Stratoblaster
Fractal Fanatic
After playing with IR's for sometime, and different ways of evaluating/mixing them, etc., I've found that these Redwirez/stock IR's, and tweaking setup, gets me a lot of great tones and flexibility for my cab sim needs for live use:
4x12 Cab IR's:
T75 M160 CapEdge 6”:
I use this IR mainly for its punchy low end. I follow it with a blocking PEQ on the top end, and adjust that to get the overall high end dialed in for my ears. I've used this one on its own, but found it needed a lot of fiddling with post-PEQ and a mid-rich cab to be mixed in with it. But I just always loved how it captured a certain feel I like on the low end, and its strong articulation. I mix this with one of the following two IR's to round out the mids and for further refinement. I call this my 'feel' IR.
T75 U87 CapEdge 2”:
I find this IR to have rich mids and sharp-ish articulation on the high end; single notes define nicely for solos with this IR. The bottom is a bit rounded, in that it doesn't have the snap on the low end I sometimes want, so I mix this with the T75 M160 CapEdge 6”. This IR on its own has a great overall balance and tone that I can easily work with, and is usable by itself. If there was only one user IR slot in the AFX, this is the one I'd load into it.
T75 U87 CapEdge 1”:
I find this IR also has really fat mids, but is warmer and has less articulation in the high end than the T75 U87 CapEdge 2” (everything is generally more rounded and smoother). This is a great IR for use for mid-fattening, and I'm finding it useful, both on it's own and mixed with the T75 M160 CapEdge 6” for additional low end punch. I call this my 'smooth-dark' IR. Hi gain tones seem to favor this IR.
I'm using the following setup to tweak all of this (using two hi-res cab blocks and three IR slots):
---CAB 1(T75 M160 CapEdge 6”)----PEQ--------\___MIX
---CAB 2(T75 U87 CapEdge 2” or 1")------------/
Again, the PEQ allows me to easily dial in the overall high end since CAB1 has a lot of high end energy, and using a MIX block makes it easier to get the right balance between the two cabs. I'm finding it's easier to mix IR's in the AFX than by any other method, since your getting true, instant feedback on the overall tone/feel and how the mix 'behaves', and small adjustments can yield big changes in both the tone/feel.
I usually start with the first cab at around 12:00 in the MIX block, and second cab ends up anywhere from 10:00 to 2:00, depending on the amp I'm using and what my sonic goal is.
I should note again that I've distilled these IR's for my live use at stage levels (not mega-loud, but certainly not at bedroom levels) so the character and feel won't be apparent until you move a bit of air.
For my Marshall/mid-gain tones and amp sims, I increase the Damping and B+ parameters and run a lot of Master until I feel that Marshall kick. When I run through my RCF-310a, on some amp sims decreasing, rather than increasing, the Speaker Res Freq to ~84Hz brings out a thump I like.
Even without user IR slots, I could use the stock 4x12 30W cab, mix in the stock 1x6 oval cab for a 'mid control' and be perfectly satisfied; the stock 4x12 30W on its own captures a lot of the character of my real 4x12/G12-65 cab listening to it from a few feet away...I still use it for my 4x12 cab IR on two patch banks tweaked for two other guitars.
I use the stock 2x12 G12H far field cab with the Vox/Maz/Fender/boutique, etc. sims...for everything else really; it's a perfect match for those sims and I get fantastic tones with it.
Anyway, I thought I'd share my musings on what I've found working for me with the AFX/FRFR/IR's so far....a current snapshot of the work in progess...
4x12 Cab IR's:
T75 M160 CapEdge 6”:
I use this IR mainly for its punchy low end. I follow it with a blocking PEQ on the top end, and adjust that to get the overall high end dialed in for my ears. I've used this one on its own, but found it needed a lot of fiddling with post-PEQ and a mid-rich cab to be mixed in with it. But I just always loved how it captured a certain feel I like on the low end, and its strong articulation. I mix this with one of the following two IR's to round out the mids and for further refinement. I call this my 'feel' IR.
T75 U87 CapEdge 2”:
I find this IR to have rich mids and sharp-ish articulation on the high end; single notes define nicely for solos with this IR. The bottom is a bit rounded, in that it doesn't have the snap on the low end I sometimes want, so I mix this with the T75 M160 CapEdge 6”. This IR on its own has a great overall balance and tone that I can easily work with, and is usable by itself. If there was only one user IR slot in the AFX, this is the one I'd load into it.
T75 U87 CapEdge 1”:
I find this IR also has really fat mids, but is warmer and has less articulation in the high end than the T75 U87 CapEdge 2” (everything is generally more rounded and smoother). This is a great IR for use for mid-fattening, and I'm finding it useful, both on it's own and mixed with the T75 M160 CapEdge 6” for additional low end punch. I call this my 'smooth-dark' IR. Hi gain tones seem to favor this IR.
I'm using the following setup to tweak all of this (using two hi-res cab blocks and three IR slots):
---CAB 1(T75 M160 CapEdge 6”)----PEQ--------\___MIX
---CAB 2(T75 U87 CapEdge 2” or 1")------------/
Again, the PEQ allows me to easily dial in the overall high end since CAB1 has a lot of high end energy, and using a MIX block makes it easier to get the right balance between the two cabs. I'm finding it's easier to mix IR's in the AFX than by any other method, since your getting true, instant feedback on the overall tone/feel and how the mix 'behaves', and small adjustments can yield big changes in both the tone/feel.
I usually start with the first cab at around 12:00 in the MIX block, and second cab ends up anywhere from 10:00 to 2:00, depending on the amp I'm using and what my sonic goal is.
I should note again that I've distilled these IR's for my live use at stage levels (not mega-loud, but certainly not at bedroom levels) so the character and feel won't be apparent until you move a bit of air.
For my Marshall/mid-gain tones and amp sims, I increase the Damping and B+ parameters and run a lot of Master until I feel that Marshall kick. When I run through my RCF-310a, on some amp sims decreasing, rather than increasing, the Speaker Res Freq to ~84Hz brings out a thump I like.
Even without user IR slots, I could use the stock 4x12 30W cab, mix in the stock 1x6 oval cab for a 'mid control' and be perfectly satisfied; the stock 4x12 30W on its own captures a lot of the character of my real 4x12/G12-65 cab listening to it from a few feet away...I still use it for my 4x12 cab IR on two patch banks tweaked for two other guitars.
I use the stock 2x12 G12H far field cab with the Vox/Maz/Fender/boutique, etc. sims...for everything else really; it's a perfect match for those sims and I get fantastic tones with it.
Anyway, I thought I'd share my musings on what I've found working for me with the AFX/FRFR/IR's so far....a current snapshot of the work in progess...
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D) is usually different than mine and I always learn from doing so. Really appreciate you taking the time to share. Very helpful of you.