Banjo IRs?

Raul Cabezali

Raul Cabezali

Member
Hi there everyone!

I'm sorry if this has already been asked... being an aspiring banjo player myself, I already own the instrument, so I don't really need an emulator but rather an IR to make the piezo pickup in my banjo sound more like a mic'ed up banjo when played through the AxeFx II.
Please, does anyone have a banjo IR or is there any thread that you can recall where this can be found? I've used the search engine and could find many instances of people asking about how to emulate a banjo, but no threads about banjo IRs.

Thank you in advance!

Raúl
 
BIG THANKS again! I was trying to convert it using Axe-o-matic, but a window kept popping up that it didn't recognize the wav file - I don't know what the problem can be -.

Thank you!
 
Your banjo has a piezo?? Which one? I've been researching this and could only find magnetic pickups that hook up to the drum
 
Hi Prometh,
rather than a piezo - I may have used this term erroneously - it's a transducer: Harley Benton HB-T - Thomann Cyberstore Español... It's ridiculously cheap and very, very good -ridiculously good for the price. I tried it out against other much more costly devices (fishman rare earth) and the sound was incredible close, if not identical, through the PA.
Here's a video of myself installing it and checking it out into an amp (please ignore my painfully amateurish banjo playing): How to electrify your banjo in 5 minutes - YouTube

Nothing like a mic'ed up banjo, naturally, but sometimes plugging in is the only choice. Banjos are very prone to feedback, though, so when I played live with it I had to fill the resonator with rags and cloths to prevent it.

Back to the main topic, I tried out the IR but didn't get optimal results, so I'm going to try and tone match my own banjo (or else, tone match Tony Trischka's banjo out from an educational CD I own).

Thank you!

Raúl
 
Post a video when you're finished :) I'm interested in getting a 6-string banjo and using some kind of IR like I do with my dreadnaught and classical guitars
 
Hi there again,

I've been back to work on this again this afternoon. First I tried to capture an IR of my own banjo using the IR capture function in the utility menu. The result wasn't bad, but I thought I could improve it and decided to use a tone match block instead, so I recorded a small sample in wav format to use it as the source in the TMA block.

This is the result: first is the banjo straight to the AxeFx II, no effects whatsoever, then I engage the momentarily bypassed TMA block, and finally I add a bit of room reverb (please, ignore my terrible playing and, again, the volume is too low):

Baanjo by Raulin de los Bosques on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free

Attached is the TMA block.

My banjo is a cheapo Fender FB58.
 

Attachments

  • FenderFB58TMA.syx
    4.6 KB · Views: 61
Cool. Sounds a little dull, though, and I don't think it's because of the volume. Have you considered trying a tone match of "dueling banjos"? It has a lot of presence
 
Thank you Prometh!

I used the "smoothing" parameter in the TMA block to soften the top end a little bit - that might have also "dullified" the tone -. Using an EQ block after the TMA block, with enhanced upper mids and highs might help to bring back those piercing metallic frequencies which we love in a banjo. I didn't use any more effects apart from the TMA and reverb at the end.
Anyway, I'll try again tomorrow with a new wav sample from my banjo. First I must tighten its head because it has got a bit loose with the heatwave we had in southern Spain over last week - this will surely have some effect in softening down its tone.
 

Attachments

  • tma.png
    tma.png
    44 KB · Views: 23
Hi Cliff,

I used Axe-Edit ... but actually, it's just the TMA block, not the full patch (which was just the TMA block + reverb block, so nothing really deserving to be posted).

Thank you!
 
FractalAudio said:
I converted it for you: www.fractalaudio.com/downloads/firmware+presets/axe-fx-2/IRs/mic_banjo.syx
Click to expand...
Just reviving an old thread and wondering if there is a link to this sysex! Have a modern country gig coming up and have used the AxeFx for banjo in the past, but never attempted to use an IR of a recorded banjo to supplement the tone!

Cliff, do you still have this sysex on the server somewhere and could provide a link? Do instrument IR's just get loaded into the cab block with all settings flat?

Curious if anyone has ever tried using an acoustic IR as well to augment an acoustic guitar tone?!
 
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