I finally tried a Captor X (added Fractal X-Load vs Captor X comparison!)

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Deleted member 27494

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I've been using my trusty Fractal Audio LB-2 reactive load for years now and while I love it for what it does, it's not really capable of doing more then providing a load for my amps. So I started looking at other reactive loads to see if I could spice things up a little for my studio and of course the hyped Captor X came to mind. Luckily I was able to get my hands on one so I started to mess with the unit as soon as it arrived.

Man, this thing is insane... It can do so much but a lot of those things are just so convenient and handy. Simple things like the noise gate and eq can make all the difference but being able to control all the parameters wirelessly is pretty game changing to me too!

So I made a little review video with some audio demos using the stock virtual cabs. In this video I try the Captor X with my ENGL Fireball 100, Orange TH30 and Marshall SC20H. I think it sounds pretty good and I really enjoyed working with it so far! The next test will be to see how it sounds with my OwnHammer IRs and I'm also looking forward to comparing the sound of the Fractal and Captor loads through the same IR, just to see how that makes a difference.

Here's the video:

 
Ventura said:
Awesome vid!!!
Didja post it over to the TwoNotes subform as well??
Really well done - thank you!!
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Thanks, much appreciated! I forgot to post it there but I don't want to double post/spam the forum.
 
Great video...GuitarJon,I heard you say the Captor X can be used as an attenuator,if so how does this one hook up,similar to how one is usually used,like put in between the speaker being used and the amp ?

I am just wondering,i have never used any of this type of equipment and want to start out somewhere and find out what I am missing out on,I hear about DAWS,speaker impulses..IR's etc and wonder whats up.
 
riffermadness said:
Great video...GuitarJon,I heard you say the Captor X can be used as an attenuator,if so how does this one hook up,similar to how one is usually used,like put in between the speaker being used and the amp ?

I am just wondering,i have never used any of this type of equipment and want to start out somewhere and find out what I am missing out on,I hear about DAWS,speaker impulses..IR's etc and wonder whats up.
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That is correct!

I would highly recommend checking out the manual for the captor X as it has a couple of diagrams where they show you how to hook it up etc.
 
Guitarjon said:
Thanks, much appreciated! I forgot to post it there but I don't want to double post/spam the forum.
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Likely better on the main feed as most folks over at the TN subforum already know about this wondrous lil' gizmo. I love mine - running 2 for stereo heads - unbelievable flexibility.

Guitarjon said:
That is correct!

I would highly recommend checking out the manual for the captor X as it has a couple of diagrams where they show you how to hook it up etc.
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(y)(y)(y)(y)(y)(y)(y)(y)(y)
 
Awesome product. If I didn't already have a Torpedo Live, this would be mine.
Attenuator, IR loader/cab sim in one *and* stand-alone! (y)
I rarely hook up my Torpedo to a PC; only to tweak a setting and then leave it be.
 
milin_im said:
Great video!

How good is the attenuation on this? Every video I've seen focus on the recording side, but none talk about the attenuation.
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I have yet to try but I think the features are limited. Better than nothing I guess...
 
Editor's note!!: I already touched on this in the video but perhaps I should have talked about this more in-depth. The impedance curves in the Fractal are very much baked in, so the response on the UK setting will sound as if it's connected to a V30. It sounds great but it is a little limiting. Of course you also have the US voicing but that's not a kind of sound that I'm usually after. Now, the Captor X has a more generalized impedance curve and according to Two Notes this was done on purpose so that the device works well with any amp/IR type you want. You can then finetune the sound of the captor's simulated impedance curve with the enhancer and/or eq effects in the post-fx section. This makes the unit more flexible. It does mean that it takes more effort and perhaps a more trained ear to get those results but it at least means that you can get a wide range of sounds out of it. Just wanted to clarify! Cheers!
 
Nice comparison in the 2nd video. I preferred the fatness of the fractal, just wish you could still get it new. They haven’t been available for some time.

To really geek out would be cool to see the impedance curve plots of both units.
 
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