Two Notes has steadily been building up a near perfect array of products to supplement the traditional tube amplifier in the digital age, or replace it entirely.
Want to use your amp, with no speaker? Like Gojira, you could use the Torpedo Live cabinet sim and loadbox. Want a tube preamp, in pedal form? Try the Le Clean or Le Crunch. Need a pedal-sized cabinet sim? Try this, the second iteration of the excellent Torpedo CAB.
With its power amp simulation turned on and a replica Space Echo preamp in front, it sounds surprisingly good without an amp in sight - at least until we hit it with distortion. It really shines when we use it with a real amp head, but it does require a speaker to be connected, so it’s not a quiet recording solution like the Torpedo Live or Torpedo Studio, but more of a consistency-focused DI box.
The user interface is fantastically intuitive, and it’s pleasantly surprising that most of the software features available on the bigger Torpedo Live boxes are present here, with EQ, power amp emulation, reverb, and mic settings, including distance and axis all selectable from the unit, without plugging it into a computer.
There’s even support for two mics at once, which is perfection when we mixed an SM57 and a condenser, and slammed the front of our Marshall with some distorted chords.
All in all, for the money it’s a fantastic DI box - though for a tiny fly rig, or quiet recording solution, you’ll need to pair it with one of the Two Notes tube preamps. For recording a full-fat tube amp, you may be better served by upgrading to the Live or Studio rack units.
