Items similar to BOSS Tube AMP Expander

[droneshotfpv]

I was sitting here, thinking of ALL the things I would love to build, and that is a LOT of things.. lol And it hit me...
What about something similar to the BOSS Waza Craft Tube AMP Expander? Or just a LOAD Box (REACTIVE LOAD) in general? Something with an OHM load, that allows me to DI into either a CAB IR BOX then into an interface, or something like that?
Then I was like "Oh snap, what about building an IR LOADER that could be between pedals and an interface?" Then I was like "Oh, if we could do all that, what about a load box, with an IR loader built in (like the Torpedo stuff) but have it to where it was a little "simpler", I.E. a Rotary switch that allowed you to select between 8 loaded IR's, or just a toggle switch with 3 preloaded IR's, etc...

So, while I went all manic and crazy with thoughts, I wanted to ask... is ANY of this possible in our realm of items? @PedalPCB , have you ever thought about, attempted, looked at doing any of those, or all of those items? Is it simple? Expensive? Not worth the effort when we can buy it?

An option that I wouldn't mind exploring is my JOYO CAB BOX IR loader.. I have 2 of them. They are ABSOLUTELY phenomenal, especially for the price they can be had for. I have built 2 boards with them that are "ampless" using either a DSM Simplifier, or a JOYO PREAMP HOUSE, as well as made a "stereo" rig (yes, the simplifier has stereo, but that's too easy! haha) using mono out from the Simplifier into 1 CAB BOX, and the Preamp house into another, and doing a wet / dry stereo rig..
So would the CAB box (or MOOER RADAR, and other similar devices) be an easier route?
Enquiring minds would like to know!

 

[mnemonic]

In my opinion, load box + reamp is the way forward. there’s good reason why the likes of the TAE, and power station, are so popular.

I built a reactive load box (tweaked values to match the impedence curve of my cab), I run tube amps into the load box, then reamp using a solidstate power amp so I can have cranked amp sounds at any volume. The amp reacts exactly the same as it does attached to the cab load so the only thing you sacrifice is SPL (unavoidable if you want manageable volume) and potentially speaker distortion.

I followed Randall aiken’s work to make my reactive load. He’s done the legwork here:

Designing a Reactive Speaker Load Emulator

Guitar amplifiers

www.aikenamps.com

And there is a (long) thread on tgp of people who have built their own, including all the trial and error so you can skip that part

Aiken's Reactive Dummy Load.

I have been planing to build a good dummy load box to my tube amp with a line-out, then re-amp with a quality Solid-State Power Amp into my Guitar Cab. After some research Aikens design seems to load the Tube amp like a speaker would...

www.thegearpage.net

The first page covers pretty much all the basics.

The circuit is simple but the parts are large, expensive, and have specific requirements (like the cap must be bipolar, able to handle high current and high ripple, very low if any ESR. Inductors must be air core or act like air core and not saturate, and must be extremely low DC resistance). So don’t expect to save any money over just buying a good one (like the Suhr).

this kind of project doesn’t lend itself to pcb construction, better of just going point to point as who knows what size your parts will be. I used high end audio crossover parts from erse audio. Enclosure will also be large and bare in mind the enclosure material (steel vs aluminum vs something non-conductive) and size will affect your inductors inductance and therefore greatly change your load box’s impedence curve. I used an aluminum cake pan I bought off amazon since the hammond enclosures of this size were damn expensive.

if you use tube amps it’s definitely a project worth considering, as it can be fun to tweak a load box to your specific requirements. Though how sensitive your amp is to the impedence load does depend on the amp circuit. Some are very picky and some are quite happy with just a resistive load.

here is a picture of mine.






An IR loader project would be cool but it would be digital and would probably end up mostly SMD. Maybe it would end up something like that power amp board, a part we can add to another pedal or just put into our own enclosure.

 

[droneshotfpv]

In my opinion, load box + reamp is the way forward. there’s good reason why the likes of the TAE, and power station, are so popular.

I built a reactive load box (tweaked values to match the impedence curve of my cab), I run tube amps into the load box, then reamp using a solidstate power amp so I can have cranked amp sounds at any volume. The amp reacts exactly the same as it does attached to the cab load so the only thing you sacrifice is SPL (unavoidable if you want manageable volume) and potentially speaker distortion.

I followed Randall aiken’s work to make my reactive load. He’s done the legwork here:

Designing a Reactive Speaker Load Emulator

Guitar amplifiers

www.aikenamps.com

And there is a (long) thread on tgp of people who have built their own, including all the trial and error so you can skip that part

Aiken's Reactive Dummy Load.

I have been planing to build a good dummy load box to my tube amp with a line-out, then re-amp with a quality Solid-State Power Amp into my Guitar Cab. After some research Aikens design seems to load the Tube amp like a speaker would...

www.thegearpage.net

The first page covers pretty much all the basics.

The circuit is simple but the parts are large, expensive, and have specific requirements (like the cap must be bipolar, able to handle high current and high ripple, very low if any ESR. Inductors must be air core or act like air core and not saturate, and must be extremely low DC resistance). So don’t expect to save any money over just buying a good one (like the Suhr).

this kind of project doesn’t lend itself to pcb construction, better of just going point to point as who knows what size your parts will be. I used high end audio crossover parts from erse audio. Enclosure will also be large and bare in mind the enclosure material (steel vs aluminum vs something non-conductive) and size will affect your inductors inductance and therefore greatly change your load box’s impedence curve. I used an aluminum cake pan I bought off amazon since the hammond enclosures of this size were damn expensive.

if you use tube amps it’s definitely a project worth considering, as it can be fun to tweak a load box to your specific requirements. Though how sensitive your amp is to the impedence load does depend on the amp circuit. Some are very picky and some are quite happy with just a resistive load.

here is a picture of mine.






An IR loader project would be cool but it would be digital and would probably end up mostly SMD. Maybe it would end up something like that power amp board, a part we can add to another pedal or just put into our own enclosure.

Good info here, I appreciate the response! I think for me, while obviously a little less expensive would be great, ultimately the thrill of creating it myself would be worth it alone. I kind of figured it might not be a cost savings venture, although I wished maybe a little.. lol But the experience would be awesome as well. Thanks again for posting the info, I will be looking at this all weekend I am sure!

 

[mjh36]

Hey I just built this reactive attenuator/loadbox recently and posted some pics, the thread for the design is from the Marshall forum:

DIY Reactive Attenuator/Loadbox

Built this from a thread by JohnH on the marshall forum. This one is built for 50 watts. On front is a line-out with volume and three -dB switches. On the back is the input and two 8 ohm and one 16 ohm outputs. It's -7dB when you plug into it, with switches for an extra -7dB, -14dB, and -3.5dB...

forum.pedalpcb.com

Simple Attenuators - Design And Testing

Background Passive attenuators are wired between the amp output and the speakers. Their function is to absorb most of the output power of the amp, feeding a smaller amount to the speaker itself. This allows the amp output stage to run at higher power, letting the glorious tone of a good valve...

www.marshallforum.com

I haven't tested mine yet because I'm waiting on a tube amp, but it is a verified design. Other people have posted their pics in the thread too. I put a line out in mine for cab IR's etc. Not very many components and the cost was about $130 between Mouser and Parts Express but it can be done for cheaper.