Need help on choosing Redwire IR for clean-medium rock

Rak

New Member
Hello,

yes I have followed many of the IR cabs threads and I know about the interactions of things. I have finetuned things and am still not fully convinced by my results. :roll:
I am not sure if this is due to limited programming capabilities or if the Axe does not live up to my expectations.
Nevertheless:

as a new owner of the Axe Standart I was wondering if I'm losing time trying to find the right setup using the stock cabs....
I wonder if I should take the shortcut and someone more experienced would say: ' The stock cab x should be replaced by redwire y... it is always the better choice'.
Is there such a simple formulae in some cases? Are the stock cabs a weak point on the Axe?

I don't neccessarily want to buy all of the redwire cabs since I don't know if I will keep the Axe. And returning many not wanted ones seems to me a bit impolite ;)
. So what would a good starting point be and how to approach it.

Let's say I wanted a Celestion Blue 12:
Should I buy the Blue Speaker Series one or the Blue ones from the Big Boxes Series ... will they all sound very different?. Where to start.
Is there a top five Redwire ....( I know I know, what a question :) for clean to medium Rock.
Is there even a really good universal one? .... I think the uberkab has been mentioned as a possible candidate.

I just want to find out what I can expect from the Axe and if I should keep it.

I know and will tweak here and there (preamp/ amp/ mics) as good as I can, but I wish there was something like a reference preset done by a very experienced user which includes preamp/ amp/ cab/ mic/ EQ/ (Rev for air if neccessary) just too see what can be expected from the Axe.
For a Vox, a Fender Twin, Plexi, .... up to vintage, medium Rock... songwriter


No other effects....( I find most of the presets unusable for getting a good impression of the amps).

Many thanks for any reply to this very multifaceted question.

Best regards,
Rak
 
Well . . . .

I would not say that the stock IR's are deficient compared to Red Wires, with the following qualifiers:

a) Some of the stock 4 x 12's have a lot of bottom-end, too much for some tastes. But as personal preferences and needs vary, it's probably not the worst thing to have variety.

b) What Red Wires offers, irrespective of which speaker models you try, is an incredible number of variations per speaker, via multiple mics, and within each mic folder, numerous options for mic distance and aimed at different parts of the speaker cap, cap edge, cone, cone edge, etc.

This variety is a good news / bad news scenario: it pretty much guarantees you can find a balanced tone that you like, assuming you like the speaker model in general. But of course you have to invest a little time to determine which variations you wish to use. If you don't want to "taste-test", you can always just use the Earthworks TC30 IR's, which are the only ones captured with a calibrated reference mic. All the other mics add their own colorations, not the least of which is proximity effect at closer mic placements.

Now that Red Wires offers the online Mixer, this offers huge value-added to any models that you purchase. It's a tweaker's wet dream.

I'd rather have the options and be free to tweak to my preference, knowing that I can take the simple approach if I need to.

But I've also re-discovered the stock cabs with 9.03. Some great IR's there.

Re: Red Wires, I really like the Speakerbox Celestion Blue, haven't tried the other series for the Blue, but I understand it might be fuller in the lower mids, probably due to cabinet resonance. I also love the TweedDeluxeP12R, mated with the Fender amp sims. But I feel that I can get pretty much everything I want from the Celestion Blue, particularly with the option to use the Mixer. Going to try the Ubercab V30's and the Bassman, based on positive forum comments.

Most of my interest is cleans to mid-gain, not high gain.

I also like the stock Brit models, with the exception of the 4x12, the 4x10 Bassman (actual name?), the 2x12 Blue (Jensen, not Celestion), the 2x12 Black, and the 4x12 30. If you're looking for less energy in the lower end, try the 1x12 variants.
 
Nothing wrong with the stock cabs. Don't forget to experiment with the mic sims, without sounds a lot different than a R121.

The RW's are more versatile and sound a bit more 'realistic' IMO. Everyone should try the RW Uberkab V30's at least once ;-)
 
Hello Brian and Yek,

my first reply and thanks to you seemed to have got lost. So again:

many thanks for your replies which were exacactly the kind what i had hoped for: to the point, detailed and informative.
So many parameters and possibilities and so many ways to get something right but also sooo wrong:)

Yes, I tried different mics, and the Royer was always very nice.

I bought the Blue Series Cab from Redwire as a starting point and will try the Ubercab V30 to get started.
Perhaps I should also try some Jensen 12.

I think I listened to your, Yek, samples of the basketweave. The IRs of the Axe and Redwire were different but not worlds apart, right?? So the stocks are really not that bad?!

Can I mix the Blues with itsself with the IR-Mixer to get an 2x12 ? Just to see how it differs?
Do you mix IRs at random... trial and error?

Are the stock cabs a good reference to what I can expect from the same Celestion/ Jensen from Redwire ..... only better?


I am used to using my tube-preamp with a device called ADA Ampulator (hardware amp- cab simulator with tube) and got really good results).
I only record directly to DAW ... not live.
The Axe on its own had an digital taste to it when listening to it on its own over my headphones. That's why I will give the Redwire IRs a try.

(Have you got a Preset to share, so I can see what you have managed to achieve/ get out of the Axe?)

Anyway, many thanks again!

Regards,
Rak
 
Rak said:
Hello Brian and Yek,

my first reply and thanks to you seemed to have got lost. So again:

many thanks for your replies which were exacactly the kind what i had hoped for: to the point, detailed and informative.
So many parameters and possibilities and so many ways to get something right but also sooo wrong:)

Yes, I tried different mics, and the Royer was always very nice.

I bought the Blue Series Cab from Redwire as a starting point and will try the Ubercab V30 to get started.
Perhaps I should also try some Jensen 12.

I think I listened to your, Yek, samples of the basketweave. The IRs of the Axe and Redwire were different but not worlds apart, right?? So the stocks are really not that bad?!

Can I mix the Blues with itsself with the IR-Mixer to get an 2x12 ? Just to see how it differs?
Do you mix IRs at random... trial and error?

Are the stock cabs a good reference to what I can expect from the same Celestion/ Jensen from Redwire ..... only better?


I am used to using my tube-preamp with a device called ADA Ampulator (hardware amp- cab simulator with tube) and got really good results).
I only record directly to DAW ... not live.
The Axe on its own had an digital taste to it when listening to it on its own over my headphones. That's why I will give the Redwire IRs a try.

(Have you got a Preset to share, so I can see what you have managed to achieve/ get out of the Axe?)

Anyway, many thanks again!

Regards,
Rak

I didn't do the BasketWeave samples. But indeed and again, you should be able to get good tones with the stock cabs.

Just try this:
First verify that your I/O and Global settings are set correctly (Power amp on, Cab sim on, Global EQ flat, Front analog input, Mono output).
In an empty patch slot: place an amp block. Select Euro1, Master 5, Drive, 5, Presence 7, Bright on. Add a cab after the amp. Set it to stereo, select 4x12 German (no mic) for left and 4x12 V30 (with SM57 mic) for right. Add a PEQ after the cab. Set the 1st band to Blocking and set the freq at 120 Hz. Set the 5th band to Blocking and set the freq at 5520kHz.
Play. You should get a decent crunch tone.

You can mix RW IRs with stock cabs, by using a stereo cab or by using two separate cab blocks. And yes, you can mix them with themselves, by putting the same IR in Left and Right (stereo cab).

I follow the guidelines on the Red Wire site about mic positions (Support > Tutorial). Works for me.

The RW IRs sound different from the stock cabs for sure.

BTW, using headphones is not reecommended. It just doesn't seem to work out well.

My patches are posted in the Share Patches forum.
 
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