The Ultimate Loadbox Comparison - Part 2

Part 2 contains an update to the rating of Part 1 and I'll check the tonal neutrality of each single load box with a cabinet connected - a final rating is included too.
In this video series I'll compare all relevant reactive load boxes on the market. The OX Box from Universal Audio, the Powerstation 2 from Fryette, the Tube Amp Expander from BOSS, the Reactive Load IR from Suhr, the Captor X and Torpedo Live from TwoNotes, the Ironman II from Tone King and the AmpCentral from RedSeven.
#loadbox #guitar #amp
All episodes of 'The Ultimate Loadbox Comparison'
Part 1 - see • The Ultimate Loadbox C...
Part 2 - see • The Ultimate Loadbox C...
Part 3 - see • The Ultimate Loadbox C...
Part 4 - see • The Ultimate Loadbox C...
Part 5 - see • The Ultimate Loadbox C...
Part 6 - see • The Ultimate Loadbox C...
Part 7 - see • The Ultimate Loadbox C...
Part 8 - see • The Ultimate Loadbox C...
Part 9 - see • The Ultimate Loadbox C...
Part 10 - see • The Ultimate Loadbox C...
Part 11 - see • The Ultimate Loadbox C...
Part 12 - see • Final Ultimate Loadbox...
0:00 Intro
0:08 Updated Rating
1:13 Test Scenario
2:08 Comparison Psrt 2
8:39 The Rating
9:36 Reactive Load and IR's

[@GuvnaOnSpotify]

You deserve way more subs and views - love this series. Nobody has done this. You and The Other John Browne are doing excellent content

[@RockGuitarVibes]

Wow, thanks a lot mate... 🙏🎸😎

[@ProfVonW]

I’m in the market for one of these soon, so this video series is a treasure trove of information. Thanks!

[@ManuelTrujano]

Excellent job!!!

[@RockGuitarVibes]

Thanks a lot 😎🙏🎸

[@stephenchow5161]

eagerly awaiting the followup videos😊

[@mikem5685]

me too! :)

[@Peck_Bull]

🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸 Danke für das neue Video, gib nicht auf, Wolfgang, du hast in allen Belangen einen tollen Stil!

[@stephenchow5161]

cant wait for the next video

[@kuringmundo]

never have i been so mesmerized by curves

[@duncancartledge1667]

Very interesting analysis. One question about the Fryette PS2a as I’m a bit unsure of the way you used it. When you did the comparison in Bypass mode was the unit connected to a speaker cab?

[@RockGuitarVibes]

Yes, in this test each load box was connected to a cabinet. In episode 1 no cabinet was connected.

[@premiumproductions9041]

Hello 👋 Do these load reverb IR & if so which would you say has the highest quality for reverb IR’s ? Thank you this was a great explanation in this video by the way 🎉

[@RockGuitarVibes]

Thanks a lot. The general rule is: the longer the IR length the better the room/reverb is. So, if room is important you should consider to use an IR loader software with extended length. 40ms is high resolution - Axe FX III also supports ultra high resolution with 170ms.

[@yuliang1229]

Hello may i ask which part BOSS TAE is not supporeted in your rate? How do you think of Two notes Reload(same as Live)? Thank you

[@RockGuitarVibes]

It's because there is no setting possible that your tube amp is able to see your cabinet - it will always see the impedance curve of the TAE. Never had to chance to check out the Two Notes Reload, sorry...

[@UndertheMangoTree]

Hi! I have a question: So if I use the Fryette in bypass mode without a cab hooked up, it still won't work or worse break my amp since it doesn't see any load, correct?

[@RockGuitarVibes]

Speaker1 jack has an open load protection feature to prevent damage from your amp should the speaker cable become disconnected while in Bypass mode. Means if no speaker cable is connected the bypass mode does not work. It's very important to not connect a speaker cable without a speaker connected on the other end - that's the only setup that can damage your amp!

[@UndertheMangoTree]

@@RockGuitarVibes Oh! Gotcha! Thanks!

[@TheDwarfInvasion]

at 4:19 - the output prior to the loadbox has a resonant bump near 80hz. the box itself has an eq curve with a strong dip at 80hz. the resultant output after the load box looks flat. Is the box correcting for the frequency response impact of its own impedance curve?

[@RockGuitarVibes]

For the comparison the loadbox was used in flat/flat mode (red line) - the first curve (below the red line) was made without any loadbox. As you can see a few secons later even in deep/edge mode the curve is far away from being flat. The cause is that the tube amp sees the impedence load of the loadbox only - the speaker is decoupled from the amp, as explaind a little later in the video.

[@tcerecords5253]

I am trying to record the amp’s tone while not inducing any harshness that I find most loadboxes add. I then use an impulse response after inside my DAW. I have tried several load boxes and it just doesn’t sound right in the top end. I’ve experimented with a RADIAL DI box and running the THRU signal to a real cabinet as the load, and recording the signal coming only from the amp (XLR out on the DI box) and this sounds best to me so far. Thoughts?

[@RockGuitarVibes]

If you are happy with the result it's all good and you saved a lot of money too - however, the RADIAL is a DI-box only, not a load box. So it can't be used for silent recording.

[@mikeault]

Which is less artificial sounding, the Suhr ir box or the Two Notes Cap X?

[@RockGuitarVibes]

Both can sound great - however, I wouldn't use the Captor X in low mode - means with a cranked amp, especially in this case the Suhr sounds a litte better.

[@jamesfindice2871]

Würde mich über ein attenuator shootout freuen - in ähnlichem stil natürlich ;)

[@RockGuitarVibes]

Vielen Dank für den Vorschlag - kommt eventuell als Bonusvideo.

[@mikeault]

Was there a winner?

[@RockGuitarVibes]

You can find the answer in the last episode of the series -- see kzbin.info/www/bejne/d4PComVvbNGfa7c

[@cedricdemeulenaere2337]

Any Koch loadbox2?

[@RockGuitarVibes]

AFAIK that's a resistive loadbox and these are not good enough...

[@cedricdemeulenaere2337]

did you try it only?@@RockGuitarVibes

[@mrtruefifth]

I'm not sure I understand the logic behind these graphs - why would you be interested in flat lines when what you want is the sound like what comes from a speaker cab - that will be anything else than a flat line?

[@RockGuitarVibes]

Well, what we ckeck in the tests of part 1 and part 2 is the tonal neutrality of the devices. For this we compare the input signal of the load box with the line out of the load box - without any IR engaged. A flat line means that the load box itself does not add or remove any frequenies. The sound of the speakers does not matter and should not matter for this test. In part 2 it's moreover the inductive respone of the speaker/cabinet what matters - means is the amp able to see the unchanged inductive response of the speaker/cabinet or is it influenced by the load box. Sorry for the nerdy stuff but someone has to do it 😎

[@mrtruefifth]

@@RockGuitarVibes Thank you for explanation, and I very much appreciate your efforts, just trying to follow 🤯😅 In the end, I wonder how much that flat line matters, as long as adjusting EQ on the amp can compensate, I guess what's most important for a guitar player is that they 'perceive' that what the play sounds and feels good - Many are happy about the Ironmans, so hopefully your analysis and future videos will be able to show why, despite the Ironman not giving you a flat line curve here.

[@RockGuitarVibes]

@@mrtruefifth Regarding the Ironman I think most people are talking about the quality of the attenuator - means the amp sound with a cabinet on a reduced volume level. However, this video series is mainly about the line out quailty, which is quite a different thing...

[@mrtruefifth]

@@RockGuitarVibes OK, Line Out only. I hope you will keep on comparisons and look at attenuation as well, as you are doing your tests so thoroughly and you seem to have access to most of the relevant attenuators today, and a good updated comparison would be just great! But I'm aboard now also for line out tests! 👍

[@RockGuitarVibes]

@@mrtruefifth Thanks for the suggestion - possibly I will make a bonus video with all the devices that support attenuation.

[@markp4818]

zzzzzzzzz.....

[@thomasschreiner6356]

Lerne Englisch oder mache Deine Posts auf Deutsch Grauenvoll!!

[@RockGuitarVibes]

OMG...