TC Electronic throws its hat in the ring for Mini Cab Sims - with its new Impulse IR Loader

I believe Mooer was the first entry within the category of Mini Cab Sim pedals - with both its simple TresCab Mini, and more advanced Radar Speaker Cab Simulator. We also have the NU>X Mini Studio - which is very similar to the TresCab, and we have my own favourite candidate - the very unique and all-analogue DSM Noisemaker OmniCabSim Mini - which was the forerunner to its Simplifier collaborations with Humboldt Electronics.

TC Electronic’s Impulse IR Loader is closest to Mooer’s Radar - with a detailed interactive menu-based screen. For TCE the topology here and design is very similar to its recent Mini Ditto+.

You have just 3 controls - a main rotary encoder, with left and right arrow paging buttons to scroll through different options screens.

The Impulse boasts 99 IR Slots - of which 25 are pre-loaded, and include 12 Celestion Speaker Models as below. Each Impulse Response can be up to 200ms in length - where you also get A | B foot switchable options per IR :

12 Celestion Speaker Cab Sims

• G12M 112 Celestion
• Alnico Blue 212 Celestion
• V30 412 Celestion
• G12M 412 Celestion
• G12-65 412 Celestion
• G12M Heritage 4x12 Celestion
• G12M Greenback 4x12 Celestion
• G10M Greenback 4x10 Celestion
• G10 Vintage 2x10 Celesiton
• 612T-75 2x12 Celestion
• Gold 1x12 Celestion
• BN15-300Z 1x15 Celestion

By clicking on both the arrows simultaneously you call up the Global Compensation EQ which allows you to further fine-tune each IR. A USB socket on the side of the pedal allows you to upload your own IR’s.

TCE doesn’t provide the full set of feature stats - which for the Mooer Radar are 30 different speaker cab models, 11 mic models 4 power amp models, customisable EQ stage, and 36 User Presets. So in comparison the TCE variety seems to offer a touch more onboard - possibly with better fidelity. All these mini pedals are obviously Mono only - while larger stereo alternatives often allow you to have a separate IR on each Stereo channel.

At least superficially, the TCE Impulse seems to be a somewhat more evolved device versus the Mooer Radar - and possibly the leading Mini Cab Sim now in the market. While I have a real soft spots for the all-analogue DSM Noiseworks OmniCabSim Mini.

For me these Mini Cab Sims are perfect for all kinds of scenarios - while the Boss IR-200, Strymon Iridium and Walrus Audio ACS1 offer quite a bit more. You have numerous other offerings too from various brands - including AMT, Darkglass Audio, DigiTech, GFI System, Hotone, Hughes & Kettner, Neunaber, Tech 21 NYC, Two Notes et al, and of course those superb all-analogue Simplifier models from DSM & Humboldt.

If you’re looking for a quick and dirty fly-rig - then the Mooer Radar and TCE Impulse are perfect for plugging into a PA system - and Cradle of Filth for instance have long used Mooer’s Micro Preamps in conjunction with its Radar.

I really see the Impulse as TCE doubling down on Mooer’s Radar with a newer and subtly improved device. I would be very interested to know who exactly these Mini Cab Sims best appeal to?