Torpedo Live-Help, please.

Rihin

New member
Okay, so, I finally got a Torpedo Live today after having saved up for a few years. I was attracted to it thanks to Glenn Fricker.
I'm beginning to wonder if it was a mistake.

I have only one amplifier due to me being poor, but it has a sound that I love.
It is a Roland 15x amplifier.
The issue with this is that I live in an apartment, so I can't record it, which is where the Torpedo Live comes in.
My audio interface is a PreSonus AudioBox 22 VSL that does NOT have s/pdif, as you can see going by the image. The manual says that Torpedo Live does 4, 8, and 16 ohm amps, so the Roland 15x is good (4 ohm). I have followed this video from start to end (except I am on Windows 10, not mac) around 6-8 times now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcMvO7AUhVM
Again, I don't have a s/pdif jack, so my only option was to do it that way as shown in the video. The manual makes it seem like you HAVE to have a s/pdif, which you do NOT need. Extremely annoying that the manual is so poorly written, especially for a newbie like myself.

Anyway, I use one cable from the output jack on the amp, to the input 8 ohm (not sure if this actually is correct, but am afraid of testing things as it may damage the amp) on the Torpedo, one cable from the line output from the torpedo to the line in on the audio interface, and lastly one cable from the amp line in to the guitar itself). So, I do what the video instructs, step-by-step, and I hear nearly nothing. I am very afraid of maxing out on the volume because the manual says to not push the amp to the max due to damage risk. I also increase the volume itself on the torpedo to get lamps to at least light up, but, again, nearly no volume, and now I am afraid that all of my savings have been for nothing.

Routing again:
Torpedo 8 ohm Input jack > amp output
Torpedo Line Output > PreSonus AudioBox 22 VSL Line Input A
Amp Input > Guitar

Any pointers greatly appreciated.
 
I would suggest saving up and getting a better amp to be honest with you, or use a nice distortion pedal into the Live and use WOS-III with one of the tube pre-amp simulations and pick your cabinet from there. You probably get an infinitely better tone. The Live is built for a tube amp. You have an expensive load box and an 89$ solid state amp. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me. I get it that things are more expensive but you can even get one of the EVH mini tube heads for a decent price used and you would have a nice little setup for recording and playing through headphones.

In this case, I would say you probably should have gotten a better amp first.
 
how are you connecting the roland to the torpedo exactly? Are you using the "recording/phones" output or are you disconnecting the internal speaker?
 
sysexguy":2i5nblyp said:
how are you connecting the roland to the torpedo exactly? Are you using the "recording/phones" output or are you disconnecting the internal speaker?

I have one cable going from the Out/Recording/Phones jack and place it in the 8Ω jack of the Torpedo.
I have another cable going from the Line Out (Outputs) on the back of the Torpedo Live and connect it to the audio interface Line In.
Lastly, one cable from the amp into the guitar.

PBGas":2i5nblyp said:
In this case, I would say you probably should have gotten a better amp first.

Seems like it.
 
ok, so nothing is broken. The Roland amp out is line level not speaker level, run it into the Torpedo "line input" and adjust the front panel (torpedo) input level so you see green lights, maybe the yellows flickering and you'll be good. The Roland already has some of their idea of speaker emulation on that output so you may need to comopensate by using brighter cabinet/mic combinations and/or boosting some eq in the highs.
 
Rihin":1d0rofwi said:
sysexguy":1d0rofwi said:
how are you connecting the roland to the torpedo exactly? Are you using the "recording/phones" output or are you disconnecting the internal speaker?

I have one cable going from the Out/Recording/Phones jack and place it in the 8Ω jack of the Torpedo.
I have another cable going from the Line Out (Outputs) on the back of the Torpedo Live and connect it to the audio interface Line In.
Lastly, one cable from the amp into the guitar.

PBGas":1d0rofwi said:
In this case, I would say you probably should have gotten a better amp first.

Seems like it.

The good news is, you are now half way there. Torpedo live is awesome with a tube amp. I've been using them for the past 4 years and they work great! Try a distortion pedal with the live and see how that works for you as well.
 
sysexguy":1tksxt26 said:
ok, so nothing is broken. The Roland amp out is line level not speaker level, run it into the Torpedo "line input" and adjust the front panel (torpedo) input level so you see green lights, maybe the yellows flickering and you'll be good. The Roland already has some of their idea of speaker emulation on that output so you may need to comopensate by using brighter cabinet/mic combinations and/or boosting some eq in the highs.

So am I understanding this right?

1. Roland amp Out/Recording/Phones > Torpedo Live Line Input
2. Torpedo Live Line OUT > Audio Interface Input
3. Roland amp Input > Guitar

New to this, as you can tell, and I am extremely nervous about all this. English isn't my main language, but the manual didn't make it less stressful.
Also, I see the Torpedo Live has a max Watt of 100w, but the manual says big tube amps are preferable. Any good one you can recommend? I really longed for a Peavey but those appear to be 120w so it seems like I screwed myself, which is typical.
 
So am I understanding this right?

i'm afraid not.

The Torpedo Live is designed to replace a regular speaker cabinet. The idea is to plug is INSTEAD of your regular cabinet, in other words it must be connected to the amp SPEAKER OUTPUT into the Live amp input.

Could you confirm your amp is this:

https://www.roland.com/global/products/cube-15x/

Because this has no speaker output. :/

There is another way to use the torpedo Live which would be to take the RECORDING OUT/PHONES Jack of you amp and enter the LINE input on the Torpedo. Please use a MONO jack if you do this. I believe Sysexguy already gave you that solution in this thread.

I have no idea if using this will defeat the speaker of your amp (in other words if you will be able to play in silence), I don't know either if there is some kind of speaker simulation on that output of your amp, so I have no idea what the result will be.

English isn't my main language, but the manual didn't make it less stressful.

What is your main language, maybe I can find another user that speaks your native tongue.

Also, I see the Torpedo Live has a max Watt of 100w, but the manual says big tube amps are preferable. Any good one you can recommend? I really longed for a Peavey but those appear to be 120w so it seems like I screwed myself, which is typical.

Many people use a Peavey 5150 which is 120W with our products, the rule is very simple : do not put the amp to max level for too long. A 120W amplifier will only give you that much power if you push the volume very hard. If you keep it somehow low (meaning below 12 o'clock), you're good to go.
 
Hello again. My father was kind enough to treat me to a Peavey 6505. (Yeeey! ^-^)
I want to thank you guys for the pointers, and I am afraid to say that I probably will need even more pointers when I've gotten the 6505 amp head. I'm super scared of breaking things.

Thanks again!

"There is another way to use the torpedo Live which would be to take the RECORDING OUT/PHONES Jack of you amp and enter the LINE input on the Torpedo. Please use a MONO jack if you do this."

I tried this but the volume simply was nowhere close.
 
We're very happy for you, that's a cool Dad that you have! :rock:

keep us posted, you'll get it there, the Torpedo products are not designed for beginners but with some time and dedication you'll get somewhere. ;)
 
6505 will run very nice with Torpedo Live, this is not an amplifier where you are looking for power tube saturation and running everything to the top. It's main sound comes from bloody 5 pre-amp tubes, or 6 if you get the 6505+ version :)

So, no need to crank the amp to the max at all...they sound amazing at lower volumes too and Live can handle 100w which is beyond loud anyways in normal amp to cab use.

Their 120w comes handy for the bands this amp is designed for, loud as f*** hardcore metal bands, and if you play with a normal cab...you will use those 120w to get that heavy loud thing going on :)
 
Actually I discovered that you get get a pretty decent clean tone if you keep the gain very very low on the first channel and push the power amp? That is something easy to try with a Torpedo. ^^
 
Hello again guys, I have it now. ^-^
...And I'm super freaking scared because I did exactly what this video showed, again



...but I don't get the torpedo to get any audio.
I have the amp head set at noon (6) on all, and since Guillaume said not to go over 12 (it goes to 10 but am afraid to go past 6) I am edging forward very carefully.
Even if I have the torpedo live's in levels maxed, I don't hear anything, and no lamps light up. Not even the -36 db one.

Cables:
Exactly as in the video altho admittedly when he says "connect to your audio interface", he doesn't show exactly what jack, but I put it in the line input 1 jack.
So, from Torpedo Live Line Output -> Focusrite Scarlett 18i8 (I also got this today instead of PreSonus 22 VSL) line input 1.
The 8 ohm from Torpedo Live -> Peavey 6505 backside output, right one.

peavey_6505_back.jpg


It says: 120W RMS/44V RMS 4 Ohm min. Speaker jacks paralleled.

When I turn on the amp (the Peavey), which was extremely scary and I contemplated for like 10 minutes to not do it, but I did... while taking cover behind a stack of pillows... yes, for real...
the tubes go red, don't know if that's good, but it probably isn't so I immediately shut it off.

I'm probably too careful. Anyway, no sound. I will simply wait for you to respond. I will not risk all of this.
Oh and the focusrite has an s/pdif jack, but I won't need it, apparently. I also watched many other tutorials like Fluff's and Ola Englund but yeah, I must be dumb as hell.
 
You're not dumb, you're just new to this. There's a learning curve, the Torpedo Live is designed for studio professionals. ;)

Ok just one question:

if you properly used a SPEAKER cable between your head 8 ohms output and the Torpedo Live amp input (beware, NOT the THRU or the LINE), did you try listening with headphones directly connected into the Torpedo Live?

Leave the soundcard out of it for the moment.

Tubes glowing is not bad, if they didn't light up at all that would be strange. ;)
 
Hallo Guillaume, thank you for the help so far! Yes, I'm super ultra mega new. (╯°o°)╯︵ ┻━━━━━━━━┻
But we all start from "once upon a time".

So with speaker cables I take it you mean the same as when we connect guitars to amps and so on?

I have it going from the right output (I'm not sure if that's the correct one and I'm afraid of trying the left input but I'll give it a really quick try if this doesn't work.) on the back of the Peavey head amp with it's switch set to 8 Ω (not 4 or 16). Anyway, it goes to the Torpedo Live Input (8 Ω).
The guitar goes to the amp's hi gain input. I will remove the audio card cable that goes from the output on the back of the Torpedo Live to the Line 1 input on the Focusrite 18i8 and try with headphones.

-
Result:
Nothing. Not a peep.
When I turn on or off the Torpedo Live the lights shoot up quickly and I hear it pop in my headphones, so it isn't broken. When I play on the guitar I heard nothing in my headphones.
All I set was a single cable: 8Ω from the amp (tried both outputs, left and right) to the input (8Ω) of the Torpedo Live, and of course guitar > amp.
I tried both Hi Gain and Normal Gain.
I made sure the standby wasn't activated.
Oh and Torpedo Remote was running. Output was at 0 db also, and I tried maxing the input level, but nothing.
 
Hi there,

Since this is your first time, make things really simple.

First of all I'm not sure the Torpedo Live works right away brand new. I believe you have to connect the Torpedo Live to your computer first and run the Torpedo Remote software and register the Torpedo Live. Guillaume and Andy could answer this because I don't remember.

Ok, assuming the Torpedo Live is working and good to go here is what you do:

1. Make sure everything is turned off. Disconnect everything, no cables connected to anything.

2. Connect a guitar cable from your guitar to the input of your Peavey. Hi Gain or Normal Gain, it doesn't matter. Set all of your knobs to "5". They will all be pointing straight up.

3. Look at the back of your Peavey. Set the speaker output switch to 8 Ohms.

4. Plug a Speaker Cable from the Peavey Speaker Output to the Input 8 Ohms jack on the Torpedo Live. It will be the jack the furthest to your right when looking at the back of the Torpedo Live.

5. Plug Headphones into the front of the Torpedo Live

6. Turn the Peavey Power Switch to ON.

7. Turn the Torpedo Live ON. Make sure there is a preset loaded. Wait about 30 seconds. Important.

8. Go back to the Peavey and turn the Standby Switch on the Peavey to ON.

9. Put on the Headphones and play your guitar. You should hear your guitar. You might have turn up the "In Level" on the front of the Torpedo Live.

Forget the audio interface, you are just trying to get the amp to work with the Torpedo Live. Once you get your Peavey working with the Torpedo Live, we can move on. First things first.

Yes there is a lot to learn, and hopefully you will learn more about amps. I could go on and on, but things will get confusing.

Before following these steps, please wait for Andy or Guillaume to confirm whether you have to register your Torpedo Live first before actually using it.
 
Oh crap. I failed at 4.
Thanks Guillaume and cycosuicide, I had no idea there were different cables. I will get today. I hope nothing was destrrrrrrroyed...
-

First of all I'm not sure the Torpedo Live works right away brand new. I believe you have to connect the Torpedo Live to your computer first and run the Torpedo Remote software and register the Torpedo Live.

Did this already a few months back when I got the Torpedo Live, and I also checked right now. It's registered and good to go.
It loads licenses and so on on launch so it's all good.

1. Make sure everything is turned off. Disconnect everything, no cables connected to anything.
- Check.

2. Connect a guitar cable from your guitar to the input of your Peavey. Hi Gain or Normal Gain, it doesn't matter. Set all of your knobs to "5". They will all be pointing straight up.
- I now am wondering what cables I have. HAHA! ... They are all instrument cables. - Check.

3. Look at the back of your Peavey. Set the speaker output switch to 8 Ohms.
- Did that yesterday, double checked.

4. Plug a Speaker Cable from the Peavey Speaker Output to the Input 8 Ohms jack on the Torpedo Live. It will be the jack the furthest to your right when looking at the back of the Torpedo Live.
- I don't own a Speaker Cable. (^-^!) - Check failed. - I will get one today.

...to be continued.
 
Continuation:

4. Plug a Speaker Cable from the Peavey Speaker Output to the Input 8 Ohms jack on the Torpedo Live. It will be the jack the furthest to your right when looking at the back of the Torpedo Live.
- Check! \(^o^)/

5. Plug Headphones into the front of the Torpedo Live.
- Check.

6. Turn the Peavey Power Switch to ON.
- Check.

7. Turn the Torpedo Live ON. Make sure there is a preset loaded. Wait about 30 seconds. Important.
- Check.

8. Go back to the Peavey and turn the Standby Switch on the Peavey to ON.
- Oooooh... I didn't do this! CHECK! - I HEAR SOUNDS!! \(^o^)/

9. Put on the Headphones and play your guitar. You should hear your guitar. You might have turn up the "In Level" on the front of the Torpedo Live.
- Check! IT'S ALIVE! IT'S ALIIIVE!

Darn it. So I just missed the Standby. HAHA! Well, glad that's solved. Now to add the other cables.

Is the Torpedo Live supposed to make horrible guitar noises by the way when I have the headphones in the focusrite?
To be clear, I set the rest up. Being cable from Torpedo Live output into Focusrite input 1. Just to try.

I will wait for you now.
 
You got something going on Rihn. Awesome.

As Guillaume stated, you need to get speaker cables, line level cables, and an instrument cable to get the best sound and reduce noise.

After that, you need to forget using the interface for now. Here is what you should do next:

1. Make your connections using the proper cables. An instrument cable plugs into your guitar, the other end plugs into your Peavey Amp. The Speaker Cable plugs into the Speaker Output of your Peavey, and into the Speaker Input (8 Ohms) on the back of the Torpedo Live.

2. Read the manual with your amp. Dial in sounds using the knobs and learn how to use your amp. This is verrry important.

3. If you feel pretty good about your amp and have a sound you like, now try different settings on the Torpedo Live. Try different microphones, different cabinets. You should turn the Power Amp simulation off. You don't need it because you are already using your own amplifier. Learning how to use the Torpedo Live is also really important.

This is all new for you. Your interface and recording don't matter as much right now because you need to learn how to use your amp, your guitar, and the Torpedo Live to get the sounds you like. This will take time, but its a lot of fun. You don't have to be an expert, you just need to know how to use them to get your sounds or at least as close as you can.

Trying to use the interface is just making it harder and more confusing for you. First things first. Learn how to use your gear.

When its time for the Audio Interface, use a line level cable. Plug one end into the "Line Out" on the back of the Torpedo Live, and the other end into one of the inputs on your interface. Then try and monitor from the Interface. See, if the sound you get listening to the interface is bad, but the sound you get listening to the Torpedo Live is fine, then you know your problem is the interface and the not the amp or Torpedo Live.

GO SLOW!
 
Back
Top