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!
Two Notes response makes no sense. A reactive load is either accurate or it isn't. Captor is simply not accurate. No amount of marketing spin changes that. You can't change an impedance curve with an enhancer or eq effects.
@@martymeatball1877 I don't think they said it was accurate to anything. Do you mean, copying a V30 impedance curve? It sounds like they chose a more generalized curve that would be less colored. Not sure how that's a marketing spin, but more how it works with their software and IRs. Does it sound good to you?, that's what should matter. We buy these devices, then we fill them with different IRs, made by different people that have tweaked them with eq, reverb, compression, time stretching and deconvolution. We then load them into our choice of IR loader with all our DAWs, plugins and who knows what in our signal chain of a too loud to play 100 watt Marshall, to a reactive load, so we can then add more delay, reverb, compression and eq, only to think is sounds great or stinks. Man, I love this stuff. ps,. I own a Suhr reacitve load IR and have made lots of my own IRs. I also have the r Evolution pac (I recommend) and I can only imagine how much work that was!!! It's all a rabbit hole.
I had the same issue with my Captor 8 (as Amp DI through a Torpedo CAB.M) and my Dual Rectifier 3 channels from 2009... It was not the Captor but the amp ! I moded it (I changed few capacitors and pots, and shunted the disgusting Mesa effects loop buffer), and now it works prefectly, in the Captor or in a real cab... The Captor works right with my other amps (EVH, Peavey, H&K, Marshall...), and I just consider a loadbox + speakersim as a tool in a very long chain with many flaws... The final judgment remains your ears in a mix. All A/B comparisons show differences. Today the Axe FX sounds better than the Captor X... Tomorrow it will perhaps be the opposite on another amp, another guitar and another IR... And in a mix, all these differences are buried in the post-process, and even before if we take the time to adjust the amps and IR.
They both sound great. I happen to think that the Captor-X has way more “tweak ability” and I could get it to do what I need it to.🔥 For the price, and features, the Captor-X is a win for me and I just placed my order. Thanks John. ✌🏼
The perimeter " noise" the Fractal added to the sound muddies and makes it sound larger. The Two Notes is more focused and accurate to the true sounds which also makes it more useable in the music mix. If you want more weight to the sound twin track for much better results, better clarity and definition . I been on the fence with a reactive load for some time your video has helped to decide on the Two Notes, Thanks for the great work!
Thanks for the kind words David- we look at things 'in the mix' as opposed to 'more scooped/ hyped low end EQ'. That being said a few subtle tweaks w/ the onboard EQ/ Enhancer will fix things to your liking. I think you'll love your box! ( btw- we're ALWAYS improving... so cool updates are coming!)
@@JustinBryantdotcom Agreed with EQ you can change a lot, but it still won't give you the transparence and clarity of twin tracking the sounds you have from the Two Notes! Thx.
I listened to them on the midgain clip without looking at the video and they both sounded good. I would not have a huge preference. I think you would need to know how your amp sounds direct into a cab to tell how these loadboxes change the sound or feel. I am going to assume the Fractal is more accurate to an amp -> cab situation but the Captor X sounds good too and has a great feature set for its price.
I have compared the two.....they are nearly identical in sound....the Suhr’s reactance curve is a 4x12 Greenback loaded cab....the Fractal or the Suhr are both top notch reactive loads....either one sounds great...
I run my Fractal X-Load into a Atomic Ampli-Firebox. The Atomic is an IR Host with Post effects. So basically I've been doing the same thing as the Captor-X for two years because there was no Captor-X two years ago when I started doing this. The result is the same. It works great. Both the X-Load and Ampli-Firebox are very reliable. I can send the output of the Ampli-Firebox to a mixer channel at Lo-Z, or a powered speaker at Hi-Z. And the real beauty is that I can send to both simultaneously. I use the UK voicing with Celestion IRs.
Hi man! This was an amazing video! I have a question, if you only use the attenuator, the Captor X still changes the sound of the original Mesa amp? I would like to buy that mini rectifier but I've heard it's too loud for the bedroom and I need an attenuator🤔
Jon when you used the IR loader in the captor did you load the same IR into both slots of the two and run 2 instances of the same IR? That’s an interesting way to do it I’ll have to try that. I always just put it on 1 and bypass the other unless I’m trying to blend 2 together or blend a room IR in with 1 of them.
The Fractal adds a sound, a sound that I like, but still a sound nonetheless. With the Torpedo, you can add an impedance curve to match the Fractal and have a ton more features. Either is great, but I'd personally go with the Torpedo
@@devingrubbs I honestly have no idea how you'd go about taking them, but I know than Keyan Housemand has used them in some of his "Free Guitar Tone" videos
Hey John! Brilliant video there mate, really great! I was wondering how do you use your AX3 as an ir loader. I want to do it too with my FM3! Thanks in advance for your reply and keep making those great videos!
The Fractal sounded bigger,beefier,like a real cab....I had the Captor for awhile,but ultimately,was not a fan.....The LB-2 into my AxeFXIII produces the sounds I like....not to say the Captor is bad,it just wasn’t to my liking....that little Plexi sounds amazing by the way..
Hi, I’ve just got the LB-2 and it’s great!! But i can’t hear much difference between US and UK mode, Is it normal or is it broken? Did i do something wrong? TNX
@@giulianosoranno8911 it’s a fairly subtle difference between the 2,but there is a difference...the UK mode’s reactance curve is a 4x12 and the US mode is a 1x12 ....the load doesn’t have a “sound “per se,but a different curve will sound and feel different...not sure why you can’t hear a difference....I notice the difference more in the low end,but I can tell the difference..
@@scottpeters4401 so then "reactive" DI signal works with any IR Loader? This is an information i cant find clearly in the wide internet. Thx for your answer ;) Have a nice christmas!
Sounds great. I'm leaning more towards the Fractal cause its a bit beefier and seems to have more of that "pushing air" feel of a real cab. But the Captor has a tight, hi-pass sound that I'd probably end up preferring in a mix. Now do the Julius Music Box from Reverb! 😂
i agree, however, with a little tweaking of the captor, you could likely get the same result, but also a whole lot more. im after something plug in and play, but when time permits, maybe work on tones for recordings etc. captor seems pretty open for experimenting in the future
@@miked5487 I don't have one but I've seen it on Reverb for a couple years now and I've always been curious. For the price I feel like it can't be as good as Two Notes, Suhr, etc. but I've never actually compared them. How is yours working out for ya? (Edit - I forgot to mention I use the Captor)
When you use the fractal xload, is the load being plugged in directly to the axefx, then that into usb or your interface? If I play this way, can I listen with headphones on the axefx without recording?
Hey Travis (Justin from Two notes) That was why we have the post FX like the Enhancer and EQ. I have all the boxes set to an Ampete switcher- you can get them all to sound virtually the same.
The LB 2 for the mesa. The two Notes sounded better than the LB2 on the crunch, the LB2 is lifeless on the crunch IMO make it sound like cheap amp. But the LB2 add more grittle to the distrotion.
I downloaded a pack of the same impulses, but did not find the exact same impulse that you use for the mini rectifier. there is only OH 412 TRAD V30-MB1 FORWARD3 and that's it
That might be the one he's using actually (he uses forward3 a lot :P). But it looks like it should be this pack: www.ownhammer.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=457 Not 100% sure though.
Captor-X, hands down. You can do exactly what you want to with the Captor-X eg wise. The Fractal is great but limited, nice basic floor but zero flexibility. Cap-X all the way.
That's whay 'scooping a bit' often does when you hear a isolated track :). Then in the mix you're slowly compressing the bass out, or pushing the mids back in or doing other stuff to get it back to fitting instead of 'sounding more natural and open'. That's nothing against the fractal, or even 'pro captor-x'. It's just the nature of the beast. And a simple EQ correction somewhere in the lower mids (dipping between 500 and 800 by a few db) can often get you there.
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!
Two Notes response makes no sense. A reactive load is either accurate or it isn't. Captor is simply not accurate. No amount of marketing spin changes that. You can't change an impedance curve with an enhancer or eq effects.
@@martymeatball1877 True!
@@martymeatball1877 I don't think they said it was accurate to anything. Do you mean, copying a V30 impedance curve? It sounds like they chose a more generalized curve that would be less colored. Not sure how that's a marketing spin, but more how it works with their software and IRs. Does it sound good to you?, that's what should matter. We buy these devices, then we fill them with different IRs, made by different people that have tweaked them with eq, reverb, compression, time stretching and deconvolution. We then load them into our choice of IR loader with all our DAWs, plugins and who knows what in our signal chain of a too loud to play 100 watt Marshall, to a reactive load, so we can then add more delay, reverb, compression and eq, only to think is sounds great or stinks. Man, I love this stuff. ps,. I own a Suhr reacitve load IR and have made lots of my own IRs. I also have the r Evolution pac (I recommend) and I can only imagine how much work that was!!! It's all a rabbit hole.
From what I understand, Captor is missing the larger inductor that would properly handle lower frequencies to cut costs?
It's not a curve representing the sound of a speaker.. it's not speaker emulation.. This is a confusing sidenote.
Damn. LB-2 instantly sounds better!! Excellent video as always
I really like the fractal's sound. it's more punchy.
Amazingly informative video, great sound demos and coverage of the subject.
Thanks John!
Great comparison. I had the captor for a while and my Dual Rectifier never sounded right.. until I got the LB-2.
Interesting. Exact Same here. Used to own the captor 16. sounded kinda muddy and unfocused. Even with overdrive…
What IRs were y’all using?
I had the same issue with my Captor 8 (as Amp DI through a Torpedo CAB.M) and my Dual Rectifier 3 channels from 2009... It was not the Captor but the amp ! I moded it (I changed few capacitors and pots, and shunted the disgusting Mesa effects loop buffer), and now it works prefectly, in the Captor or in a real cab... The Captor works right with my other amps (EVH, Peavey, H&K, Marshall...), and I just consider a loadbox + speakersim as a tool in a very long chain with many flaws... The final judgment remains your ears in a mix. All A/B comparisons show differences. Today the Axe FX sounds better than the Captor X... Tomorrow it will perhaps be the opposite on another amp, another guitar and another IR... And in a mix, all these differences are buried in the post-process, and even before if we take the time to adjust the amps and IR.
They both sound great.
I happen to think that the Captor-X has way more “tweak ability” and I could get it to do what I need it to.🔥
For the price, and features, the Captor-X is a win for me and I just placed my order.
Thanks John. ✌🏼
Impedance curves FTW! ;). Tx for the awesome content Jon!
The perimeter " noise" the Fractal added to the sound muddies and makes it sound larger. The Two Notes is more focused and accurate to the true sounds which also makes it more useable in the music mix. If you want more weight to the sound twin track for much better results, better clarity and definition . I been on the fence with a reactive load for some time your video has helped to decide on the Two Notes, Thanks for the great work!
You could always use the enhancer and eq to add more weight with the Captor X
Thanks for the kind words David- we look at things 'in the mix' as opposed to 'more scooped/ hyped low end EQ'. That being said a few subtle tweaks w/ the onboard EQ/ Enhancer will fix things to your liking. I think you'll love your box! ( btw- we're ALWAYS improving... so cool updates are coming!)
@@JustinBryantdotcom Agreed with EQ you can change a lot, but it still won't give you the transparence and clarity of twin tracking the sounds you have from the Two Notes! Thx.
I listened to them on the midgain clip without looking at the video and they both sounded good. I would not have a huge preference. I think you would need to know how your amp sounds direct into a cab to tell how these loadboxes change the sound or feel. I am going to assume the Fractal is more accurate to an amp -> cab situation but the Captor X sounds good too and has a great feature set for its price.
Have you compared the Suhr Reactive Load vs LB-2? I'd be interested in hearing the difference on these two.
I would love to.... Maybe one day
I have compared the two.....they are nearly identical in sound....the Suhr’s reactance curve is a 4x12 Greenback loaded cab....the Fractal or the Suhr are both top notch reactive loads....either one sounds great...
@@kimseniorb no...it’s not...it’s just a reactive load...it’s not a speaker sim,the curve is from Greenbacks....not the sound....
@@kimseniorb so dumb
Man, I love this channel ❤
I run my Fractal X-Load into a Atomic Ampli-Firebox. The Atomic is an IR Host with Post effects. So basically I've been doing the same thing as the Captor-X for two years because there was no Captor-X two years ago when I started doing this. The result is the same. It works great. Both the X-Load and Ampli-Firebox are very reliable.
I can send the output of the Ampli-Firebox to a mixer channel at Lo-Z, or a powered speaker at Hi-Z. And the real beauty is that I can send to both simultaneously.
I use the UK voicing with Celestion IRs.
It would be interesting to see a comparison of the DI tracks in "Match EQ" plugin
Can i ask why u use the axe for IR loading? Is there and difference between loading IR in a daw plug-in and the axe? Would really like to know this
Hi man! This was an amazing video! I have a question, if you only use the attenuator, the Captor X still changes the sound of the original Mesa amp? I would like to buy that mini rectifier but I've heard it's too loud for the bedroom and I need an attenuator🤔
Jon when you used the IR loader in the captor did you load the same IR into both slots of the two and run 2 instances of the same IR? That’s an interesting way to do it I’ll have to try that. I always just put it on 1 and bypass the other unless I’m trying to blend 2 together or blend a room IR in with 1 of them.
The Fractal adds a sound, a sound that I like, but still a sound nonetheless. With the Torpedo, you can add an impedance curve to match the Fractal and have a ton more features. Either is great, but I'd personally go with the Torpedo
How do you add an impedance curve to the Captor? Sounds interesting
@@devingrubbs It's basically an impulse response of the amp (or in this case the Fractal)
So instead of taking an impulse of the cab it's the amplifier or other piece of gear
@@DylanHutto Oh wow, how would I go about setting this up? Or is there an IR I can find out there?
@@devingrubbs I honestly have no idea how you'd go about taking them, but I know than Keyan Housemand has used them in some of his "Free Guitar Tone" videos
Hey John! Brilliant video there mate, really great! I was wondering how do you use your AX3 as an ir loader. I want to do it too with my FM3! Thanks in advance for your reply and keep making those great videos!
I just ended up ordering the fractal, its impedance curve has the low resonance peak. Plus, theyre on sale now.
Is it a studio or a music shop? Either way I take the Mesa 😁! Great vid as always mate
Yay nerdy videos!!!
The Fractal sounded bigger,beefier,like a real cab....I had the Captor for awhile,but ultimately,was not a fan.....The LB-2 into my AxeFXIII produces the sounds I like....not to say the Captor is bad,it just wasn’t to my liking....that little Plexi sounds amazing by the way..
Hi, I’ve just got the LB-2 and it’s great!! But i can’t hear much difference between US and UK mode, Is it normal or is it broken? Did i do something wrong?
TNX
@@giulianosoranno8911 it’s a fairly subtle difference between the 2,but there is a difference...the UK mode’s reactance curve is a 4x12 and the US mode is a 1x12 ....the load doesn’t have a “sound “per se,but a different curve will sound and feel different...not sure why you can’t hear a difference....I notice the difference more in the low end,but I can tell the difference..
Do you think a LB-2 could work with a AMP CP-100 Pangaea?
@@deadboz6007 it will work with any amp 100 watts or less,and an 8ohm speaker out,as the LB-2 is 8ohm only..
@@scottpeters4401 so then "reactive" DI signal works with any IR Loader?
This is an information i cant find clearly in the wide internet.
Thx for your answer ;)
Have a nice christmas!
Sounds great. I'm leaning more towards the Fractal cause its a bit beefier and seems to have more of that "pushing air" feel of a real cab. But the Captor has a tight, hi-pass sound that I'd probably end up preferring in a mix. Now do the Julius Music Box from Reverb! 😂
i agree, however, with a little tweaking of the captor, you could likely get the same result, but also a whole lot more. im after something plug in and play, but when time permits, maybe work on tones for recordings etc. captor seems pretty open for experimenting in the future
@@miked5487 I don't have one but I've seen it on Reverb for a couple years now and I've always been curious. For the price I feel like it can't be as good as Two Notes, Suhr, etc. but I've never actually compared them. How is yours working out for ya? (Edit - I forgot to mention I use the Captor)
When you use the fractal xload, is the load being plugged in directly to the axefx, then that into usb or your interface? If I play this way, can I listen with headphones on the axefx without recording?
I think with voicing option you can make Captor X more scooped if you want to.
Hi.. I ll use one of these just as load from the amp connected to my fractal fm3 for effects and cab ir.. Which do you suggest? Thanks
Hello, great comparison. Slightly confused at 4:09. Are you using Fractal load box with Captor X Ir loader or Captor x load box with Captor Ir loader?
Fractal load is always used with Axe Fx. You can't really combine the 2 I think
Thanks for this video! Besides the difference in sound, is there any difference in feel between the two?
The big question I have is. Can you simply use a match eq to correct the impedance curve of the Captor to make it match the Fractal? (or Suhr etc)
I think you should be able to get close
Hey Travis (Justin from Two notes) That was why we have the post FX like the Enhancer and EQ. I have all the boxes set to an Ampete switcher- you can get them all to sound virtually the same.
The LB 2 for the mesa. The two Notes sounded better than the LB2 on the crunch, the LB2 is lifeless on the crunch IMO make it sound like cheap amp.
But the LB2 add more grittle to the distrotion.
Get both, and dual track. The Capture X can feed the X-Load a clean signal from the source
I downloaded a pack of the same impulses, but did not find the exact same impulse that you use for the mini rectifier. there is only OH 412 TRAD V30-MB1 FORWARD3 and that's it
That might be the one he's using actually (he uses forward3 a lot :P).
But it looks like it should be this pack: www.ownhammer.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=457
Not 100% sure though.
@@jorismak Thank's man)I already found
LB-2 Has way more low end.
Both sounded good, but I prefer the Captor X…
Captor-X, hands down. You can do exactly what you want to with the Captor-X eg wise. The Fractal is great but limited, nice basic floor but zero flexibility. Cap-X all the way.
I think Fractal has stopped making these. Been waiting for a long time on an email list
Approaching my one-year anniversary of waiting... good that John's comparing an alternative.
Noticed that a few months back too, when I was looking at them.
I personally don’t like to buy “used” either, and I went for the Torpedo. ✌🏼
The Fractal LB-2 sounded more natural and open.
That's whay 'scooping a bit' often does when you hear a isolated track :).
Then in the mix you're slowly compressing the bass out, or pushing the mids back in or doing other stuff to get it back to fitting instead of 'sounding more natural and open'.
That's nothing against the fractal, or even 'pro captor-x'. It's just the nature of the beast. And a simple EQ correction somewhere in the lower mids (dipping between 500 and 800 by a few db) can often get you there.
Fractal all the way.
Am I the only one thinking the Mesa in the Fractal sound very fizzy? More basses and scooped but fizzy in a bad way.
the LB-2 has noticeably more bottom end to it.
It's more scooped and less 'flat'
@@SonicDriveStudio yes i agree
I'm surprised, I prefer the Fractal...
fractal sounded definetly better and more real
Fractal.
Fractal takes the cake.
Fractal just sounds better.
Captor X sounds really bad compared to the X-LOAD