sooo many IR... how do guys choose???

vondano

vondano

Inspired
im not complaining at all! I love having all those choices!

But help me!

I cant find a way to compare and decide!!! after listening to 3 or 4, i kinda get confused and cant choose anymore!

i got the stock IR, the messiah IR, the OH public beta IR, the silent underground IR,

and I kinda keep coming back to the stock IR.. i dont know why, but they seem to sound more direct to me (in a good way, for metal at least...)

any tips on how you guys decide IRs?

what are you looking for when you audition them?

my current favorite is the citrus one, (for metal like i said) maybe cause im used to its sound?

thanx!

Nico


p.s. the cab lab thing seems awesome, but then again, if i cant even choose 1 IR, i dont wanna go into blending them yet!
 
If you like the citrus one, why not just stick with it?
In the end, all the choices in IRs are just different flavours to a tasty matter: you like this one, but others might prefer a different one.

There's nothing wrong just picking a few favorites and keep coming back to them for the different amp models.

You can also check out the Axe FX wiki for some traditional amp/cab combinations.


As a rule of thumb, I start with the cab the amp is designed for (combo amps). If that sounds good enough already, fine! I can do the rest with light EQing.
When going for heavier tones, I usually have my go-to cabs:
the 4x12 TV mix, and the petrucci v30.

I rarely try out other IRs, except if I really want to tweak the shit out a sound. Most of the time, however, I get better results ballparking the IR choice and then adding a light EQ.
 
Knowledge, experience, trial and error. All of them.

It's a lot to understand and grasp if you have not done much live sound/recording mixing/mastering. No question.

However, the newer "mix" varieties from Fractal (factory cabs with "Mix" in the name, Producer packs) and Own Hammer's Studio Mix bundles are essentially professionally mic'd and 'mixed' cabs that are mix ready and take a LOT of the work out of it.

The newer "Mix" IR's are all professionally done with pro level techniques, experience and equipment. You have to do the research to figure what speakers/cabs go with what amps and then choose the correct correlating Mix IR. That's it. No other work involved.
 
i too was initially apprehensive of the myriad of amp/cab combinations.
it didn't help that my g-a-s is making me buy up all the mad oak and ownhammer packs.
still, like you, i always gravitate back to the same cabs.
for fendery cleans, i stick with the stock matching ones.
for marshall type, i stay with various combinations of the basketweaves.
recently i have been revisiting the badger 18 and find the pete thorn ir to be a wonderful match.

i'd recommend that you record a riff (lines and chords) using the looper (placed early in the chain), then close your eyes and scroll through the cabs while the recorded loop is playing. take note of the ones that sound good to you. that should help you narrow down the cab choice without being fixated on the names of the cabs.
 
I went through this recently. While I had no problems with the stock cabs I felt like I should support the efforts of others and see what the OH cabs had to offer. I loaded about 8 various cabs into my user banks and then just went through each one until I found one that sounded good. I'm using one of the stock ones for the clean patches I use and an OH for my gain patches. I've had real world experience with the amp model that I am using so I know what speakers I'm more drawn to when using it. Helped me a little narrowing down which speaker model of IR to use....but I def. tried as much as possible.
 
You never end up deciding. You just keep buying and buying...and trying and trying...and never becoming fully satisfied until it pisses you off to the point that you just go back to the cabs you've been using the most all along.

Not sure what your primary use is (practicing, live, recording, etc.). Mine is recording and one tip I can offer is when auditioning IRs it helps to record them. See how they sound in a mix when it's played back. I've found that things always sound totally different to my ears after recording them into the mix vs. when I actually have the guitar in hand. I usually just record a riff twice panned L/R (with drums and bass), and then repeat the same riff over and over with the only change being the IR.
 
thanx a bunch guys! i will keep checking them out!

I mostly use my axefx2 with studio monitors, (MR8) for recording

I'm having a lot of fun with all the IR, but OCD wanna try them all out :D
 
I too end up using the recto v30 cab with the royer 121 mic for metal tones... for marshall sounds, use some kind of greenback, basketweeve, and a 57 or royer combo.
 
From the stock ones, you could try Uber T75+v30
I tend to go back to that one for metal sounds as it sounds closer to a Marshall with GT12, a bit more scooped in the mid, works for my ears anyway. I pretty much recreate real life as I've never been big on just V30 for my metal sounds (played all my life with recto and marshall cabs, had a vintage and a normal modern one) but with that Cab sim I guess you get a mix of v30 and the more modern 75w speakers.
 
I got the Ownhammer IRs from the guy when I bought my AFXII. I found one of the mixed ones that I like and I use that on everything. It just makes much more sense to me to do it that way and sculpt my tone from there, rather than add in the hassle of auditioning numerous IRs too. I'll probably buy the mixed Mesa IRs when he releases those and do the same thing with one from those.
 
I have one IR that I love above all others and tend to go back to it. So, to get some variety into my life, I flipped though the IRs I own and selected ones that sounded very similar to my one true favorite. Loaded them in the AF2, and found that even though they sounded almost identical as I had auditioned them, there was actually a huge variety in the tones. But, since they were all at least neighbors of my favorite IR I find them to be really useful.
 


When audition multiple IR/microphone combinations in succession, ear fatigue can quickly become your worst enemy. Many times I've thought... that's the one, only to realize the next day my hearing had been compromised. With a little bit of homework and some time management, you should have a more enjoyable and successful IR experience!
 
For uploading single IRs via CabLab to the AF: I discovered yesterday that you don't need to muck about solo-ing/muting individual IR "tracks" in the mixer; the blue arrow next to each loaded IR in the list sends just that IR directly to the Axe (you can choose where as with a mix). Fewer clicks, and quicker when just trying out different IRs. I use that to narrow down what IRs I like, then use the mixer to blend to taste if I want to combine.
 
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