Is there any info for getting started on blending IRs in the cab block?

Miseria

Member
Trying to make sense of the massive amount of Cabs in the Axe III (and packs I had purchased back for the AX8).

Is there any type of primer on what the qualities of different mics or cabs are? What typically blend well together or what to generally stay away from?
 
There are a lot of IR's that are already a blend of different mics. Most of the ML packs have blends, and there are a number Cliff has already done etc. In other words, people with a great ear and lots of experience already went and did a lot of the hard work for you, so you can simply select a great sounding IR. There are no rules though, you can blend anything with anything... Think a 1x6 sounds great mixed with a 4x12 ? Rock on. lol

That said, perhaps it would help if you indicated specifically what your looking to achieve, such as if you have a current IR for example which you like, but feel its lacking a certain ______ ? If we knew a little more about what your goal is it would be easier to provide a bit more specific advice targeted towards that end goal.

Otherwise, its a pretty broad subject matter. Looking up some posts by guys like ML talking about different cab packs is a great resource too. I think he often has some sound clips, you can hear a bit what the different mics sound like on different cabs and such.
 
My standard technique is to use a couple ribbon mics (313, 160, 121) along with a 4047 and a 57 and adjust to taste. I rarely mix cabs, almost always using IRs from the same cab. The two ribbon mics and 4047 I blend equally, the 57 usually 6-12 dB down. Those Ownhammer IRs are good too, the ones w/ four different mics. Load all four and mix to taste.
 
Rule #1 when fooling around with IRs:

make sure you don’t have a cold, or your ears aren’t shot after a gig, or a party, or visiting a concert.

Thought I had recovered from a fevery cold when doing some IR exploration days ago. But everything sounded “off” and out-of-phase. I thought: it’s the IRs, not me. Fast forward one day: problems solved, everything sounds fine. It’s the ears, not the data.
 
Awesome info thanks!


There are a lot of IR's that are already a blend of different mics. Most of the ML packs have blends, and there are a number Cliff has already done etc. In other words, people with a great ear and lots of experience already went and did a lot of the hard work for you, so you can simply select a great sounding IR. There are no rules though, you can blend anything with anything... Think a 1x6 sounds great mixed with a 4x12 ? Rock on. lol

That said, perhaps it would help if you indicated specifically what your looking to achieve, such as if you have a current IR for example which you like, but feel its lacking a certain ______ ? If we knew a little more about what your goal is it would be easier to provide a bit more specific advice targeted towards that end goal.

Otherwise, its a pretty broad subject matter. Looking up some posts by guys like ML talking about different cab packs is a great resource too. I think he often has some sound clips, you can hear a bit what the different mics sound like on different cabs and such.

I'm not really after any specific sound....just trying to learn about IRs and how to use them in the Axe FX III.
 
Rule #1 when fooling around with IRs:

make sure you don’t have a cold, or your ears aren’t shot after a gig, or a party, or visiting a concert.

Thought I had recovered from a fevery cold when doing some IR exploration days ago. But everything sounded “off” and out-of-phase. I thought: it’s the IRs, not me. Fast forward one day: problems solved, everything sounds fine. It’s the ears, not the data.

I discovered that recently - had bad allergies and HATED any sound through my studio monitors. The only thing that sounded OK to me was a super loud guitar cab.

Another question - how important is acoustic treatments in a room when auditioning IRs? My office/studio has a bunch of foam panels on the walls but no bass traps or anything yet. And I have my monitors placed near a wall and directly on a hard surface.
 
I discovered that recently - had bad allergies and HATED any sound through my studio monitors. The only thing that sounded OK to me was a super loud guitar cab.

Another question - how important is acoustic treatments in a room when auditioning IRs? My office/studio has a bunch of foam panels on the walls but no bass traps or anything yet. And I have my monitors placed near a wall and directly on a hard surface.

Allergy: very recognizable.

I don’t have any acoustic treatment in my room. I’m just aware that placement of speakers will have a certain impact. And I’m okay with that. Sound does not thrive in a laborary environment. My house is not a studio.

I use CLRs as studio monitors. On a riser above the floor, to prevent coupling. Not in a corner (corners are bad). And that’s it. I’ve got lots of wood in the room and that’s good. Several things start to rattle when the volume goes up, fine by me.

Bass and Treble freqs can be dealt with in a number of ways. Most commonly by adjusting Low Freq and Hi Freq in the Cab block.

So I don’t find acoustic treatment that important, unless you’re having very specific issues, or need to professionally record or mix or master recordings.
 
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Rule #1 when fooling around with IRs:

make sure you don’t have a cold, or your ears aren’t shot after a gig, or a party, or visiting a concert.

Thought I had recovered from a fevery cold when doing some IR exploration days ago. But everything sounded “off” and out-of-phase. I thought: it’s the IRs, not me. Fast forward one day: problems solved, everything sounds fine. It’s the ears, not the data.

I had the double whammy of a cold and a blocked ear after a long flight recently and ended up having to get my ears flushed out at the doctor; everything went from sounding dull and muffled to overly bright. Took a few days to get back to normal even though I was otherwise recovered.

Regarding the OP, my go to is always a 57 and 121 on the same cab with the 121 set between -6 and -9db. I find if i don't like that combo I move onto another cab. Once I find one I like I'll play around with other mics on that particular cab (e.g swapping the 121 for a 313, 160 or 421, 57 for a 906 or 4047).
 
On a related note I've added a time display to the cabinet block which shows all four IRs on the same axis and allows you to adjust the mic distance (delay) of each on that display. This allows you to precisely time align the IRs.
Sweet, seems you're cooking up a few things. Very interested in the next FW release!
 
On a related note I've added a time display to the cabinet block which shows all four IRs on the same axis and allows you to adjust the mic distance (delay) of each on that display. This allows you to precisely time align the IRs.

Nice!!!
 
I had the double whammy of a cold and a blocked ear after a long flight recently and ended up having to get my ears flushed out at the doctor; everything went from sounding dull and muffled to overly bright. Took a few days to get back to normal even though I was otherwise recovered.

Regarding the OP, my go to is always a 57 and 121 on the same cab with the 121 set between -6 and -9db. I find if i don't like that combo I move onto another cab. Once I find one I like I'll play around with other mics on that particular cab (e.g swapping the 121 for a 313, 160 or 421, 57 for a 906 or 4047).

Awesome, thanks a ton. Love your videos man! They've helped me a ton on my journey.
 
For what it’s worth, aural fullness/pressure resulting from Eustachian tube dysfunction due to a cold or sinus issues generally will show a bit of a conducive hearing loss around 125-1000hz, due to increased stiffness of the tympanic membrane aka ear drum. Noise exposure results in a temporary or permanant threshold shift most often evident around 3-4kHz, aka a “noise notch”.

The change in hearing response is used as a diagnostic tool to better determine if there is fluid, pressure, infection in the middle ear, wear and tear, retro-cochlear pathology etc.

Knowing what frequencies can be affected based on your symptoms can come in handy when making some mix decisions.
 
On a related note I've added a time display to the cabinet block which shows all four IRs on the same axis and allows you to adjust the mic distance (delay) of each on that display. This allows you to precisely time align the IRs.
That is so cool. Very excited to see that.
 
For what it’s worth, aural fullness/pressure resulting from Eustachian tube dysfunction due to a cold or sinus issues generally will show a bit of a conducive hearing loss around 125-1000hz, due to increased stiffness of the tympanic membrane aka ear drum. Noise exposure results in a temporary or permanant threshold shift most often evident around 3-4kHz, aka a “noise notch”.

The change in hearing response is used as a diagnostic tool to better determine if there is fluid, pressure, infection in the middle ear, wear and tear, retro-cochlear pathology etc.

Knowing what frequencies can be affected based on your symptoms can come in handy when making some mix decisions.

Suffering from presbyacousia, should I take Viagra to even the frequencies lost ?
;)
 
Suffering from presbyacousia, should I take Viagra to even the frequencies lost ?
;)

I would vote “no” lol

Some research has shown a link between viagra’s active ingredient and increased incidence of sudden sensory-neural hearing loss and/or increased tinnitus perception.

Maybe even last more than 4 hours
 
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