Redwirez The BIGbox X and MixIR3 review...

shatteredsquare

Power User
Redwirez The BIGbox X and MixIR3 review...

Register on the new website and get a 20% off coupon...the entire BixBox X and MixIR3 for less than $130...

https://redwirez.com/

Running the DAW with AFX3 i can only audition the modules at 48k right now, still sounds great but nothing sounds as good as direct RAW 96k/24bit direct imports to the AFX3...

The modules at default sound super polished at first, mix ready for sure but not super colorful. Those little knobs at the bottom right though, Bass and Z...those little things make up for any perceived differential from the single original Big Box IRs in a crazy magical way. Bass simulates having the cab nearther or farther away from the wall...I don't know how it's tuned, but turning it down cuts lows and boosts lots of high mids in a way that makes your jaw drop and immediately satisfied with the upgrade, sounds really good, tuned to the perfect guitar cut high/mid frequency. The Z knob is a really subtle scoop, hard to really perceive at first, but once you get the bass dialed in the way you like, the Z knob can polish it just right by cutting progressively more out of the perfect low mid band to give you thump and chink of the speaker without the oooohm. It's like a variable application of the old impedance curve or EQ IRs that came with BigBox. Those two knobs boost this whole thing to be waaaay worth the upgrade, every single mic position can be dialed in to perfection in like 3 seconds, none of them are throwaways now.

Pros to upgrade: Way easier to audition all the cab/mic combinations with the new module functionality in MixIR3... when you click on one mic, all the positions are there next to each other, you don't have to dig through folders and keep drag/dropping one by one. Fully variable Bass / Impedance adjustment for all mic positions, that's A LOT of flexibility with just those two knobs for every single mic position, they are incredibly powerful. The bass knob either removes low end from woofy mic positions and adds the perfect band of high mids, or boosts bass for bright positions, all on a super smooth interactive gradient (it's not just bass bands, it shifts lows/mids/highs all simultaneously with one knob sweep), and the Z knob adds a subtle mid scoop that slides / gets deeper in a way that you can have the mic way over on the edge and out at 5 inches, woofy and useless, but you can turn the Z knob up to add a scoop in just the right amount to remove the woof, now what was a bleh IR is now a super usable amazing clear full sounding custom IR that you can EXPORT...and you can do that with all 93657528 of them in BigBox X.

(In case of question comes up about two layers of speaker impedance simulation going on, i was auditioning with Recto 2 Red Modern amp with mostly default settings and Recto 4x12 Large speaker model...even with the Redwirez Bass knob on max, the Z knob is tuned so well that at no point can you dial in too much bass that the Z knob can't fix. The Z knob on MixIR3 is mostly a gentle cab-specifically tuned low-mid scoop, that also adds just the right amount high end air, the kind of high end crispness that you get out of a studio Avalon Preamp or something, it mostly serves to compensate for player preference between mic positions, it's just an equalization layer to custom tune all the mic positions. The speaker/cab impedance in the AFX3 is way more powerful, affecting power amp distortion and output EQ. You can use/adjust them both at the same time and it works flawlessly.)

The length knob lets you dial any IR down as far as low as 1ms. Don't like reflections? Want IsoBox tone? Super realistic close mic tone? Dial length down to 20ms, bass knob down to almost off, Z knob almost all the way up. Studio perfect in like 3 seconds. Then you can export that, or save it as a plugin preset.

Cons to upgrade: ???

Redwirez just took the IR hill...

MixIR3 module 1.pngMixIR3 module 2.pngMixIR3 module 3.png
 
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So let's just say you dialed in an ir using the bass and z controls. Can you then export an ir with those settings baked in?
 
So let's just say you dialed in an ir using the bass and z controls. Can you then export an ir with those settings baked in?

Oh yeah, either L+R or mono, at whatever sample rate you want, either wav or aiff. What's also cool is that the mixer sliders do what they do in the AFX3, they only mix proportionality to % of total, the output level stays the same all the time. Also that little ruler button turns the slider into logarithmic scale, so the first half of the slider is super fine adjustment 0-10 out of the 100%, you can really get detailed with it...

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Not even kidding, I'd pay another 130 bucks if I could get the bass/Z/Trim knob functionality on the channel strip for a single loaded IR... (a non cab specific generic equivalent, or selectable cabinet type, like in the AFX3 speaker selection) ...to be able to tune single IRs and 3rd party IRs individually, shorten them individually, mix them, and export the master as one print.

Those Bass/Z/Trim knobs are so powerful, Redwirez would fix everybody's IR search issues at once...because you can tune them yourself and then reprint it, no such thing as a bad IR anymore. Tune to preference and export...the perfect IR that doesn't need any more downstream processing.
 
Tried out the starter pack they are giving out for free. Sounded good. My only issue with them is, I got myself out of the habit of scrolling through hundreds of IR's and doing all kinds of rabbit hole blending in cab lab, going for the more simplified versions of the modern day cab packs. Not sure I want to go back down that rabbit hole. Just with the starter pack alone I found myself getting anxiety from auditioning all the different mics and positions, and blends of all the different positions together. It actually made me turn my axe off.
I think my mind set has just adjusted so much to the simplified cab pack, not sure I can or want to go back. lol
 
Tried out the starter pack they are giving out for free. Sounded good. My only issue with them is, I got myself out of the habit of scrolling through hundreds of IR's and doing all kinds of rabbit hole blending in cab lab, going for the more simplified versions of the modern day cab packs. Not sure I want to go back down that rabbit hole. Just with the starter pack alone I found myself getting anxiety from auditioning all the different mics and positions, and blends of all the different positions together. It actually made me turn my axe off.
I think my mind set has just adjusted so much to the simplified cab pack, not sure I can or want to go back. lol

I completely understand what you’re saying. I’ve gone down that same rabbit hole too many times. For me, it helps to limit myself to SM57 captures or any premade mixes that come with a cab pack.
 
For me, it helps to limit myself to SM57 captures or any premade mixes that come with a cab pack.

Same for me , tried out many many many Its but keep coming back to the SM57 & R121.....the Redwirez Bogner Ubercab is a great sounding cab...was my big favourite long time ago...and could still do the trick now....BUT even recently I have bought Its from different manufacturers.....but keep coming back to these 3 cabs :

  • Marshall PR75 or 55 SM57-R121 mix 1 ML
  • Mesa Boogie : Bulb SM57-R121 mix 03 ML
  • Fender Clean Deluxe Vibrato factory IR 279 SM57 (if I remember correctly )
 
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