Two Notes is a familiar name among IR users. Besides offering a range of hardware speaker emulators/load boxes, they've partnered with numerous musical instrument companies, licensing their highly regarded DynIRs for use in amps and pedals.
The Captor X is a major update of the Two Notes original Captor load box, itself a scaled-down version of the earlier Torpedo Reload. The previous products were full-featured load boxes/speaker emulators, whose output could be combined with IR software on your computer. Captor X brings the IR technology onboard, along with a host of helpful new features. As a result, the lowest-priced device in this roundup offers many functions found on the higher-priced units. It's available in 8-ohm or 16-ohm versions. (You can probably run a 4-ohm output through the 8-ohm Captor X without complications, but try before you buy.)
It's a compact unit, measuring approximately 11" x 6.5" x 4". It resides in a hefty metal enclosure, with recessed knobs to prevent the pots from being sheared off during hectic load-ins and load outs.
Quiet Riot
The Captor X is a fine-sounding level attenuator. Once you connect a speaker cable from your amp's speaker out to the Captor X's speaker input, you can route the signal back to your speaker/cab at three preset levels: full, medium, and low. You can definitely get hot amp tones at manageable volumes with relatively little unwanted coloration. Meanwhile, two XLR outputs feed the processed sound to your DAW or monitors.
The included editing software (for Mac and PC) lets you configure these as stereo outputs, or as two discrete mono outputs with independent EQ and effect settings. You might also, for example, send an unaffected signal to the front-of-house board, but tweak the EQ and reverb to taste for your personal monitor. You can also listen in stereo via the headphone jack. The IR quality is excellent, with depth and detailed texture. Tones are gratifyingly realistic.
The device's hardware controls set the output level, the "voicing" (a broad-shouldered upper-midrange EQ centered at 900 Hz), and "space," which controls either the width of the stereo reverb or the tightness of the Captor X's doubling effect. (You hear the latter at 1:16 in demo Clip 1). You can toggle between two fixed input levels, too. A dedicated knob lets you select from six favorite cabinet/effect settings created with the Captor X's editing software. Speaking of which.…
You can edit on your Mac or PC via a USB cable, or download a wireless editor for iOS or Android devices.
Stellar Software
The Captor X's software component is gorgeous, with the sort the flexibility and refined interface design you'd associate with higher-priced devices. You can edit on your Mac or PC via a USB cable, or download a wireless editor for iOS or Android devices.
A Captor X preset starts with one of the 32 included cabinets. The 26 virtual guitar cabs are a well-rounded collection of vintage combos, classic stacks, and modern metal machines. There are also six bass cabs. (You can download three additional guitar cabs upon registration). The cabs are "heard" by a pair of virtual microphones based on common condenser, dynamic, and ribbon models. You can set mic type and virtual position independently for each channel and balance their relative levels. The Captor X can load third-party IRs as well as those purchased from the editor's integrated Two Notes store.
You can also assign effects. There's 5-band, fixed-frequency EQ, switchable between guitar and bass profiles. There also a custom EQ mode with adjustable frequencies (but fixed bandwidth). You can select from 13 onboard room reverbs with adjustable mix, virtual room size, reflection level, and tone. You can also toggle between a warm ambient setting with subtle reflections, or a brighter, more reflective room sound. The "enhancer" section includes a single-control compressor to fatten tones, accompanied by low-mid and upper-mid tone controls independent of the aforementioned EQ stage. Finally, you can control most tone parameters via MIDI via a 1/8" phone jack.
The Verdict
The Captor X is a price/performance champ. Its tones rival those of costlier devices. The tone-shaping controls are simple yet powerful. The computer and mobile editing software is a pleasure to use. Highly recommended!
- Tone Tips: The Lowdown on Load Boxes, Attenuators, and Reamps ... ›
- Amp Too Damn Loud? Here Are 10 Attenuators That'll Save Your ... ›
- Two Notes Audio Torpedo Captor X Demo | NAMM 2020 - Premier ... ›
- Two Notes Launches the Revolt Series - Premier Guitar ›
- Two Notes Announces Hotrod Dynir Cabinet Collection - Premier Guitar ›
- Two Notes ReVolt Guitar Pedal Review - Premier Guitar ›
Built for unrivaled articulation, low-end punch, and exceptional ergonomics, the all-new Tobias Original Collection comprises an array of six four and five-string bass models all offered in both right and left-handed orientations. The Tobias range features Classic, Killer B, and Growler models, and each is equipped with high-quality hardware from Babicz and Gotoh, active electronics from Bartolini, and the iconic Tobias asymmetrical neck design. Crafted from the finest tonewoods, Tobias Original Collection bass guitars are now available worldwide on Gibson.com, at the Gibson Garage locations, and at authorized Gibson dealers.
The bass world has been clamoring for the return of the authentic, high-end Tobias basses, and now, Tobias has returned. Combining the look and tone of the finest exotic tonewoods, such as quilted maple, royal paulownia, purpleheart, sapele, walnut, ebony, and wenge, with the feel of the famous Tobias Asym asymmetrical neck and the eye-catching shapes of the perfectly balanced contoured bodies, Tobias basses are attractive in look and exceptional in playing feel. However, their sonic versatility is what makes them so well suited to the needs of modern bassists. The superior tone from the exotic hardwoods, premium hardware, and active Bartolini® pickups and preamps results in basses with the tonal flexibility that today’s players require. Don’t settle for less than a bass that delivers everything you want and need –the look, the feel, and the sound, Tobias.
“I’m thrilled to release Tobias basses, emphasizing the use of exotic woods, ergonomics, and authenticity to the original Tobias basses,” says Aljon Go, Product Development Manager for Tobias, Epiphone, and Kramer. “This revival is a dream come true, blending modern craftsmanship with the timeless essence of Tobias.”
“It’s amazing to see this icon of the bass world return,” adds Andrew Ladner, Brand Manager for Epiphone and Kramer. “These models are truly a bass player’s bass, and true to the DNA that makes Tobias world-class—the ace up the sleeve of bass players around the globe since 1978. Today’s players can find that unique voice and feel that only Tobias can offer.”
For more information, please visit gibson.com.
Price unveiled her new band and her new signature model at a recent performance at the Gibson Garage in Nashville.
The 6-string was inspired by the J-45 she bought at Nashville’s Carter Vintage Guitars after she was signed to Third Man Records, where she made her 2016 ice-breaker album, Midwest Farmer’s Daughter. But her affection for Gibson acoustics predates that, going back to when she found a 1956 LG-3 in her grandmother’s home. The guitar had been abandoned there by her songwriter great uncle, Bobby Fischer.
“I played it for years before I found my J-45,” Price recounts. “At Carter Vintage, I tried a lot of guitars, but when I picked up that J-45, I loved that it was a smaller guitar but really cut through, and I was just really drawn to the sound of it. And so I went home with that guitar and I’ve been playing it ever since.”
“Having a signature model was something I had dreamed about.”
Of course, Price was also aware of the model’s history, but her demands for a guitar were rooted in the present—the requirements of the studio and road. The 1965 J-45 she acquired at Carter Vintage, which is also a cherry ’burst, was especially appealing “compared to a Martin D-21 or some of the other things that I was picking up. I have pretty small hands, and it just was so playable all up the neck. It was something that I could easily play barre chords on. I could immediately get everything that I needed out of it.”
If you’ve seen Price on TV, including stops at Saturday Night Live, The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, and Jimmy Kimmel Live!, you’ve seen her ’65. And you’ve also seen, over the years, that part of the soundhole’s top has been scraped away by her aggressive strumming. It’s experienced worse wear from an airline, though. After one unfortunate flight, Price found her guitar practically in splinters inside a badly crushed case. “It was like somebody would have had to drive over this case with a truck,” she relates. Luckily, Dave Johnson from Nashville’s Scale Model Guitars was able to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.
After that, an alternative guitar for the road seemed like a requirement. “Having a signature model was something I had dreamed about,” Price says. Friends in her songwriting circle, including Lukas Nelson and Nathaniel Rateliff, already had them. Four years ago, a tweet asking which women they thought should have signature models appeared, and one of her fans wrote “Margo Price.” Smartly, Price tagged Gibson and retweeted. Codey Allen in Gibson entertainment relations spotted the tweet and agreed.
The double pickguard was chosen for Price’s J-45 because of its symmetry, as a nod to the Hummingbird, and due to her heavy strumming hand.
Photo courtesy of Gibson
“The neck is not quite as small as my J-45, but it is just a bit smaller than many J-45s fives, and very playable no matter what size hands you have.”
“And so we began our journey of building this guitar,” Price says. “I debated whether it should be the LG-3, which I still have hanging on my wall, or the J-45. I went to Montana and visited their [acoustic] factory and sat down with Robi Johns [senior product development manager at Gibson acoustic], and we ultimately decided that the J-45 was my guitar. Then we started talking about the specs. We did pull from the LG-3 in that the body of this signature guitar is a bit smaller. It still has a really loud, clear sound that rings through. The neck is not quite as small as my 1965 J-45, but it is just a bit smaller than many J-45s, and very playable no matter what size hands that you have.”
The pickup that Price selected is a L.R. Baggs VTC Element with a preamp, and she took a prototype of the guitar on the road opening for the Tedeschi Trucks Band. “I am used to playing with a really loud band, with drums and sometimes a couple electric guitars, and I wanted to make sure that this guitar just cut through,” she says. “It was really important to me that it be loud, and it cut beautifully. It’s got a mahogany body and scalloped bracing, which makes it very sturdy. This guitar is a workhorse, just like me.”
The Margo Price J-45’s most arresting characteristic, in addition to its warm sunburst finish, is its double-sided pickguard with an etching of a quartet of red-tailed hawks in flight. It’s practical for her strumming style, but it’s also got a deeper significance.
“We talked about all sorts of things that we could put on the pickguard, and I’ve always been a big fan of the Hummingbird, so what we did is a bit of a nod to that,” Price continues. “I’ve always been drawn to red-tailed hawks. They are supposed to be divine messengers, and they have such strength. They symbolize vision and protection. I would always count them along the highway as I’d be driving home to see my family in Illinois.”
Birds of a feather: “I’ve always been drawn to red-tailed hawks,” says Price. “They are supposed to be divine messengers, and they have such strength. They symbolize vision and protection.”
Photo courtesy of Gibson
With its comfortable neck, slightly thinner body, and serious projection, Price notes, “I wanted my guitar to be something that young girls can pick up and feel comfortable in their hands and inspire songs, but I didn’t want it to be so small that it felt like a toy, and that it didn’t have the volume. This guitar has all of those things.” To get her heavy sound, Price uses D’Addario Phosphor Bronze (.012–.053) strings.
Price says she and her signature J-45, which is street priced at $3,999, have been in the studio a lot lately, “and I have a whole bunch of things I’m excited about.” In mid March, she debuted her new band—which includes Logan Ledger and Sean Thompson on guitars, bassist Alec Newman, Libby Weitnauer on fiddle, and Chris Gelb on drums—in a coming out party for the Margo Price Signature Gibson J-45 at the Gibson Garage in Nashville. “I’ve been with my previous band, the Price Tags, for more than 10 years, and it’s definitely emotional when a band reaches the end of its life cycle,” she says. “But it’s also really exciting, because now, having a fiddle in the band and incredible harmony singers … it’s a completely different vibe. I’ve got a whole bunch of festivals coming up this year. We’re playing Jazz Fest in New Orleans, and I’m so excited for everyone to hear this new iteration of what we’re doing.”
With its heritage cherry sunburst finish and other appointments, the Margo Price Signature Gibson J-45 balances classic and modern guitar design.
Photo courtesy of Gibson
