Hello everyone,
I'd like to proudly and officially announce the newest and final revision of the OwnHammer Impulse Response Libraries. The V4 IR's represent the culmination of the last 5 years of product development, both in terms of perfecting the capture process itself, but also in feature set presentation for a multitude of platforms, applications, and tonal variations. The term "V4" is not expressly posted anywhere on the OwnHammer site as previous library revisions have been permanently disabled. In this way, these are now
**THE** OwnHammer Impulse Response Libraries. The V4 badge then only serves the purpose of acknowledging new content to those who may have picked up and been familiar with previous OwnHammer offerings.
So what's new? In addition to the end of the line of incrimental capture procedure improvements, the V4 libraries adhere to a new and universal presentation. The following will break that down into summary information:
- Single Cabinet Library Feature Set -
There are two primary product types in the single cabinets section: dual and single speaker libraries.
Dual speaker libraries contain two speaker type options for a single cabinet, both contain the same amount of mics and mix types. In addition to each speaker being provided on their own, speaker mixes of the two are also included. For these IR's, the speaker listed first in the folder and file name (e.g. M25+V30) is slightly more dominant in the mix recipe for all such IR's. This can be incredibly powerful when a library contains speakers of significantly contrasting sounds, such as the 212 BOG-OS.
Single speaker libraries contain a single speaker type option, with the same mics and mix types as the dual speaker libraries. They are labeled as "expansions", not indicating that the dual speaker library is required for them to work (after all, they are just .wav files), but that it is a content limited product as compared to the primary dual speaker entry.
- Mics and Mixes -
All of the libraries contain the following:
Mics:
"57" based on a modern production Shure SM57 dynamic mic.
"70" based on a Microtech Gefell UMT70S condenser mic.
"121" based on a Royer R121 ribbon mic.
"160" based on a Beyerdynamic M160 ribbon mic.
"414" based on an AKG C414B-ULS condenser mic.
"421" based on a vintage Telefunken MD421 dynamic mic.
"MID" based on a mid field placed AEA R92 ribbon mic.
"REAR" based on a vintage Neumann KM84 condenser mic.
"ROOM" based on a vintage Neumann KM84 condenser mic.
Some libraries may contain additional single mics, and will be noted in the feature set on the product description page.
Mixes:
“MDRN” is based on a 57 + 421 mic combination.
“OH1” is based on a 57 + 121 mic combination.
“OH1F” is based on a more “fat” sounding 57 + 121 mic combination.
“OH2” is based on a 421 + 121 mic combination.
“OH2F” is based on a more “fat” sounding 421 + 121 mic combination.
“SP2” is based on a multi-mic configuration created by
Scott Peterson.
Most 4x12 libraries also contain:
“PROG” is a proprietary mix that excels in modern progressive music styles.
Some libraries may also contain:
“JS” is based on a multi-mic configuration created by
Jon Symons.
“EWH” is based on a multi-mic configuration created by
Eric Hill.
Mics and Mixes are presented in the fashion that OwnHammer libraries have been offered with the beloved variable position scheme ranging from 00 to 10. These positions represent movement across the face of the speaker along the relative sweet spot from brighter and closer to center (00) to darker and further out on the cap or cone (10). These numbers do not represent any specific unit of measure and are merely sequential arbitrary definitions.
Since there is a load of content in every library, a "Quick Start" folder is available at the top of each product that contains the OwnHammer picks for the most universally ideal single mic and mix positions. Within this there are also "M+" variations of most entries, which is a mid-boosted voicing for those who may have use for or prefer it.
- Outboard Gear and Signal Chain -
All of the V4 guitar cab libraries are driven by a neutral tube amp, using a BAE 1073mp mic amp, Vovox cables, and Prism Orpheus conversion.
- File Format -
All OwnHammer libraries are offered in the parent convolution reverb format: Wave Audio (.wav). Wav files can be loaded directly into the Cab Lab 3 standalone/plugin application, however if you wish to use these files in outboard Fractal hardware you will need to first convert them to System Exclusive (.syx) format. This can be done via the conversion utilities Fractal Audio Systems provides:
Cab Lab
In addition to a very robust commercial version of this software, there is also a limited function free version (Lite) as well. To those who opt for the free utility, to my understanding you will not be able to batch convert the files so I recommend you first convert the Quick Start contents in the OwnHammer libraries and branch out from there.
Every OwnHammer library contains a "Fractal.zip" in the product downloads section that is ideal for conversion given the feature options in the FAS format converter utilities. These files are mono, 200 ms in length, 48 kHz sample rate, and in the "raw" time of flight. This allows you to either convert them as is and leave the phase information (to which they will only be in time/phase with other OH raw files without additional adjustment), or employ the FAS minimum phase transformation processing if you'd like to mix them in cab blocks with other non-OH content. The universal time of flight for the OH raw IR's is 80 samples at 48 kHz, or 1.67 ms.
- Free Demo -
On the site I have provided a single speaker portion of the 412 MES-ST library. This represents the feature set for one speaker, and will give you a feel for the provided options and sounds, within the confines of the source content. This can be downloaded from the following location:
OwnHammer V4 Free Demo
- In Closing -
Many thanks to everyone who has been a part of this journey over the years. I hope that the OwnHammer libraries have brought joy and ease to your creative endeavors, and continue to do so for many years to come. I also apologize for this thread being six months in the making. The reaction, feedback, results, and demand from the word 'go' of these libraries has been so extraordinarily fervent that I have simply not been able to keep up - for which I will say a very emphatic 'THANK YOU' to you all for that and all of your support!
I will try to keep an eye on and keep up in this thread with any OH related questions (that are appropriate to answer and do not disclose any unwanted inside information), and will post product release updates here for those that like keeping up to date with the OH offerings in this venue.
For a list of all the currently available libraries, go to
ownhammer.com for more details. Happy tone hunting!
All the best,
Kevin
OwnHammer.com
