Let's talk speaker sims, reamps, and power attenuators

[dirtyfunkg]

My goal is to achieve a very good, versatile option for being able to track and perform WITH the drummer but not bleed into his microphones in a home studio (or in my case, our practice space).

The pieces of gear I'm looking at:

Speaker Sim: Palmer PDI-09 Junction ($175 USD).
Seems like great bang for buck and sound quality is very good. I would probably end up using this live to achieve a consistent tone from night to night.

Power Attenuator : Rivera Rock Crusher ($500 USD).
My two huge needs here are for a proper load box that will not fry anything in the chain and can run completely silent. Sound quality here isn't that big a deal since it would simply function as a load box. This too could potentially become a staple of my live rig to use with the Junction and negate the need for a cabinet. I already have back problems and whatever I can do to be able to continue playing gigs for a long time, I want to do.

Reamper: Palmer Daccapo ($125 USD)
This one I know the least about but it seems to get decent reviews and is less expensive.

Keep in mind that I'd one of my Pittbulls for the most part, especially while recording/tracking, so I don't really NEED to crank the master volume up but I'm really going for something absolutely silent, with all sound going through headphones.


Questions:

Am I better off getting just a Palmer PDI-03 instead of the PDI-09 and a power attenuator?

Does anyone have experience with ANY of this gear? Would you steer me in a different direction, gear-wise and/or strategy-wise given my goals?

I don't want the Two-Notes piece.

 

[Shark Diver]

I don't want the Two-Notes piece.

It's great.

Then I would do an original Palmer -03.

 

[dirtyfunkg]

I don't want the Two-Notes piece.

It's great.

Then I would do an original Palmer -03.

Also way out of my price range.

I bought the Palmer Daccapo reamper... should arrive around 4/15. I think I'll just use the line out of my amp into Logic speaker sims. Hopefully I'll get the result I'm looking for.

 

[Shark Diver]

I don't want the Two-Notes piece.

It's great.

Then I would do an original Palmer -03.

Also way out of my price range.

I bought the Palmer Daccapo reamper... should arrive around 4/15. I think I'll just use the line out of my amp into Logic speaker sims. Hopefully I'll get the result I'm looking for.

Let us know how that works

 

[eljodon]

I had a Palmer PGA-04 ADIG-LB and I didn't like it, it was very dark sounding, so you'll probably need an eq after it. Unless you like a dark sound.

 

[stephen sawall]

There is much cheaper ways if all you need is a load box ..... At the Fryette shop they use a THD Hot Plate with the amps for attenuation.

 

[steve_k]

Curious as to why you aren't interested the Two Notes? The Torpedo Live is the 800 pound gorilla for what you want to do - attenuate, DI, EQ, routing. By the time you buy and mix/match all the other stuff, you would have been able to purchase the Two Notes. I was skeptical at first, but the digital conversion will overcome all those amp attributes you lose with some analog attenuators, as described in the previous posts. I found most of them to end up being a muddy mess.