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I am consistently blown away by the quality of your riffs across different genres! I watch your videos primarily for the music/playing/production quality and secondarily for the actual point of the video. 😝 Thanks for another great video!
A little insight into why the rectifier shows a much bigger tonal difference than the Plexi; The rectifier in the modern setting does not apply any (or very little, at least) negative feedback from the power transformer. This is usually done to minimise the distortion in the power section and flatten the frequency response, and it's also where the presence control usually lives... except in the recto modern signal path, where the presence is implemented differently. Because there is limited feedback, it means that the load has a much greater effect on the signal, because there is no negative feedback to flatten the frequency response.
Negative feedback is to reduce distortion though. So then that mode would have *more* negative feedback by your explanation (or I read it wrong). If it has no negative feedback, there would be more distortion, because none of it is filtered out by any negative feedback.
Just to clarify, the modern setting has NO negative feedback, increasing distortion in the power section, and since the presence control would be part of negative feedback, they had to get creative for it.
@@void_snw no negative feedback = more distortion, that's correct. And the dual rec famously needs to be cranked VERY loud to get the full dual rec experience :)
I've been waiting for this for a while. after watching the St. Rock React:IR 2 review video I ended up getting it thanks to you. and now after watching the comparison I'm happy that I was able to get an amazing loadbox thanks to your reviews. Thank You John
For me it would be: 1.redseven 2.react:ir 3.fractal x load ----no buy line---- 4.two notes 5.driftwood But all thing considered (price, features etc.) - React:IR is what I considering going with.
Couple more that have ended up being my favorites are the Rivera Rockcrusher and the Fryette power load. I had a UA oxbox for a bit but wasnt really excited about how it sounded. I got the Rivera right after and was amazed how much better it was. I think the Rivera gets overlooked because it's not very new 'flavor of the day', but to my ears it's the most natural and true sounding 🤘👍
I only tried a few but kept the Fryette Power Station. Without having any digital on board it still has loads of features, like working as a separate tube power amp or connecting a preamp or modeler to that tube amp, then reloading it back down to interface level to get real tube power warmth to a digital signal but still in silent mode. It sounds briliant.
This confirms for me again I like the RedSeven Ampcentral best. That's why I have it and love it. A comparison between the RedSeven Ampcentral Evo would be more interesting for me.
i tried several attenuator/loadbox (Rivera , Two notes…) and honestly none of them can compare to Fryette stuffs. The reactive loadbox which is part of the Powerstation and of the power load + IR is simply the best loadbox on the market. You can cranked what ever amp you want there’s no signal lost, no additional compression…
I think you are a bit hard on the Two Notes - the Mesa sounds good through it, some of other sound worse. Also, a bit too 1st world complaining about Two Notes - 'too many options'... Really? Thanks for your work though. Make more about St Rock React ir 2 - compare its attenuator capabilities to as many others as possible. I have great hopes for that one.
I agree, but also in situations like this I prefer to have a flatter response if I'm going to be using IR's and plugins in my DAW anyway. The IRs in my Captor 8's aren't great at all but as far as DI sound they work awesome.
Totally mix dependent eh? If someone wants the captor x to sound more like the others adding a little ‘thickness’ enhancement, and reducing a touch of high end via onboard eq works wonders. Here’s to trying to ease any Captor X owners who might feel remorse and envy!
I've been strugling with reactive loads on my rectifier. It's bizarre, the diferences between all of them, only in the rectifier. So I tried this. I have a Samson Direct-S active DI box, it can handle speaker outputs, with 40db attenuation pad, I conected the DI THRU out on my cabinet to load the amp. I loaded the signal on the speakers, and recorded a loop, through the amp getting the D.I signal between the speaker and the amp, it was GREAT!!! Then, I use the same loop to reamp with settings at noon, to compare loadboxes. I tried, torpedo captor, torpedo live, surh reactive load (passive version), fractal x-load and a T-miranda resistive load. It was shocking, but the best results in my case was the Suhr Reactive load and the T-Miranda Resistive Load compared to the original DI signal loaded with a real cabinet. Surh Reactive load gave me a little softer low end, but in general sounded preetty close the DI track. The Resistive load SHOCKED me!! mid range sounded exactly the same. It attenuates a little of low end and hi end, but then I inserted the output in a graphic EQ and matched with the original DI signal. VERY IMPRESSIVE. So, today with the rectifier I use an especific signal chain. AMP>RESISTIVE LOAD>GRAPHIC EQ (+3db at 50hz and +3db at 10khz). I use the MINI RECTIFIER with EL84 which is more mid pronounce than the big brothers.
Very informative comparison ! Well done ! ♪♥♥♪ As a long time Recto user i have to say - with your presence setting at 3 o clock, the React Ir was the most accurate to a real cab , followed by the X-Load which was not as open sounding. The Redseven is cool if you want more of a polished sound - so it`s the "ENGL" under the reactive loads ;-)
Maybe not for the target audience of the channel, but and clean/edge of breakup tone comparison would have been nice for the sake of amplifying the dynamics differences even more! Follow up vid? 😎
I have become very pleased with the x load now that I’ve compared it and learned more about it. The st rock seems to be on par sound wise but with more bells and whistles. And I will admit the two notes doesn’t sound good alone but in a mix it’s totally cool and does the job in a mix.
In the US, price wise the x-load is king. Its very simple and sounds awesome. I do like both the red7 and St.Rock, but they do cost more. I had a captor and ended up getting an X-load myself. You know me I love Loads!
Funny you explained curve differences and people are attributing it to quality. Without a reference point it doesn’t matter. What speakers impedance curve are they trying to match? what I heard is just enough to be differences from speaker to speaker of the same model. Is it just a curve that tries to work with everything?
Jon we need an Attenuator shoot out !!! Come on man… I have faith in you. I got a captor X and it’s just seems meh ok 🫤 for everything from attenuation to reactive load recording (actually can never seem to record a sound I like with the captor X). Let’s get an attenuator shoot out !!! Some freyette , captor X, st rocks would be cool 😎 I know u got us here 😎
I'm a Marshall guy and for me, the Fractal had a great mid bite. The other units didn't sound bad at all, but there was something exciting with the Fractal tone
Very, very interesting. Good food for thought here. I wonder if the differences are quality or perhaps designed for different workflows...or maybe a bit of both?
great video 🙌 was quite a difference for me upgrading to a suhr reactive load (apparently more of a greenback impedance curve) from an oldschool captor 8ohms, strangely their older reactive rack loads from what i've seen seemed to have a nicer response curve to it, the RedSeven here seemed to be the most pleasing/consistent otherwise
Yeah, I saw Mendels video on Loadboxes, and there the Torpedo Reload I believe it was sounded absolutely great! The Captor on the other hand lacked in all videos I saw.
Thanks John, this is great work and very valuable content! I wish you also tried the Suhr reactive load. I have one and sounds great IMO, but could not compare it to others
Comparing rubber women. IMHO in this test it's more like comparing different speakers. Something like v30 vs GBack vs H30 vs etc. In such a sort of comparison the loabox with cut in mid range will sound preferred.V sound. But real cab have more open midrange. Also, for perception, the order of files is important. For example : Fractal ua-cam.com/video/Y43rJMsuOSs/v-deo.html React:IR ua-cam.com/video/Y43rJMsuOSs/v-deo.html Red7 ua-cam.com/video/Y43rJMsuOSs/v-deo.html Driftwood ua-cam.com/video/Y43rJMsuOSs/v-deo.html In this order you will move from an open clear sound to a darker one. My opinion is needed comparing different cabs with different loadboxes. In this case you can hear character and balance of frequencies in real cab and in the loadbox. And draw conclusions. But this is just the opinion of one interested person.
Redseven for consistency. LB-2 or St. Rock for best individual tones. Then, X-Captor even though it lost alot of bottom end. Tbh, I don't know that the Driftwood was usable at all.
I was waiting for this comparison, thank you. I don't know why the manufacturers want to add so many things to load boxes. I, like you would only use the reactive load. I can add IR's and effects later with a miriad of things. The only one that its like this is the Driftwood that it is still too expensive compared to the St. Rock and its the one that I liked the least. Most likely with some EQ would work great. Maybe a good part 2 for this video would be to make them sound the best you can, with different equalization and compare them again.
Maybe to play in headphones with your preferred sound while still having di signal to edit post later. So you Don't need to load daw with your plugins and irs everytime when you don't want to. Just turn the amp, take a guitar, put on headphones and go (with ir, gate, reverb etc)
Someone on youtube has gone through a ton of trouble to measure the "accuracy" of loadboxes. Aka comparing the signal that goes in vs the one that comes out. The only one that doesnt seem to affect the frequency response internally is the fractal X-load. So its not just about the load specifics, but also if the audio isnt further affected in the device.
Red 7 and React IR sounded best to my ears. Driftwood sounded like a wet blanket over the speakers. TwoNotes lost bottom end. Fractal was a close 2nd to Red7 and React IR.
I would love to see a demonstration of some of the best amp/load boxes vs. best of breed amp modeling paired with best of breed IR's. I suspect they would sound extremely close.
I have the driftwood along with a suhr reactive load IR and I think it's worth pointing out that while the driftwood is definitely much less useful generally, there are amps it's perfect for. I hate it on both my mesa triple rec and Marshall plexi, but it sounds amazing on my evh 5150 iii (a much higher gain, aggressive amp). I wouldn't recommend it if you are buying only one reactive load for multiple amps. As a specific tool for taming fire breathing dragon amps though, it really does sound fantastic. I guess that kinda makes sense if you consider the amps the company themselves make.
Great comparison. I lean toward the Fractal reactive load in this video. The width of your recorded guitars is fantastic. If I may ask, how did you get that width?
I'm thinking RedSeven for the win here.... I own a Fryette Reactance load amp. Which I LOVE. But that RedSeven is well, suddenly wished for lol. Two different animals of course. Expected more from the TwoNotes, but I guess that is what the Wall of Sound app is for lol.
I got the REACT:IR II here recently, got to find the time during weekend to check it out. But I have to be honest, that the RedSeven sounded best on both amps in my opinion, at least on your demo here., although the st. rock was super close chasing behind. Eager to see how the integrated DSP of the REACT:IR II will fair! Thanks for making this video, super interesting!
Personally to my ears I prefer them in this order. I could really go back and forth with the LB2 and the Redseven. Easily the best two. Fractal -LB2 Redseven React: IR Driftwood Captor X
For my headphone in the high gain Fractal won, and interestingly Two notes was very nice in the mix (with the missing low-end and forward mids). Driftwood was way too muffled and the St. Rock had too much highs. The x-load is not so crazily expensive. With the Marshall it was Red Seven and St. Rock who won. The Fractal was a bit darker. Driftwood was the most muffled here as well and the Two notes was indeed the "most digital" feeling. BTW I love your rich chords.
in the high gain recto can hear most on the mutes. i think the fractal sound best then the rock react IR .the other i do not like. the red seven also not good maybe other virtual cabinet settings is better. to get good sound there need hear if in mutes the pick scrape sound crisp and with good attack transients. then it is right
Great video. The two notes stuff all sounds sort of weak to me. In my own studio, I find that the UA OX has the best FEEL but its useless live out of cab if you're relying on tone out of the cab because it doesn't have any compensation EQ, its incredible if you can EQ it in post or through a PA however. For me the best all around straight out of a cab that I have found is the Rivera Rock Crusher.
Jon, have you ever used the ‘speaker thru’ jack which allows you to use your cabinet as the load, as well as use amps in 16ohms? It’s a game changer and i am a proud RedSeven owner! Hope You give this a try if not already. Cheers!
Fractal took the full cake on both 🎂 Two notes took one slice 🍰 The rest were ok…(crumbs of cakes) Red seven was a total reject as a 🧁 with the cake
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The St Rock measures closest to a Mesa 4x12 with V30s if that's what you're in to (I am). Otherwise these are all decent options except the Two Notes which presents a 'generic' impedance curve to the amplifier which isn't as realistic. The Driftwood is definitely exaggerated low end and diminished top end but I think it can sound cool if you dial in the amp for it.
The driftwood sounds atrocious. I bet if you put it against a Bugera power soak, it will sound the same 😂😂😂
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@JohnWiku that's why I said 'if you dial the amp in for it'; load boxes are like different cabs in a way, if you dial the amp in for one it may not sound as good with another using the same settings. I've actually owned and used the Driftwood and it can sound pretty cool if you like darker / beefier type tones. It can certainly sound much better than it did here.
I’m listening to this on Momentum 4’s. Not the greatest cans but not crap either. The differences are nominal at best. Certainly nothing fiddling with the tone stack on the amp can’t handle.
I use the "Silencer" by "Tube Amp Doctor" and it sounds great with all of my amps. I have a Diezel Herbert, a Mesa Mark lll, an Engl Fireball 100, an Orange #4 and a PRS MT 15 in my studio. I had a Dual Rectifier, that I sold one day, but it had an direct out, so it was possible to compare the direct out signal from the Rectifier to the signal, the Silencer gives me. It was 100% identical. Does your Rectifier have that feature too? It would have been interesting to hear that.
Fractal & ST.Load were very close, both sounded really good. And so I wonder if they are just doing the job well. The Captor did better than I thought it did, having skimmed the comments before listening. Especially given the price, and that there is Torpedo cheaper non-X Captor 8/16 range too. I thought it sounded perfectly useable, if not in the same league as the two best. I think I liked it better than the Driftwood & Redseven. I use the Captor 16 to tame my Marshall ST20H JTM, Vox AC30 and it doesn't sound bad. Also will use it with the second-hand amp that just arrived today. That I need to thank you for highlighting - the mighty Orange Rocker 30. Thanks man! I really looooove it. Next year, I want me a Wangs 1987HW Plexi, another amp I discovered through your channel. Makes me wonder if there must exist an amp switcher with built in reactive loadbox?
I too was surprised of the two notes, considering the load in it is a bit simplified, more a bathtub than a resonant peak and then slow rise. I've been GASing for a fractal x-load, owning the two notes torpedo, but now I think I'm really just fine.
@@void_snw I feel similarly, have one Torpedo 16. And was thinking of getting a Torpedo 8, for another amp. They're pretty affordable in Europe. But, that said, I think the Fractal X-Load did sound good enough, that if I saw one for maybe 299eur on sale, or second-hand, I'd probably spend the extra 100 over a second Torpedo. But, I wouldn't go selling my existing Torpedo for one.
High gain preferences: Red7, St Rock, Two Notes, Fractal, and then Driftwood I think Red7 seems the most balanced sounding across the spectrum. I will say that in recto's I expect more fizz so it did remove some out for better or for worse. It definitely sounds the price that it is though since it's the most expensive. St. Rock to me had that upper fizz I was listening for and still nice lows/mids. Maybe more highs than I wanted but changing the amp settings to adjust for that, plus you may actually want that and it sounds like the Red7 is going to be more smooth in the high end when you really need it to be present up there. Two Notes is missing a ton of low end. It's mostly high mids and treble. Sounds like a high pass at like 150 or something. I put it here because the others were worse. Fractal was having a REALLY strange pump, like it's too too reactive and dynamic to the playing in a strange way. Some moments felt blown out in the palm mutes like it was getting a proximity effect as it went along. It also has the high highs a bit too aggressive, like above 9k highs which is a bit unpleasant. Driftwood way too dull. This helps validate my purchase for the St. Rock lol. Thanks for the vid!
The St. Rock sounded as good as the Redseven, and boy does it have a ton of goodies to play with!! I would be happy with either loads, but the st. rock wins on functionality. Would you mind telling me how the ordering process went for the St. Rock unit? I'm from EU, but I'm not sure if i am going to get charged taxes by importing the St. Rock from Ukraine. You know, the standard VAT + extra fees because they say so 😂😂 It would add a lot of cost to the final price if it happens... Did you get those charges or the final price paid to St. Rock was it?
@@JohnWiku I’m shipping to the US so I can’t say unfortunately! The shipping was quite expensive, almost $100 dollars but I did choose that over the Red7 because of features like you said
@@JohnWiku Found in their terms and conditions: "All the prices of our products delivered to Europe are denoted in euros inclusive of VAT without forwarding charges."
captor x got a firmware update recently, not sure what changed since i haven't used it after, still sounds the best to me, more balanced and waiting for me to make the changes.
Very interesting video. I don't understand how the driftwood one sounds like there's a blanket over the speaker. Mendel did a similar video and got really good results with the driftwood... Even though (from memory) you both used different amps from each other and in the tests... I have the captor x and can't really gel with it using a Savage 120 MKII, Archon 50 or any of my lunchboxes (EVH,Orange and a couple Joyo amps). Since I saw Mendels video a while back I've been very interested in the driftwood one but with your tests it seems to be worse than the captor x in some ways. I live very far away from europe and the U.S so testing different loadboxes before buying is simply impossible for me so I have to rely on videos from others before I buy something (pretty much goes for anything music related actually). I would love to see a comparison graph between all these loadboxes.
The only difference I could really hear was between the Two Notes and the Driftwood. The Driftwood just sounds bad, the Two Notes sounded like it was clipping. Not sure whats going on with the Driftwood. To me it just sounded like the rest were either louder or quieter lol. Could be my headphones but good vid!
It would be interesting to try to get the tones as close as possible no matter how much you'd have to change the settings on the amp.Fractal sounded the best and more alive to me.I have the Two Notes and I have to say after that video, I'm kind of disapointed...
Hey John, off topic here, but have you ever used the Synergy stuff? I'm looking at those small modular preamps along with their poweramp. Pretty attractive concept anyway. Not seeing anything in a search, but do you maybe have any testing plans? Or have any thoughts atm? Thanks!
Sorry I may be stupid but the actual impedance curves would differ for a specific speaker dependent on whether it is measures in "air" versus in a cab whose resonant frequency can also shift the response curve. So for me for example the actual reactive curves do not necessarily "emulate" those of the speaker models of the IRs used anyway. But I suppose this a specific use case of the said products with all else being equal... there will be differing opinions. As with good wine taste is in the ear of the beholder. Some products may play being more flexible in other use cases. I would be curios how each product would dynamically create the actual impedance curves of each speaker type and reflect those to the actual amplifiers... so many factors.. and IR is effectively a snapshot of a point in time. Yip always fun to see these comparisons keep it up. As this is a specific use case in this instance I liked The RedS , FA and St Rock on the Marshal the most, on the Hig gain RedS and FA were nice ,depending on what you played the Captor X in the mix had its moments.. ST Rock was OK Driftwood inconsistent but that's my ears
The Fractal comes out on top as the best bang for the buck at $300. Compared to the Red7 up at $800, the St. Rock at $650, the Two Notes $600, and the Driftwood at $460. Especially as it was ranked as one of the top sounding units.
I think my st rock all-in shipped to California was $650 usd? And captor x you can get all day on reverb for $400 used. Imho Bang for the buck depends on what features you want to use annnd the quality of the sound.
@@whataguitarnerd The St Rock, I didn't see that they have a Euro to US price already there and they don't really up charge for Euros and keep the same price in dollars. So yea I'll revise that price to $650. As for the comparison well I'm looking at new to new as that's really only fair way to compare. If someone can find a used one at a good value that is always a good option to save money, no matter which one you purchase. If you don't need an IR loader than I still stand that what this video is about "Reactive Loadbox", than the Fractal which even you said was about as good a sounding as any would still be the "best bang for buck."
On plexi I nothing to say, but on Recto I like the Captor (maybe is the youtube compression but is not too bad). I don't like the Driftwood in any of 2 cases, sorry: maybe can you try it with a Driftwood head? Cheers 😊
Hey man I watched your Hughes & kettner 40 Tubemeister video. I think you are using a loadbox in that video as well am I right? That amp (And almost evry other amp) doesnt sound as good in other videos. You make everything sound incredible. I plan on making silent recordings using DI output of the amp. If I buy a Tubemeister 40, will I be able to get similar tones to yours without buying a loadbox as well? I have a few Ownhammer IR's and I really loved the tones in your video. I have a stratocaster
@@bigpiper2103 What I’m curious about is how different the DI output of the Tubemeister 40 + Ownhammer IR's without the load box. I wanted to know if the quality difference is huge. I am aware that I would need the exact same gear to get a close tone. Similar tones to his video would be more than enough. Most videos of H&K TM40 sound good to me already. But this channel has the best sounding video of it. Which makes me wonder if a load box makes that much of a difference in the recording.
It honestly kind of sounds like you have a personal dislike for Two Notes, because the Driftwood sounded by FAR the worst of all of them in this comparison, and you explained it away very gently and nicely by saying you can just use a bright IR, and adjust the amp settings etc. Then with the Captor you make a face and just say it sounds flat and unrealistic. It's definitely on the bright and lean side, but I'm sure you could compensate the same way with the Captor by using a darker IR and adding more bass to your amp settings. Aside from all that, I'd say the Red Seven and St. Rock sounded the best overall!
@@SonicDriveStudio Fair enough. We all have likes and dislikes. I don't own a Captor, so I can't claim any first-hand experience with it. Perhaps UA-cam's compression is affecting those dynamics, and maybe it's more apparent in person? For me just as a listener of this video, the Captor sounded much nicer than the Driftwood overall, and I would always rather have to take high end out of a tone than add it in, if that makes sense.
Hey Jon was wondering why you didn't include a Fryette Power Station in the test as it also works as a reactive load, and reactive attenuator and many find it the most realistic sounding. Would be interesting to see how it holds up against your Red Seven and React IR 2.
I can confirm, I have 3 powerstation 2A and I had a Power Load + IR. No signal loss, no weird frequencies, no extra compression. Very transparent. I share the 3 Powerstations with KHEs and Ampete Switchers on the following amps: Driftwood Purple Nightmare 100w KT88+6L6 Revv GEN 7-40 Friedman Runt 50W JCM 800 2203 Peavey 6505II PRS MT100 Syn5050 + Syn2 Engl E840+E530 Splawn Quick Rod 100W Splawn Nitro 100W PRS Archon 50W KSR Orthos II 100W Diezel VH2 Peavey 6505 Redseven Duality RS 100W EVH 5150 III 6L6 50W EVH 5150 III EL34 50W So I can assure you that this is the best Attenuator/Loadbox knowing that I've owned a Rivera Rockcrusher Recording, a Two Notes captor X and a Two notes Torpedo Reload.
Happy owner here of Fractal LB2, I think it works really well with Mesa, though I preferred Red Seven on Plexi. St. Rock sounds too digital on both and Captor x has no headroom and sounds flat like you mentioned it, Driftwood it wasn't too bad with Plexi. Thanks Jon for making kick ass comparison. It would be really interesting to see how different they sound on 5153 if you ever would have time to compare more amps.
Totally new to physical amps but on the brink of purchasing an engl so it might be a complete noob question: you plug the speaker out of the amp directly into the loadbox?
A load box creates a speaker impedance curve. Different cabs/apeakers have different curves . What sounds good for some random UA-cam guy may not sound good for you. Good luck.
They sounded kind of "compressed" to me, something I don't like. I wish you had a Suhr Load Box in the comparison. Euge Valovirta regularly used one in his videos about 1-2 years ago with his "Bad Boy" Marshall JCM800 2203 from 1984, my favorite sounding Marshall on YT. Very lively sound.
@@gral9440 Great timing! Just a few days ago, Euge posted a video called "After One Year | FRYETTE PS-100 | Reactive Load & Attenuator." At almost 4 times the price, it is clearly a much more advanced and versatile unit than the Suhr Reacive Loadbox, and Euge has very good reasons to favor it over other Loadboxes. The high end was a bit much for my taste, but the Fryette can easily tame them if desired. Euge's video I watched is from 2 years ago where he compared the "UAD OX BOX vs ST.ROCK REACT:IR vs SUHR REACTIVE LOAD/I.R." I preferred the Suhr for it's smoother top end, andt Euge correctly said, it was "bare bones." But, I liked them bones. I forget which Loadbox he switched to, but his Marshall "Bad Boy" didn't sound as good in my opinion, and I stopped watching his Channel as much as I had in the past.
Really? You've found the two notes muddy/dull, but not the driftwood? Boy, that driftwood sounded atrocious, there's no difference between that and a bugera ps-1, and way more expensive and less functionality 😂😂😂😂😂
I was listening thru my 8" Yamaha powered monitors, with a KRK sub, and I could not detect ANY DIFFERENCE WHAT SO EVER !!! I'm sure you'll say there was a difference, but there simply wasn't. I'm at 8:33 into the video, and I chose to stop it. There was no point in going any further ! I love *most* of your videos, and I'm a subscribed fan of your channel. However, this video I totally disagree with. I'll still be watching your future videos, everybody lays an egg once in a while....
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I am consistently blown away by the quality of your riffs across different genres! I watch your videos primarily for the music/playing/production quality and secondarily for the actual point of the video. 😝 Thanks for another great video!
A little insight into why the rectifier shows a much bigger tonal difference than the Plexi; The rectifier in the modern setting does not apply any (or very little, at least) negative feedback from the power transformer. This is usually done to minimise the distortion in the power section and flatten the frequency response, and it's also where the presence control usually lives... except in the recto modern signal path, where the presence is implemented differently. Because there is limited feedback, it means that the load has a much greater effect on the signal, because there is no negative feedback to flatten the frequency response.
Dead right, also the same with things like Vox AC30s and other amps with no negative feedback, they’re way more sensitive to what load they’re seeing!
Negative feedback is to reduce distortion though. So then that mode would have *more* negative feedback by your explanation (or I read it wrong). If it has no negative feedback, there would be more distortion, because none of it is filtered out by any negative feedback.
Just to clarify, the modern setting has NO negative feedback, increasing distortion in the power section, and since the presence control would be part of negative feedback, they had to get creative for it.
@@void_snw no negative feedback = more distortion, that's correct. And the dual rec famously needs to be cranked VERY loud to get the full dual rec experience :)
I've been waiting for this for a while. after watching the St. Rock React:IR 2 review video I ended up getting it thanks to you. and now after watching the comparison I'm happy that I was able to get an amazing loadbox thanks to your reviews. Thank You John
For me it would be:
1.redseven
2.react:ir
3.fractal x load
----no buy line----
4.two notes
5.driftwood
But all thing considered (price, features etc.) - React:IR is what I considering going with.
St. Rock's device is pure gold in features, really the best gang for the buck with the best bang regardless of price!!
16:00 Fractal
16:15 St.Rock
Isolated High Gain
Redseven 15:52
Fractal 16:00
Driftwood 16:07
St Rock 16:15
Captor X 16:23
Isolated Crunch
Redseven 6:50
Fractal 7:04
Driftwood 7:18
St Rock 7:31
Captor X 7:45
Thanks for this. You can tell there is pretty much no difference 😂
@@the92project No, please listen a good headphones or studio monitors. I can say there is a difference. Big and important
Couple more that have ended up being my favorites are the Rivera Rockcrusher and the Fryette power load. I had a UA oxbox for a bit but wasnt really excited about how it sounded. I got the Rivera right after and was amazed how much better it was. I think the Rivera gets overlooked because it's not very new 'flavor of the day', but to my ears it's the most natural and true sounding 🤘👍
I've always loved the way the X-Load sounds. Great mix of organic and hi-fidelity.
I only tried a few but kept the Fryette Power Station. Without having any digital on board it still has loads of features, like working as a separate tube power amp or connecting a preamp or modeler to that tube amp, then reloading it back down to interface level to get real tube power warmth to a digital signal but still in silent mode. It sounds briliant.
This confirms for me again I like the RedSeven Ampcentral best. That's why I have it and love it. A comparison between the RedSeven Ampcentral Evo would be more interesting for me.
I think they sound the same in terms of the IC
Interesting results - Driftwood really didn't like the Recto! Fractal X-Load was my favourite, sounded very natural. St Rock was a close second
Yeah, the Recto really exaggerated the differences... cheers man!
Fractal for the win EZ.
i tried several attenuator/loadbox (Rivera , Two notes…) and honestly none of them can compare to Fryette stuffs. The reactive loadbox which is part of the Powerstation and of the power load + IR is simply the best loadbox on the market. You can cranked what ever amp you want there’s no signal lost, no additional compression…
Fryette PS-100 all day!
I think you are a bit hard on the Two Notes - the Mesa sounds good through it, some of other sound worse. Also, a bit too 1st world complaining about Two Notes - 'too many options'... Really?
Thanks for your work though. Make more about St Rock React ir 2 - compare its attenuator capabilities to as many others as possible. I have great hopes for that one.
I agree, but also in situations like this I prefer to have a flatter response if I'm going to be using IR's and plugins in my DAW anyway. The IRs in my Captor 8's aren't great at all but as far as DI sound they work awesome.
Totally mix dependent eh? If someone wants the captor x to sound more like the others adding a little ‘thickness’ enhancement, and reducing a touch of high end via onboard eq works wonders. Here’s to trying to ease any Captor X owners who might feel remorse and envy!
I've been strugling with reactive loads on my rectifier. It's bizarre, the diferences between all of them, only in the rectifier. So I tried this. I have a Samson Direct-S active DI box, it can handle speaker outputs, with 40db attenuation pad, I conected the DI THRU out on my cabinet to load the amp. I loaded the signal on the speakers, and recorded a loop, through the amp getting the D.I signal between the speaker and the amp, it was GREAT!!!
Then, I use the same loop to reamp with settings at noon, to compare loadboxes. I tried, torpedo captor, torpedo live, surh reactive load (passive version), fractal x-load and a T-miranda resistive load.
It was shocking, but the best results in my case was the Suhr Reactive load and the T-Miranda Resistive Load compared to the original DI signal loaded with a real cabinet.
Surh Reactive load gave me a little softer low end, but in general sounded preetty close the DI track. The Resistive load SHOCKED me!! mid range sounded exactly the same. It attenuates a little of low end and hi end, but then I inserted the output in a graphic EQ and matched with the original DI signal. VERY IMPRESSIVE. So, today with the rectifier I use an especific signal chain. AMP>RESISTIVE LOAD>GRAPHIC EQ (+3db at 50hz and +3db at 10khz).
I use the MINI RECTIFIER with EL84 which is more mid pronounce than the big brothers.
Very informative comparison ! Well done ! ♪♥♥♪
As a long time Recto user i have to say - with your presence setting at 3 o clock, the React Ir was the most accurate to a real cab , followed by the X-Load which was not as open sounding. The Redseven is cool if you want more of a polished sound - so it`s the "ENGL" under the reactive loads ;-)
Oh, that's a Load of Boxes... I'm sorry I had to
Great video btw, very insightful
🤦♂️😅
Maybe not for the target audience of the channel, but and clean/edge of breakup tone comparison would have been nice for the sake of amplifying the dynamics differences even more! Follow up vid? 😎
Thank you for this comparison !
LB-2 X-Load for me, all day
I have become very pleased with the x load now that I’ve compared it and learned more about it. The st rock seems to be on par sound wise but with more bells and whistles. And I will admit the two notes doesn’t sound good alone but in a mix it’s totally cool and does the job in a mix.
In the US, price wise the x-load is king. Its very simple and sounds awesome. I do like both the red7 and St.Rock, but they do cost more. I had a captor and ended up getting an X-load myself. You know me I love Loads!
Funny you explained curve differences and people are attributing it to quality. Without a reference point it doesn’t matter. What speakers impedance curve are they trying to match? what I heard is just enough to be differences from speaker to speaker of the same model. Is it just a curve that tries to work with everything?
Jon we need an Attenuator shoot out !!! Come on man… I have faith in you.
I got a captor X and it’s just seems meh ok 🫤 for everything from attenuation to reactive load recording (actually can never seem to record a sound I like with the captor X). Let’s get an attenuator shoot out !!! Some freyette , captor X, st rocks would be cool 😎 I know u got us here 😎
I'm a Marshall guy and for me, the Fractal had a great mid bite. The other units didn't sound bad at all, but there was something exciting with the Fractal tone
Very, very interesting. Good food for thought here. I wonder if the differences are quality or perhaps designed for different workflows...or maybe a bit of both?
great video 🙌 was quite a difference for me upgrading to a suhr reactive load (apparently more of a greenback impedance curve) from an oldschool captor 8ohms, strangely their older reactive rack loads from what i've seen seemed to have a nicer response curve to it,
the RedSeven here seemed to be the most pleasing/consistent otherwise
The RedSeven sounds wonderful indeed!
Yeah, I saw Mendels video on Loadboxes, and there the Torpedo Reload I believe it was sounded absolutely great! The Captor on the other hand lacked in all videos I saw.
UA OX box? You missed the best one. Pricey, but still the best
Thanks John, this is great work and very valuable content! I wish you also tried the Suhr reactive load. I have one and sounds great IMO, but could not compare it to others
Comparing rubber women. IMHO in this test it's more like comparing different speakers.
Something like v30 vs GBack vs H30 vs etc. In such a sort of comparison the loabox with cut in mid range will sound preferred.V sound. But real cab have more open midrange. Also, for perception, the order of files is important.
For example :
Fractal ua-cam.com/video/Y43rJMsuOSs/v-deo.html
React:IR ua-cam.com/video/Y43rJMsuOSs/v-deo.html
Red7 ua-cam.com/video/Y43rJMsuOSs/v-deo.html
Driftwood ua-cam.com/video/Y43rJMsuOSs/v-deo.html
In this order you will move from an open clear sound to a darker one.
My opinion is needed comparing different cabs with different loadboxes. In this case you can hear character and balance of frequencies in real cab and in the loadbox. And draw conclusions.
But this is just the opinion of one interested person.
Redseven for consistency. LB-2 or St. Rock for best individual tones. Then, X-Captor even though it lost alot of bottom end. Tbh, I don't know that the Driftwood was usable at all.
You can use the onboard thickness enhancer, and eq out a couple db of the harsh top end and you’re gtg on the Captor X.
RedSeven all the way!!!
Great guitar playing. I mean. Really!
I was waiting for this comparison, thank you. I don't know why the manufacturers want to add so many things to load boxes. I, like you would only use the reactive load. I can add IR's and effects later with a miriad of things. The only one that its like this is the Driftwood that it is still too expensive compared to the St. Rock and its the one that I liked the least. Most likely with some EQ would work great. Maybe a good part 2 for this video would be to make them sound the best you can, with different equalization and compare them again.
Maybe to play in headphones with your preferred sound while still having di signal to edit post later.
So you Don't need to load daw with your plugins and irs everytime when you don't want to. Just turn the amp, take a guitar, put on headphones and go (with ir, gate, reverb etc)
Someone on youtube has gone through a ton of trouble to measure the "accuracy" of loadboxes. Aka comparing the signal that goes in vs the one that comes out. The only one that doesnt seem to affect the frequency response internally is the fractal X-load.
So its not just about the load specifics, but also if the audio isnt further affected in the device.
Red 7 and React IR sounded best to my ears. Driftwood sounded like a wet blanket over the speakers. TwoNotes lost bottom end. Fractal was a close 2nd to Red7 and React IR.
I would love to see a demonstration of some of the best amp/load boxes vs. best of breed amp modeling paired with best of breed IR's. I suspect they would sound extremely close.
Excellent video as usual!
Thank you good sir!
Great review. I missed the Suhr RL-IR, I believe you used this in some videos.
I have the driftwood along with a suhr reactive load IR and I think it's worth pointing out that while the driftwood is definitely much less useful generally, there are amps it's perfect for. I hate it on both my mesa triple rec and Marshall plexi, but it sounds amazing on my evh 5150 iii (a much higher gain, aggressive amp). I wouldn't recommend it if you are buying only one reactive load for multiple amps. As a specific tool for taming fire breathing dragon amps though, it really does sound fantastic. I guess that kinda makes sense if you consider the amps the company themselves make.
Great vid Jon, I thought the Red Seven had more clarity.
The R7 is really good overall! Cheers!
RED SEVEN sounding the best in this comparison, the rest has some muddy and different EQ. cheers
We are watching redseven commercial right now:)
Great comparison. I lean toward the Fractal reactive load in this video. The width of your recorded guitars is fantastic. If I may ask, how did you get that width?
I really like the Ironman loadbox from ToneKing.
I'm thinking RedSeven for the win here.... I own a Fryette Reactance load amp. Which I LOVE. But that RedSeven is well, suddenly wished for lol. Two different animals of course.
Expected more from the TwoNotes, but I guess that is what the Wall of Sound app is for lol.
I got the REACT:IR II here recently, got to find the time during weekend to check it out. But I have to be honest, that the RedSeven sounded best on both amps in my opinion, at least on your demo here., although the st. rock was super close chasing behind. Eager to see how the integrated DSP of the REACT:IR II will fair!
Thanks for making this video, super interesting!
Lonely rocker and I both have vids that show off some dsp features of the st.rock. Check em out if you please!
Would love to hear how the Waza Tube Amp Expander compares to these. Its stupid expensive, though, so I don't blame you for not having one.
I had two notes and quickly sold for a Fryette Power Station. It may be bigger, but sounds closest to amp
Personally to my ears I prefer them in this order. I could really go back and forth with the LB2 and the Redseven. Easily the best two.
Fractal -LB2
Redseven
React: IR
Driftwood
Captor X
You should also try a Garland reactive load box
For my headphone in the high gain Fractal won, and interestingly Two notes was very nice in the mix (with the missing low-end and forward mids). Driftwood was way too muffled and the St. Rock had too much highs. The x-load is not so crazily expensive. With the Marshall it was Red Seven and St. Rock who won. The Fractal was a bit darker. Driftwood was the most muffled here as well and the Two notes was indeed the "most digital" feeling.
BTW I love your rich chords.
in the high gain recto can hear most on the mutes. i think the fractal sound best then the rock react IR .the other i do not like. the red seven also not good maybe other virtual cabinet settings is better. to get good sound there need hear if in mutes the pick scrape sound crisp and with good attack transients. then it is right
Great video. The two notes stuff all sounds sort of weak to me. In my own studio, I find that the UA OX has the best FEEL but its useless live out of cab if you're relying on tone out of the cab because it doesn't have any compensation EQ, its incredible if you can EQ it in post or through a PA however. For me the best all around straight out of a cab that I have found is the Rivera Rock Crusher.
Jon, have you ever used the ‘speaker thru’ jack which allows you to use your cabinet as the load, as well as use amps in 16ohms? It’s a game changer and i am a proud RedSeven owner! Hope
You give this a try if not already. Cheers!
Fractal took the full cake on both 🎂
Two notes took one slice 🍰
The rest were ok…(crumbs of cakes)
Red seven was a total reject as a 🧁 with the cake
The St Rock measures closest to a Mesa 4x12 with V30s if that's what you're in to (I am). Otherwise these are all decent options except the Two Notes which presents a 'generic' impedance curve to the amplifier which isn't as realistic. The Driftwood is definitely exaggerated low end and diminished top end but I think it can sound cool if you dial in the amp for it.
The driftwood sounds atrocious. I bet if you put it against a Bugera power soak, it will sound the same 😂😂😂
@JohnWiku that's why I said 'if you dial the amp in for it'; load boxes are like different cabs in a way, if you dial the amp in for one it may not sound as good with another using the same settings. I've actually owned and used the Driftwood and it can sound pretty cool if you like darker / beefier type tones. It can certainly sound much better than it did here.
It's either the Redseven or the St. Rock for me.
Did someone test the fryette loadbox ?
I’m listening to this on Momentum 4’s. Not the greatest cans but not crap either. The differences are nominal at best. Certainly nothing fiddling with the tone stack on the amp can’t handle.
I use the "Silencer" by "Tube Amp Doctor" and it sounds great with all of my amps. I have a Diezel Herbert, a Mesa Mark lll, an Engl Fireball 100, an Orange #4 and a PRS MT 15 in my studio. I had a Dual Rectifier, that I sold one day, but it had an direct out, so it was possible to compare the direct out signal from the Rectifier to the signal, the Silencer gives me. It was 100% identical. Does your Rectifier have that feature too? It would have been interesting to hear that.
From these purely on sound I would take the Fractal but I would want to compare it with a Suhr.
Fractal & ST.Load were very close, both sounded really good. And so I wonder if they are just doing the job well. The Captor did better than I thought it did, having skimmed the comments before listening. Especially given the price, and that there is Torpedo cheaper non-X Captor 8/16 range too. I thought it sounded perfectly useable, if not in the same league as the two best. I think I liked it better than the Driftwood & Redseven. I use the Captor 16 to tame my Marshall ST20H JTM, Vox AC30 and it doesn't sound bad. Also will use it with the second-hand amp that just arrived today. That I need to thank you for highlighting - the mighty Orange Rocker 30. Thanks man! I really looooove it. Next year, I want me a Wangs 1987HW Plexi, another amp I discovered through your channel. Makes me wonder if there must exist an amp switcher with built in reactive loadbox?
I too was surprised of the two notes, considering the load in it is a bit simplified, more a bathtub than a resonant peak and then slow rise. I've been GASing for a fractal x-load, owning the two notes torpedo, but now I think I'm really just fine.
@@void_snw I feel similarly, have one Torpedo 16. And was thinking of getting a Torpedo 8, for another amp. They're pretty affordable in Europe. But, that said, I think the Fractal X-Load did sound good enough, that if I saw one for maybe 299eur on sale, or second-hand, I'd probably spend the extra 100 over a second Torpedo. But, I wouldn't go selling my existing Torpedo for one.
High gain preferences: Red7, St Rock, Two Notes, Fractal, and then Driftwood
I think Red7 seems the most balanced sounding across the spectrum. I will say that in recto's I expect more fizz so it did remove some out for better or for worse. It definitely sounds the price that it is though since it's the most expensive.
St. Rock to me had that upper fizz I was listening for and still nice lows/mids. Maybe more highs than I wanted but changing the amp settings to adjust for that, plus you may actually want that and it sounds like the Red7 is going to be more smooth in the high end when you really need it to be present up there.
Two Notes is missing a ton of low end. It's mostly high mids and treble. Sounds like a high pass at like 150 or something. I put it here because the others were worse.
Fractal was having a REALLY strange pump, like it's too too reactive and dynamic to the playing in a strange way. Some moments felt blown out in the palm mutes like it was getting a proximity effect as it went along. It also has the high highs a bit too aggressive, like above 9k highs which is a bit unpleasant.
Driftwood way too dull.
This helps validate my purchase for the St. Rock lol. Thanks for the vid!
Thanks for your in depth review!
@@SonicDriveStudio thanks for hearing my yap session 😂
The St. Rock sounded as good as the Redseven, and boy does it have a ton of goodies to play with!!
I would be happy with either loads, but the st. rock wins on functionality.
Would you mind telling me how the ordering process went for the St. Rock unit?
I'm from EU, but I'm not sure if i am going to get charged taxes by importing the St. Rock from Ukraine. You know, the standard VAT + extra fees because they say so 😂😂
It would add a lot of cost to the final price if it happens... Did you get those charges or the final price paid to St. Rock was it?
@@JohnWiku I’m shipping to the US so I can’t say unfortunately! The shipping was quite expensive, almost $100 dollars but I did choose that over the Red7 because of features like you said
@@JohnWiku Found in their terms and conditions: "All the prices of our products delivered to Europe are denoted in euros inclusive of VAT without forwarding charges."
captor x got a firmware update recently, not sure what changed since i haven't used it after, still sounds the best to me, more balanced and waiting for me to make the changes.
Very interesting video. I don't understand how the driftwood one sounds like there's a blanket over the speaker. Mendel did a similar video and got really good results with the driftwood... Even though (from memory) you both used different amps from each other and in the tests... I have the captor x and can't really gel with it using a Savage 120 MKII, Archon 50 or any of my lunchboxes (EVH,Orange and a couple Joyo amps). Since I saw Mendels video a while back I've been very interested in the driftwood one but with your tests it seems to be worse than the captor x in some ways. I live very far away from europe and the U.S so testing different loadboxes before buying is simply impossible for me so I have to rely on videos from others before I buy something (pretty much goes for anything music related actually). I would love to see a comparison graph between all these loadboxes.
Captor X the best, driftwood - worst one...
The only difference I could really hear was between the Two Notes and the Driftwood. The Driftwood just sounds bad, the Two Notes sounded like it was clipping. Not sure whats going on with the Driftwood. To me it just sounded like the rest were either louder or quieter lol. Could be my headphones but good vid!
I almost never use the reactive load in my Two Notes. I just use it to tap the signal between the amp and cab to send to FOH.
It would be interesting to try to get the tones as close as possible no matter how much you'd have to change the settings on the amp.Fractal sounded the best and more alive to me.I have the Two Notes and I have to say after that video, I'm kind of disapointed...
Awesome!
Hey John, off topic here, but have you ever used the Synergy stuff? I'm looking at those small modular preamps along with their poweramp. Pretty attractive concept anyway.
Not seeing anything in a search, but do you maybe have any testing plans? Or have any thoughts atm? Thanks!
Reactive loads are like Pokemon: gotta catch'em all! 😆
Sorry I may be stupid but the actual impedance curves would differ for a specific speaker dependent on whether it is measures in "air" versus in a cab whose resonant frequency can also shift the response curve. So for me for example the actual reactive curves do not necessarily "emulate" those of the speaker models of the IRs used anyway. But I suppose this a specific use case of the said products with all else being equal... there will be differing opinions. As with good wine taste is in the ear of the beholder. Some products may play being more flexible in other use cases. I would be curios how each product would dynamically create the actual impedance curves of each speaker type and reflect those to the actual amplifiers... so many factors.. and IR is effectively a snapshot of a point in time. Yip always fun to see these comparisons keep it up. As this is a specific use case in this instance I liked The RedS , FA and St Rock on the Marshal the most, on the Hig gain RedS and FA were nice ,depending on what you played the Captor X in the mix had its moments.. ST Rock was OK Driftwood inconsistent but that's my ears
The Fractal comes out on top as the best bang for the buck at $300. Compared to the Red7 up at $800, the St. Rock at $650, the Two Notes $600, and the Driftwood at $460. Especially as it was ranked as one of the top sounding units.
I think my st rock all-in shipped to California was $650 usd? And captor x you can get all day on reverb for $400 used. Imho Bang for the buck depends on what features you want to use annnd the quality of the sound.
@@whataguitarnerd The St Rock, I didn't see that they have a Euro to US price already there and they don't really up charge for Euros and keep the same price in dollars. So yea I'll revise that price to $650. As for the comparison well I'm looking at new to new as that's really only fair way to compare. If someone can find a used one at a good value that is always a good option to save money, no matter which one you purchase. If you don't need an IR loader than I still stand that what this video is about "Reactive Loadbox", than the Fractal which even you said was about as good a sounding as any would still be the "best bang for buck."
Great video! Have you ever tried Fryette Power station?
On plexi I nothing to say, but on Recto I like the Captor (maybe is the youtube compression but is not too bad).
I don't like the Driftwood in any of 2 cases, sorry: maybe can you try it with a Driftwood head?
Cheers 😊
Hey man I watched your Hughes & kettner 40 Tubemeister video. I think you are using a loadbox in that video as well am I right? That amp (And almost evry other amp) doesnt sound as good in other videos. You make everything sound incredible.
I plan on making silent recordings using DI output of the amp. If I buy a Tubemeister 40, will I be able to get similar tones to yours without buying a loadbox as well? I have a few Ownhammer IR's and I really loved the tones in your video.
I have a stratocaster
Realistically, you'd need the same guitar, amp, loadbox and IR to get close
@@bigpiper2103 What I’m curious about is how different the DI output of the Tubemeister 40 + Ownhammer IR's without the load box. I wanted to know if the quality difference is huge.
I am aware that I would need the exact same gear to get a close tone. Similar tones to his video would be more than enough. Most videos of H&K TM40 sound good to me already. But this channel has the best sounding video of it.
Which makes me wonder if a load box makes that much of a difference in the recording.
If there's a way to turn off speaker emulation on the Redbox, you could use your own hammer IRs in your computer. No need for a load box
It honestly kind of sounds like you have a personal dislike for Two Notes, because the Driftwood sounded by FAR the worst of all of them in this comparison, and you explained it away very gently and nicely by saying you can just use a bright IR, and adjust the amp settings etc. Then with the Captor you make a face and just say it sounds flat and unrealistic. It's definitely on the bright and lean side, but I'm sure you could compensate the same way with the Captor by using a darker IR and adding more bass to your amp settings.
Aside from all that, I'd say the Red Seven and St. Rock sounded the best overall!
For me my dislike of the Two Notes isn't just an EQ thing, it's the dynamics
@@SonicDriveStudio Fair enough. We all have likes and dislikes. I don't own a Captor, so I can't claim any first-hand experience with it. Perhaps UA-cam's compression is affecting those dynamics, and maybe it's more apparent in person? For me just as a listener of this video, the Captor sounded much nicer than the Driftwood overall, and I would always rather have to take high end out of a tone than add it in, if that makes sense.
Hey Jon was wondering why you didn't include a Fryette Power Station in the test as it also works as a reactive load, and reactive attenuator and many find it the most realistic sounding. Would be interesting to see how it holds up against your Red Seven and React IR 2.
Don't have one
I can confirm, I have 3 powerstation 2A and I had a Power Load + IR. No signal loss, no weird frequencies, no extra compression. Very transparent. I share the 3 Powerstations with KHEs and Ampete Switchers on the following amps:
Driftwood Purple Nightmare 100w
KT88+6L6
Revv GEN 7-40
Friedman Runt 50W
JCM 800 2203
Peavey 6505II
PRS MT100
Syn5050 + Syn2
Engl E840+E530
Splawn Quick Rod 100W
Splawn Nitro 100W
PRS Archon 50W
KSR Orthos II 100W
Diezel VH2
Peavey 6505
Redseven Duality RS 100W
EVH 5150 III 6L6 50W
EVH 5150 III EL34 50W
So I can assure you that this is the best Attenuator/Loadbox knowing that I've owned a Rivera Rockcrusher Recording, a Two Notes captor X and a Two notes Torpedo Reload.
Happy owner here of Fractal LB2, I think it works really well with Mesa, though I preferred Red Seven on Plexi. St. Rock sounds too digital on both and Captor x has no headroom and sounds flat like you mentioned it, Driftwood it wasn't too bad with Plexi.
Thanks Jon for making kick ass comparison. It would be really interesting to see how different they sound on 5153 if you ever would have time to compare more amps.
Fractal sounded best with the Recto, RedSeven with the Plexi, IMO.
What country is he in? Daniel from Lichtaerm Audio drove seven hours to see him from Berlin. I thought he was Canadian but clearly not
The Netherlands. Driving from Berlin to Canada isn't really possible ;)
Totally new to physical amps but on the brink of purchasing an engl so it might be a complete noob question: you plug the speaker out of the amp directly into the loadbox?
Yes
React IR - the best (sound and overall (PRICE, attenuation, functions)
Driftwood - the worst (sound)
The two notes reload is way better than the captor x
The best is the reactive load box you build yourself.
A load box creates a speaker impedance curve. Different cabs/apeakers have different curves . What sounds good for some random UA-cam guy may not sound good for you. Good luck.
To my ears the X Load sounds the best followed by red seven and St Rock. I wouldn’t consider the other two.
1) fractal 2) saint rock
🔥
They sounded kind of "compressed" to me, something I don't like. I wish you had a Suhr Load Box in the comparison. Euge Valovirta regularly used one in his videos about 1-2 years ago with his "Bad Boy" Marshall JCM800 2203 from 1984, my favorite sounding Marshall on YT. Very lively sound.
And then Euge started to use St.Rock REACT:IR (first one in rack format) and now he uses Fryette.
@@LucifdeLuther Yes, a mistake in my opinion.
@@picksalot1 hell no! Fryette PS2a & PS100 are the best Loadbox/Attenuators ever made.
@@gral9440 Great timing! Just a few days ago, Euge posted a video called "After One Year | FRYETTE PS-100 | Reactive Load & Attenuator." At almost 4 times the price, it is clearly a much more advanced and versatile unit than the Suhr Reacive Loadbox, and Euge has very good reasons to favor it over other Loadboxes. The high end was a bit much for my taste, but the Fryette can easily tame them if desired.
Euge's video I watched is from 2 years ago where he compared the "UAD OX BOX vs ST.ROCK REACT:IR vs SUHR REACTIVE LOAD/I.R." I preferred the Suhr for it's smoother top end, andt Euge correctly said, it was "bare bones." But, I liked them bones. I forget which Loadbox he switched to, but his Marshall "Bad Boy" didn't sound as good in my opinion, and I stopped watching his Channel as much as I had in the past.
differences are NOT so HUGE !!
I spoke too fast . I didn t listened with the boogie . Yes they are huge .ReD Seven is the best
Red Seven, far the best.... second fractal...
Fractal is the best to my ears. Dead second place after Fryette in my ranking.
Driftwood makes incredible amps but that load box sounds terrible
Two notes sound muddy/muffled to anyone else? Edit: Finished watching, and I guess John agrees at least 😆
Really? You've found the two notes muddy/dull, but not the driftwood?
Boy, that driftwood sounded atrocious, there's no difference between that and a bugera ps-1, and way more expensive and less functionality 😂😂😂😂😂
Not first
Huhu... you said "load"
I was listening thru my 8" Yamaha powered monitors, with a KRK sub, and I could not detect ANY DIFFERENCE WHAT SO EVER !!! I'm sure you'll say there was a difference, but there simply wasn't. I'm at 8:33 into the video, and I chose to stop it. There was no point in going any further ! I love *most* of your videos, and I'm a subscribed fan of your channel. However, this video I totally disagree with. I'll still be watching your future videos, everybody lays an egg once in a while....
If you can't hear a difference in the high gain Rectifier example I highly recommend some new monitoring
the Driftwood was garbage
bull💩 i guess two notes forgot to give you a check recently...