Dyna-cab, general consensus is that they're "better" than legacy?

[Steven Persson]

To me, Dyna Cabs sounds way better than my 3rd party OwnHammer and default legacy cabs. Just suits my recording setup better and makes my guitars sound better. Much clearer sound.

No EQ is needed now whereas that was a must to clear some rumble and low mid stuff that was overpresent. These Dyna Cabs sound stellar in combination with the use of Cab block preamp and also being very easy to use.

 

[Yorke2112]

I have a huge library of 3rd party IR's and I prefer what I hear with the Dynacab, to me it sounds balanced and more natural with less harshness on the top.

 

[Andrew Male]

The only reason I'll use legacy now is for cabs that haven't been dyna'd. e.g. JC120.

 

[eddyrox]

still use both - leaning towards the legacy stuff only because i have my favorite pre-DC IR's (both FAS and 3rd party).
overtime i can definitely see that i'll be a DynaCab user over the normal IR's only because of the ability to tweak at gigs

 

[Sashman]

The amazing thing about Fractal is, you can use what ever fit’s you best.
Some prefer Dyna Cabs and some prefer IR‘s.
In my opinion there is no better in general, better is what’s easier for to archive the tone you are looking for.

 

[muudrock]

I've moved away from Legacy IRs to Dyna-Cabs for the simple reason that they sound better to ME. To my ears, they translate better live and recorded. But, everyone is different and hears things differently.
I rarely found a Legacy IR that I didn't feel I needed to eq substantially in some way to get what I wanted. I haven't found that with the DCs. It's much easier for me to get what I want to hear than before and to me, they sound right.

 

[sprint]

there's elements baked into the DC offerings that I feel it's excessively difficult to counter in order to get any of them to do certain things that are manageable with a lot of the legacy IRs available.

Which "elements"? Which "certain things"?

 

[horror]

Absolutely nothing new to say here other than I too have switched exclusively to Dynacabs just for the ease of use, auto load-SIC, and auto phase alignment. I can’t speak to what’s technically “better” sounding but I know I go from tweaking to playing my guitar much more quickly now.

 

[sprint]

ome cabs exhibit data around 170ms) (and I know Cliff stated Quality over quantity for dyna-cab IR length resolution)

I cannot hear a difference between 1024 and Max but I know some people can, so agreed, that higher res would be a welcomed addition to DC, but, it's not really a matter of quality - it's a matter of whether or not one wants reflections in their IRs or not (I personally don't, and always set mine to 512). Fractal points out here that it can be a matter or preference, and here that he actually prefers a shorter IR without reflections.

What we do "need" is more SIC curves

disagree - with DC, we have the actual measured curves to apply if we want, + we can adjust a standard curve, or put in totally custom curve values if we want.

 

[marsonic]

I haven't played with them yet for a simple reason: I'm happy with my sound.

I should experiment with them whenever I get around to upgrading my firmware. And, I probably will. But, there are some things I don't like about the "new way". The big one really is that I'm already happy with my sound (using a blend of full/ultra/whatever-res factory IRs). If I switched to DynaCabs, I'd at least start by trying to replicate what I already have...which seems like pointless work. There are 2 DCs I could blend to get a sound based on the same 2 cabs I "use" now, but...meh.

The only advantage would be if I found something I liked better while I was experimenting with them. And considering that I haven't even looked at the names of the IRs I have blended in ~6 months...I don't find that likely.

I also specifically dislike the auto-SIC thing. But, it seems like you can disable that.

Plus...IRs/DynaCabs/etc. are just EQ curves. They're complex EQ curves. But they're just EQ curves. They don't do anything to dynamics, the room-filling sensation, etc.. It only replicates the flat, linear time-invariant filtering involved in the speaker -> cab -> room -> mic -> preamp signal chain (and then the cab block also does some extra early reflection only reverb if you set it to do so).

I don't think the FM3 uses the super-long IRs that actually capture the reverb sound...so it's just the EQ-effects of the room the IR was recorded in, which I think is the same idea as the DCs.

I'm very much aware that there's much more complex measurements and math involved than what I'm about to say...but DCs are basically just a different way to abstract away the details of that EQ curve. I don't think they're going to be life-changing, which is why I'm not in a hurry to try them.

 

[sprint]

Guys - you know you can like chocolate AND vanilla, right?

My point is that there are several significant aspects of DC (specific measured ICs, integration with the speaker page, selection efficiency) which are objectively better than legacy - not chocolate vs vanilla (as in: variations of the same) - better. Why so little credit where credit is due for these clear improvements (the 1st 2 of which are not even found in other products afaik)? The subjective part only applies to the IRs themselves where yes, I may prefer this ML-Mikko V30 412 mic'd with a 57 @ 2" from centre through an xyz pre cab IR, to that Fractal DC V30 412 mic'd with a 57 at 2" from centre through an xyz pre cab IR (though comparing DC to legacy/3rd pty IRs is almost futile imo since all those ingredients probably won't match exactly and a slight difference in any one of them could account for a difference heard or percieved (not even getting into the physical cab construction differences that would definitely be there unless Fractal and ML used the exact same physical cab).

 

[Adman103]

I've gotten plenty of great sounds from IRs over the years, and I still use them all the time. But, dialing in a sound with DynaCabs is so darn straightforward- I was blown away at how easy it was to dial in. It's great, and I use both.

 

[Joe Bfstplk]

I haven't played with them yet for a simple reason: I'm happy with my sound.

I should experiment with them whenever I get around to upgrading my firmware. And, I probably will. But, there are some things I don't like about the "new way". The big one really is that I'm already happy with my sound (using a blend of full/ultra/whatever-res factory IRs). If I switched to DynaCabs, I'd at least start by trying to replicate what I already have...which seems like pointless work. There are 2 DCs I could blend to get a sound based on the same 2 cabs I "use" now, but...meh.

The only advantage would be if I found something I liked better while I was experimenting with them. And considering that I haven't even looked at the names of the IRs I have blended in ~6 months...I don't find that likely.

I dove right in, after a backup. I found it getting me where I wanted to be with less fiddling and blending of IRs to achieve the desired result.

I also specifically dislike the auto-SIC thing. But, it seems like you can disable that.

First thing I did.

Plus...IRs/DynaCabs/etc. are just EQ curves. They're complex EQ curves. But they're just EQ curves. They don't do anything to dynamics, the room-filling sensation, etc.. It only replicates the flat, linear time-invariant filtering involved in the speaker -> cab -> room -> mic -> preamp signal chain (and then the cab block also does some extra early reflection only reverb if you set it to do so).

According to what I've read, the SIC affects the way the virtual output section breaks up, in addition to the EQ it imparts, just like in a real amp, minus the occasional kaboom when you find a speaker and amp which don't get along and the flyback from the speaker damages stuff.

 

[DJD100]

Dyna-Cabs allow a mic position granularity much higher than standard IR's, allowing much finer tone manipulation not approached by standard IR's excepting by perhaps Redwirez.

Dyna-Cabs are often shorter in duration than other standard IR's though, so take advantage of the Cab Block's Room Sim as needed to compensate with regards to room tone.

Hoping for more Dyna-Cabs and mic choices going forward (421 and 160 at minimum please)!

 

[dean701]

nope. but the functionality is great. can't wait until York is included.

 

[Greg Ferguson]

I have a huge library of 3rd party IR's and I prefer what I hear with the Dynacab, to me it sounds balanced and more natural with less harshness on the top.

I suspect that is, at least partially, tied to the choice of preamp used for the capture itself. IIRC it’s a Neve, and “balanced and more natural with less harshness” is a good description of how they sound.

 

[Greg Ferguson]

I also specifically dislike the auto-SIC thing. But, it seems like you can disable that.

It’s “auto” for those people who don’t know what the curve does, or who don’t want to bother with it. The goal is to get people into the ballpark quickly so they can adjust the sound at their leisure later.

I leave it on usually because I want the IR and curve to completely match the sampled cabinet and speaker. In one of presets I turned it off and switched to a different curve because I was chasing the sound of a particular custom speaker used in one of my amps, that I have never found a matching IR. I knew the maker of the speaker and found a similar Dyna-Cab and suspected that the designer was after a Greenback sort of sound, so I switched to the SIC, and BOOM, there it was!

I figure Dyna-Cabs are just another tool for our toolbox and don’t replace the Legacy tool unless we choose not to use it. We’re allowed to use and like them both.

 

[marsonic]

It’s “auto” for those people who don’t know what the curve does, or who don’t want to bother with it. The goal is to get people into the ballpark quickly so they can adjust the sound at their leisure later.

I leave it on usually because I want the IR and curve to completely match the sampled cabinet and speaker. In one of presets I turned it off and switched to a different curve because I was chasing the sound of a particular custom speaker used in one of my amps, that I have never found a matching IR. I knew the maker of the speaker and found a similar Dyna-Cab and suspected that the designer was after a Greenback sort of sound, so I switched to the SIC, and BOOM, there it was!

I figure Dyna-Cabs are just another tool for our toolbox and don’t replace the Legacy tool unless we choose not to use it. We’re allowed to use and like them both.

Agreed.

I think the auto would actually work for me....one of the speaker IRs I use does match the SIC I prefer. So, put that in slot 1 and it works. So...I guess it's not a "problem" either way.

Yes....another tool in the toolbox. I'm not mad it's an option, but I don't think I care to use it until I just want to play with something different. I just also have a preference for straightforward controls. Filters make more sense to me than mic position, for example. I could absolutely see someone wanting to go the other direction.

 

[Joe Bfstplk]

I suspect that is, at least partially, tied to the choice of preamp used for the capture itself. IIRC it’s a Neve, and “balanced and more natural with less harshness” is a good description of how they sound.

Deffo sounds better than the old stock IRs, and the description is perfect. Sounds on par or better than the best of my 3rd party IRs from York, Dr. B, et al. Can't wait to see what comes from them as they start providing DC stuff....

 

[Greg Ferguson]

Yes....another tool in the toolbox. I'm not mad it's an option, but I don't think I care to use it until I just want to play with something different. I just also have a preference for straightforward controls. Filters make more sense to me than mic position, for example. I could absolutely see someone wanting to go the other direction.

I figure it's an "old-school" thing.

I like them both. I like that we didn't lose all our old presets because Legacy was suddenly gone and nothing worked and we had to rebuild our Cabs. (Not like that was going to happen because Fractal "does give a damn" unlike Rhett Butler.) I have some presets that sound great using the Legacy and don't want to be bothered changing them… old-school you know. And, as an experiment, when we were testing Dyna-Cabs, I rewired a handful of my presets that I wasn't real happy with and found cabs that sounded much better, including the aforementioned one.

It's a nice tool, all shiny and chromed with no dents or rust. I might use it to pound some nails.