Since the pandemic started, I've been practicing my guitar exclusively through my computer interface, and using a pair of high quality Beyerdynamic headphones. I recently bought the CAB M+, because I was advised that it would be the right way to get the most out of my pedals (overdrive and distortion). I find a lot of the pre-sets in the CAB M+ have a sort of hollow sound - it's difficult to describe, but it sounds like I'm listening to it play through the bottom of a tin can. It's seems to go away when I turn off the microphones, and the sound comes forward with high fidelity. Is this the nature of using headphones with this kind of set-up? I'm sure it's not the quality of my headphones - they are really pro quality. But it seems like I'm disabling an important feature of the CAB M+ by turning off the microphones.
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Sound quality in CAB M+ through headphones
- Thread starter Chuffy
- Start date
Dilan - Two notes
Active member
Hello Chuffy,
I am in touch through the Two notes helpdesk directly with you. I have seen the additional elements you have sent me. I will help you directly through the Two notes helpdesk. Kind regards.
I am in touch through the Two notes helpdesk directly with you. I have seen the additional elements you have sent me. I will help you directly through the Two notes helpdesk. Kind regards.
mixolydianb7
New member
I would love to know the solution to this. I am having this issue as well, except I have not yet tried the pedal with speakers/studio monitors since that will be arriving tomorrow. I have tried using the CAB M Plus both directly as an "amp-less" pedalboard, and with the Torpedo Captor 8 with my amp, and either way, the tone sounds tinnish. I just created a thread about it in this forum, so I don't want to take over this one, but I'm interested in knowing what the issue is here as well.
From what I can tell, most likely trying to get the same tone into headphones that you hear from a live amplifier is not really possible. I think it's something to do with the difference in sound waves coming from a little speaker right next to your ear, and the big ones several feet away in your amp. At first I was pretty dissatisfied with the Torpedo CAB+. It seemed like it put out a really tinny, in your face sound on one end of the spectrum, and on the low end of the spectrum a sound like speakers trying to be heard through a wet blanket. It was difficult to find the sweet spot. But with a lot of experimentation, I'm OK with what I'm getting. I think for me part of the problem was that I was trying to get a hard rock kind of sound with my Telecaster. It especially helped when I went out and bought a new guitar with humbuckers. I just couldn't get the sound I wanted with my Telecaster, but with the Squire Bullet HH Mustang, it drives my pedals in a much more hard rock way I guess. But I sent my question to the Two Notes technical support team, and I got a helpful reply:
Please first, start by just playing your guitar straight into the C.A.B M+, or with all the pedals in front turned off so as to focus on the clean foundation tone.
The tone shaping abilities in the C.A.B M are immense. There are so many places where you can set your tone - the preamp and the power amp to start with. Then the cabinet choice, and mic choice. And more importantly the mic placement and mic levels between the 2 mics.
What I recommend is to choose a cabinet you know (like the cabinet you have with your amp, or an amp you have been used to play in the past) . Turn off all after effects (reverb, EQ, enhancer). Then:
- start with Mic A (mute mic B). If you do not have much knowledge in mics, choose a 57. It will be a bit edgy but it will be easy to complement with another mic. Think of Mic A as your foundation tone, and move the mic around the cabinet until you get most of the tone you want. Once you have found this position, remember what you are missing and what you will be looking for (top end, bottom end,etc. ).
- Mute mic A and unmute Mic B. Choose a mic for B that will bring what you are looking for. If you are looking for bottom end and warmth, choose a ribbon mic. If you are looking for top end and a bit of air, choose a condenser mic.
- move mic B around in search of what you were missing in mic A.
- Once you have got what you was looking for, turn the level of Mic B all the way down.
- Unmute mic A, and bring back the level of mic B until you start feeling it, hearing it ever so slightly. To check what mic B is bringing to your tone, mute it occasionally.
You should have a right nice tone now in your headphones. Add reverb to give it more life, and see what the enhancer can bring you.
Please first, start by just playing your guitar straight into the C.A.B M+, or with all the pedals in front turned off so as to focus on the clean foundation tone.
The tone shaping abilities in the C.A.B M are immense. There are so many places where you can set your tone - the preamp and the power amp to start with. Then the cabinet choice, and mic choice. And more importantly the mic placement and mic levels between the 2 mics.
What I recommend is to choose a cabinet you know (like the cabinet you have with your amp, or an amp you have been used to play in the past) . Turn off all after effects (reverb, EQ, enhancer). Then:
- start with Mic A (mute mic B). If you do not have much knowledge in mics, choose a 57. It will be a bit edgy but it will be easy to complement with another mic. Think of Mic A as your foundation tone, and move the mic around the cabinet until you get most of the tone you want. Once you have found this position, remember what you are missing and what you will be looking for (top end, bottom end,etc. ).
- Mute mic A and unmute Mic B. Choose a mic for B that will bring what you are looking for. If you are looking for bottom end and warmth, choose a ribbon mic. If you are looking for top end and a bit of air, choose a condenser mic.
- move mic B around in search of what you were missing in mic A.
- Once you have got what you was looking for, turn the level of Mic B all the way down.
- Unmute mic A, and bring back the level of mic B until you start feeling it, hearing it ever so slightly. To check what mic B is bringing to your tone, mute it occasionally.
You should have a right nice tone now in your headphones. Add reverb to give it more life, and see what the enhancer can bring you.
mixolydianb7
New member
I got a decent tone from my amp doing what you suggested, but as soon as I step on my TS-9 and ESPECIALLY my Angry Charlie or MXR Super Badass it sounds terrible, like a solid-state with overdrive pedals intended for tube amps.
Hard to say, and I'm not really the one to help, being a newbie. Maybe make sure the overdrives aren't pushing the Torpedo into clipping?I got a decent tone from my amp doing what you suggested, but as soon as I step on my TS-9 and ESPECIALLY my Angry Charlie or MXR Super Badass it sounds terrible, like a solid-state with overdrive pedals intended for tube amps.
mixolydianb7
New member
I definitely think there is some clipping, but only on my Scarlett interface. There is no visible clipping in the Torpedo interface. In Scarlett, however, the guitar input lights up to reddish/orange (which indicates clipping) even with the knob all the way off. With the knob all the way off and playing/recording very quietly, then turning the volume up after I record is the only way I can get something out of it. Even so, it sounds like I recorded from an okay solid state that has built-in overdrive that I kicked in.
I'm assuming you're not using the Captor to go into the Scarlet. I don't know anything about the Captor, but I go right into the Scarlet from the CAB. Have you tried the lowest input setting on the Torpedo? If you're getting that red clipping light on the Scarlet on 0 gain, that could be the issue. I don't think you can adjust the input level into the Scarlet any other way.
mixolydianb7
New member
I figured out that my patch cables were just really poor and changing those got me pretty good tone. That, and switching from virtual cabs to IRs really helped. My only issue now is still having a good amount of noise, which I know is to be expected with single coils, but even so some of it is related to turning pedals on, and I have a really solid Cioks 7 power supply. So, my question is, does having the Torpedo captor load box separate from my Cioks power supply contribute to this noise? I figured that the load box is not considered part of my pedalboard, so I don't have to have it as part of the same power supply. Is that wrong thinking and should I add it to the power supply? I wanted to save cables for a couple other pedals for the Cioks.