The IR's utilize a digital EQ curve that would be impractical to implement in the analog domain. Of course the downside is latency and the fact that your analog signal has to go through the A/D conversion process.
True. The Torpedo stuff is 32-bit 96kKz & 2.875 ms latency, so not too bad (moving about a meter further from your cab is a little more latency than that.) But it's on the expensive side.
But analog EQ + HPF/LPF can go a long way toward getting what folks are asking for here. (Some might want the exactitude of IR, but plenty just want basic shaping similar to what various cabs do.) You can see JimmyM asking for nothing more than a top-end rolloff, somebody modding an fDeck HPF to add LPF, kringle77 using those very functions in a DBX Driverack, trying a Torpedo, and ending up with a simpler analog unit (ADA GCS-2, correct?). I nearly bought an old Rane PE17, but decided to try the Torpedo. If ya'll had something like this I would have definitely bought one. (Happy former owner of an RBI, currently with a Tri-AC and VTD.)
HPF/LPF? Do you feel the need for this when using the pedals direct to the board or for going in front of the amp.
Either or neither.
Amp: If running traditional bass amp/cabs, wouldn't necessarily need either. But adjustable HPF is nice even for those rigs, to tame "boom" for many stages/rooms, and for uprights. (Look at the popularity of the fDeck HPF III for those purposes.) Anyone with a pre/power rig (often no built-in HPF) using traditional cabs would also appreciate the HPF for speaker protection. Those running more FRFR-ish cabs (fearfuls, fearless, audiokinesis, barefaced, acme, baer, etc), one might want both for the same reasons (LPF is nice for tone shaping on the high end).
Board: Everyone is asking for that, so not much to add. But the ability to bypass it is still good, if one has other devices that do speaker sim already. (VT being an obvious example.)
I can picture something as simple as a programmable HPF/LPF/Parametric EQ, stuffed into one of your multi-button programmable DI chassis. HPF & LPF knobs with 2 or 3-way slope switches. Maybe 4 EQ knobs, each with Q switch, and a mini-knob for frequencies. (Or maybe just a switch with 3 good choices.) Or even just EQ knobs without switches, as long as their behavior is tailored for the kind of shaping needed. (Or hide those advanced options on DIP switches inside, lol.) One more knob for mild "cone breakup" distortion would be a pretty wild thing to have. Other ideas... guitar/bass switch? Mic placement knob?
Call it a Programmable EQ/Speaker Simulator, and include a settings sheet with examples that sound pretty close to a handful of popular cabinets, and some more for various "playing/music styles".
Bingo, the Tech21 analog alternative to both digital speaker simulations and programmable EQs. Leveraging your existing tech/designs/interfaces. Easy enough for newbies to use (in live, practice, or studio scenarios), yet powerful enough to make the gearheads drool.
Is something like that theoretically plausible, or way too much circuitry to fit (or meet a reasonable cost-point)? Seems worth thinking about, at least.
Or make the digital equivalent, an IR-loading DI box with better options/routing than the Torpedo, like Fishman already does (but only with a handful of proprietary IRs, specifially for acoustic guitars).
I'd buy either one. In fact I just did, for a pretty penny, from somebody else. And I'm already complaining that it doesn't have the slick routing capabilities that my VTD does. (Same thing that prompted kringle77 to sell his.)
