Help to get the "right" IR

soundtank69

soundtank69

Member
Hi there,

i know, this question maybe is a bit dumb or often asked....
but i want to break out from my circle of "constant change my speaker IRs".
Can you help me out please?

I brought my wonderful AxeFXII mk2 about two years ago and i am still searching for "the best" IR. I watched youtube videos, read tutorials, the documentation and many threads here in this cool place.
But i am still not real satisfied. Everytime, i thought: "oh man,, this sounds killer.. your seeking is at an end..." weeks later i choosed another one, because i am thiniking "man, this sonds not so good..."

I put some audios on my space, so you can hear, what sound i just choose.

I made some Patches with a Friedman HBE 2010 for distorted Rythm, an Engl Savage and a JVM Marshall. Also i choosed a SLO100 for the Solo Sound and the Petrucci Amp.

The Actuial IRs i am using for the Rythm Tracks are the 4x12 Citrus 71 VR1 a2VH with a Friedman_PT20_SM57 (at-9.5 / -12.5 mixed).
cab.PNG

Examples
(i just played some warm up stuff) i only normalized the track. All kind of sound/effects coming from my beloved Fractal :)
The Guitar is a Charvel Angel Vivaldi with DiMarzio ToneZone.

You can hear the Friedmann, The Engl and the JVM for Rythm.
After that the SLO and the Petrucci Amp are following.

I love the warm Mids a lot...
But -
Help is needed to add some more "Air" "crispness" into the Presets.
I cant do this with Amp Settings, so i have to choose some other IR´s maybe.. But i don´t know which one..
Most of them are too harsh in my opinion....

Maybe anyone can help me out. (maybe i am wrong and everything is ok??)

Thanks a lot and greetings from Germany.
 
This is a case of overthinking IMO, all your examples sounds absolutely killer. Different amps needs different IR's often, as an example I'm not a V30 guy, but on a thick sounding Bogner a V30 cab fights of the mud.
I have a go-to OH greenback cab I use like 80% of the time though.
 
Your examples sound fine on my monitors. You can add some room and air in the cab block. Add until you can hear it then pull it back a little.
FWIW, I bought the (r)Evolution Debut Bundle from Ownhammer and really love these IR's.
 
I struggled until I found ML IRs. There are quite few in the Factory banks nowadays. 4x12 IRs can sound a bit "claustrophobic" to me, so I sometimes look for Cab blocks that have been recorded with open back cabinets. Like @Budda says, spend time finding some "home ground", and stick with it so you can concentrate on everything else. There's very little actual need to look outside what comes as standard nowadays, but it can be fun to go looking.

I listened to your examples. They all sound pretty good!

Liam
 
IR’s, you basically want to look at what recorded tones you like and start there. If you want like a, base line.

Otherwise you really have to just try a whole lot and figure out what you like.

You have to pay attention to mic choices as well as speaker / cab choices. For example I mostly play metal and do not like ribbon mic mixes on my rhythm sound. Too much bass/smoothness, takes out the aggression you need. Dynamics and condensers seem to work better.

Sometimes you just will not like an IR due to a million potential factors. Some IR’s from some companies I won’t name sound so bad I couldn’t find a single use for them.

One IR with just a SM57 may sound harsh in the treble. While another one that’s also just a 57 due to other factors may be just “right”. Mic position / speaker character / cabinet character, etc.

There is no single best impulse. Every amp sounds different. Every guitar sounds different. Your ears change over time. Everything is contextual.

I may like V30’s with one amp and think they sound like crapola with another amp. Speakers are extremely important in your guitar tone.
 
The quickest way to cut down on tweaking time or questioning your choices is to simply ask yourself “Can I achieve my goal with what I have right now?”

If you don’t have a specific goal in mind of what you’re looking to obtain with tones you dial in, you can chase your tail endlessly because there’s really nothing there to tell you when enough is enough. If you’re just looking for a tone that’s fun to jam around with, all the tones I heard in the clips are killer, I’d have no problem playing with any of those. If you’re dialing in tones to fit in with your band or a song/mix, it gives you a much clearer idea of what you need to aim for to accomplish that.
 
Leon Todd’s trick with the looper (which I used to do as well) is a good way to pick one.

I always aim for a fairly neutral one or one that has the right kick im looking for and skip any muddy ones.
 
You can dial in your sound perfectly, then come back the next day, and it sounds wrong. All sorts of contextual factors affect how we hear it. (Or according to one forum member, what he has for dinner affects how his presets sound!)

I decided to choose one IR and stick with it. LT TV Mix 7 for me. Then I adjust other things around that. Too many options were freaking me out otherwise!
 
IMO, all those samples sounds great, especially for playing without music, because it sounds really fat and thick.
to fit the mix, this would probably needs to be adjusted a bit but man, sounds great !
 
Last edited:
tysonlt said:
You can dial in your sound perfectly, then come back the next day, and it sounds wrong. All sorts of contextual factors affect how we hear it. (Or according to one forum member, what he has for dinner affects how his presets sound!)

I decided to choose one IR and stick with it. LT TV Mix 7 for me. Then I adjust other things around that. Too many options were freaking me out otherwise!
Click to expand...

I’m doing the same thing. There’s a few others I use but the LT TV Mix 7 works for pretty much everything. Thanks Leon!
 
I just listened and I understand what you mean. They are fat and thick and warm, but lack bite to cut through a mix.

I would try LT TV Mix 2 or 7, and maybe play with the bright cap.

Can you upload the preset? And maybe even a dry track of your guitar?
 
I would demo plugins with movable mic cab simulators; I find the ability to choose my own sweet spot that suits my guitar is everything. You can then capture an IR from there. Another thing I do is to use cab smoothing liberally, usually dialed around 8 - 9.
 
Hi folks,friends.
Many thanks to you for your ideas and inputs!!
My Nearfield Monitors are Neumann KH120´s, . I heard the example today in my Car and my EarPods..
Some of you wrote it sounds "killer" and now i know what you mean. Thank you for that :)
I am still missing some crisp... some Air, but i will try all of your good advices! Thank you very much!! I will work on this again!
 
tysonlt said:
I just listened and I understand what you mean. They are fat and thick and warm, but lack bite to cut through a mix.

I would try LT TV Mix 2 or 7, and maybe play with the bright cap.

Can you upload the preset? And maybe even a dry track of your guitar?
Click to expand...
Yes, please give me some time, cause i have to record it again. The Presets will be here too.
 
tysonlt said:
You can dial in your sound perfectly, then come back the next day, and it sounds wrong. All sorts of contextual factors affect how we hear it. (Or according to one forum member, what he has for dinner affects how his presets sound!)

I decided to choose one IR and stick with it. LT TV Mix 7 for me. Then I adjust other things around that. Too many options were freaking me out otherwise!
Click to expand...
And here i find myself again :) You are so right! LT TV Mix 7 is a try in the near future. Thanx a lot.
 
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