Anyone regularly using the ISP Theta Pro?

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Econ

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Thinking about getting this or the Michael Sweet version. Any feedback on the Theta Pro is much appreciated.
 
I think the only thing different with the Michael Sweet one (besides the yellow and black attack paint job) is that it has his presets included.

I've had mine since it came out, if you like a hot rodded Marshall type sound with a ton of gain, it's great. A lot of 80's going on in it :) especially if you like chorusy cleans as well. It's basically it's own preamp with a ton of pre and post EQ tweaking to build your sound. it's not a modeller, think of it more like an ADA or Marshall JMP-1 preamp with effects.

You can run it straight to the PA as it has built-in speaker sim, but only a handful to choose from.
You can bypass the speaker emulation to use external IRs, but you can't load IRs on it.

I've also used it with their Stealth power amp into a cab too.

Cons... and this is a big one... There's no way to update the firmware right now. But they say you can send the DSP card in to them to update it. In the future it may have that capability. I'm still on 1.1 and they are up to 3.0 or higher, added a Leslie effect, pitch shift, tuner etc...
 
..I'd like to know more about this too.Some of the clips sound pretty good.@ est $1,350.00 or so its on the higher end of pedal boxes..Hope to hear more about it.
 
Hey there!

I love mine... had it forever and love ISP gear and the company... with that being said, it 'feels' just like an amp when playing. I've tried the Kemper, Two Notes stuff, and a bunch of IR's (most recently the Celestion IR's) and they are all great... but to me, my style of playing, the Theta Pro just works right...

The effects are lush, clear, and open. The MS Theta Pro has an additional Mid and Sweep (makes three in the post distort eq section), a Leslie rotary speaker sim and you can switch between two speeds - it 'falls' to the slower speed and vice versa - and a tuner. And a ping-pong delay. And I think Buck is finally going to commit to a USB soon... he really wanted to work on the sound first, but knows that to not have a USB is turning a lot of people off...

A couple of the first demos I did:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TiGTOPbEkk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk4rG6IK1wU

I think I got a little better and finding my sound, so here's a bunch of tunes using the Creamback sim for leads and heavy stuff... also used a flat eq and tons of compression to run my Ibanez semi-hollow 'direct':
https://adammclean.bandcamp.com/album/dream-winds

I have a MUCH better interface now, so the tunes I'm currently working on (not yet published) sound a lot cleaner and clearer...

There's a bunch of newer demos out too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpbK3JSnLZo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvSWntpGv8Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2n_rXOcWxs

Just to give a nice cross section of stuff that's a little less heavy than my work...

I use it almost every day... love the feel of it and how it responds... I love that you can't get lost in a ton of submenus... I love that the parameters for everything are simple and not overly complex... I love that the Flanger sounds amazing, and when you turn off the regeneration, it sounds like a huge post distort Phaser... the 'regular' Phaser is pre-distort... I love that the Detune is another option to the already amazing thick Chorus (that to me, is reminiscent of the old ADA MP-1 and Gallien-Krueger chorus, but MUCH better), the cab sims are clean and clear with no latency and feel very open and responsive... to contrast (not to bash) I found other IR's to be a bit 'stiff'... I just did a comparison with the Celestion Creamback IR from Celestion and the Theta Pro Creamback and they are very close when recorded... the Theta still does it for me and the Celestion is a bit darker...

Overall, I love it... as always, tone and user interface are subjective as hell based on what you need/want for your music... it's flexible within limits - meaning, you can't load 1000 third party IR's, you can't send the chorus into the delay/reverb trails like some of those lovely old Lexicon units, a handful of really great cab sims, three 'preamps': Theta, Vintage, Clean... pre and post distort eq's with a sweepable mid in the pre, and now three sweepable mids in the post...

It just feels good to me and it's very simple to use... I'm not looking for 1000 different preamp/amp/cabinet combinations to have, I'm looking for a few versatile ones that will give me a broad range of tones I can make and not model. I don't care if I don't have 100 Marshalls, 50 Boogies, 10 Enlgs piled up in the digital storage with 100 cabs and 1000 ways to tweak the mic placement... that's too much for my old brain to handle... :)

I hope this helps... feel free to ask any other questions you might have about it!
 
Hey there again!

Here's another one with an actual bass guitar too so you can here the Theta Pro (creamback sim) in a 'proper' mix... the vocals are coming soon which I cannot wait for!!!!

https://adammclean.bandcamp.com/track/the-killing-words

Side note: the first three releases from Queensryche were just ungodly amazing... the EP, The Warning, and Rage for Order... parts of Promised Land and Empire are incredible, and Operation Mindcrime ain't so bad either!!!
 
Hi McLean,

Thank you for the feedback. Know I'm more i treated in the ISP Theta Pro. I'm considering the MS version.

Do you hook this directly to monitors?

Econ

McLeanAB":1zmll14j said:
Hey there!

I love mine... had it forever and love ISP gear and the company... with that being said, it 'feels' just like an amp when playing. I've tried the Kemper, Two Notes stuff, and a bunch of IR's (most recently the Celestion IR's) and they are all great... but to me, my style of playing, the Theta Pro just works right...

The effects are lush, clear, and open. The MS Theta Pro has an additional Mid and Sweep (makes three in the post distort eq section), a Leslie rotary speaker sim and you can switch between two speeds - it 'falls' to the slower speed and vice versa - and a tuner. And a ping-pong delay. And I think Buck is finally going to commit to a USB soon... he really wanted to work on the sound first, but knows that to not have a USB is turning a lot of people off...

A couple of the first demos I did:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TiGTOPbEkk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk4rG6IK1wU

I think I got a little better and finding my sound, so here's a bunch of tunes using the Creamback sim for leads and heavy stuff... also used a flat eq and tons of compression to run my Ibanez semi-hollow 'direct':
https://adammclean.bandcamp.com/album/dream-winds

I have a MUCH better interface now, so the tunes I'm currently working on (not yet published) sound a lot cleaner and clearer...

There's a bunch of newer demos out too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpbK3JSnLZo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvSWntpGv8Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2n_rXOcWxs

Just to give a nice cross section of stuff that's a little less heavy than my work...

I use it almost every day... love the feel of it and how it responds... I love that you can't get lost in a ton of submenus... I love that the parameters for everything are simple and not overly complex... I love that the Flanger sounds amazing, and when you turn off the regeneration, it sounds like a huge post distort Phaser... the 'regular' Phaser is pre-distort... I love that the Detune is another option to the already amazing thick Chorus (that to me, is reminiscent of the old ADA MP-1 and Gallien-Krueger chorus, but MUCH better), the cab sims are clean and clear with no latency and feel very open and responsive... to contrast (not to bash) I found other IR's to be a bit 'stiff'... I just did a comparison with the Celestion Creamback IR from Celestion and the Theta Pro Creamback and they are very close when recorded... the Theta still does it for me and the Celestion is a bit darker...

Overall, I love it... as always, tone and user interface are subjective as hell based on what you need/want for your music... it's flexible within limits - meaning, you can't load 1000 third party IR's, you can't send the chorus into the delay/reverb trails like some of those lovely old Lexicon units, a handful of really great cab sims, three 'preamps': Theta, Vintage, Clean... pre and post distort eq's with a sweepable mid in the pre, and now three sweepable mids in the post...

It just feels good to me and it's very simple to use... I'm not looking for 1000 different preamp/amp/cabinet combinations to have, I'm looking for a few versatile ones that will give me a broad range of tones I can make and not model. I don't care if I don't have 100 Marshalls, 50 Boogies, 10 Enlgs piled up in the digital storage with 100 cabs and 1000 ways to tweak the mic placement... that's too much for my old brain to handle... :)

I hope this helps... feel free to ask any other questions you might have about it!
 
Cool!

I run two XLR cables out to my (new) Mackie Onyx Blackjack which is my interface for my DAW (Reaper) and also connects to my monitors... no latency, 'real time' monitoring. But yes, you could just use the XLR outs or the 1/4 inch jacks out to a set of monitors just as well!

Keep me posted!

Michael Sweet has a new youtube video demoing his signature model, which actually looks pretty awesome in person, I must say... keep in mind that he likes a very particular type of sound, as he describes as "Boston's Tom Scholtz on steroids." Is very honky because he engages the wah and 'freezes' it at a certain frequency to get his signature tone. I believe he has two youtube vids... hold on...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfMO3wBvvfs is the newer one...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5imut6suAj4 is the older one...

But check all the other demos... my earlier ones used mostly the Lowpass Filter cab sim, but I'm loving the Creamback lately... might shift to the Greenback soon... but all the above demos should give you a glimpse into how versatile it can be.

What sort of stuff do you play? Style?
 
I play 80's metal and some jazz/fusion. What I like about the MS version is the pitch shifter, post eq and tuner options.
 
Wow, that thing sounds pretty cool! So does that go into an FRFR solution or power amp and cab?
 
romanianreaper":36e9vqn5 said:
Wow, that thing sounds pretty cool! So does that go into an FRFR solution or power amp and cab?

Either or both... two XLR outs that you can assign the cab sims to if you want (to take to front of house for a big show or your studio monitors at home) and two 1/4" jacks, also cab sim assignable (or not) to send to your power amp and cabs... there's also a global EQ for the Direct Outs (XLR) and a separate EQ for the Stage Outs (1/4") so you can tweak each one to fit the venue and not re-write every frakkin' patch every time you are in a new venue.

Keep in mind, that I like a real 'bite' to my rhythm and lead tones, and that it's easy to 'round' those off more... listen to every other demo for that other than my personal songs! :)

In Michael Sweet's older ISP demo, he switches back and forth from his cabs to his monitors and then both... it's on a crappy iPhone, but you'll get the idea...
 
Hey Econ!

Have you decided to go with the Theta Pro?

Keep us posted!
 
Still on the fence McLean. Just undecided about which version I should get. Wish I could try it out first.
 
Where are you at?

I'm in Boston... and ISP is in Waterford, MI.....

There's a couple of guys on this forum that have the Pro...
 
If anyone is still watching this post, I need help! I have a Michael Sweet theta pro DSP. I am old school and not a tech geek. The manual for this thing is full of good info but it is not helping me much. My main question is how do I select (off or on) the STAGE SPKR SIM? The manual says that this task is in the global function but I can not find it. Can someone walk me through this process?
 
Hey there!

I have the latest version, just not the MS, but this should still be the same...

Go to any preset.
Scroll the left knob all the way to the right until the screen won't go anymore... should say G:
Then turn the middle knob a few turns until you see G: STAGE SPKR SIM OFF
Turn the right knob to make it ON or Off.

If that doesn't work, check the ISP website and call Buck! He'll probably answer the phone.

Or PM me and we can chat on the phone.

Good luck!

EDIT: and post some clips!!!! :)
 
Hey McLeanAB, Thanks for the help! With your directions, I went right to it. I was shocked to find that the stage speaker sim was already turned off. I was running my stage out to my Marshall stack and it sounded like crap and that is why I thought that the speaker sim was on. I was running my direct out to my P.A. system and it sounds like heaven. Now I am asking what the hell?
 
Glad I could help!

I find that the settings I use with the speaker sim sound great running direct, and don't sound that great running into a poweramp and cab. But I don't need mine for a real cab as I've got the Theta Preamp and Theta Combo for that. I have run it before into cabs and had to change the settings to get a sound I liked.

Are you running straight out of the stage outs into the effect loop of your Marshall (assuming you are using a head)? If you are going into the front end of the amp, it won't sound right.
 
Still interested on a Theta Pro or MS version. Would love to try it first though.
 
^^^^^^^^^

I believe the only difference in the latest version of the 'regular' Theta Pro and the MS version is the colors, and the 10 or so presets written by Michael... he has a VERY particular taste - that half cocked open wah sound. He LOVES it. Not my favorite.

I have the latest regular version and it has the pitch shift, the extra mid EQ (that MS actually requested and it's awesome), and the tuner. I've been trying to get Buck to add in an Alnico Cream cab sim, but I think he's just gonna stick with what he has already. Hell, I even offered to send him one of mine so he could capture it!!!! :)

Econ, where are you located?
 
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