sprint
Axe-Master
Hey!
Normally I just pick a Cab I like the sound of from the Axe II's list or from the various IR packs I've purchased without much thought about the cab or speaker type it is derived from - but once in a while I make an effort to understand the fundamentals of Cab micing and IR mixing. Without such knowledge I find cab IR selection and mixing a huge rabbit hole and often a waste of time in my case. But I know there is value there if I could arm myself with a bit of expertise - hence the following questions.
One concept that puzzles me is: Does cab type (112,212,412,Openbk,Closebk) impact the IR result captured from close micing a specific speaker within a given cab. I assume cab type does impact the behavior of an individual cab speaker somehow since IRs tend to be shot and categorized by cab type as much as by speaker brand/type but I don't really understand how cab type could influence the sound of an IR as much as the speaker type in a close mic'd scenario (ie: can I expect a different sound from a 57 1" from the cap of 1 of 4 16ohm v30s in a 4x12 cab, as from the same mic in the same position in front of an open back 1x12)? Where I am going with this is that: when purchasing / auditioning / mixing IRs, should I care that much about the cab type a given close mic'd IR was shot against and focus more on speaker type to get closer to the reference tone I want?, or does cab type matter also in these close mic'd cases?, how?).
Which kind of leads to my second question: If the answer above is that specific close mic'd IRs are not much influenced by Cab type, then what do you folks do to get the full cab sound characteristics into your IRs? - mix in room IRs and/or IRs shot at farther distances from the speaker (or even shot from behind the cab?
Which kind of leads me to my 3rd question: If my IR usage environment is personal monitoring, then should my IR mix be further tweaked somehow, based on what I listen to the IR through (ie: nearfield monitor, fr cab, headphones, pa speaker ...) in order to get closest to a given reference cab sound in my human ears (ie: a Mic'd (57/121) Marshall 1961 cab sound).
Sorry for the 101 questions but after some googling I did not have any difinitive answers. I expect some may answer with the familiar "go with what sounds best to you" which I have done and understand, but I'm looking for the more precise technical understanding given that modelling IRs/amps
is as much about matching a very specific reference tone exactly as it is about following ones ears to find what sounds good (though of course we need to factor in individual psychological preferences and physical hearing ability).
Normally I just pick a Cab I like the sound of from the Axe II's list or from the various IR packs I've purchased without much thought about the cab or speaker type it is derived from - but once in a while I make an effort to understand the fundamentals of Cab micing and IR mixing. Without such knowledge I find cab IR selection and mixing a huge rabbit hole and often a waste of time in my case. But I know there is value there if I could arm myself with a bit of expertise - hence the following questions.
One concept that puzzles me is: Does cab type (112,212,412,Openbk,Closebk) impact the IR result captured from close micing a specific speaker within a given cab. I assume cab type does impact the behavior of an individual cab speaker somehow since IRs tend to be shot and categorized by cab type as much as by speaker brand/type but I don't really understand how cab type could influence the sound of an IR as much as the speaker type in a close mic'd scenario (ie: can I expect a different sound from a 57 1" from the cap of 1 of 4 16ohm v30s in a 4x12 cab, as from the same mic in the same position in front of an open back 1x12)? Where I am going with this is that: when purchasing / auditioning / mixing IRs, should I care that much about the cab type a given close mic'd IR was shot against and focus more on speaker type to get closer to the reference tone I want?, or does cab type matter also in these close mic'd cases?, how?).
Which kind of leads to my second question: If the answer above is that specific close mic'd IRs are not much influenced by Cab type, then what do you folks do to get the full cab sound characteristics into your IRs? - mix in room IRs and/or IRs shot at farther distances from the speaker (or even shot from behind the cab?
Which kind of leads me to my 3rd question: If my IR usage environment is personal monitoring, then should my IR mix be further tweaked somehow, based on what I listen to the IR through (ie: nearfield monitor, fr cab, headphones, pa speaker ...) in order to get closest to a given reference cab sound in my human ears (ie: a Mic'd (57/121) Marshall 1961 cab sound).
Sorry for the 101 questions but after some googling I did not have any difinitive answers. I expect some may answer with the familiar "go with what sounds best to you" which I have done and understand, but I'm looking for the more precise technical understanding given that modelling IRs/amps
is as much about matching a very specific reference tone exactly as it is about following ones ears to find what sounds good (though of course we need to factor in individual psychological preferences and physical hearing ability).