How can I tweak IRs?

[Heavyplayer]

I've got quite a few IRs that actually sound great (to my ears) BUT, they are too loud and have a little too much bass at times.
All this can be dialed out to a point, but it would save me lots of time if someone could tell me how I can tweak these.

I've tried loading them in my DAW, and turning down the volume, but the results were horrible.
So I have no clue how this can be done without destroying the IR.

Any helpful tips etc would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[pauly]

G'day Heavy,

How 'bout putting an EQ after the cab?

PAuly

I've got quite a few IRs that actually sound great (to my ears) BUT, they are too loud and have a little too much bass at times.
All this can be dialed out to a point, but it would save me lots of time if someone could tell me how I can tweak these.

I've tried loading them in my DAW, and turning down the volume, but the results were horrible.
So I have no clue how this can be done without destroying the IR.

Any helpful tips etc would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Rex]

"Too loud" is easy to fix in the Axe-Fx. There are lots of ways to lower levels. The Level parameter in the Cab block would be a good place.

Fixing "too much bass" is easy, too. You can raise the Lowcut Freq parameter in the cab block. Or you can turn down Bass in the Amp block. That's what guitar players have been doing for decades to tame a boomy cab.

 

[ML SOUND LAB]

Hmm... there's a volume parameter in every single block. Turn it down. Actually turn the volume down from the amp block. Most IR programs normalize impulses. (make them as loud as possible)

An IR is just an EQ curve so add an EQ block to tweak the balance.

My tip would be to lower the bass knob in the amp block.

 

[Heavyplayer]

I will try an EQ after the cab block. Everything else I've already tried. I always start with bass knob on the amp, then turn on bass cut, over to cab parameters, IF needed back to amp block eq, then IF that doesn't do it I adjust the Low RES, and XFRMR LF.

That's usually everything I have to do to get these IR's not to clip. Especially since V11 (which I love) it's added so much punch to the cabs.
This is why I was wanting to know how to tweak these outside the Axe. The overall tone of the cab sounds great, just something the newer updates added takes a lot more to get them right.

 

[Rex]

I will try an EQ after the cab block. Everything else I've already tried. I always start with bass knob on the amp, then turn on bass cut, over to cab parameters, IF needed back to amp block eq, then IF that doesn't do it I adjust the Low RES, and XFRMR LF.

That's usually everything I have to do to get these IR's not to clip.

Two thoughts:

• How is it that lowering the Level doesn't stop it from clipping? That doesn't add up.

• You're adjusting a lot of parameters to reduce the bass. If all those things together aren't able to control the bottom end, then you have a seriously flawed IR, and you need to find a different one. You can beat your head against a wall all day long trying to compensate for a bad IR.

 

[Heavyplayer]

Two thoughts:

• How is it that lowering the Level doesn't stop it from clipping? That doesn't add up.

• You're adjusting a lot of parameters to reduce the bass. If all those things together aren't able to control the bottom end, then you have a seriously flawed IR, and you need to find a different one. You can beat your head against a wall all day long trying to compensate for a bad IR.

Lowing the level does stop the clipping to a point. I've got it right now where it doesn't clip using all the above tweaking. My thought was if there was an easier way to tweak these in say a DAW I could avoid having to do so much. The IR I'm speaking of is from Guitarhack, which wasn't this bad before, but again V11 has added so much punch that it's causing a lot more clipping and bass.

 

[Rex]

Lowing the level does stop the clipping to a point. I've got it right now where it doesn't clip using all the above tweaking. My thought was if there was an easier way to tweak these in say a DAW I could avoid having to do so much. The IR I'm speaking of is from Guitarhack, which wasn't this bad before, but again V11 has added so much punch that it's causing a lot more clipping and bass.

I can see why you'd want to "edit" the IR if you could. I'm not aware of any software that lets you edit the actual IR itself. If such a thing exists, then it amounts to EQ adjustments, so at least you can do the same thing in other areas than the IR.

Though I still stand by the idea that, if you have to radically cut the bass to make it work, you'd be doing yourself a favor by looking for a different one.

My approach would be the opposite of yours. If you like the way the IR sounds, and it's clipping too much, fix it by lowering the level, not changing the EQ. Once you've taken care of that, if there's still too much bass, then it's the wrong IR for the job.

 

[RDH]

You would have to convert the syx to wave first, use to do it in reaper, don't remember the process off hand though it's been a while, i'll see if I can find it. Did you try Ax-O Matic? it should normalize volumes!

 

[Heavyplayer]

You would have to convert the syx to wave first, use to do it in reaper, don't remember the process off hand though it's been a while, i'll see if I can find it. Did you try Ax-O Matic? it should normalize volumes!

I just tried out Axe-o-matic, and it worked like a charm! Many thanks!!!

 

[RDH]

Awesome!! Glad it helped!! Been very busy lately , with work and rehearsals( another today) ,but soon as I get a chance I see if I can find the info on the process of using using a DAW to mix and tweak IR's , I'll post when I find it! Pretty sure it was Scott Peterson that posted it maybe a couple years ago working with the Redwire Ir's!!