2.01 Cabs

Spawn2031

Spawn2031

Inspired
Getting ready to take the plunge to 2.01 and just noticed that there is a folder full of nice new shiny cabs to play with but no documentation as to what they are. Can anyone provide a list as to what these based on? Thanks
 
Spawn2031 said:
Getting ready to take the plunge to 2.01 and just noticed that there is a folder full of nice new shiny cabs to play with but no documentation as to what they are. Can anyone provide a list as to what these based on? Thanks
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that folder has been available for a very long time, maybe around FW15 or earlier? it was when Ultra-Res cabs were first introduced.

XL/XL+ units have a few more Factory Cabs on board. this folder is for Mark I/II owners and includes those extra cabs from the XL units. load them into your User slots to try them, but do know some Factory Cabs are even newer than those, for example anything with the (ML) label in them.
 
Ahhh, I've only had my axe mkII for about 3 months now and this is my first FW update. If they've been around that long, would they be detailed in the wiki? I'd just like to know what they are based on so I'm not just shooting in the dark. I like to catalog things... makes setting up patches a little easier for me by narrowing down some of the massive amounts of choices.
 
Spawn2031 said:
Ahhh, I've only had my axe mkII for about 3 months now and this is my first FW update. If they've been around that long, would they be detailed in the wiki? I'd just like to know what they are based on so I'm not just shooting in the dark. I like to catalog things... makes setting up patches a little easier for me by narrowing down some of the massive amounts of choices.
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Probably not detailed anywhere. They are IRs and there are a ton available these days. I'm pretty sure you won't miss a thing if you don't try them, but then again, one might be "the one" you are looking for. By this point, I honestly wouldn't be too worried about it, but try them one day if you have some time.
 
Chris@AxeFxTutorials said:
Probably not detailed anywhere. They are IRs and there are a ton available these days. I'm pretty sure you won't miss a thing if you don't try them, but then again, one might be "the one" you are looking for. By this point, I honestly wouldn't be too worried about it, but try them one day if you have some time.
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Ok Chris, maybe after I've gone through and checked out what has changed in 2.01 I will check them out. One last question for ya if you don't mind and the answer to this one might be as objective as asking what the best beer in the world is, either way here goes.

In respect to all the available cabs, I see all the free IRs, Factory IRs, I see a ton that are stored in the archive, now this set and then there are all the cab packs that we can purchase. Are the cab packs worth buying? And if so, what's a good pack for hard rock stuff? I certainly don't mind paying $30 for a bunch of IRs if they are that much better than their free cousins.
 
Think of cab IRs as flavors of ice-cream or soda. Do you need more flavors? You might be perfectly happy with chocolate, but if you've never tried maple walnut or rocky road, you might be missing something you like more than chocolate. Or maybe you love chocolate more. But you can't know if it's what's right for you until you try them.
 
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Assuming you like beer, then yeah, that's a good analogy. The IRs change how the amps sound. Typically, the IR packs come with mic placements from the edge of the cone to the center with a variety of mics. Placements that are close together might not sound very different, but placements at the end of each spectrum will vary greatly. Also, types of mics will vary greatly.

A while back, there was some variance in the quality of IRs, but for some time now several places have been putting out high quality IRs that you won't find yourself discarding because of the sound quality.

maybe there are more scenarios, but I think most could fall into:

1. wanting a specific tone for a song or their own unique tone.
2. trying to match real world amps by pairing the cab with the amp for a particular sound or just for the most realism they can get.
3. wanting the most variety you can get (using almost any speaker/cab combo with any amp).
4. wanting to create unique setups - pairing speakers you would just never be able to own with classic amps.

it's really all about the sound. Chris has a tutorial on how to sample IRs quickly and easily, so it's not hard to sit down and spin through a couple dozen IRs in no time. It's also a time suck if you keep finding sounds you like and getting inspired to noodle around on each IR you take a liking to.

It can also be a challenge to decide which ones you want to put into the axe (if you get too many). You have to configure each amp to the cabinet, so if you lose your presets, you'd have to set them all back up again. Thus, backing up your presets - perhaps keeping track of your very favorite pairings is a good idea.

While some sets are a tad expensive, you can get your feet wet for $25-$30 on Fractal's site. Just look through the recordings section for ML's posts and you'll see something from every pack he's created (as well as numerous user posts with this or that IR from a cab pack). Hard to go wrong with any of them. I think if you just read the description you'll get a solid idea of if it's what you're looking for.

The Cab (or Amp) factory has a site and you can listen to an excerpt of each IR. Here is a free Mesa one from them:

http://www.theampfactory.com/ultrares-irs/ir-axefx2/

And here is their bundle pack:
http://www.thecabfactory.com/bundles/

The forums have some great feedback of the bundle pack (I think even Cliff chimed in with some glowing comments).

All that said, the fact that IRs change your sound more than just about anything else and it's still not mandatory that you go out and buy more. There are plenty of great IRs in the Axe already. Some from the existing Fractal cab packs.
 
The stuff from ML, FAS and Ownhammer are well worth the money.
 
Thanks a ton for all the answers guys!! Knowing that I can sample the IRs on that site will really help with picking packs out if I decide to buy some. I also didn't know about that audition technique! That will seriously help out with going through what will potententially end up being quite a collection of IRs.
 
Oh... one last thought. Since all of these cab IRs are shot with a particular mic to give a particular tone, when using them at first I assume it is best to start off with just the cab IR and no mic selected? This way I can hear what the IR was intended to sound like before I go and screw with it.
 
Spawn2031 said:
Oh... one last thought. Since all of these cab IRs are shot with a particular mic to give a particular tone, when using them at first I assume it is best to start off with just the cab IR and no mic selected? This way I can hear what the IR was intended to sound like before I go and screw with it.
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Basically yes. Most don't use the mics in the cab block these days. But some still use it if it shapes things the way they want.
 
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