Time to choose the right Torpedo for me

[opiante]

Hi Guys,

Maybe some of you remember me from about 3 months ago when I joined this form to lern more about a VB101 unit that I was borrowing.
I fell in love with it and decided that I'd need a Torpedo of my own. So now its time to pick the right one for me.

My requirements are straight forwrd:

I only need this unit for use in the studio, no live application.
Primary use will be as a Cab + Mic Emulator for recording.
Secondary use will be as a load for silent recording.
Attenuation would be nice, but not necessary. I could easily just run a smallpower amp after the Torpedo to re-amplify the load's sound.

The way I see it, on one hand its between the VB101 and the Live. Feature-wise the Live sems just fine, but I LOVED the sound of the 101 and don't want to compromise sound quality.

My second option would be to get a Reload and use the WOS3 plug-in. I will be using this unit with an Apollo Quad interface, so the A/D conversion will be done in high quality. What would I be trading off by choosing this option over the 101?

I 've read all the charts and tech data, even the manuls for all the units. So the info I'm interested in is really the subjective "how it sounds and feels" advice.
I don't want to compromise tone and feel. I know the 101 is a unit I could love, and I'm wondering if I'd be losing anything with the other options.

Can't wait to make up my mind and get my hands on a Torpedo of my own!

Ian

 

[sysexguy]

Hi Ian, the combination of criteria you state:

1) studio only
2) perhaps needing to re-amplify
3) using a vintage 4 ohm amp

all these criteria point to Reload as the best choice.

depending on your daw, monitoring while tracking using WOS may have some noticeable latency in which case you could use the re-amplification feature to get enough level to hear the tracks as it records or perhaps look at adding a cab pedal to the kit. On playback, today's DAWs make sure everything is super tight.

Both the 101 and the Apollo have great converters, if you go for the vb-101 or Live, connecting through the Apollo digitally would be optimum. The VB-101 is far more flexible in that regard and you could also later use the VB as an insert or "physical plug in" if desired (input and out connected digitally), channel insert plug-in assigned to the corresponding digital i/o

as far as combos and cabling, most combos have a physical plug between the amp section and the speaker so mods aren't required. It is generally best to have cables that easily connect. Often, the speaker jack is connected without strain relief on the cable or it's a cheaper molded plug so handle it carefully. A female-female 1/4" barrel plug is a great tool to have handy....if your amp has some custom connector, either a barrel adapter or a dedicated speaker cable will be the thing to get.

Andy