ideal sine sweep loudness when capturing IR's

Rhiza

Inspired
Hi guys, Long time no post. So here goes.

I've been messing around with capturing cabinet IRs myself with my Mesa 2x12 rectifier cabinet and so far I've gotten great IRs!
So I was wondering, is there a sweet spot on how loud the sine sweep should be?
Most people just say, turn it up till it hurts your ears or starts distorting, then it's too loud.
But if I measured with a DB meter, couldn't I find a sweet spot?
Anyone wanna share their experience? :)
 
My experience is that sweep loudness does indeed change the resulting IR a lot! Especially the low end. I'd say try different loudness values and compare the IRs, then settle for the one you like the most.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. I did some experimentation today and yes Francesco it does indeed change the IR a little. Generally all of them sound good though :)
For me I found out that using lower volume sine sweep increases note separation? Or is it just me?
Thanks for the heads up Matt, I'll keep a close eye on the volume!
At the moment I'm using a Magnum44 as power amp and a Shure SM57 into a Golden Age Pre-73 and it sounds killer!
I just ordered a Behringer Ultra-DI DI600P so I can do Hyper accurate IRs. Really looking forward to it!
I'll be using a Mesa Express 5:25 as power amp and mics will be Shure SM-57, Shure SM7B and a Royer 121.
I'll share them if I like what I get.
 
It does not need to be uncomfortably loud.
DON'T BLOW THE SPEAKER LIKE I HAVE DONE!!

Respect! What have you done? "...oh, forget the mic pre..." A."..no prob, i`ve got a 3000 Watts Power Amp, this will fix it..." :roll :mrgreen

Sine Sweeps could be ear bleeding. As long the speakers work on levels, they were made for, so they don`t get in distortion (which results in non-linearity, impulse response can`t capture anyhow ... theres the motor drive knob for in the Cab Block), it should make not THAT difference on which level you capture. to silent, you get SNR problems respectively have to raise the MIC pre to much ... to loud and you come into speaker distortion area, even not recommended.
I would do it maximal at rehearsal level or so ... raise the volume level of the Power Amp slowly when sending test sweeps ... up to the level, you normally play your cab ... but less level would even work also, IMO. The more loudness, the more mecanical vibrations of the whole system (speaker cabinet), this could result in minor differences at different levels ... IMO.
 
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