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Topic: Load box DI for recording? |
Marc Stone
From:
Louisiana, USA
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Posted 9 Jul 2020 9:48 am |
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Want to use my tube Amos for silent recording. Looking at load box/DI options.
Suggestion? Radial more affordable, but if UA OX comes w access to all of their delicious amp models, that might make it worth the $$$ to me |
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ajm
From:
Los Angeles
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Posted 9 Jul 2020 2:48 pm
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Marc: What kind of amp or amps do you have?
I have a couple of suggestions but would like to know what you have first. |
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Marc Stone
From:
Louisiana, USA
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Posted 9 Jul 2020 5:59 pm
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Hi there,
Mostly 8 ohm 1x12 tube amps, 1 4 ohm 2x10, 10-40 watts. Vintage (all 7591a amps), National, Fender, one “modern†tube amp - Cusack Kingsnake that maxes at 60w |
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Tim Marcus
From:
San Francisco, CA
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ajm
From:
Los Angeles
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Posted 11 Jul 2020 4:31 pm
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The UA OX is supposed to be the bees knees.
Boss also makes something similar.
There are a couple of other similar items out there as well, but their ID escapes me at the moment.
They can be pricey.
You could also buy or build an iso cabinet.
You want to use actual amps, so a POD or similar or a Kemper is out.
So.................
Disclaimer: I am NOT CHEAP !!!!!!!
I'm, um, thrifty....yeah that's the word.
Here's how I do it.
You need a power attenuator or a load box or one that will function as both.
Or, if your amp is small enough wattage, you don't need either.
There are a lot of variables here, so you'll probably need a separate speaker cabinet and a way to hook it up.
My amp (60 watt tube) feeds a home made attenuator (which can also function as a load box).
The output of the attenuator feeds a speaker cabinet.
The cabinet is wrapped up in a couple of heavy duty moving blankets secured with bungee cords.
So it's AMP OUT-------ATTENUATOR------SPEAKER.
Now, in between either the amp/attenuator or the attenuator/speaker I have a DI box.
It is a Palmer PDI-09.
They are hard to find, so make sure that whatever DI box you use is made for a speaker output.
So now it's AMP OUT---DI----ATTENUATOR------SPEAKER
or
So it's AMP OUT-------ATTENUATOR---DI---SPEAKER
The DI box has an XLR out on it.
Run a mic cable from that to your recording set up and you're off and running.
Since the speaker cabinet is choked off by moving blankets, and in a closet, there is little to no sound in the room at all.
There are ways to make a dummy load out of an actual speaker.
If you have a speaker to sacrifice you can try it.
Is my method as hi-fi as the OX, etc?
No.
But the Palmer does have selections on it for three different cabinet simulations.
My set up does what I want and gets me to the point where I can actually focus on making music.
At that point, I firmly believe that if you don't have a good song, and you can't play it, that nothing else matters anyway. |
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Marc Stone
From:
Louisiana, USA
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Posted 11 Jul 2020 4:41 pm
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ajm, I hear you. I know I can wangle a dummy load etc, but once the Palmer unit enters the picture it's an expenditure. and Palmers don't double as attenuators like radial etc, correct? if I am going to get a unit I'd like to scrape up the bread for the UA, in no small part bc I've been using their plug ins direct at the studio where I'm cutting basics for my current project, and my life of tube amp snobbery went out the window when I heard what the engineer was pulling up in seconds w those plug ins. I think a lot of the plug ins come with the unit, and that would make it worth the price of admission.
IF I can afford it.
If not, I would almost rather pay for a UA plug in package (so long as they aren't proprietary and only usable w their interfaces?) and mic my amps. |
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ajm
From:
Los Angeles
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Posted 12 Jul 2020 9:35 am
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Marc: ".....but once the Palmer unit enters the picture it's an expenditure."
The Palmer is available for $100-200 according to a quick Google search.
That is much less than the UA OX or similar.
"......and Palmers don't double as attenuators like radial etc, correct?"
That is correct.
I gave a diagram in my write up.
And, I don't know what Radial unit you are talking about.
They make a lot of stuff that does different things.
I said in my write up that my set up is inexpensive compared to other solutions.
And, that you may already have most if not all of what you need.
And, that it is probably not as hi-fi as the others.
If you have the money, and are working in a professional environment, then the UA or BOSS or similar may be the answer you're looking for. |
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James Quackenbush
From:
Pomona, New York, USA
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Steve Sycamore
From:
Sweden
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Bob Hoffnar
From:
Austin, Tx
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Posted 27 Jul 2020 4:47 am Re: Load box DI for recording?
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| Marc Stone wrote: |
Want to use my tube Amos for silent recording. Looking at load box/DI options.
Suggestion? Radial more affordable, but if UA OX comes w access to all of their delicious amp models, that might make it worth the $$$ to me |
You already have it right. Radial gear is great . But the OX is on another level. Maybe pick up a Radial box used and see if you like it. Sell it if you don’t.
Or see if a local back line company near you rents the OX so you can try it out. Some distributors will give you a month to return gear also. Personally I am very curious about the OX. Digital modeling is getting scary good.
_________________
Bob |
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Steve Sycamore
From:
Sweden
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Posted 27 Jul 2020 6:55 am
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| But definitely look at the Captor X before you get too serious about the OX. |
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