Best IR for live & recording

I get what you're saying for sure. I doubt any of the "big" IR producers these days create "unusable" IR's but I have also bought IR packs back in the day that I didn't use more than a couple of times. I don't know if it's a generational difference but I never though the ~$30 was a big risky investment when compared to what I was doing before the Axe-Fx. I couldn't buy my favorite boost pedal for the price of 4-5 Cab Packs.

I'm sure I could come up with a "greatest hit" Cab Pack at some point but it's most likely not in the near future. I have much more to explore before I can state something being "the best IR out there". :)

I myself am still trying to get my Sound & Tone. And I use for Live mainly the 4x12 1960 or stereo 1x12 1912 marshalls and never used the AXE FX with FOH gigging other then some testing in the rehearsel room. I have tried to find the IR's for these but last search I couldn't find these (hence my wishlist). But maybe it would be easier (as I own these) to have them IR-ed soon. Just rent some Mic's and see how far I come.

So far I was able to do most of my recordings with tweaking my sound, EQ & the STOCK cabs for recording as I'm NOT commercially exploring NOR selling my stuff in any way. It's all in GOOD FUN. I myself am just very intrigued and interested in the discussions and opinions of the forum users. So actually I have all the time in the world before the Top 10 comes out hahaha. In due time
I will certainly buy some packs!

For now I'm just raising the as it looks now "stupid" questions for others and just trying to help investigating or bring up the subjects what is obvious or easy subjects for long time IR users.
 
I've just been using the OwnHammer IRs from a while ago. In my opinion, the "SS Live" ones sounds the best for both live and recording...although I haven't had the opportunity to be in a serious studio with the Axe FX. Two of my favorites for a good rock / metal sound is if you biamp a high gain amp with a mid gain one and use the ALN BLU and the (I think) MAR - R - 55 model
 
I would love to know what the most popular cab IRs at this time (because it's going to change). I'd also like to know how many cabs (and which ones) are in solid rotation by users who make their own presets. But even if forum members chimed in with their favorite(s) ATM, it would be informative, and it might help as feedback for the creators of cab IRs to make better IRs.

I think the value of lots and lots of cab IRs on hand is that it is the equivalent of having lots and lots of cabs, and lots of rooms to record them in, and lots of mics / positions to choose from.
In the real world you choose a cab (or a few) by experience or convention, and a room, and mic and placements. Then you have to fish around, and around again, for a sweet spot where it sounds good or a sweet spot you're after.
With the cab packs you can do virtually the same thing with the AFXII, assuming that each IR capture is going to have a slightly unique position to any other, even though there are common mic positions, amiright? I don't know - maybe the positions are all much the same, even across cab packs - anyone know the answer? :rolleyes:
 
With all the options out there these days I doubt there will be one IR that everyone's using but there are some "famous IR's" that are being used by many people. Out of my options many Petrucci fans use the USA Trad 4x12 SM57-MD421 01 even though the pack was released almost 2 years ago now. It's almost identical to the Petrucci tone he had on his solo album which to me is his best tone ever. Then obviously djent fans/artists use the USA Bulb 4x12 Misha Mix 08 since it's the IR that was used for Haunted Shores and Periphery III albums. People just go crazy over Mesa IR's and I don't blame them. Mesa friggin' owns!
 
With all the options out there these days I doubt there will be one IR that everyone's using but there are some "famous IR's" that are being used by many people. Out of my options many Petrucci fans use the USA Trad 4x12 SM57-MD421 01 even though the pack was released almost 2 years ago now. It's almost identical to the Petrucci tone he had on his solo album which to me is his best tone ever. Then obviously djent fans/artists use the USA Bulb 4x12 Misha Mix 08 since it's the IR that was used for Haunted Shores and Periphery III albums. People just go crazy over Mesa IR's and I don't blame them. Mesa friggin' owns!
Due to personal taste etc.. yes. but your vid and the fact there are "famous" many people use etc.. is the reason i started this thread. And your vid is definitely what i meant as well. hope more ir people will make such vid. and is versitile and not only djent.

And all these should be in a starterspack ;)
 
I have to be honest I don't think I ever use the same IR. I strictly record at home so I tend to dial in my times for a specific song so each song I record will usually have different amp settings and IRs. I have yet to come across one that just works for every single song every time.
 
I have to be honest I don't think I ever use the same IR. I strictly record at home so I tend to dial in my times for a specific song so each song I record will usually have different amp settings and IRs. I have yet to come across one that just works for every single song every time.
Yeah that's my point of view as well. I'm not touring with the Axe-Fx but recording at home. I don't want to use the same exact guitar sound every time. Changing your sound with IR's is a lot more powerful than changing amp sims so I tend to start with finding the right IR for the song I'm recording and then I find the right amp that works with that IR. And this usually takes under 5min to do even for a serious recording.
 
Cab Packs are extremely cheap as is. There has not been a better time to be a guitar player. It's so easy and cheap to get professional guitar tones. :) "Back in my day" (and I'm one of the youngest guys doing this) we had to rent out studios to get something even half decent sounding and it was around $30/h.

In NYC, it was around $75 to $100/hr to do this. These kids just don't understand that they are being given the keys to the tone kingdom nowadays.
 
In NYC, it was around $75 to $100/hr to do this. These kids just don't understand that they are being given the keys to the tone kingdom nowadays.
Yeah I mean at the same time I understand where they're coming from and people don't really appreciate digital products for how awesome they really are. Still only 10 years ago musicians were used to throwing hundreds of dollars a day for tracking their guitars to sound truthfully way worse than the Axe-Fx makes you sound. I think we should enjoy having things so easy these days. :)
 
AC, TV, Set-top box and even my camera, have an IR remote that I use on a daily basis. Now that I have recently acquired a phone with an IR blaster, I was looking out for apps using which I could use my Android as a universal remote.

I think the Logitech Harmony has the best IR options to co-work with the AXE FX.
 
Would the experts here agree that the newer IRs are better than those created even a couple years ago? It seems like maybe the capturing methods have improved?
 
Would the experts here agree that the newer IRs are better than those created even a couple years ago? It seems like maybe the capturing methods have improved?

I would say the newer ones are easier to use as in not having to make as many adjustments in the cab block and amp block.

I find if I stick with an IR for a decent amount of time, my ears acclimate to it, and I stop searching as much for the perfect IR. In this regard, there are many great factory cabs.
 
Generally speaking the IR game has been stepped up a lot during the past year or two. Even if you talk about the technical side of things, removing the power amp color (aka mic+di) is a huge quality step forward.
 
Generally speaking the IR game has been stepped up a lot during the past year or two. Even if you talk about the technical side of things, removing the power amp color (aka mic+di) is a huge quality step forward.

For me this falls under ease of use. The mic+di IR's work great with a lot of default settings.

I do like the sound of the mic+di IR's, but they don't make IR's not shot this way bad or not usable for me.
 
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