Two Notes has unveiled the Reload II – a successor to its flagship Reload reactive load box, whose arrival has been described by the firm as “the definitive watershed in contemporary backline control”.
For many recording and gigging electric guitar players, reactive load boxes are considered to be absolute essential pieces of gear, and over the past few years a select number of companies have been heavily advancing the technology behind such gadgets.
Two Notes itself is seen as one of the guitar world’s premier manufacturers of load boxes, but it’s not alone in the field. In fact, in the years since the first Reload was released, a handful of other alternatives have hit the market, which means the Reload II is now facing considerable competition.
As such, the Two Notes Reload II will be going up against the likes of the Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander Core and the prestigious Universal Audio Ox Amp Top Box.
Reactive load boxes work by harnessing the ‘sweet spot’ tones of actual tube amps, but channel them into more manageable output levels. Such amps always peak at ear-splitting volumes, but most of the time such volumes are unruly, inconvenient and unnecessary for many studio and performing applications.
Reactive load boxes such as the Reload II rectify this by (in basic terms) lowering the amp’s output while making sure it still feels, sounds and responds as it would while connected to a speaker.
In the case of the Reload II, Two Notes says its newest offering retains all the sonic integrity of your performance demands, and is “scalable from a whisper to a full-throttle onslaught” to preserve “every facet of your tone”.
However, the Reload II isn’t a light update of the original, nor is it intended to be useful for just tube amp loyalists.
Instead, it has been redesigned from the ground up, fitted with a reworked Celestion Approved Load Response that’s been dubbed “the final word in next-generation Load Box technology". It’s also the first time a reactive load box has come fitted with a Celestion-approved load response.
Here, an impedance curve (which helps channel those scalable tube amp tones) inspired by Celestion's driver line has been used, and paired with switchable multi-impedance capability to make the Reload II compatible with any rig – from tube amps, modelers, fly-rigs, amp sims and beyond.
The Reload II also offers a twin-channel design, continuous attention, dual line outputs for wider rig integration, a stereo FX Loop and a 215W per channel Power Amp, as well as full compatibility with Two Notes GENOME software for accessing cabinet simulation and a host of DynIRs.
“When it came to developing Reload II, it was obvious this couldn’t be a run-of-the-mill update of its predecessor,” says Guillaume Pille, Two notes CEO. “Fuelled by an ethos rooted in continual redefinition of contemporary backline control, we set our sights on a ground-up rework of our defining reactive load.
“The results speak for themselves: hands-down the best-in-class impedance match available on the market to date and the first reactive Load Box to feature an industry first Celestion Approved Load Response.”
The Two Notes Reload II is available to preorder for $999. To put that into perspective, the Boss Tube Amp Expander Core is $699, while the Universal Audio Ox Amp Top Box is $1,499.
Visit Two Notes to find out more.
