Suhr Reactive Load and Gain?

  • Thread starter Thread starter MrFlexx
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MrFlexx

MrFlexx

Active member
Hi!

I've been using Torpedo Reload since it came out and I think it's great in some areas and not that great in some other. Therefore I'm sreaching for another solution hoping to find what I'm looking for. The problem I have with the Torpedo Reload is that is takes away a lot of gain on som amps while in contiains it to maybe 80% on others. My question is: How does the Suhr Reactive work on gain? Will it contain it or steal away some?

I don't have a problem using my ENGL Powerball 2 and my ENGL Retro Tube 100. I have the gain rather low, around 9:30 o'clock on both.
The problem is on my Friedman Smallbox where I have the gain set on approx 2 o'clock on ch.1 and about 11 o'clock on ch.2. If I need more gain I activate my Suhr Koko Boost and sometimes my XTS Precision Multi-Drive set at really low gain. When runing this setup straight to a real cab I have more than enough gain even at bedroom volume, but with the Torpedo Reload connected in between it's sounds like I run the gain on both channels at 7 o'clock. This is when using the attunuator and/or using it into my Apollo interface into my DAW using IR's.

How's the Suhr Reactive compared to this? I know it's not an attenuator, but that's not my main concern because I will mainly use it for silent recording.
 
No Suhr Reactive Load users that can answer if the Suhr Reactive Load affects the gain in the way I've described in the post above?
 
I've used the Reactive Load with my JJ-100, Rockerverb and Randall and haven't had any issues like you're describing.
 
IME the Suhr does not take away any gain. It performs as advertised and I can't imagine life without it.

:D
 
I ended up selling my Torpedo Reload and got the Suhr Reactive Load instead. WOW!!! What a huge different in the way it response to dynamics of the picking hand. It sounds nothing short of Amazing! This was the second time I sold a Torpedo Reload. The sound just wasn't there for me. It sounded good but not great. But the Suhr Reactive sounds crisp, full, and dynamic with punch and authority in the tone with all my amps...high gain, mid gain or low gain doesn't matter. I highly recommend this awesome piece of gear.
 
MrFlexx":26g197mj said:
I ended up selling my Torpedo Reload and got the Suhr Reactive Load instead. WOW!!! What a huge different in the way it response to dynamics of the picking hand. It sounds nothing short of Amazing! This was the second time I sold a Torpedo Reload. The sound just wasn't there for me. It sounded good but not great. But the Suhr Reactive sounds crisp, full, and dynamic with punch and authority in the tone with all my amps...high gain, mid gain or low gain doesn't matter. I highly recommend this awesome piece of gear.
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Never had the Reload, but I completely agree with your comments on the RL...just a phenomenal piece of gear for sure.

What IRs are you using with it? Or are you running it into a power amp?
 
Bronco":2sl9ud2x said:
MrFlexx":2sl9ud2x said:
I ended up selling my Torpedo Reload and got the Suhr Reactive Load instead. WOW!!! What a huge different in the way it response to dynamics of the picking hand. It sounds nothing short of Amazing! This was the second time I sold a Torpedo Reload. The sound just wasn't there for me. It sounded good but not great. But the Suhr Reactive sounds crisp, full, and dynamic with punch and authority in the tone with all my amps...high gain, mid gain or low gain doesn't matter. I highly recommend this awesome piece of gear.
Click to expand...
Never had the Reload, but I completely agree with your comments on the RL...just a phenomenal piece of gear for sure.

What IRs are you using with it? Or are you running it into a power amp?
Click to expand...

I'm using Ownhammer IRs. I have the complete library and it sounds killer. I also use the UAD Ocean Way Studios for added realism and warmth to the tone and do the tone shaping with UAD Neve 88RS and UAD Neve 31102 EQ. Best plugins for killer recordings. Been a session guitarist for +25 years and this combination (Suhr RL/OH Irs/UADs) sounds better than recording with real cabs.
 
Definitely no gain reduction in my experience. What I did notice when using the RL with my DSL is that I had to crank the volume on the clean channel to get the same level as the lead channel in my DAW. Odd because in the room, the clean channel is louder at lower settings than the Lead channel.

Dave
 
I've owned many reactive load boxes and attenuators for years and the Suhr Reactive load is the most transparent. My issue with many of them is that they all sounded dark and I had to use heavy eq to make up for the loss. The Suhr reactive load retains the high frequency and gain. My only issue is that I wish it has an impedance selector so I can use it with my Fender Vibrolux which runs at 4 ohms.
 
The reactive load shouldn’t affect gain. Are you sure it’s the gain it’s affected and not to do with an IR or other? IR’s don’t squash or react under volume the same way a normal speaker would. E.g. you wouldn’t get cone cry or alteration of speaker distortion.
 
How do you all use your Reactive Loads? Straight to a computer interface, power amp, etc? I've heard that if you also connect to a cab from the RL it will attenuate the amp.
 
I really like the SRL and use it with York Audio Friedman V30 impulses loaded into my Fractal Audio FM3 and then S/Pdif out to my RME Fireface.
Sound is really a HUGE step forward compared to earlier with those Palmer Speaker emulation and other red boxes and stuff...

Here are some demos :





 
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