Reactive Loads - 2026 consensus??

Dom Mcsweeney said:
are you suhr? I thought everyone liked that one :getmycoat
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I think it leaves a lot to be desired.

The original Suhr RL is god-tier. It’s what I use on everything. I’ve used the Captor and Captor X before too, and while good their speaker impedance curve is really strange and every time I’ve used it I’ve needed a boatload of EQ on my guitars.

For the Suhr models, the original RL is awesome. The one that has IRs in it - not so much. I bought it and returned it within a week. The best tech term I can use is that it truncates IRs down to around 20 milliseconds, while the Captor X can do 200 ms. What that meant for me is that the stock IRs in it sounded ok, but any other IRs I loaded that I know sound good on their own were absolutely destroyed in the Suhr RL IR. My experience was that every IR I used sounded like it was in a tin can when I put it in that unit. IDK what happened with it, but that unit is not for me.

As someone who likes to tweak mixes, I usually apply IRs in my DAW anyway, so the original Suhr RL that has an awesome impedance curve is absolutely perfect for my needs. Even works really well for capturing amps in the QC too.
 
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metropolis_4 said:
I’ve been curious about this. I just bought a Suhr (non IR) and it worked so I called it good and haven’t tried anything else.

My only complaint is that it has too much bass. I’d prefer something more like a 1x12 g12h30
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I’ve only had the “too much bass” issue with a couple amps. With my Mesa 2:90, I have to keep Deep mode off when using the Suhr RL. Otherwise with my other amps, it’s fine.
 
The RL-IR is the same load, better DI output (but needs power) and adds serviceable IR and headphone capabilities. Definitely not my first choice for IR loading or headphone use, but these days I am using a Tonex One for that stuff better than 95% of the time anyway.

Really it's the DI out impedance that MAY make the RL IR worth it over the RL, but keep in mind you then need a wall wart plugged in somewhere.
 
I’ve never had an issue with the Suhr RL and my amps, so I’ve never really bothered looking at anything else.
 
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Dom Mcsweeney said:
are you suhr?

(apologies, it was a joke).
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homer falling GIF
 
Desertdweller said:
I’ve only had the “too much bass” issue with a couple amps. With my Mesa 2:90, I have to keep Deep mode off when using the Suhr RL. Otherwise with my other amps, it’s fine.
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It sounds perfectly acceptable, just a bit bassy for my taste. Personally I’d prefer more mids and less bass. But that’s all down to personal taste.

When I run my JRT 9/15 -> Mic-No-Mo -> Suhr RL I get quite a bit more bass and a little more scooped mids than when I run JRT 9/15 -> Mic-No-Mo -> JRT 9/15 speaker (1x12 g12h30).
 
I‘d really like to see a graph comparing the frequency response of the Two Notes Reload II to the other ones we already know.
 
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When coupled with a suitable IR, an Aiken-based box like the Suhr follows the impedance curve of a Celestion loaded 4x12 close enough that it's indistinguishable from a miked cab.

The fun is in finding the right IR for you. The stock ones in the RL-IR aren't great, so either go searching or better still make one from your own cab, miked/captured to your tastes.

If you do this properly, you'll have an original IR that (in a recording or direct to PA context) sounds nearly identical to your cab. I'm not sure a better solution than this exists, unless you want plug and play. In that case you'll just need to keep buying and selling boxes until you find the one that you dig most. Not my idea of a good time.
 
I own the OG Suhr and a Captor. The Suhr is my my go-to “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” box and I use it a ton. The Captor gets used either as backup or a tool to slightly alter amp response when I need something different.

I’d definitely love something that let me switch between a half dozen curves, as I do feel like a bunch of tracks through the same reactive load can start to build up and get congested.
 
Ross Davies said:
Ross from Two notes here! Thanks for the shout-out!

If anyone has any questions about Reload II, please let me know! :)
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Are you able to post some A/B examples showing different amps recorded from their power amp output with real cab loads comparing against the Two Notes Captor II? Very curious to know how close it gets to various different cabs.
 
This is definitely another area where I wouldn’t know how/where to improve upon the Suhr RL. It’s my only experience with a load box, but I’m not noticing any differences in tone/feel by using it, outside of the obvious differences of going from a cab to studio monitors.

I just realized I also have a load box in the PS100 that I haven’t actually tried out yet. I’m slightly more interested to see if there’s a difference between it and the Suhr. I’ll try to get around to doing that power amp shootout between the Duncan 170, BAM200 and the PS100, might be a good opportunity to try the load box side of it.
 
I've had:

  • THD Hotplate (absolutely awful tone-sucker)
  • Rivera Mini RockRec (just....okay)
  • Mesa CabClone (shitty resistive load)
  • Suhr RL
  • Captor X
  • CabClone IR+ (didn't own, but used for a couple weeks)
IMO, the original Suhr RL is hard to beat. It sounds and feels fantastic to play. Definitely what I'd get, if I went back to amps.
 
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