Do you find yourself defaulting to certain Cab IRs?

S

scott.frank.b

Inspired
I just got my FM3 last week and I have been playing around with it quite a bit. The IR selection is amazing (I haven't even begun to try and load 3rd party IRs yet), but I am wondering if anyone else has run into this same situation as me. I have found that the Zilla ALN 2x12 is one of the best sounding cab IRs I have heard and running it in stereo with the Zilla V30 is an amazing combo, especially with high gain amps like the Archon. In your personal experience, do you find you stick with a particular IR or do you tend to run the stock cab w/the Amp?
 
I love that group of ML Zilla 2x12 cabs! I like to blend a v30 and creamback. Also, the ML Citrus cabs are pretty amazing. Other than that, I have a series of 3 Sigma cabs I purchased that I prefer. But there are so many good ones. I really wish the Cab block had a better designed picker, because it's so easy to miss good options.
 
I have certain combos that I like that I will try, though usually if I'm trying to learn an amp's range of capabilities I will start with the cab paired with it by the manufacturer. I have a particular /13 combination I like (Division-13 57E + Division 13 414 A) that I use for clean stuff. I like the "2x12 Brit Big" AustinBuddy cab for mid-gain stuff and marshall sounds, but I can't recall which IRs without looking, or I'll use the "1960A 300W." The 2x10 "B-Face Vibe Lux" cab and the 1x15 "Vibrato Verb" cab always sound good to me for driven clean and mild breakup, as well as the "bassguy" FAS cab, and the "super verb." Anything higher gain I like the Fractal GB and V30" and the basketweave mix just fine.

I tend to focus on the cab rather than the specific IR because my presumption is that depending on which amp you pair it with, a different IR might serve the situation better. I have barely scratched the surface, there's still a few hundred IRs I haven't tried.
 
scott.frank.b said:
The IR selection is amazing (I haven't even begun to try and load 3rd party IRs yet
Click to expand...
There are a large number of hand-picked, well-known, 3rd party IRs already bundled so try to avoid purchasing duplicates.

I have a bunch of IRs from Celestion, Ownhammer and Red Wire, and have only pulled in two because Fractal's choices cover the bases really well.

As a tip, when looking for an IR, do a search in the Cab manager for something to help narrow your options, then pin the Cab manager page then start scrolling through them as you play. You can go through them easily that way.
 
Greg Ferguson said:
There are a large number of hand-picked, well-known, 3rd party IRs already bundled so try to avoid purchasing duplicates.

I have a bunch of IRs from Celestion, Ownhammer and Red Wire, and have only pulled in two because Fractal's choices cover the bases really well.

As a tip, when looking for an IR, do a search in the Cab manager for something to help narrow your options, then pin the Cab manager page then start scrolling through them as you play. You can go through them easily that way.
Click to expand...
I found that search box to be quite handy! I haven't purchased any additional IRs yet either; I find the Fractal ones are exceptional.
 
joshriggsFM3 said:
I love that group of ML Zilla 2x12 cabs! I like to blend a v30 and creamback. Also, the ML Citrus cabs are pretty amazing. Other than that, I have a series of 3 Sigma cabs I purchased that I prefer. But there are so many good ones. I really wish the Cab block had a better designed picker, because it's so easy to miss good options.
Click to expand...
What's really good from Sigma? I love ML cabs, especially the Zilla and Dizzy.
 
My favorite cab is a Bogner OS212 that I had loaded with a V30 and a Creamback, so that‘s what I’m familiar with. I should venture out and try more speaker IRs as there’s a wide variety but when I open up the list, it’s daunting. Just as a reference, I only use three patches and the processor power shows an average of 43% for each. As powerful as the FM3 is, it doesn’t appear that I’m very adventurous. 😁
 
For me there are so many options in the Axe but i was mostly using the York stuff and Leon Todd mix above
eventually i just started buying the
York Audio packs as the mixes alone were so good ,
so i just kind of pair up the cab to the models now
i have the Mesa OS, Bogner, Deluxe, AC112, Freidman, Marshall M25 , Blackjack, Hiwatt and those cabs pretty much cover everything
 
Randalljax said:
For me there are so many options in the Axe but i was mostly using the York stuff and Leon Todd mix above
eventually i just started buying the
York Audio packs as the mixes alone were so good ,
so i just kind of pair up the cab to the models now
i have the Mesa OS, Bogner, Deluxe, AC112, Freidman, Marshall M25 , Blackjack, Hiwatt and those cabs pretty much cover everything
Click to expand...
This is pretty much exactly what I use. I came over from the Helix, so I had a few YA packs already purchased. When I first received my FM3, I loaded all my YA packs. Rather than go down the rabbit hole of what I'm sure are a lot of great stock IRs, I plugged in my YA mixes and never felt the need to go any further, yet. Maybe one day.

I also picked up Leon Todd's TV mix 2 and it's incredibly good. I use that one IR alone almost as much as the rest of my YA packs combined. Make sure to check out Leon's stuff on axechange as linked above. It's really quite good, and free.
 
machin3god said:
What's really good from Sigma? I love ML cabs, especially the Zilla and Dizzy.
Click to expand...
I have the newest Recto and Orange 4x12 cabs by them which are their new format. I also have Soldano, Friedman, Zilla and Marshall 4x12s by them. I don't know what exactly it is, but they just do it for me. To me, they sound a little more processed and mix ready, whereas ML sound a little more raw and live. 3 Sigma IR packs are like $10/pack, so they're totally worth downloading a pack or two to try out.
 
joshriggsFM3 said:
I love that group of ML Zilla 2x12 cabs! I like to blend a v30 and creamback. Also, the ML Citrus cabs are pretty amazing. Other than that, I have a series of 3 Sigma cabs I purchased that I prefer. But there are so many good ones. I really wish the Cab block had a better designed picker, because it's so easy to miss good options.
Click to expand...

Not me. First thing I did was memorize all 2,200+ stock cab options and their locations. ;)
 
Here is a little preview from my forthcoming "FAS SOS: Set of Settings Project".

I have compiled settings from 5,451 unique scenes/presets, from pro/paid, factory, and user/Axechange sources. I've been tracking the amp blocks ideal and "advanced" pages, cab blocks, drives, reverbs, delays, comps, etc.. I have also made over 80 presets each featuring multiple amp, cab, and effects models, each demonstrating their overall averaged values. These presets and the rest of the data will be available in the very near future.

This is a list of the most popular factory cabs, focusing on cabs from Factory 1 & 2, and only tracking Legacy cabs that were essential to a specific amp model (Hiwatt, Soldano, etc..). The amp listed in the third column was the most popular amp model that used that specific factory cab. I hope this helps!
W3oN1F2.jpg
 
joshriggsFM3 said:
I have the newest Recto and Orange 4x12 cabs by them which are their new format. I also have Soldano, Friedman, Zilla and Marshall 4x12s by them. I don't know what exactly it is, but they just do it for me. To me, they sound a little more processed and mix ready, whereas ML sound a little more raw and live. 3 Sigma IR packs are like $10/pack, so they're totally worth downloading a pack or two to try out.
Click to expand...
I ended up buying six cab packs from 3 Sigma. They're my favourite cabs now, lol. You're right, they're pretty amazing, they have a quality to them that makes them sound more like actual cabs. To me they're way better than ML and OH stuff. Zilla and Mesa OS are my favourite. Thanks for mentioning it, I didn't even know that this company existed.
 
  • Like
Reactions: FSM
joshriggsFM3 said:
I love that group of ML Zilla 2x12 cabs! I like to blend a v30 and creamback. Also, the ML Citrus cabs are pretty amazing. Other than that, I have a series of 3 Sigma cabs I purchased that I prefer. But there are so many good ones. I really wish the Cab block had a better designed picker, because it's so easy to miss good options.
Click to expand...
Do you use the Looper, use the Pin, then arrow through the list? (LT tip)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom