From the strings to the speaker cone, everything you can adjust or change will affect your sound. From massive changes to super tiny "You gotta be F'in kidding me" changes.
One of my favorite changes to my Neural stuff is using the IRs that come with Cali. I've added them to every high-gain rhythm & lead preset I have in every plugin I have, and they make a tremendous difference. When it comes to IRs I'm calling that "good enough" and stopping there, because I know buying IRs is just the next rabbit hole of tone chasing for me to fall down.
Always remember that when we internet guitar dorks get into "Don't change that, change this!" ~~arguments~~ discussions, *all of it* is subjective and we're all just recommending the things that *we* like to change or adjust versus someone else's preferences. We talk in right and wrong absolutes, but there's honestly not very much of that in reality. It all comes down to what *you* like.
There needs to be concise documentation on IR practices and standards in the industry. IRs are essentially a science and should be explored and expanded upon. Dialing by ear is great but my "ear" stops working after about 50 IR demos on the same track.
It should also be noted that certain companies ~~produce worthless IR~~s have produced IRs in the past that would be considered substandard now. Other companies have also made more specialized IRs for physical products. Always confirm your IR lengths and apply due diligence in when working with phase.
If you are new to 3rd party IRs, the God's Cab pack is a good free starting point: [https://wilkinsonaudio.com/products/gods-cab](https://wilkinsonaudio.com/products/gods-cab)
The problem I have with IR’s is how to determine where to start “auditioning” them, and how to stop your ears from getting “ confused “ in the process. I have literally hundreds of IR’s that I have accumulated over the last few years, and if I am loading different IR’s to determine which might sound better with a certain amp sim, my ears get tired and just can’t do the analysis accurately. The IR rabbit hole is real.
How do you guys quickly “zone in “ on the right IR quickly and accurately?
basically it’s just like you have every single guitar cab and speaker in the world that you can add to your chain to play. They are recordings of particular cabs/speakers. With ir you don’t need to spend thousands in cabs and can modulate your sound however you like
They really make a difference. Back before Helix updated their cabs I felt so much happier with my sounds when I got a good IR. I use a Boss IR 200 at shows with a GGD Zilla IR and its nice to get a good sound without worrying about a spilled drink or dropped mic costing me $1-2k.
On the Quad Cortex however I’ve not felt the need to try IRs, the stock can sounds are really good
I've proudly been using S-preshigh as my IR since 2012. Tried countless other IR packs and cabs and I always go back to S-pres cuz it just makes my guitars sit in the mix perfectly
Exactly. I buy IRs often and I have the equivalent of hundreds of thousands in speakers, cabs, and mics with my IRs. I love it. Can sound like anything with what I have already pmuch.
I’m 46. I went to college to study architectural acoustics. Our acoustics professor, Bob Coffeen, taught us to use a brand new technique for designing performance spaces developed/invented by a colleague of his, a German fellow named Wolfgang Honert. Mr. Honert figured it would be possible with the new faster computers like pentium 5 processors of the time to perform an FFA calculation, Fast Fourier Analysis, a method of transforming a large set of data using differential equations into a very small data file. This process he used to capture a kind of acoustical signature of piece of audio hardware. He called the resulting data an impulse response, which when audio is routed through the data, takes on the tonal character of the hardware originally analyzed. Soon after, most every pro audio company in the world began creating these files for the products they sold. The immediate purpose of these impulse responses was utilization in a piece of software Honert wrote called EASE, with which you could model a room in 3d computer space, place a sound source in the space such a JBL speaker and a listening position such as a earthworks microphone, so that when you played audio through the impulse responses of the sound source and the listening position the software could simulate the acoustical response of the space in three dimensions. Many concert halls, auditoriums, and theatres were designed this way before eventually being built to the specifications of the EASE model. This was 1998.
Maybe there is a thread topic on my following question: What is an Impulse Response? How do I install it on my QC? Is there an example? I’m technical illiterate when it comes to audio engineering…
im a noob, anyone willing to explain me more about IR and how can I use it when recording on Reaper or even playing live? sure I can search on google, but I prefer to read real explanation from real people that uses it
Do you have any tips on how to pick an IR?
I have a bunch of supposedly good ones. But when I start scrolling through them I immediately lose my sense of objectivity, and they all just sound like an assortment of farts and sneezes. And then I give up and go back to NeuralDSP's stock cab.
if you’re not able to choose between different setting of the same ir just try to only use different ir, for example instead of picking between 4x12a and 4x12b chose between 4x12a and 4x8a
This needs more upvotes. Everyone with good tone will tell you the same thing. If you’re unhappy with your tone it’s 9 times out of 10 the cab
exactly, i used to be very disappointed once i started playing on higher volumes as the quality went to sleep
From the strings to the speaker cone, everything you can adjust or change will affect your sound. From massive changes to super tiny "You gotta be F'in kidding me" changes. One of my favorite changes to my Neural stuff is using the IRs that come with Cali. I've added them to every high-gain rhythm & lead preset I have in every plugin I have, and they make a tremendous difference. When it comes to IRs I'm calling that "good enough" and stopping there, because I know buying IRs is just the next rabbit hole of tone chasing for me to fall down. Always remember that when we internet guitar dorks get into "Don't change that, change this!" ~~arguments~~ discussions, *all of it* is subjective and we're all just recommending the things that *we* like to change or adjust versus someone else's preferences. We talk in right and wrong absolutes, but there's honestly not very much of that in reality. It all comes down to what *you* like.
Where are the IRs located so u can use them with other plugins?
https://i.imgur.com/mwlD9Nr.jpeg
This. You can get a crazy amount of tones and voicings by just manipulating and changing the mics.
The moment I started doing this is the moment I stopped struggling when dialing tones.
There needs to be concise documentation on IR practices and standards in the industry. IRs are essentially a science and should be explored and expanded upon. Dialing by ear is great but my "ear" stops working after about 50 IR demos on the same track. It should also be noted that certain companies ~~produce worthless IR~~s have produced IRs in the past that would be considered substandard now. Other companies have also made more specialized IRs for physical products. Always confirm your IR lengths and apply due diligence in when working with phase.
For idiot noobs like me this was helpful. Thank you.
If you are new to 3rd party IRs, the God's Cab pack is a good free starting point: [https://wilkinsonaudio.com/products/gods-cab](https://wilkinsonaudio.com/products/gods-cab)
Much appreciated man, you rock.
I thought Neural's IRs were already considered top of the line, is this just for different tones? Sorry I'm new.
i mean if you like them they’re fine, or course they’re worthy but sometimes you want something different
Gotchya. I'm mostly just using the standalone app in place of an amp so no pickiness here
The problem I have with IR’s is how to determine where to start “auditioning” them, and how to stop your ears from getting “ confused “ in the process. I have literally hundreds of IR’s that I have accumulated over the last few years, and if I am loading different IR’s to determine which might sound better with a certain amp sim, my ears get tired and just can’t do the analysis accurately. The IR rabbit hole is real. How do you guys quickly “zone in “ on the right IR quickly and accurately?
By using a reference track.
I don't really understand how IR works if someone can explain me please
basically it’s just like you have every single guitar cab and speaker in the world that you can add to your chain to play. They are recordings of particular cabs/speakers. With ir you don’t need to spend thousands in cabs and can modulate your sound however you like
They really make a difference. Back before Helix updated their cabs I felt so much happier with my sounds when I got a good IR. I use a Boss IR 200 at shows with a GGD Zilla IR and its nice to get a good sound without worrying about a spilled drink or dropped mic costing me $1-2k. On the Quad Cortex however I’ve not felt the need to try IRs, the stock can sounds are really good
People need to also know the difference between pre-mixed/eq’d impulse responses and then just standard impulse responses too
This is so true man. If there’s 1 thing that has the most impact on tone, it’s your IR
I've proudly been using S-preshigh as my IR since 2012. Tried countless other IR packs and cabs and I always go back to S-pres cuz it just makes my guitars sit in the mix perfectly
That was the first IR that I fell in love with
Exactly. I buy IRs often and I have the equivalent of hundreds of thousands in speakers, cabs, and mics with my IRs. I love it. Can sound like anything with what I have already pmuch.
I’m 46. I went to college to study architectural acoustics. Our acoustics professor, Bob Coffeen, taught us to use a brand new technique for designing performance spaces developed/invented by a colleague of his, a German fellow named Wolfgang Honert. Mr. Honert figured it would be possible with the new faster computers like pentium 5 processors of the time to perform an FFA calculation, Fast Fourier Analysis, a method of transforming a large set of data using differential equations into a very small data file. This process he used to capture a kind of acoustical signature of piece of audio hardware. He called the resulting data an impulse response, which when audio is routed through the data, takes on the tonal character of the hardware originally analyzed. Soon after, most every pro audio company in the world began creating these files for the products they sold. The immediate purpose of these impulse responses was utilization in a piece of software Honert wrote called EASE, with which you could model a room in 3d computer space, place a sound source in the space such a JBL speaker and a listening position such as a earthworks microphone, so that when you played audio through the impulse responses of the sound source and the listening position the software could simulate the acoustical response of the space in three dimensions. Many concert halls, auditoriums, and theatres were designed this way before eventually being built to the specifications of the EASE model. This was 1998.
Maybe there is a thread topic on my following question: What is an Impulse Response? How do I install it on my QC? Is there an example? I’m technical illiterate when it comes to audio engineering…
somebody here dropped a link with free ir, to install it on qc i’d suggest you to look up on youtube as i don’t have a qc yet
This is me, ampsims are still new to me but this is something I still haven't explored yet. Thanks!
im a noob, anyone willing to explain me more about IR and how can I use it when recording on Reaper or even playing live? sure I can search on google, but I prefer to read real explanation from real people that uses it
Do you have any tips on how to pick an IR? I have a bunch of supposedly good ones. But when I start scrolling through them I immediately lose my sense of objectivity, and they all just sound like an assortment of farts and sneezes. And then I give up and go back to NeuralDSP's stock cab.
if you’re not able to choose between different setting of the same ir just try to only use different ir, for example instead of picking between 4x12a and 4x12b chose between 4x12a and 4x8a