PSA: Sequis Motherload 2U on Reverb

djspecialist

I just noticed this on Reverb, for what seems like a very good price:

https://reverb.com/item/14701095-sequis-motherload-speaker-simulator-analogue-attenuator-loadbox-guitar-cab-sim
No personal affiliation.

I have the smaller "Elemental" version, which I use for taming the volume of my amp, and can highly recommend.

ecc83

That is indeed a bargain if it is kosher. There is a review of the Sequis ML in Sound on Sound magazine and it was very well thought of. Wrong side of £500 iirc?

Dave.

ICBM

If that's genuine and in full working order, someone needs to buy that NOW.

It's overkill for most users, but at that price it really doesn't matter.

Dodge

Same seller has a 1U version for sale on eBay. It has bids at £150, but it's been on at least once before and not sold.

FreddieVanHalen

I suppose they're old technology now with the flat analogue filters. I have the Sequis Elemental and the speaker sim on there is rather outclassed by the IRs and speaker models in things like the Two Notes units.

Having said that, the Sequis is a fantastic loadbox and attenuator and I get great results from using the non-emulated line out from it into IRs.

And the speaker sim aint bad with the right amp settings - it just lets through a little bit too much high end fizz on some amps....maybe I should play with the EQ settings in my DAW a bit more...here goes a couple lost hours :-)

FreddieVanHalen

Dodge said:

Same seller has a 1U version for sale on eBay. It has bids at £150, but it's been on at least once before and not sold.

Yep very underrated devices and an absolute bargain at that price.

ICBM

FreddieVanHalen said:

I suppose they're old technology now with the flat analogue filters. I have the Sequis Elemental and the speaker sim on there is rather outclassed by the IRs and speaker models in things like the Two Notes units.

That's true, but easier to use in a live rig and with absolutely zero latency, because it's entirely analogue.

FreddieVanHalen

ICBM said:

FreddieVanHalen said:

I suppose they're old technology now with the flat analogue filters. I have the Sequis Elemental and the speaker sim on there is rather outclassed by the IRs and speaker models in things like the Two Notes units.

That's true, but easier to use in a live rig and with absolutely zero latency, because it's entirely analogue.

Good point on live use, where the subtleties of the sound will be much less important and ease of use and reliability much more so

Moe_Zambeek

Sold now it seems. 

FreddieVanHalen

Moe_Zambeek said:

Sold now it seems. 

OK, I admit it :-)

Went to pick it up this afternoon. All the filters and speaker sims seem to work, but the attenuator volume control is very h
it and miss and makes a scratching noise like someone cleaning with a soft metal brush!

Still, for the price it's a bargain and I CBA to hassle the seller - will probably get in touch with Sequis and see if they're doing repairs and servicing.

The sims are actually pretty good. There's a lot more control than the Elemental.

I've also realised that some of the dryness of these analogue sims over the IRs is due to the room/space of the IRs. Adding just a tiny splash of ambience to the analogue sim really makes a massive difference in my perception of the liveness of it.

Did anyone here by the ebay one? That wasn't me, tempting but would have been far too greedy!

djspecialist

Nice one @FreddieVanHalen - I'm glad a fellow fretboarder managed to pick up this bargain!

ICBM

FreddieVanHalen said:

Went to pick it up this afternoon. All the filters and speaker sims seem to work, but the attenuator volume control is very h
it and miss and makes a scratching noise like someone cleaning with a soft metal brush!

Still, for the price it's a bargain and I CBA to hassle the seller - will probably get in touch with Sequis and see if they're doing repairs and servicing.

Most likely that the rheostat just needs cleaning - they’re always a bit more scratchy than a pot, but shouldn’t be that bad.

FreddieVanHalen

Thanks @ICBM it is a lot more scratchy and draggy than the one on my elemental but maybe it is rescuable with some tlc 

Is it a straightforward kind of repair or commonly available part if Sequis is totally out of the game?

ICBM

FreddieVanHalen said:

Is it a straightforward kind of repair or commonly available part if Sequis is totally out of the game?

It's unlikely it will need replacing because it's a pretty heavy-duty wirewound component, but it's maybe possible if it's been overloaded as well as allowed to get dusty. I can't remember if it's a standard part or not, it's a long time since I've been inside one!

Use Servisol, Electrolube or WD-40 contact cleaner first, and if that fails try ordinary WD-40 - it won't do any harm on a component like this.

FreddieVanHalen

Great thanks @ICBM  it turns out that Rick at Sequis is still nodding and servicing these units if replacement really is needed.

despite this little hassle I’m well happy with the motherload, it’s standing up well to the IRs and two notes gear.