IR Tweaks?

deakle

deakle

Experienced
I apologize if this has been asked here before, but what parameters should one look to adjust first/most often on an IR when dialing in your tone? Does anyone know of any websites explaining the ins/outs of IR's? I have looked on the Fractal Wiki but not had much luck finding anything there. Perhaps, I am not searching for the correct item?
 
It depends on the IR you're using. If it's YA, I recommend taking off all cuts, no preamp, no "Air" parameters, etc... just keep the IR as pure as possible and dial in your amp. Once you've dialed in your amp using just the basic controls, the ONLY thing I've ever touched in the Cab block is the low cut, and edge it up anywhere from 80-120 depending on the cab, but I always try to tweak low end and high end on the amp first before doing any cuts to keep things as natural as possible.
 
When blending IRs, the first page I go to is the Align to make sure the IRs are aligned. While having them 'perfectly' aligned, having them offset by 5-15ms can tame any harshness in the high end and smooth the tone a bit. More of an offset affects the tone in some pretty cool ways but not what I typically prefer for core amp tone. After that, I like to add some proximity @ 60Hz and maybe add some room (@ 25%) but that's about the extent I go to with the Cab block.
 
If you go beyond using the Factory IRs which are good to go, check the selection in Speaker Impedance Curve and make sure the type is at least a rough match to the IR in use. That's usually good enough, but also adjust with the cabinet resonance parameter if necessary: and that should give you the overall feel and muscle.

High Pass and Low Pass should get you the rest of the way there for focus and high end finesse.

If using more than one speaker type, alignment comes into play.

Preamp can give a hint of recording like grit and saturation if you want that sort of thing.

Maybe a touch of proximity, air, or a little EQ, depending on genre for the final cherry on top.
 
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Lately I haven’t been doing anything to them other than setting the low and high cut wide open. Everything sounds fuller and more alive to my ears.
 
Before you crank up a low cut and a high cut, make sure the particular IR file merits it.

One particular client complained that certain hair parting IR files had no high end.

No, the person didn't have hearing damage, but the person used their "usual" aggressive hi cut on the files. Removing that hi cut yielded a smooth and lively top end inherent in the files to the person's ears..

YMMV
 
I heard a trick a while back about setting the room values to mimic your head and ears, iirc you would set room level at 50%, size at minimum and mic spacing at 0.1-1%, I'll have to find the source but it sounds pretty decent to me. I don't use it usually because I've always listened to amps through headphones like the youngster I am, but it helps with the amp in the room tone.
Edit- here's the link.

I love using the preamp. I have it set almost to clipping or very slightly in the red depending on the patch for cleans and vintage crunch, but keep more headroom for high gain. It brings a bit of color and saturation to the tone, which I enjoy. Depends on the patch, same need less, some like more, some don't sound good with any.
 
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Repartee41 said:
I heard a trick a while back about setting the room values to mimic your head and ears, iirc you would set room level at 50%, size at minimum and mic spacing at 0.1-1%, I'll have to find the source but it sounds pretty decent to me. I don't use it usually because I've always listened to amps through headphones like the youngster I am, but it helps with the amp in the room tone.
Edit- here's the link.

I love using the preamp. I haven't set almost to clipping or very slightly in the red depending on the patch for cleans and vintage crunch, but keep more headroom for high gain. It brings a bit of color and saturation to the tone, which I enjoy. Depends on the patch, same need less, some like more, some don't sound good with any.
Click to expand...
I tried this out, sounds pretty good, I think I can hear some phasing or something though
 
The tweaks are the controls.. Once you understand how they works use your hears.. Personally i ve bought tons of irs but i ve just realize that i use only one because that s the sound i want.
 
Low and hi cut are the bread and butter (high cut moreso for recording and live, not jamming out at home IMO).

The other parameters are great if you're fine-tuning for a recording project or want something outside the "normal" (???) sounds people use.
 
IRs are so tricky for me. It helps if I can find out if the IR is meant to sound like an amp in the room or a recorded amp. Some of them already have EQ applied, like the Bogren ones I got recently.

I have been using them to do some recording and they sound great, but I generally dont use them if Im just jamming around
 
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