How many of you use REAL cabs still?

CrazyBadGuitarist

CrazyBadGuitarist

Inspired
Hey Guys,

I have nothing against IR's at all, but I don't use them. I use a real cab with my axe FX and it pounds! I'm wondering, after reading the forum for a while, it comes off like most people use IR's instead of real cabs. Is this the case? What do you prefer? If you use a cab, which one do you use? I use a Orange 4x12 cabinet.

The second part of this is wondering about the IR's. I'm totally new to IR's. Do they sound just as good as a real cabinet? Better? There's just something I like about standing in front of a 4x12 and feel the thump from the air it throws at me.

-Dan
 
I still use real cabs. Always get kudos for my tone and sound. Sometimes I have my cabs mic'ed and other times I use output 1 to FOH and output 2 to the pwr amp and cab. A lot depends on the venue. I obviously use IR's when going to FOH, using IEM's, or recording. I have yet to hear an FRFR pound as much as the real thing. As much as the die-hards want to say it, it's just not the same. Ask Metallica or Petrucci, among many others, why they still use real cabs on stage.

CrazyBadGuitarist said:
Sounds great, after all that's how it was done before Impulse Responses were around, and that's how most people still do it. The axe is great, I just prefer the Axe WITH a real cabinet.
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I use both ways, mainly due to what is a available.

I honestly can get a great sound using either way, with the caveat of the quality of the cabinet. And it absolutely does make a difference. Just because the knock-off brand looks like a Marshall, Mesa, or whatever doesn't mean it's going to sound good.

I honesty believe there are lot of people out there that do not factor that into the equation, or realize just how important that is to complete the chain of high-end gear, with a quality cabinet.

Same goes for FRFR... you get what you pay for.

As mentioned; I really like both, but now that I've made the investment... I really enjoy the diversitivity FRFR cabinets better, when I can use them. The other added bonus of running FRFR cabinets, I can run samples and MIDI keyboards and get higher quality sound.

The Bottom-line: It's so nice to have all these options. There is no better way then what works and sounds right to you, you're the boss!
 
I also use both depending on where I'm playing. For gigs I usually use my Matrix and cab, or even my Deluxe Verb (really!) depending on whether I want an open or closed back sound. At practice I usually just plug into the board and run thru the monitors (nothing special, just some Peaveys).
 
Both! Real cab for onstage volume and IRs of the same cab (Marshall 100W with Greenbacks) done by cabir.eu go to the front of house. It's the best of both worlds :)
 
I use both.
I have a set of MATRIX NL212 (2) and I run them WITH cab IR and it sounds great both home and live.
Also have a set of frfr's (2) which I have not yet had the chance to try them live and going direct to FOH.
I'm an old dog who is used and need that "bark" in the back coming from big cabs but for sure the next gig we will have I'm going to try direct to FOH with the frfr's. (I get complains form the sound guy about stage level to high :ambivalence: ).
 
I use both as I can't afford a FRFR system yet :lol When I play live, I go output 1 to FOH and out 2 to the Matrix and my Marshall cab. It works great but it has it challenges to get both sound awesome, which is not possible sometimes.
 
haieb said:
I use both as I can't afford a FRFR system yet :lol When I play live, I go output 1 to FOH and out 2 to the Matrix and my Marshall cab. It works great but it has it challenges to get both sound awesome, which is not possible sometimes.
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I do this too, and I've never had a problem. Both always sound really great, together or individually. I put this down to using an IR of my cab for the FOH. Both signals always then sound the same.
 
Marshall Jcm900 with 75's and 30's in an x pattern, It will be the only thing I have left, next to the axe-ii,
when I sell all of my gear. I can't live without a 4x12.
 
I use both actually, but I love the sound that comes from my real cab setup. It's more thumpy and clear than what I can get from IRs. I don't typically use IRs for bass anyway though. I just use a filter to dial out the frequencies I don't want. My cab setup is in my signature. This particular setup works awesome for bass and guitar both.
 
Both.
Live: Poweramp -> Cab
Studio (i.e. Home ;) ): Powered Monitors.

This is why the endless 'Amp In the Room' debate comes off as pointless to me. I can get FRFR or AITR tone at will. You'd think, with the dough people plow into their rigs, they'd pony up for a cab if it was so damn important. Would certainly be more productive than endless debates.
 
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I'm in the process of switching from FRFR to traditional cabs to regain that "in the room" feel everyone talks about. Tone-wise, FRFR is great. With good IRs and a good playback system it sounds like a really well mic'd guitar cab running through sound reinforcement. For something like recording, it's an excellent solution with several notable benefits. For casually jamming in a room though, I really started to miss that "oomph" feel.
 
Use case is quite essential when talking about this stuff. A real cab in the room is hard to beat but IMO you need a tube amp to drive a real cab otherwise I would choose IRs through monitors any day. If your use case is recording guitars with the Axe-Fx then IRs win IMO since it's almost impossible to find the exact same mic position again meaning that you will never have the same sound. So the way you talk about real cabs and IRs is not completely comparable. All IRs include a microphone. Microphone position changes your tone drastically and if you don't have experience in positioning mics or if your mic position changes the differences can be bigger than using a different amp sim with random settings on every gig.

Summary: Real cabs for having fun and playing guitar on your own. IRs for anything where your guitar tone is being heard by other people like a crowd f.ex.
 
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