ArtS
Joined: May 09, 2008
Posts: 1249
Isle of Kent, MD
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Posted on Jan 04 2021 12:31 PM
All,
Better half is not happy with loud "hippy surf" guitar noises emanating from garage when recording lead tracks from my amp. Anyone use a amp isolation cabinet? Not a builder, so looking for something I can buy and set up quick. Want to keep good recording from mic, amp size either a fender deluxe or if possible, fender 65 twin. Got about $400 to spend.
— Surfcat
2023 SG101 Compilation - Tribute to Noel
The Journey Home - Agent Octopus (Our SG101 Comp download)
From Atlantis with Love - Released - July 2023
Agent Octopus-Spotify
Christmas on the Beach - NEW SINGLE Dec 2023!!
Reverb Galaxy - Angle of Attack CD - BANDCAMP
Surf, the most dangerous of all musical genres...
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Ben
Joined: Feb 11, 2007
Posts: 591
Encinitas, Ca
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Posted on Jan 04 2021 12:47 PM
I have never used one but I think a better solution would be to have just a speaker/extension cabinet in your isolation box...no amp to overheat and easier to adjust the controls. That way you could really seal it up tight to keep the hippy sounds in. There are mixed reviews on how it may effect your sound but there are companies making these for sale.
Last edited: Jan 04, 2021 13:02:56
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ArtS
Joined: May 09, 2008
Posts: 1249
Isle of Kent, MD
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Posted on Jan 04 2021 12:52 PM
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DannySnyder
Joined: Mar 02, 2006
Posts: 11010
Berkeley, CA
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Posted on Jan 04 2021 12:56 PM
Hi Art, Given your budget, maybe you should rethink your approach. A much more affordable option would be a decent audio interface into your computer and some moderate recording software. I use Garageband which is free on Apple computers. You'll be amazed at the controls available - hundreds of simulated rooms, tens of compressors, lots of mic choices including placement, speaker cabinets etc... Is it comparable to a real studio - no, but I've found mediocre result with an iso-box, speakers need space to move air.
If you don't have the option of using the computer in the garage, get a standalone digital recorder (they're quite cheap these days) then transfer your tracks into the computer.
— Danny Snyder
Latest project - Now That's What I Call SURF
_
"With great reverb comes great responsibility" - Uncle Leo
I'm back playing keys and guitar with Combo Tezeta
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ArtS
Joined: May 09, 2008
Posts: 1249
Isle of Kent, MD
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Posted on Jan 04 2021 01:04 PM
Thanks Danny,
Got plenty of gear, UR824 soundcard, plugins, Sonar Platinum. Could move to garage, but I've already had holes put in wall so I can drop cable and put amp in garage. Tired of the plug in sound and find that I play better when going through my amp. Appreciate the input.
— Surfcat
2023 SG101 Compilation - Tribute to Noel
The Journey Home - Agent Octopus (Our SG101 Comp download)
From Atlantis with Love - Released - July 2023
Agent Octopus-Spotify
Christmas on the Beach - NEW SINGLE Dec 2023!!
Reverb Galaxy - Angle of Attack CD - BANDCAMP
Surf, the most dangerous of all musical genres...
|
DannySnyder
Joined: Mar 02, 2006
Posts: 11010
Berkeley, CA
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Posted on Jan 04 2021 02:17 PM
Makes sense. Maybe you can park your car in the carage and stick the speaker in the trunk? 
— Danny Snyder
Latest project - Now That's What I Call SURF
_
"With great reverb comes great responsibility" - Uncle Leo
I'm back playing keys and guitar with Combo Tezeta
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ArtS
Joined: May 09, 2008
Posts: 1249
Isle of Kent, MD
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Posted on Jan 04 2021 02:34 PM
DannySnyder wrote:
Makes sense. Maybe you can park your car in the carage and stick the speaker in the trunk?
Wait a minute man, you might have just hit the jackpot!!!! Thanks for the suggestions. I'll probably go with a ClearSonic Amppac.
— Surfcat
2023 SG101 Compilation - Tribute to Noel
The Journey Home - Agent Octopus (Our SG101 Comp download)
From Atlantis with Love - Released - July 2023
Agent Octopus-Spotify
Christmas on the Beach - NEW SINGLE Dec 2023!!
Reverb Galaxy - Angle of Attack CD - BANDCAMP
Surf, the most dangerous of all musical genres...
|
BrentD
Joined: Apr 07, 2009
Posts: 148
Michigan
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Posted on Jan 04 2021 05:26 PM
What about an attenuator? I have a Jettenuator that works just fine. I think it was under $100 and the only other thing I needed was a speaker extension cable for my Fender combos.
I think commercial iso cabs are around $400 but most are aimed at the chugga chugga crowd so the included speaker may or may not be to your liking.
— Neptune Trojans
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ArtS
Joined: May 09, 2008
Posts: 1249
Isle of Kent, MD
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Posted on Jan 04 2021 05:41 PM
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DeathTide
Joined: Apr 13, 2018
Posts: 1340
New Orleans
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Posted on Jan 04 2021 07:12 PM
Car interiors are excellent “dead” spaces. I’ve recorded many actors doing wild lines in them, Danny Glover and Kevin S****y were a couple. It will be super isolated and have almost no “air” but that may be what you’re after. This is a great suggestion! An isolation box would have that air, and depending on the shape you can adjust the amount of it.
I’ve had many fantasies about having an isolation box for practice, and being able to mic the amp from a distance without mic bleed.
I was gonna suggest an attenuator. I’m getting the awesome tone of the Twin at around 11 o’clock but don’t need earplugs with the SPL Power Soak. That one’s kinda expensive tho.
— Daniel Deathtide
Last edited: Jan 04, 2021 19:13:01
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ArtS
Joined: May 09, 2008
Posts: 1249
Isle of Kent, MD
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Posted on Jan 05 2021 08:18 AM
All thanks for the suggestions. My goal is to minimize the volume to as low as possible so I can play freely without any discontent amongst semi-quarantined family members.
I'm going to continue online research and talk to Mike at Sweetwater today for his suggestions. If I decide to get one, I'll road test it and do a quick review for everyone.
Danny, did you change photo? Dog looks smarter than me.
Stay positive, test negative
— Surfcat
2023 SG101 Compilation - Tribute to Noel
The Journey Home - Agent Octopus (Our SG101 Comp download)
From Atlantis with Love - Released - July 2023
Agent Octopus-Spotify
Christmas on the Beach - NEW SINGLE Dec 2023!!
Reverb Galaxy - Angle of Attack CD - BANDCAMP
Surf, the most dangerous of all musical genres...
|
revmike
Joined: Feb 26, 2006
Posts: 3742
North Atlantic
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Posted on Jan 05 2021 08:27 AM
If you have the budget, I have heard amazing things about this from several friends who use this. https://www.uaudio.com/hardware/ox.html
Rev
— Canadian Surf
http://www.urbansurfkings.com/
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WoodyJ
Joined: Apr 05, 2006
Posts: 1532
Bethlehem, GA
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Posted on Jan 05 2021 10:00 AM
I use these for direct recording and for silent practice. Not expensive for what it does and there are plenty of pre-owned ones on reverb.com
They come in 4, 8 and 16 ohm versions and have a headphone jack. Your amp will sound as good through this with good headphones as it does with the speaker engaged.
https://www.mesaboogie.com/cabinets--simulators/guitar-cabinets--simulators/guitar-cabinet-simulator/cab-clone.html
— Jack
aka WoodyJ
The Mariners (1964-68, 1996-2005)
The Hula Hounds (1996-current)
The X-Rays (1997-2004)
The Surge! (2004, 2011-2012)
Various non-surf bands that actually made money (1978-1990)
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LHR
Joined: Aug 23, 2006
Posts: 2123
The jungle
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Posted on Jan 05 2021 02:05 PM
I have two Randall ISO cabs. They come with Celestion Vintage 30 12" speakers, which I really need to swap for a better kind. But they work.
— SSIV
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LHR
Joined: Aug 23, 2006
Posts: 2123
The jungle
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Posted on Jan 05 2021 02:07 PM
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SamDBL
Joined: Sep 19, 2016
Posts: 225
Tampa
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Posted on Jan 05 2021 08:13 PM
I have recorded all of the black valley moon and down by law guitars with iso cabs. But they don't house whole amps. They are just speaker cabs designed for isolated sound in room separate from the heads and control room. They are the ones randall used to make that aren't too pricey. I just switched out the v30's in them to something more suitable for the fender sound. They are cool, and I personally like the vibe of them rather than attenuators and cab sims. But they are definitely not super quiet. A couple rooms over isn't too bad. But standing in the same room with them at gigging (and in my case, recording) volume... they are still pretty ear splitting. My understanding is they are built to keep external sound (drums, etc) out of the cab even more so than keeping the sound inside the cab. Anyway, point of all this is that if you are wanting quiet, the other solutions may work better.
— Guitarist for Black Valley Moon & Down By Law
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1138
Joined: Mar 01, 2012
Posts: 95
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Posted on Jan 21 2021 08:55 PM
I have one of these and it works pretty well, though it is not totally silent. Build quality is awesome, and the company owner was fantastic to work with, but it was a complete pain in the ass to get shipped during the start of the pandemic last spring (3+ months from Germany).
Grossman Iso Cab
For less money, a lot less grief, and for silent recording I would actually recommend the Two Notes Captor X. Two Notes actually has some really nice Fender cab sims that sound really good:
Two Notes Captor X
I used to have a Torpedo Live and the clean sounds were great, but metal sounds were artificial sounding, hence why I went with the Iso Box.
Last edited: Jan 21, 2021 20:56:45
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Tikidog
Joined: Jun 23, 2006
Posts: 177
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Posted on Jan 22 2021 03:48 AM
Hi Agent Octopus,
I could recommend you three solutions:
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The TAD Silencer
It's a power attenuator that can be turned down very low to a reasonable room volume. It also has a recording output that works OK ( non adjustable) but the sound is good.
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The Grossman Box
if you use a small amp (Deluxe, Princeton), it's ok volume wise. To hear a well miked sound you need a DAW and headphones/studio monitors. If you hear the sound from the iso cab it sounds very dull, like a blanket over a speaker.
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the UAD OX Box
very great recording tool with a headphone output that you can use for silent practicing with a bunch of cab, mike and room simulations.
The last record of THE RAZORBLADES was recorded with my amps and the OX Box. For the one before I used the Grossman Box...
Last edited: Jan 22, 2021 03:48:28
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raylinds
Joined: Jul 05, 2019
Posts: 141
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Posted on Jan 23 2021 09:48 AM
Since just straight micing my amp is not a viable option for my home studio I have been following this with interest. After carefully reviewing all the options, I have purchased The Two Notes Torpedo Captor X. It is a power soak/attenuator and speaker cabinet and room simulator like the UAD OX Box. At $550, it is much cheaper than the OX Box. There is a YouTube video comparing the two devices and the only thing the OX Box had over the Captor X is better reverb. Since I have a Fender reissue reverb unit, that is a non-issue for me.
It has stereo outs to record directly into your DAW using your choice of speaker, cabinet, mics and studio room. You can use two mics with your choice of dynamic, condenser and ribbon mics that you can place wherever you want. It comes with 32 cabinets and you can purchase more or you can import third party IRs. I purchased the Fullerton Collection, which comes with a bunch of vintage fender cabinets from tweeds to blackface (It comes with a few vintage Fender cabs, as well). There are also controls to shape your tone if you want.
My logic is that the speaker cab is probably easier to emulate than the tube circuit of an amp, so using a real tube spring reverb and a real tube amp and only emulating the speaker cab is better than using a plug-in that emulates the entire rig.
You can also use it as a power soak between your amp and speaker so you can play in your amp's sweet spot at lower volumes.
I am supposed to get it on Monday and will report back with a detailed review.
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CrazyAces
Joined: Jul 31, 2012
Posts: 4052
Nashville, TN.
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Posted on Jan 23 2021 06:59 PM
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