Torpedo Live Tweaks?
- Thread starter Mattfig
- Start date
Simple really, pick a cab and mic, move it around until you like it.
Center is usually brighter, off-center darker, and you can often get a smoother sound by moving the mic back as well.
just like the real deal!
The R121 is very dark (too dark IMO, so pair with a brighter cab typically).
You can use third party IR's as well, and mix them with BlendIR available from two Notes (very powerful).
I'd suggest setting the presence high to start if using the power amp sims with a preamp, plus the EQ is excellent as well with well thought out freq centers for guitar.
I use a torpedo CAB with custom MTS tube preamps, a match made in Heaven IMO!
Center is usually brighter, off-center darker, and you can often get a smoother sound by moving the mic back as well.
just like the real deal!
The R121 is very dark (too dark IMO, so pair with a brighter cab typically).
You can use third party IR's as well, and mix them with BlendIR available from two Notes (very powerful).
I'd suggest setting the presence high to start if using the power amp sims with a preamp, plus the EQ is excellent as well with well thought out freq centers for guitar.
I use a torpedo CAB with custom MTS tube preamps, a match made in Heaven IMO!
guillaume_pille
Active member
My tips:
switch off the power amp sim and the EQ. Start with cab + mic + placement only, so you get a good basis you will be able to work with the EQ.
About the power amp, don't try to put the volume too high at first (between 1 and 10dB), and keep Presence and Depth at 100%.
switch off the power amp sim and the EQ. Start with cab + mic + placement only, so you get a good basis you will be able to work with the EQ.
About the power amp, don't try to put the volume too high at first (between 1 and 10dB), and keep Presence and Depth at 100%.
Mattfig
Member
guillaume_pille":wbmmeary said:
Thanks. That helps too! FWIW, I am not using any power amp sim as my amp is connected to the load on the Torpedo Live...I am really looking for ideas of which mics work best for which cabs and how you guys like to set distance and center...I know it is to taste but sometimes new ideas and fresh approaches can keep things interesting and fun...This product is great and I want to grow into it the right way- some experimentation, some suggested guidance...
Thanks guys! Keep 'em coming!
guillaume_pille
Active member
OK so keep the power amp sim switched off at first, but someday you may want to try the simulation + your amp, you could be surprised.
Well, some tips about sound:
- As a general rule, the effect of the cabinet + microphone combination is WAY more drastic on dirty sounds than on clean sound. The reason is simple:
We can approximate the effect of the miked cabinet by a filter. One of the characteristics of a filter is its gain VS frequency function. The more the spectrum of the incoming signal is full, the more you will hear the effect of the filter.
If we do another extreme simplification, the clean signal of a guitar could be a pure sine wave. In this case the filter will just lower the gain of the single frequency of this pure sine wave. not really interesting.
But the more you have distorsion in the sound, the less your incoming sound is a pure sine wave, the more you can see the spectrum getting richer. Then, you can hear what's happening with the cabinet.
- for the first contact with the Live and if you are more used to listen guitar through a guitar cabinet rather than listening to a miked sound in studio, I would recommend the use of large cabinets and ribbon microphones. The sound will be smoother, darker, closer to what you hear most of the time when you are 3 feet or more higher than your guitar cabinet when you play.
- When it goes to recording, I don't recommend this configuration because the guitar sound will be too dark to fit in the mix easily, you will need most of the time more high end frequencies to stop fighting with the bass (I am considering a rock/pop mix).
In this case a smaller cabinet with a dynamic or condenser microphone will be easier to handle.
- most of the recordings we are familiar with are using close miking technique, so I recommend always to start with distance = zero and to move the microphone on the" CENTER" axis. When I am satisfied with the sound, I may want to move a little the distance to add a little air. Unless I want to create a special effect, I never go really far away from the cabinet (around 10%).
If I think of something else, I will post it here.
And actually if others have tips, I can compile them in a single document, and why not adding this to a future version of the user's manual?
Mattfig
Member
guillaume_pille":66k1abdx said:
OK so keep the power amp sim switched off at first, but someday you may want to try the simulation + your amp, you could be surprised.
Well, some tips about sound:
- As a general rule, the effect of the cabinet + microphone combination is WAY more drastic on dirty sounds than on clean sound. The reason is simple:
We can approximate the effect of the miked cabinet by a filter. One of the characteristics of a filter is its gain VS frequency function. The more the spectrum of the incoming signal is full, the more you will hear the effect of the filter.
If we do another extreme simplification, the clean signal of a guitar could be a pure sine wave. In this case the filter will just lower the gain of the single frequency of this pure sine wave. not really interesting.
But the more you have distorsion in the sound, the less your incoming sound is a pure sine wave, the more you can see the spectrum getting richer. Then, you can hear what's happening with the cabinet.
- for the first contact with the Live and if you are more used to listen guitar through a guitar cabinet rather than listening to a miked sound in studio, I would recommend the use of large cabinets and ribbon microphones. The sound will be smoother, darker, closer to what you hear most of the time when you are 3 feet or more higher than your guitar cabinet when you play.
- When it goes to recording, I don't recommend this configuration because the guitar sound will be too dark to fit in the mix easily, you will need most of the time more high end frequencies to stop fighting with the bass (I am considering a rock/pop mix).
In this case a smaller cabinet with a dynamic or condenser microphone will be easier to handle.
- most of the recordings we are familiar with are using close miking technique, so I recommend always to start with distance = zero and to move the microphone on the" CENTER" axis. When I am satisfied with the sound, I may want to move a little the distance to add a little air. Unless I want to create a special effect, I never go really far away from the cabinet (around 10%).
If I think of something else, I will post it here.
And actually if others have tips, I can compile them in a single document, and why not adding this to a future version of the user's manual?
Man, thank you! That helps a ton....So is it a rule of thumb to keep the mic near the center? How far off do you guys go? I have had some luck being 10-13% off center but am still adjusting to what I am hearing...
Also, using the power amp sim with a powered amp seems to beef up the sound so that seems like a cool route to try too!
guillaume_pille
Active member
Well it really depends on the speaker + microphone characteristics VS the sound you want to have in the mix (I add in the mix, because it may be different from what you want to hear when you play the guitar alone).
Mattfig
Member
BTW, very cool of guillaume_pille to be on the forum like this...Gearheads like me notice that and having an interaction with the Pres of the company about the product is something rare and I thank you...
I will seize this opportunity and ask a specific question about mic placement...What would you consider to be the standard range that people would likely use? 0-4? 0-10? 0-20?
Also, when engaging the power amp sim, it adds a ton of girth and sounds cool...However, since I'm already running a power amp I feel like I'm cheating...In a nutshell, what does that function do to the tone besides add volume?
THANKS!
I will seize this opportunity and ask a specific question about mic placement...What would you consider to be the standard range that people would likely use? 0-4? 0-10? 0-20?
Also, when engaging the power amp sim, it adds a ton of girth and sounds cool...However, since I'm already running a power amp I feel like I'm cheating...In a nutshell, what does that function do to the tone besides add volume?
THANKS!
guillaume_pille
Active member
I don't know if you are talking about the distance or center parameter, but in my opinion:
Center : no too far away from the center, 0-30, it depends a lot on the mic +cab
Distance : 0 to 10
Cheating? How cheating could ever be an issue in music.
This function is a tube power amp modeling, we reproduce accurately the behavior of several typical amp topologies (Push Pull or Single Ended with different types of tubes).