"IR"s and Cab Blocks . . . . I don't understand

Nozkcb

Nozkcb

Inspired
Sorry if this is not the right place to ask this question(s) but, exactly what are IR's and how do you use them to augment CAB blocks within the AX8?

I've tried every cab in the stock system and have found several I like but, I keep reading about these other IRs and how "great" they sound.

For example: I don't understand how I would purchase an IR (i.e. Ownhammer) and turn it into a CAB block that I could use. It seems that there is yet another utility that's required to covert the IR (Wav) files into something that the AX8 can deal with, but I don't have the desire or time to learn more software just to add good sounding cabinets to my AX8 library.

Is there anywhere where I can simply purchase 3rd party IR-based cabs that are directly compatibility with the AX8 and if so, where are they?

Thanks
 
I believe OH will give you the right version to use with FAS stuff when you buy it. If not cablab lite (free product by fractal will do the converting for you) if you buy the IR fractal sells obviously those are ready to go.

I will say this. You do not NEED to buy any cab packs. They are def some nice ones out there buy you can get plenty of killer tones with the stock ones
 
IR means Impulse Response. It is created by sending an "impulse" (fast transient frequency sweep signal) through a speaker cabinet and recording the result. It is basically capturing the transient frequency reponse eq curve of a mic'd cab. The Axe-FX can generate this transient sweep or you can use software programs to generate the sound that is fed to the cab.
 
If you buy Fractal cab packs there is no need of other software. you can load there files with ax-8 edit or fractal bot. for 3rd party IR's you will have to convert them.
 
And, FWIW, conversion is super simple and doesn't require learning other software at all really. If you get an OwnHammer cab, all you need to do in Cab-Lab 3 Lite is:

  1. Go to the "Tools" menu
  2. Select "Wav2Syx... "
  3. In the dialog that comes up set the pulldown to "UltraRes"
  4. Under the "Source Folder:" section of that same dialog, click the "BROWSE" button and navigate to the folder of OwnHammer Fractal wav's you downloaded
  5. Under the "Destination Folder:" section click "BROWSE" and navigate to where you want your converted .syx files to go
  6. Click the "CONVERT" button

Wav2Syx will remake the folder structure from the folder you select on down and convert every .wav it encounters along the way into a .syx in the destination directory. Once you have these .syx files you can transfer them to your AX8 with AX8-Edit or Fractal-Bot as paranoid mentioned. Once transferred to the unit, you can select them in the "User" cab slots of your AX8's cab block exactly like you do with the factory cabs.

As brokenvail said though, definitely no "need" to get additional IRs. Many of the factory IRs actually come from various Cab Packs and commercial IRs offered by Fractal and other impulse response vendors already, so it's like you have a sampler of the various IRs on offer that was built right into your AX8 when it shipped.

I personally think the best advice is to get comfortable with the IRs that come with the unit first, and only venture down the rabbit hole of additional IRs once you start wanting something different from your sound (different like: speakers or cabs not represented as well in the factory IRs, more mics or mic positions that are in the factory cabs, or doing your own custom mixes to further shape the frequency response further). I think you could easily just use the factory IRs and never need to venture into additional cabs too if you didn't want. The extra IRs are just nice if you like tweaking gear and trying different combinations of amp types and cab/speaker/mic choices.
 
For a beginners version of IR's I agree with paranoid - Fractals cab packs are the way to go - all the work is done for you. If you genuinely don't understand IR's do yourself a favour and search on youtube for some demos
 
The cab block is nothing more then a "IR block". All stock cabs are IRs from Fractal. The only thing that you always do is play with IRs (head exploding here...) :D

Therefore, the "custom" or a "user" cabinet is just another IR different then your stock ones that you upload to the unit.

In simple terms, IRs are files generated from a complex math extracted from a real world sound recording (in our case, cabinets) to measure the response behavior of something against different frequencies.

The trick here is that normally IR files come in a .WAV format, but Fractal has its own formats for them called .SYX or .IR. You can convert between formats using the "CabLab". Even the free version does it.

But, if you buy cab packages from Fractal, they are already on the correct format. Famous vendors like Ownhammer (aka OH) will give you the correct file or a step by step tutorial to help you properly convert.

I hope I was clear enough :)

Summary: IRs are awesome because you can potentially have any cabinet that ever existed in your AX8! :)
 
Have you explored all the cabs in the ax8? Since you are learning why add to the curve?
The cabs in the ax8 are excellent. Jus sayin...

The cabs you can buy are NOT better they are different, just like factory cab 61 is different then factory cab 87
 
Stratman68 said:
Have you explored all the cabs in the ax8? Since you are learning why add to the curve?
The cabs in the ax8 are excellent. Jus sayin...

The cabs you can buy are NOT better they are different, just like factory cab 61 is different then factory cab 87
Click to expand...
i have to disagree there....while there are definitely some very good factory cabs, i can find an equivalent aftermarket cab that is definitely better, if only by being able to customize mic choice/placement/etc.
 
Thanks everyone for the info. I'll take a look at the FA Cab Packs first.

I'm really just looking for something that will emulate the closed-back Divided by 13 1x12 cabinet.

Thanks again!
 
Nozkcb said:
Thanks everyone for the info. I'll take a look at the FA Cab Packs first.

I'm really just looking for something that will emulate the closed-back Divided by 13 1x12 cabinet.

Thanks again!
Click to expand...
One of the FAS cab packs has a /13 cab
 
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Nozkcb said:
Thanks everyone for the info. I'll take a look at the FA Cab Packs first.

I'm really just looking for something that will emulate the closed-back Divided by 13 1x12 cabinet.

Thanks again!
Click to expand...
I think Pete Thorn offers a free IR that is a Divided by 13 cab. Search this forum you should be able to find it. It is a pretty good offering.
 
In reading your post, once you find a few IR's that work for you, and you learn where to lo cut and high cut the frequencies in the cab block,
I don't think you are going to find an IR that sounds great or significantly better. You may find one that works a little better for what you are trying to achieve. Many of the stock IR's work very well for me. I play at home through PreSonus monitors, and live using an FBT 2 way cab as a personal monitor.
 
IR's = good. I definitely suggest you start with a smaller pack to get things rolling quicker for you. Like said, Fractal Audio Cab Packs are already in the correct format and don't need any conversions. You can load them into your AX8 via AX8-Edit by drag-n-dropping them in the Cab-Manage tool that you'll find in the menu.

This is the Fractal Audio Cab Pack Store in case you missed it: http://shop.fractalaudio.com/Software_Downloads_s/54.htm
 
ML SOUND LAB said:
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This is the Fractal Audio Cab Pack Store in case you missed it: http://shop.fractalaudio.com/Software_Downloads_s/54.htm
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OP there are some FAS cab packs buy a guy named Clark Kent and ML sound labs. Those come with a folder of what the creator thinks we're the best IR's of the pack plus some multi mic mixes. I highly suggest starting with one of those because they prob increase your chances of instant gratification
 
jlynnb1 said:
i have to disagree there....while there are definitely some very good factory cabs, i can find an equivalent aftermarket cab that is definitely better, if only by being able to customize mic choice/placement/etc.
Click to expand...

Well, I thought , after reading the POST. The op shouldn't worry about mic placement and such. Plenty of factory cabs to mess with and learn the ax8.. But I also don't think mic placement makes them "better". More versatile, yes. BTW, I own pretty much every cab pack... all except 3, I believe. .I don't mean just fractal. I mean OH and TAF also.
 
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