New cab upload tutorial for Mac and PC

New cabinets from Two Notes for the Torpedo VB-101/VM-202 are given as .tsr files. These files need to be uploaded on the VB-101/VM-202 using the Torpedo Remote software.

1- Put the .tsr file (for example “Calif Low.tsr) into the DATA directory you can find at the root of the Torpedo Remote install directory.

Under Windows, the default path to this directory is “C:\Program Files\Two Notes Audio Engineering\TorpedoRemote\Data”.

Under Mac OSX, the default path is ” /Application/Two Notes/Data”.

NOTICE : the name of the file is the name that will be printed on the VB-101/VM-202 screen. if you, change the name of the file, you change the name displayed on the VB-101/VM-202. This way you can choose what will be displayed by the machine.

2- Power on the VB-101/VM-202 if needed. Launch the Torpedo Remote Software. Please check that the VB-101/VM-202 is correctly synced with the Remote : the led on the top right of the Remote windows must be green and you can see the indication “USB”. In the case you don’t see a green led and the USB indication, please check your USB connection.

3- In the Remote software, click on flie/Memory Management. A Mermory management windows appears, the VB-101/VM-202 screen displays a “waiting for command message”.

4- Click on the “speaker” button in the upper side of the memory management window. On the left you can see a list of speaker files on your /DATA directory, on the right the speakers already inside the VB-101/VM-202.

5- Click on a speaker file on the left (right click or CTRL+click on Mac OSX). Choose “copy to” on the list, then choose a memory slot to upload the new speaker into.

6- Uploading a speaker file takes about 1 minute. You can see a progress bar on the VB-101/VM-202 screen.

7a- A When the upload is done, you can see a brief “saving” message on the VB-101/VM-202 screen, then the “wainting for command” message comes back.

In the Memory Management windows, you can see on the right the new speaker.

7b- Si I something goes wrong during the transfer, close the Remote software et go back to step 2. You may see a “corrupted” speaker on the right list of the memory managemant window. To delete it, right click on it then select “delete”. You can continue to step 5.

Firmware upgrade tutorial for Mac and PC

1- Place the firmware files (named for example “Torpedo_v108.tfa” and “Torpedo_v108.tfb”, the number in the names corresponding to the firmware version) in the “Data” folder of the Torpedo Remote software.

On PC, the default path to this folder is “C:\Program Files\Two Notes Audio Engineering\Torpedo Remote\Data”.

On Mac, the default path to this folder is “/Application/Two Notes/Data”.

2- Power off the Torpedo if needed. Keep the “PROGRAM” button of the Torpedo pressed while powering it on.

3- The Torpedo starts on Update mode. The screen displays “FIRMWARE UPDATE” on the top left. If not, go to step 2 again.

4- Launch the Torpedo Remote software on your computer.

5- The “USB LINK” light indicator on the Torpedo Remote software turns red, and the Torpedo displays “Waiting for file…”. If not, check that the Torpedo is connected to the computer with a USB or Ethernet cable.

6- In the Torpedo Remote software, click on the “File” menu, then on “Update firmware…”. A “Update Firmware” window opens. The firmware filenames are displayed.

7a- If a red error message appears, check at the end of this tutorial.

7b- If no error messages are present, click on the “Send” button in the “Update Firmware” window to begin the update. The “Firmware Update” window and the Torpedo screen display progress informations.

8a- If something goes wrong (error message or stuck screen), turn off the Torpedo , close completely the Torpedo Remote software, and go back to step 2.

8b- If nothing goes wrong, a “Firmware upgraded” window appears at the end of the process. Click on the OK button in this window, check that the Torpedo screen displays “Firmware part B written” or “Firmware written”, turn off the Torpedo .

9- Your Torpedo is up to date !

Errors handling

“Directory Data not found”

The “Data” folder has been deleted, renamed or moved from the Torpedo Remote software folder. Check the presence of the “Data” folder in this folder.

On PC, the default path to this folder is “C:\Program Files\Two Notes Audio Engineering\Torpedo Remote”.

On Mac, the default path to this folder is “/Application/Two Notes/”.

If not present, create a ew folder called “Data”. If present, check that the Torpedo Remote software you launched is really the one nearby this “Data” folder (PC : “Torpedo Remote.exe” ; Mac : “Torpedo Remote.app”).

In case of multiple installations or bad software manipulation, several versions of the “Torpedo Remote.exe” / “Torpedo Remote.app” software can be present on your computer. If there is doubt, uninstall the software, delete the copies of and shortcuts to “Torpedo Remote.exe” / “Torpedo Remote.app” files, and reinstall the software.

“Missing file tfa/tfb in directory Data”

A file (or both files) has not been found in the “Data” folder. Check their presence. Read the first paragraph for more details.

“Too many file tfa/tfb in directory Data”

Several “.tfa” and/or “.tfb” files are found in the “Data” folder. Delete them, keep only the latest versions. Read the first paragraph for more details.

“Files not matching”

The “.tfa” and “.tfb” files have a different name, they are from different versions. Delete them and download the latest version available.

“File check error”

The “.tfa” and/or “.tfb” files are corrupted. Delete them and download the latest version available.

The VB-101/VM-202 is a state-of-the-art product giving you a professionnal quality miking simulation. It uses both analog and digital technologies to offer the best interface possible.

Sound processing is digital and uses high-end DSPs specialized in audio processing. AD and DA converters are top notch, offering a totally transparent 24bits/192kHz sampling.

Inputs and outputs are either digital (AES/EBU and S/PDIF) or analog. The loadbox, the input gain stage and the input and output line buffers are analog circuits.

The VB-101/VM-202 is fully controllable with MIDI and easily finds its place in a MIDI environment.

It reacts in real time to Program Change messages so that every sound processing parameter can be controlled by any MIDI remote device.

For example, you can switch between presets on stage with a MIDI floorboard, control the output volume with an expression pedal or, in studio, move the position of a microphone to experiment new sounds.

The digital inputs and outputs of the VB-101/VM-202 use professionnal AES/EBU and consumer S/PDIF formats. The VB-101/VM-202 can be set as master or slave for transmitting.

In master mode, the VB-101/VM-202 generates its own clock at a selectionnable frequency. In slave mode, you can sync the VB-101/VM-202 with the AES/EBU or the S/PDIF signal, or with the Wordclock input.

The digital inputs and outputs work with frequencies from 44.1 kHz to 96 kHz.

Therefore, the VB-101/VM-202 can be used alone or find its place in a more complex digital audio system.

Installing the VB-101/VM-202 in slave mode

We recommand to install the VB-101/VM-202 in slave mode : this way you will be able to sync the VB-101/VM-202 with your sequencer/recorder by selecting the working frequency in your project.

Please note that the internal working frequency in the VB-101/VM-202 is always 96 KHz. Changing the sync frequency has no impact on the Torpedo process quality.

1. Check that your digital interface is configured in master mode.
2. In the setup menu of the VB-101/VM-202, select sync, SPDIF, AES/EBU or Wordclock to indicate the machine on wich signal it has to be synced.
3. Connect a SPDIF or AES/EBU cable from the digital interface OUT to the VB-101/VM-202 IN, or a wordclock cable from your master clock. On the Torpedo idle menu, you must see the indication “Lock”.
4. Connect a SPDIF/AES/EBU cable from the VB-101/VM-202 OUT to the digital interface.
5. In your sequencer recorder software, select the digital input for recording (please refer to the user manual of your digital interface/software). You should ear the signal coming from the VB-101/VM-202.

The Torpedo Capture Software is a simple but powerful tool to make professional impulse responses compliant with the Torpedo VB-101.

Here is the gear you need to do the capture :

• A MAC or PC computer with an ASIO/Coreaudio soundcard embedding at least one line output and one line input. In an ideal case, the soundcard can go 24bits/96KHz with the best signal/noise ration and THD.
• A power amplifier that can work at 250W/8ohms with the lowest possible distortion, linear frequency response and the lowest possible output impedance. A solid state studio monitoring amplifier fits perfectly for this task. A Tube guitar amplifier could be a fun thing to try, but as they are everything but linear the result may be… fun.
• A cab you want to capture
• A microphone you want to capture
• A microphone preamplifier you want to capture
• A room were you can play loud !

There is the principle :

the Torpedo Capture Software will send a test signal through the whole cab miking setup and record the result. After a few calculus, it will create a .tur file that you will upload on your VB-101. The whole process can be done in less than 5mn.

Phase 1, the Torpedo Capture Software :

Download and install the Torpedo Capture Software

Launch Capture, choose the driver you want to use (File menu/Audio drivers/ OK to save and quit this window), the recommended frequency is 96KHz, the latency must high enough in order to avoid and overloading of your CPU. We recomand ASIO or CoreAudio drivers.

For example, we will use the line output 1 and the line input 1 of the soundcard.

Phase 2, setting up the recording :

Plug a cable from the output 1 of the soundcard to the input of the monitor amp.

Plug a cable from the output of your amp to your cab. Please take care of the amp output impedance, regarding the cab impedance.

Place your microphone the way you want in the record room. Don’t forget that the mic placement can’t be changed in the VB-101 with user impulse, so take your time to do several measurements to find the right spot.

Plug a cable from the microphone to a mic preamplifier. Please note that the response of the preamp will be captured, changing the preamp may change the overall sound.

Now plug a cable from the preamp output to the line input 1 of the soundcard.

Phase 3, levels :

It is important to note that the level of the test signal going through the cab matters. Based on our experience, we recommend to play at a “rehearsal level”, in other words at the level you are used to record/play. The purpose is to be as close as possible to the real conditions.

WARNING

Playing at very loud levels may cause permanent damages to your hearing. The test signal is very energetic, so please use the “test” function of the Torpedo Capture Software, starting from low levels, before cranking the amp.

The bargraph in Capture should be between -14dB and -12dB to match perfect gain adjustment.

Phase 4, creating the file and sending it to your VB-101 :

On the Torpedo Capture window, click on the “MEASURE” button. Choose a destination for the file, the best is to select the DATA directory of the Torpedo Remote.

The test signal is called a sinus sweep. The signal will sweep from the ultra low frequencies to the highest and even after the cabinet will cut. Please don’t make any noise before the test is finished. Please control that there is no glitch/clic/pop in the sound that could be a consequence of a latency parameter set to low. If you hear this kind of noise, please increase the latency.

The measure process takes 1 minute, a pop up message will warn you when it’s done.

Your computer will… compute the file to create a .tur file in the previously selected location. This process could take a few minutes, depending on your CPU power.

Phase 5, uploading the file into the VB-101 :

Launch the Torpedo Remote Software

Go to the menu File/Memory Management, click on the .tur tab.

On the left you should see the new created impulse, on the right the locations on the VB-101 to upload it. Right click (or CMD+click on a MAC) on the .tur file, select “move to” and the location you want the file to be uploaded. it is possible to take several .tur in the same time, select the location of the first one and the others will follow.

Once it is finished, quit the Memory Management window and enjoy your new personal cab.

Yes, you can plus as much units as there are USB ports available on your computer !

Each unit can be named in a dedicated menu. The Torpedo Remote software lists all units and let you control the ones you want.

Please refer to the excellent WIKI article here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Re-amp

The USB connection of the VB-101 only allows remote control from a PC or a Mac. It does not transfer sound.

To digitally record the VB-101 sound, two digital outputs are provided (AES/EBU and S/PDIF).

Guitar and bass préamps of course, but not only… You can plug other instruments (keyboard, piano) in the line/digital input.

You can connect whatever you want in there : effect pedals, all kind of preamps, keyboards, studio gear… You may find out yourself a new, original and powerful way to use the VM-202 !

Another option is to use the VM-202 as a general-purpose professionnal AD-DA converter by bypassing the simulation ant the Post FX section.

This is the main function of the VM-202.

The VM-202 is a cab and microphone simulator (like the VB-101).

It also simulates a tube stage simulator

• Class A or AB
• Pentode/Triode
• 4 different tubes models
• Control of the master volume and the presence

It allows you to have a “studio” sound everywhere : at home without making noise, on stage preventing damages to the microphones, in studio to gain time…

Latency is the time taken by the processing between an incoming “dry” signal and  the outgoing “wet” signal.

• “Normal” mode : 5ms
• “low latency” mode : 3ms

We made a lot of tests with professional guitar players and bass players to find the good latency value. During these tests, the only way to clearly notice a 5/6ms latency was to add a non delayed signal to the delayed signal.

The latency of the Torpedo system direct to digital is comparable to similar latencies when recording to a DAW or using the current industry standard digital touring consoles, using traditional mic and cabinet technologies.

The VM-202 simulates 2 different miking setups (PA/Cab/Mic) simultaneously.

Principle :

For recording, a particular configuration allows to take full advantage of the great flexibility of the VB-101. This particular way of connecting the machine allows you to rework a recording after it’s been recorded.

The reamping techniques are already known (recording a guitar or bass through a DI and sending this signal into an amplifier), we’re going to talk here about something we call “re-miking”.

This is done in 2 steps :

1. Dry recording of the amplifier (simulation bypassed, or using the “PRE-SIM OUT” output (number 11 in figure).
2. Using the Torpedo VB-101 like an external processing unit into a digital loop through the AES/EBU or the S/PDIF I/O.

In this configuration, the analog-to-digital conversion is done by the studio converter. Note that it is possible to get a dry signal with no simulation from any outputs of the Torpedo VB-101 if you want the VB-101 to do this conversion.

An even more interesting possibility consists in getting from the Torpedo VB-101 a dry output signal with no simulation and a processed signal at the same time. You can then get at the same time, in one take, a classic track recorded with a real cabinet and a microphone + a simulated track using the Torpedo VB-101 library of speakers and microphones + a dry digital track with no simulation, for later re-miking. This gives you a large amount of sonic possibilities, making you sure to get the tone you’re looking for !

Tutorial :

We recommend doing the recording and the re-miking using the digital I/Os of the VB-101. In this tutorial we will be unsung the digital capacities of the VB-101 assuming the user owns a sound card embedding digital I/Os in coaxial SPDIF or standard XLR AES formats.

1- Setup connections

• Plug your speaker out of the amp to the VB-101 speaker in.
• Plug the SPDIF/AES out of your sound card in the Torpedo SPDIF/AES in
• Plug the SPDIF/AES out of your VB-101 in the sound card SPDIF/AES in (now the digital loop is done)

2- Setup your VB-101 and the recording software for recording

Torpedo VB-101 :

• Under the “setup” menu of the VB-101, go to Audio/Input Select, choose Amp.

• Under the setup menu, go to Audio/Output Mode and select Wet/dry. The wet signal from the amp will be sent on the left channel (both digital and analogue) of the VB-101 and a dry signal on the right. This way you can play with a wet signal while recording the dry (and the wet, if needed).
• Under the setup menu, go to Sync/Sync and select the digital clock the VB-101 will be synced on (at least SPDIF or AES/EBU, WordClock if you have a master clock in your setup). We recommend putting he VB-101 in slave mode so you can control the digital out frequency of the VB-101 in your recording software.

Sound card :

• Select the Clock/Master mode on your sound card so your DAW is the master clock of the setup.
• Make sure the VB-101 is synced to your DAW and that you receive the signal from the VB-101 when playing.

Recording Software :

• Create a track (mono or stereo). Select SPDIF1/AES1 as an input (you will record the left channel, i.e. the wet signal).
• Create a track (mono or stereo). Select SPDIF2/AES2 as an input (you will record the right channel, i.e. the dry signal).

For any problem concerning your sound card configuration, please refer to your sound card user manual.

Set the software on record mode, you are ready to go.

3- Re-miking

After you recorded all your dry tracks, you may turn off your amp and configure your sound card and VB-101 for re-miking.

Torpedo VB-101 :

• Under the “setup” menu of the VB-101, go to Audio/Input Select, choose SPDIF or AES/EBU.
• Note that by selecting a digital or analog line input, the Load Compensation parameter will be automatically deactivated.

Recording software :

• Select one track with dry signal, and send its output NOT to the master bus (default setting) but to the SPDIF/AES out. For example, in Reaper, uncheck the “master/parent send” under the I/O window of your track. Select SPDIF1/AES1 under the Audio Hardware Outputs/Add Audio Hardware Output list.
• Create a track (mono or stereo). Select SPDIF1/AES1 as an input (you will record the left channel, i.e. the wet signal).

For any problem concerning your software I/Os configuration, please refer to your recording software user manual.

Set the software on record mode, you are ready to re-mike !