New to Fractal - question with regards to IRs

G

Guitarzan5150

Member
I just got my FM3 last week and have been enjoying it quite a bit. I've come from the Helix and it really is a step up. So far though, I find the amount of options almost overwhelming, with IRs especially. I know the FM3 has great IRs built in, but it seems kind of tedious to audition and figure out which ones work best with which amps. I had a bunch of York Audio cabs that I had purchased for the Helix. I've loaded all the mixes of the cabs I bought and have just been going straight to those. I feel I may be missing something.

Anybody else here just use York Audio mixes and forget about everything else?

It's helped me get great tone right out of the gate though, so maybe I need not worry so much about all the options available? I know many say there's no need to purchase 3rd party IRs with the plethora available, but I figured I already had them, so why not?

How do more experienced Fractal users feel about third party IRs, specifically York Audio? Are his mixes just a shortcut to what would already be available by blending two stock cab/IRs together?
 
Lots of people use them, me included. I think Leon Todd, who does lots of great videos for the FM3 and AXIII has recommended them in the past too. If they are working for you then that’s all that matters really.
 
I use them and I agree. All of my main presets use York Audio IRs and to my ears they just have something extra special going on when compared with others. They just always seem to work for me for some reason, no matter what the amp choice.
 
Guitarzan5150 said:
I just got my FM3 last week and have been enjoying it quite a bit. I've come from the Helix and it really is a step up. So far though, I find the amount of options almost overwhelming, with IRs especially. I know the FM3 has great IRs built in, but it seems kind of tedious to audition and figure out which ones work best with which amps. I had a bunch of York Audio cabs that I had purchased for the Helix. I've loaded all the mixes of the cabs I bought and have just been going straight to those. I feel I may be missing something.

Anybody else here just use York Audio mixes and forget about everything else?

It's helped me get great tone right out of the gate though, so maybe I need not worry so much about all the options available? I know many say there's no need to purchase 3rd party IRs with the plethora available, but I figured I already had them, so why not?

How do more experienced Fractal users feel about third party IRs, specifically York Audio? Are his mixes just a shortcut to what would already be available by blending two stock cab/IRs together?
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That's exactly what I'm doing. I bought most of the York packs and have the mixes and a few individual mic IRs loaded on the FM3. There are some great factory IRs, but I was spending way too much time scrolling through them to find what I want. The York Audio IRs just sound right to me and reduce the option paralysis I get with the factory cabs.
 
I use some factory and Redwirez IRs. My approach is no different than with physical amps and speakers. Research speakers recommended or typically used with a particular amp then select the mic preferred to get the desired tone. After a bit of time auditioning IRs, you'll discover the mic type, position and distance that gives you what you're looking for.
 
JoKeR III said:
I use some factory and Redwirez IRs. My approach is no different than with physical amps and speakers. Research speakers recommended or typically used with a particular amp then select the mic preferred to get the desired tone. After a bit of time auditioning IRs, you'll discover the mic type, position and distance that gives you what you're looking for.
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I kind of have an idea of which cab/speaker I would use with a given amp. I think it's the mic and placement that's a little tedious. I typically like 121, but on it's own it's too dark/boomy. I generally hate sm57, but sometimes if it's mixed right with the right 121, it works. That's the part that I donl't really feel like experimenting with. If I were to use just a 121, I'd have to add additional EQ somewhere. With the Helix, I would have used the tilt EQ to balance out the highs and lows. That being said, since going to the YA IRs, I stopped having to mess with all that stuff. Pick one of the mixes, and it just sounds right out of the box. I've had more time to spend again today creating new patches and trying different things out, and I think just using a pre-mixed IR is the easy way out. As they always say, if it sounds good, it is good.

While waiting for my invite, I watched a bunch of Leon's videos and noticed he often used his own IR. So I had to give it a go and downloaded @2112 LT TV mix 2 to try out. Wow. What a great IR. That cab sounds killer.
 
I use my York Audio IRs as well and they sound great with the FM3 and Axe III. The stock IRs in the Axe and Fm are also fantastic. So much to choose and have fun with.
 
Guitarzan5150 said:
I just got my FM3 last week and have been enjoying it quite a bit. I've come from the Helix and it really is a step up. So far though, I find the amount of options almost overwhelming, with IRs especially. I know the FM3 has great IRs built in, but it seems kind of tedious to audition and figure out which ones work best with which amps. I had a bunch of York Audio cabs that I had purchased for the Helix. I've loaded all the mixes of the cabs I bought and have just been going straight to those. I feel I may be missing something.

Anybody else here just use York Audio mixes and forget about everything else?

It's helped me get great tone right out of the gate though, so maybe I need not worry so much about all the options available? I know many say there's no need to purchase 3rd party IRs with the plethora available, but I figured I already had them, so why not?

How do more experienced Fractal users feel about third party IRs, specifically York Audio? Are his mixes just a shortcut to what would already be available by blending two stock cab/IRs together?
Click to expand...
Welcome to the Fractal family, and thanks for the kind words about my IRs! I’ve got four of the most popular modelers on the market and found Fractal to easily be the most accurate of the bunch. That’s what I use when I make mixes, so it makes sense that you’re getting quick results using these IRs with your FM3.

The mixes are designed to just “work” with simple amp tweaks, so yes, they kind of work like a shortcut in getting great tones. However, there are many ways to capture an IR and every cab, every speaker, and every mic sounds different, so making blends from stock cabs wouldn’t give the same results as using one of my mixes or a custom blend of my single mic IRs.

I think if you pull up an amp and a Mix that sounds great to you, the work is done and you get to spend your time enjoying playing your guitar rather than auditioning hundreds of IR files.

If you ever need any help or have any questions, feel free to PM me and I’ll get you taken care of. :) Thanks again for your encouragement!
 
York Audio said:
Welcome to the Fractal family, and thanks for the kind words about my IRs! I’ve got four of the most popular modelers on the market and found Fractal to easily be the most accurate of the bunch. That’s what I use when I make mixes, so it makes sense that you’re getting quick results using these IRs with your FM3.

The mixes are designed to just “work” with simple amp tweaks, so yes, they kind of work like a shortcut in getting great tones. However, there are many ways to capture an IR and every cab, every speaker, and every mic sounds different, so making blends from stock cabs wouldn’t give the same results as using one of my mixes or a custom blend of my single mic IRs.

I think if you pull up an amp and a Mix that sounds great to you, the work is done and you get to spend your time enjoying playing your guitar rather than auditioning hundreds of IR files.

If you ever need any help or have any questions, feel free to PM me and I’ll get you taken care of. :) Thanks again for your encouragement!
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Thanks Justin. I've spent a ton of time with the FM3 since getting it, and it's an amazing piece of gear. I'm having so much fun just making a base preset template and just pulling up a different amp/cab every time I play and there's so much in here that sounds good. I tried occasionally throwing in a stock cab, and I'm sure they are good, I just find I have to tweak more, or get the right combo of 57 + 121. With your IRs, I've only loaded the mixes and they just work. I think it's made it easier that you already did the work for us, and we just need to pair the right cab with the right amp and go. It really is saving me a lot of time especially since being new to Fractal I'm trying out a different amp every time I play.
 
Bottom Line-York Audio IRs are great.
There are many other IR sellers that are notable. It all comes down to having a variety to choose from.

The IR selection process may look and seem daunting at first but is a pretty quick process.

I usually begin auditioning cabs without overly tweaking the amp . I use whatever IR gets me closest to the goal, whether it's Legacy, Factory or a custom IR. I will narrow the search by a feature ( 2x12, 4x12) and begin auditioning IRs and loading my favorites into the Cab Block for the top contenders. Sometimes the results are surprising. Don't be intimidated by the amount of IRs that are in the unit. You would be surprised how many you can listen to in just 5 minutes with the Looper playing and just toggling thru your list of cabs.
 
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