‘Best’ simple impulse responses?

FarleyUK

One thing I always struggle with when it comes to modellers is the sheer choice of IRs. I had it when I had a Helix, then AX8 and now the Axe FX3. 

So, I’m interested in hearing which IRs you guys recommend?

Ideally, I’d like a handful of great IRs covering green backs (20 and 25), cream backs and v30s. 

I’ve got thousands of them already, mostly from OwnHammer and Celestion - so if you already use those, I’d be interested in which ones specifically. 

Thanks all

duotone

@JohnCordy ;
I was watching an old YouTube video & know you love your modellers & wondered what IR’s you are using? Still the ones from tone junkie?

TTBZ

Leon Todd has some good Marshall TV cab ones he has posted on TGP for free, I have them I can send if you can't find his Dropbox links.

I like the free Redwirez greenback IRs. There's one particular one called M160-CapEdge-3in (or maybe 2in, can't remember!) which sounds really good to me. 

NelsonP

Ownhammer Marshall Basketweave GNR IRs are great for Marshally stuff but have a bewildering amount of options. I just use the summary mixes.

I also have the Celestion Creamback pack, but it is drier sounding than the Ownhammers, although possibly more authentic.

Cirrus

I adore the Ownhammer Bogner 2x12 pack. Specifically, the 2x v30 options - 57, um70 and 121 mics.

I tend to load in a handful of each option - recently I've been starting with the um70 position 3, and i'll switch to 1 or 2 or 4 or 5 to get the frequency balance I'm looking for in conjunction with amp settings as I'm dialing it in.

When the um70 is too bold in the mids, I switch to the 57 which is "flatter" not in the sense of frequency response but in that it sounds more compressed, grittier, smaller and boxed in - whereas the um70 has a great midrange thing where it sounds like it's coming out the speakers a bit.

And the 121 is just there if I like the sound but want to dial in a second IR with more bottom end.

That's my starting point for pretty much everything, from clean AC30s to boosted SLOs. In real life I really like celestion alnicos, but IRs don't break up, thicken up and compress the way the real things do. I do like the Ownhammer vox 2x12 with silvers, but tend to use it when I'm placing a guitar part in a production that's already full and I want a sound that "tucks its feet in" and slots into its own midrange space.

The equivalent greenback options from the Bogner 2x12 pack are decent too, and I use them sometimes but mostly when I want to differentiate a double track etc.

Cirrus

Oh, besides the above - one cab which surprised me a lot, and which I've gone back to several times is the 1x12 vox cab with a Bad Cat ceramic speaker in - it's in the class - a pack along with the 2x12 silvers and blues... just sounds glorious with single coils and any amount of gain.

kennedydream1980

I've always used the Celestion IR's as they seem to be 'Live' and 'Mix' ready right out of the box. So I don't feel like I need to go in and start messing on with low and high cuts or EQ.

At the moment I'm using them with my Friedman PT20 and Suhr reactive load box IR. I'm using the Celestion Creamback 65 4x12 (Royer 121 & SM57 mix) with this setup exclusively and it sounds fantastic.

On a side note how are you finding the Axe III? I'm seriously considering moving to an FM3. Is the quality of the III a big jump from the AX8? How does it compare to the Kemper? How is the feel and the sound quality of the III?

JohnCordy

@duotone ; there's one free ownhammer IR that I use for a lot still, but these days I find stock cabs do interesting things too (on the helix they're IRs anyway).

The fractal cab thing is a bit of a different way of doing things but already includes a boatload of IRs from third parties, so I'd suggest buying more might just be adding more choices when you've already got 3k+ to choose from?

duotone

Cheers @JohnCordy ;
Am a Helix user myself, and your quite right about the stock cabs. It’s something I should definitely experiment with more. My template is I just go for a 4x12 as it seems to have a more open sound to my ears.

Unbelievable that the Fractal has that much choice.

PS. good to see that your enjoying your Sire superstrat!

JohnCordy

@duotone in actual sheer numbers of IRs it might actually be similar to the helix, it's they're organised as just a list, rather than like in the helix or the Neural DSP where there's a layer of UI (mic choice, distance etc)

gatheredinsong

Cirrus said:

Oh, besides the above - one cab which surprised me a lot, and which I've gone back to several times is the 1x12 vox cab with a Bad Cat ceramic speaker in - it's in the class - a pack along with the 2x12 silvers and blues... just sounds glorious with single coils and any amount of gain.

Ooh, I hope this comes pre-installed in the Paw I'm waiting for then. Surely Bad Cat would pick the IR of the speaker they put in their cabinets?!

TheBigDipper

Slightly adjacent, as it's not inside a modeller, but I like the IRs preinstalled into the BluGuitar BluBox. A selection of 12 different cabinets that are easy to select and use. Great for feeding the desk if you're playing live. Plenty of connectivity options. My favourite recorded guitar sounds (when its me recording me) are a real amp into a load box that feeds the BluBox before the signal hits the audio interface. 

But, TBH, I find it's all a bit of a rabbit hole. Most IRs can sound absolutely fine if you spend a bit of time with the EQ and mic placement (if there is software that lets you do that) and the massive choice available just results in more browsing and less playing. 

Bod

I'm only using IRs via VST plugin, but it's the browsing that gives me the biggest headache.  Too many IR loaders need you to reach for the mouse and click/drag when a single button press would suffice when auditioning.

FarleyUK

kennedydream1980 said:

I've always used the Celestion IR's as they seem to be 'Live' and 'Mix' ready right out of the box. So I don't feel like I need to go in and start messing on with low and high cuts or EQ.

At the moment I'm using them with my Friedman PT20 and Suhr reactive load box IR. I'm using the Celestion Creamback 65 4x12 (Royer 121 & SM57 mix) with this setup exclusively and it sounds fantastic.

On a side note how are you finding the Axe III? I'm seriously considering moving to an FM3. Is the quality of the III a big jump from the AX8? How does it compare to the Kemper? How is the feel and the sound quality of the III?

Yeah, I'm actually really liking it - it's obviously massively overwhelming at first, but I'm gradually making my way through it. The main thing I've taken away from it - when combined with the FC12 controller - is that basically, if you can think of it, you can probably do it.

For example, I've created a 'main' preset with 8 Marshall amps in it, and different IR combinations for each, all selectable via the FC12.

The sounds are superb at bedroom level, and I'm pretty sure they will be awesome through my two RedSound cabs as well. Feel wise, it seems to be on a par with the Kemper, and the responsiveness seems to be there as well - which is excellent.

Thanks all for the input!

Seziertisch

Just pick some from what you have already. Maybe a few SM57 on their own ones, a few blends of cab mics and some with cab and room mics. I have both Celestion and OH IRs anf prefer the Celestion as they are a bit less processed than the OH, but the OH are still good.

All of the IR packs come with a huge range of options, nearly too many for most situations. Limit yourself to less than 100, no more than 10 from each cab/speaker combination, and move on. If you are struggling to get a sound you link from those then the problem likely lies elsewhere in your signal chain.

Jonathanthomas83

We've spoken about my hatred for wading through IR treacle but recently I had a moment of contempt for some of the tones of the stock IRs included in the Axe FX III and my complimentary set from Celestion and Ownhammer, the former I've always stood firm on being solid and recently grown to appreciate the latter despite often finding them too dark and woofy.

So after watching a few Leon Todd videos I decided to go against my stance of not buying more and started to peruse the York Audio store. They were inexpensive so took a plunge on the Hiwatt with Fanes and thoroughly enjoyed them. I did so because not many IR makers have the Hiwatt/Fane combo, let alone any that are worthwhile or worth my money. 

Consequently I bought the new Mesa and Marshall T75 sets and they're superb for my needs. I've not needed to make cuts and they seem to sound full and rich. The only issue I can see is that there's no Marshall cab with V30's on his store, but I'll be eager to try his Greenback Marshall cab and the Friedman loaded with V30's. If the packs I've bought are anything to go by, I think I'll be impressed.

Oh, and I was impressed by his approach to it all and the simplicity of the packs and IRs. He's got a good manual for each of them and they're intuitive to use. He recommends a good method of trialling them in the Axe FX III too.

What are you using now @FarleyUK?

Jota

Celestions for me.
High gain, 57+491 combos.
Closed 4*12 for Marshall style amps.
For other amps, mostly open back 2*12, IRC. 

TTBZ

Has anyone tried the GGD Zilla cab plugin? All recorded by Nolly so I'd expect them to sound great and they definitely do on the videos I've seen so far. I like that they've intentionally kept it quite simple with either on or off axis with pre-determined positions based on what Nolly thought sounded best, and it looks easy to mix + match mics and blend in some room, then export it as a wav IR to use wherever.

razorblade_beat

Check out David Hislops blue, green and silver alnico IR’s I found them excellent and in a class of their own compared to others I’d tried! Google him for website. 

guitarmangler

TTBZ said:

Has anyone tried the GGD Zilla cab plugin? All recorded by Nolly so I'd expect them to sound great and they definitely do on the videos I've seen so far. I like that they've intentionally kept it quite simple with either on or off axis with pre-determined positions based on what Nolly thought sounded best, and it looks easy to mix + match mics and blend in some room, then export it as a wav IR to use wherever.

I’ve got it. It’s cool that it’s a vst and a stand alone player, as you can tweak as you listen. No phase problems when blending.  I then export them to my helix. I’m not much of a tweaker, but for £30 I thought it was a good deal. If I’m honest, I use the free ML Soundlabs one as much as the ones from the zilla plug in. But that’s probably as I’m just lazy!

Roland

NelsonP said:

Ownhammer Marshall Basketweave GNR IRs are great for Marshally stuff but have a bewildering amount of options. I just use the summary mixes.

That about sums it up. To my ears, which admittedly are pretty crap nowadays, Redwires’ IRs lack detail and Fractal’s IRs lack treble. Of all the suppliers I prefer Ownhammer because the sound seems more detailed. 

Playing in isolation I’d use a 2x12 cabinet, but in our band mix 4x12 works better. The Ownhammer GNR pack is, IMHO, the best set of 4x12 IRs around. The range is daunting. For simplicity I stick to phase aligned mixes. 

FarleyUK said:

I’ve got thousands of them already, mostly from OwnHammer and Celestion - so if you already use those, I’d be interested in which ones specifically. 

Currently I’m using a mix of:

      OH 412 MRBW MED BOLD-M+
      OH 412 MRBW MED SP2-05
The BOLD-M+ is there because I wanted a mid heavy IR with our previous band lineup. I’m currently re-working my amp sound for the new lineup and repertoire, and might pull the mids back a bit.