AndrewSimon
Power User
After posting this little sample (see below), many have asked me how did I combine the 5 mics into a single IR
to be converted and loaded into the AXE-FX as a single SYX file.
This is a TUTORIAL explaining how I did it.
(Expert users go to PHASE 2)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are 3 stages as I see it:
1 - Auditioning the samples to be chosen and mixing them to your liking.
(this is DAW dependent but if you are lost I will have an easy "universal way" of doing it for those who need it)
2 - "Sampling" the setup to create a single IR.
(once everything is setup and mixed to your liking we will sample the whole setup to capture a single IR)
3 - Converting the single IR into SYX file that can be loaded into the AXE-FX.
(I am not going to cover this, there are 2 Utilities to do this, the Fractal one and Albert's, tutorials are available on WIKI)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PHASE 1
This is the DAW phase, if you are familiar with your DAW and have no problem setting up 5 mic channels
to audition the IR's then you can skip this, I will show an easy "universal" way of doing it.
The basics:
You will need a computer with a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) such as Sonar, Cubase or similar.
You will need an IR convolution plugin to load the IR's.
A list of them is on Redwirez web site tutorial page:
http://www.redwirez.com/tutorials.jsp
Out of the FREE ones I have used keFIR with no problems.
http://habib.webhost.pl/vst_keFIR.php
The DAW I'm using is Tracktion3 and even thought Tracktion3 has a wonderful "Virtual Audio Rack"
I will be using a EnergyXT inside Tracktion3 in this example. (this will make it "universal")
EnergyXT is a modular DAW where you can do all kind of crazy routings.
EnergyXT can be used as a standalone DAW or as a VST (or VSTi) plugin.
That means you can keep using your favorite DAW and you can open EnergyXT as an "effect VST"
within your DAW. (kinda like a host within a host)
So no matter what DAW you use once you load the EnergyXTE (E for effect VST plug) this is what you see.
As you can see doing "crazy routings" in EnergyXT is as easy as pie.
You load 5 keFIR's (one has an EQ after it) then just connect the "virtual cables" from the input to
the output.
Note, you can rename any block to what ever you need (MAIN, Bright, Rear).... how convenient.
When you click on these blocks keFIR will open up and you will load the corresponding impulses.
Also note the mixer on the left, it gets labeled automatically so you can easily mix the IR's, Solo or Mute them.
Need more brightness?... Just turn up the "Bright mic" slider!
NOTE I am using EnergyXT version 1, this version is very simple and easy to work with.
It is a perfect tool for this job.
EnergyXT has a new version 2 out but that one is a different animal.
EnergyXT is not free but it's very reasonably priced.
You can still get Version1 and a DEMO of it here:
http://www.energy-xt.com/xt1.php
I think you can use the DEMO for 30 days, you can NOT purchase version 1 but if you
purchase version 2 (59 Euro) you will receive version 1 as a "bonus"
So now after we setup everything, choose the IR's we like and we mixed them the way we like it,
we can just do "Save As" within EnergyXT, let's say "Fender_5mic_CAB", so next time we can just recall the preset.
This is very convenient, I sometimes do all kind of crazy routings (not necessarily guitar related)
and it can all be saved as a preset, you can even open it in other DAWs because EnergyXTE is a plug.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PHASE 2
(Getting late here so I'll do this quickly, more tomorrow.)
Once we have everything setup we need to sample the entire setup (all 5 cabs)
Sampling is easy, we do it the same way we create IR's.
We send a Pulse (Trigger) through the setup and Record the result.
A few important things:
- You must setup your DAW to 48KHz 24 bit sampling rate.
- You must Record (or export the result) in 48KHz 24 bit MONO
- You must remove any leading silence at the beginning of the file before converting to SYX
Here is the Pulse (Trigger) that I am using (more on this tomorrow)
http://www.andras-shimon.com/TEMP/Trigger2.wav
(right click and save)
It's a very short wave file.
Load it into a track on your DAW, run it through the 5cab setup and render.
That's about it.
If you are using EnergyXT, load the Trigger into a mono track, load EnergyXTE as an effect.
Open EnergyXTE and recall the saved "Fender_5mic_CAB" preset.
Hit record.
The resulting wave file is your combined IR.
Alternatively hit render (also called export or "Save as" in some DAWs)
There is a third way (very easy) that I will go into tomorrow.
It's a plug called "TapeIt", it's like a tape recorder you can put anywhere in your DAW
and simply record what you are hearing (not much in this case)
For TapeIt (free) see:
http://www.silverspike.com/?Download
The free version is on the bottom.
DON'T FORGET!
Whatever you do, make sure the end result is 48KHz/24bit/MONO
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PHASE 3
As I mentioned I am not going to go into details here.
You just convert the "sampled" single IR into SYX file using Fractal or Albert's converter
and you load it into the AXE-FX.
Tutorials are available on this forum and on the AXE-FX WIKI.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Follow Up Feedback
If you use keFIR:
- The "MIX" MUST be on 100% otherwise you will be mixing "no cab" sound in the final result.
- The "LENGHT" should be on 40% (0.08 sec) in order to hear the full lenght of the Ambiance cabs.
General
- Make sure your signal is NOT clipping anywhere in the chain, remember it's a super short pulse
you want the final level to be as close to 0dB as possible but without going over.
........ more tomorrow
:roll:
to be converted and loaded into the AXE-FX as a single SYX file.
This is a TUTORIAL explaining how I did it.
(Expert users go to PHASE 2)
OK we are bored... so we are going to layer 5 microphones to capture 1 cab :shock:
Amp: BRIT 800
Cab: Orange 4x12 V30
Main Mic: RE20 Cap 0"
AIR Mic: RE20 Cone 1" Bandpass EQed 100Hz - 650Hz
Bright Mic: I5 Cap 1"
Back Mic: KM84 Back of Cab 6"
Room Mic: R121 NullAndWall 12"
Here is the "script" to what we are listening to:
1 - Main Mic
2 - Main + Bright
3 - Main + Bright + Back (a little more 3D)
4 - Main + Bright + Back + Room (even more 3d)
5 - Main + Bright + Back + Room + AIR (Wow did you hear that one?)
6 - Solo Room Mic
7 - Solo Back Mic
8 - Solo Bright Mic
9 - Solo AIR Mic
10 - Solo Main Mic
11 - All Mic Finale
http://www.andras-shimon.com/TEMP/5micTest.mp3
"United, we are Strong"
Any Mic by itself sounds so so, but together they rule!
And now... just for fun.... we will take these 5 mics as they are mixed right now
and we will resample them to create a single IR that we will convert and load into the AXE-FX.
Let's see how close can we get.
AXE-FX with 1 User Cab:
http://www.andras-shimon.com/TEMP/5in1.mp3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are 3 stages as I see it:
1 - Auditioning the samples to be chosen and mixing them to your liking.
(this is DAW dependent but if you are lost I will have an easy "universal way" of doing it for those who need it)
2 - "Sampling" the setup to create a single IR.
(once everything is setup and mixed to your liking we will sample the whole setup to capture a single IR)
3 - Converting the single IR into SYX file that can be loaded into the AXE-FX.
(I am not going to cover this, there are 2 Utilities to do this, the Fractal one and Albert's, tutorials are available on WIKI)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PHASE 1
This is the DAW phase, if you are familiar with your DAW and have no problem setting up 5 mic channels
to audition the IR's then you can skip this, I will show an easy "universal" way of doing it.
The basics:
You will need a computer with a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) such as Sonar, Cubase or similar.
You will need an IR convolution plugin to load the IR's.
A list of them is on Redwirez web site tutorial page:
http://www.redwirez.com/tutorials.jsp
Out of the FREE ones I have used keFIR with no problems.
http://habib.webhost.pl/vst_keFIR.php
The DAW I'm using is Tracktion3 and even thought Tracktion3 has a wonderful "Virtual Audio Rack"
I will be using a EnergyXT inside Tracktion3 in this example. (this will make it "universal")
EnergyXT is a modular DAW where you can do all kind of crazy routings.
EnergyXT can be used as a standalone DAW or as a VST (or VSTi) plugin.
That means you can keep using your favorite DAW and you can open EnergyXT as an "effect VST"
within your DAW. (kinda like a host within a host)
So no matter what DAW you use once you load the EnergyXTE (E for effect VST plug) this is what you see.
As you can see doing "crazy routings" in EnergyXT is as easy as pie.
You load 5 keFIR's (one has an EQ after it) then just connect the "virtual cables" from the input to
the output.
Note, you can rename any block to what ever you need (MAIN, Bright, Rear).... how convenient.
When you click on these blocks keFIR will open up and you will load the corresponding impulses.
Also note the mixer on the left, it gets labeled automatically so you can easily mix the IR's, Solo or Mute them.
Need more brightness?... Just turn up the "Bright mic" slider!
NOTE I am using EnergyXT version 1, this version is very simple and easy to work with.
It is a perfect tool for this job.
EnergyXT has a new version 2 out but that one is a different animal.
EnergyXT is not free but it's very reasonably priced.
You can still get Version1 and a DEMO of it here:
http://www.energy-xt.com/xt1.php
I think you can use the DEMO for 30 days, you can NOT purchase version 1 but if you
purchase version 2 (59 Euro) you will receive version 1 as a "bonus"
So now after we setup everything, choose the IR's we like and we mixed them the way we like it,
we can just do "Save As" within EnergyXT, let's say "Fender_5mic_CAB", so next time we can just recall the preset.
This is very convenient, I sometimes do all kind of crazy routings (not necessarily guitar related)
and it can all be saved as a preset, you can even open it in other DAWs because EnergyXTE is a plug.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PHASE 2
(Getting late here so I'll do this quickly, more tomorrow.)
Once we have everything setup we need to sample the entire setup (all 5 cabs)
Sampling is easy, we do it the same way we create IR's.
We send a Pulse (Trigger) through the setup and Record the result.
A few important things:
- You must setup your DAW to 48KHz 24 bit sampling rate.
- You must Record (or export the result) in 48KHz 24 bit MONO
- You must remove any leading silence at the beginning of the file before converting to SYX
Here is the Pulse (Trigger) that I am using (more on this tomorrow)
http://www.andras-shimon.com/TEMP/Trigger2.wav
(right click and save)
It's a very short wave file.
Load it into a track on your DAW, run it through the 5cab setup and render.
That's about it.
If you are using EnergyXT, load the Trigger into a mono track, load EnergyXTE as an effect.
Open EnergyXTE and recall the saved "Fender_5mic_CAB" preset.
Hit record.
The resulting wave file is your combined IR.
Alternatively hit render (also called export or "Save as" in some DAWs)
There is a third way (very easy) that I will go into tomorrow.
It's a plug called "TapeIt", it's like a tape recorder you can put anywhere in your DAW
and simply record what you are hearing (not much in this case)
For TapeIt (free) see:
http://www.silverspike.com/?Download
The free version is on the bottom.
DON'T FORGET!
Whatever you do, make sure the end result is 48KHz/24bit/MONO
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PHASE 3
As I mentioned I am not going to go into details here.
You just convert the "sampled" single IR into SYX file using Fractal or Albert's converter
and you load it into the AXE-FX.
Tutorials are available on this forum and on the AXE-FX WIKI.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Follow Up Feedback
If you use keFIR:
- The "MIX" MUST be on 100% otherwise you will be mixing "no cab" sound in the final result.
- The "LENGHT" should be on 40% (0.08 sec) in order to hear the full lenght of the Ambiance cabs.
General
- Make sure your signal is NOT clipping anywhere in the chain, remember it's a super short pulse
you want the final level to be as close to 0dB as possible but without going over.
........ more tomorrow
:roll: