Available Now at Northeast Music Center!

MESA/Boogie CabClone IR+ Reactive Load, IR Cabinet Simulator & Attenuator – 8 Ohm

Your real tube amplifier at its sweet spot—without being forced to run your speaker cabinet at full volume. The MESA/Boogie CabClone IR+ 8 Ohm combines a reactive load, 16 professionally captured MESA cabinet IRs, direct recording, headphone monitoring, and a built-in multi-stage power attenuator in one serious studio and stage tool.

The MESA/Boogie CabClone IR+ takes everything that makes the standard CabClone IR useful and adds one feature many tube-amp players have been waiting for:

Power attenuation.

Instead of choosing between great power-tube response and manageable volume, the IR+ allows you to drive a compatible tube amplifier where it sounds and feels best, then reduce the level reaching your physical speaker cabinet.

Four attenuation settings—-4dB, -8dB, -12dB and -16dB—provide progressively greater reduction, while the -16dB position includes variable level control that can take the output all the way down toward silent operation.

Add the internal reactive load, 16 MESA cabinet IR presets, third-party IR capability, XLR DI, MIDI, USB, headphone output and Presence control, and the CabClone IR+ becomes an exceptionally complete interface between a traditional tube amplifier and a modern guitar rig.

Available from Northeast Music Center, this 8-ohm CabClone IR+ is ideal for players who refuse to give up the response of their favorite tube amplifier but need greater control over volume, recording and live connectivity.

KEY FEATURES & SPECIFICATIONS:

• 8-ohm reactive load, attenuator and IR cabinet simulator
• Designed for compatible tube amplifiers up to 150 watts
• Built-in power attenuator
• 0dB / Bypass, -4dB, -8dB, -12dB and -16dB settings
• Variable Level control at -16dB for further volume reduction
• Internal reactive load for cabinet-free operation
• SPKR / LOAD selector
• No Load Warning LED
• 16 immediately accessible MESA cabinet IR presets
• 8 MESA cabinet types, each captured two ways
• BANK A – LIVE: Dynamic + Ribbon microphones
• BANK B – STUDIO: Condenser + Ribbon microphones
• Presence control for IR fine-tuning
• Third-party IR compatibility
• Additional internal Cabinet Library storage
• USB connectivity for IR management
• MIDI IN & THRU
• Balanced XLR IR Direct Output
• Independent +4dB Dry Line Output
• Headphone output
• Speaker cabinet output
• Variable Input Level
• Variable Output Level
• 3-bar input signal meter
• Phase Normal / Reverse switch
• Ground Lift
• 18VDC power supply included
• 4.5" H × 7.5" W × 6.625" D
• Weight: 4 lbs. 1 oz.
• Made in Petaluma, California

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CABCLONE IR AND CABCLONE IR+

That little "+" is important.

The standard CabClone IR already gives you an internal reactive load, MESA cabinet impulse responses, direct output, headphone capability and third-party IR support.

The CabClone IR+ adds power attenuation.

That means you can connect your tube amplifier to the IR+, continue using a physical speaker cabinet, and reduce the amount of power reaching that cabinet.

This is particularly valuable with amplifiers that develop some of their most satisfying response when the power section is working.

Instead of turning the amplifier down until it loses the feel you wanted in the first place, you can drive the amp harder and use the CabClone IR+ to manage the resulting speaker volume.

FIVE ATTENUATION POSITIONS

The IR+ provides:

0dB / Bypass

-4dB

-8dB

-12dB

-16dB

At the -16dB position, MESA adds a variable control allowing additional reduction toward silent operation.

That's much more useful than a simple loud/quiet switch.

A small amount of attenuation may be enough to tame an amplifier onstage.

Greater attenuation may allow you to push the amplifier harder in a rehearsal room.

At home or in the studio, much more substantial reduction may be appropriate.

The important point is that you decide how hard the amplifier works and how much of that output reaches the speaker.

YOUR REAL TUBE AMPLIFIER

The CabClone IR+ is not an amplifier modeler.

Your amplifier remains the amplifier.

Its preamp.

Its power tubes.

Its output transformer.

Its gain structure.

Its controls.

Its dynamics.

That's an important distinction for players who have invested in amplifiers because they genuinely love the way those amplifiers respond.

The CabClone IR+ simply gives you considerably more control over what happens after the amplifier creates the sound.

INTERNAL REACTIVE LOAD

Don't want to use a speaker cabinet at all?

The CabClone IR+ includes a true internal reactive load.

Set the unit appropriately and your compatible amplifier can see the load it requires without a physical speaker cabinet connected, allowing you to send the IR-processed signal directly to your recording interface, mixer or headphones.

That makes silent recording possible while still using the actual amplifier.

No additional load box is required.

NO-LOAD WARNING LED

MESA also added an important safety feature to the IR+.

If the SPKR/LOAD selector is set to SPKR, but no speaker cable is connected to the speaker output while signal is present, a No Load Warning LED alerts you to the condition.

That's a thoughtful addition considering how important proper loading is when operating a tube amplifier.

16 FACTORY MESA IR PRESETS

The CabClone IR+ comes loaded with eight MESA cabinet types captured two different ways, giving you 16 instantly accessible factory presets.

1. 4x12 Rectifier Standard – Closed Back

2. 4x12 Rectifier Traditional – Closed Back

3. 2x12 Rectifier Horizontal – Closed Back

4. 1x12 Rectifier – Closed Back

5. 1x12 Thiele – Closed Back / Front Ported

6. 2x12 Lone Star – Open Back

7. 1x12 Lone Star 23 – Open Back

8. 1x12 California Tweed 23 – Open Back

Those eight cabinets are then presented in two banks.

LIVE BANK & STUDIO BANK

BANK A – LIVE

The cabinets were captured using Dynamic + Ribbon microphones.

BANK B – STUDIO

The same cabinets were captured using Condenser + Ribbon microphones.

This is a smart way to organize the presets because you're not simply choosing between different cabinets.

You're also choosing between two different professionally captured microphone approaches to the same cabinet.

Find the cabinet you like.

Flip between Live and Studio.

Choose the version that works best in your mix.

PRESENCE CONTROL

The IR+ also adds a dedicated Presence control for quickly fine-tuning the selected cabinet IR.

That's particularly useful when moving between guitars, amplifiers and venues.

Instead of loading another IR simply because you need a little more or less upper-frequency presence, you have immediate physical control available from the unit itself.

LOAD YOUR OWN IRs

You're not locked into MESA's factory collection.

The CabClone IR+ is an open IR system capable of accepting compatible third-party impulse responses.

Connect the unit to a computer via USB and you can manage the IR library, replace the immediately accessible preset locations, and maintain additional favorites in the internal Cabinet Library.

So the factory MESA captures are the starting point—not the limit.

DIRECT TO YOUR RECORDING INTERFACE

For recording, the CabClone IR+ can dramatically simplify the signal chain.

Instead of:

Amplifier → Speaker Cabinet → Microphone → Preamp → Interface

you can use:

Amplifier → CabClone IR+ → Interface

You still get your actual amplifier.

The IR+ provides the reactive load and cabinet/microphone simulation.

That means no microphone placement problems.

No room acoustics affecting the guitar track.

No excessive cabinet volume.

And perhaps most importantly, repeatability.

Once you've found the amplifier settings and IR combination you want, you can return to that sound session after session.

DIRECT TO FRONT OF HOUSE

The same concept is extremely useful live.

Use your physical cabinet onstage while simultaneously sending the IR-processed balanced XLR signal directly to front of house.

Your cabinet gives you the physical stage response you want.

The sound engineer receives a consistent cabinet-simulated signal.

And the attenuator allows you to manage how loud the physical cabinet needs to be.

That's a very powerful combination.

DRY OUTPUT FOR RE-AMPING & ADVANCED RIGS

MESA also provides an independent +4 Line Level Dry Output.

This carries the amplifier signal without the cabinet IR applied.

That opens the door to several advanced applications, including re-amping workflows and more elaborate wet/dry or multi-cabinet systems.

For professional studios and sophisticated live rigs, that's an extremely useful connection to have available.

MIDI CONTROL

The CabClone IR+ includes MIDI IN and MIDI THRU.

That means cabinet IR changes can become part of a larger MIDI-controlled guitar rig.

Imagine changing from:

Clean amplifier channel + open-back cabinet IR

to:

High-gain channel + Rectifier 4x12 IR

as part of the same MIDI-controlled rig change.

That's where the CabClone IR+ moves beyond being simply an attenuator or recording accessory and becomes part of the complete guitar system.

SILENT HEADPHONE PRACTICE

The headphone output provides another extremely useful application.

With the internal reactive load properly engaged, you can use your actual tube amplifier without operating a physical speaker cabinet.

That means late-night practice doesn't necessarily require abandoning the amplifier you normally play.

Your amp provides the tone and response.

The CabClone IR+ provides the load, cabinet simulation and headphone monitoring.

IMPORTANT — THIS IS THE 8-OHM VERSION

This particular model is:

8 OHMS

That specification matters.

The CabClone IR+ is impedance-specific, and proper matching between your amplifier's speaker output and the CabClone IR+ is critical.

At Northeast Music Center, we strongly recommend confirming the correct amplifier output impedance before connecting any tube amplifier to a reactive load or attenuator.

When dealing with an amplifier's speaker output, impedance is not something to guess.

UP TO 150 WATTS

MESA rates the CabClone IR+ for compatible amplifiers up to 150 watts.

That makes it suitable for an enormous range of professional tube amplifiers—from smaller heads and combos through powerful 100-watt platforms.

Again, the correct impedance version must be used.

MADE IN PETALUMA, CALIFORNIA

The CabClone IR+ is made in Petaluma, California.

That's worth emphasizing because this isn't simply a generic IR loader carrying the MESA name.

It's a MESA-designed solution built specifically around the needs of players who use serious tube amplifiers.

And that's exactly the kind of product we like offering at Northeast Music Center.

ONE BOX — FOUR IMPORTANT JOBS

The easiest way to understand the CabClone IR+ is to think of the four major jobs it can perform:

Reactive Load

Run your compatible tube amplifier without requiring a physical speaker cabinet.

Power Attenuator

Drive your amplifier harder while controlling the level reaching your speaker.

IR Cabinet Simulator

Choose from 16 factory MESA captures or load compatible third-party IRs.

Professional DI

Send a consistent cabinet-simulated signal directly to your recording interface or front-of-house system.

That's what separates the CabClone IR+ from a conventional attenuator.

At Northeast Music Center, we'd recommend it to the guitarist who already owns the amplifier they love and doesn't want technology to replace it.

They simply want that amplifier to become easier to record, easier to control, easier to take direct, and easier to use at realistic volumes.

Your amplifier. Your power tubes. Your tone.

Now you control how loud the speaker has to be.