, running through the PI-101 plugin :
TEST JET CITY 0627 Mix2 MASTER
1 guitar take solo :
AMP GTR1_2

Using it that way is very convenient, you can achieve a lot of different tones with all these cabs and mics.

Some things I liked were the presence and depth. Initially, I thought I don't want to touch those but they make things really 3D (NOT like presence knobs on an amp).

That's because it's a poweramp sim, so it works like a real poweramp.
Pretty handy too, when used with a real guitar/bass preamp, or with a plugin that don't have a poweramp section (like TSE X30) or a bypassable one (like TSE X50).
But you can also use it to add a bit of coloration/saturation to a signal that's already passed through a real poweramp.
I think this section need some time to get used to, with all the tubes and different settings available (6L6 / EL34 / EL84 / KT88, Single ended or Push-Pull, Triode or Pentode Mode, Volume / Presence / Depth).

Not to mention I use that plugin a lot on bass tracks too (in all the clips that I posted, there were some instances on bass).

The great thing with that plugin/technology is that it's very close to the real life situation of miking a cab. So that you can achieve some great tones... and really shitty ones too, depending on which cab/mic you choose, and where you place the mic.

Important thing with that plugin : you have to set the input level very hot (close to 0dB) if you want it to sound good (the poweramp section and overload feature are calibrated to work at that level).