Stock IR's

Tazz

Tazz

Member
Dear Fractal,
You guys are beyond great at what you have achieved with amp modelling.

Why cant u guys provide us stock IR's that are so great that we dont need to depend on third party IR's.
Clearly most users arent happy with stock IR's have to purchase custom IR packs to achieve their tones. Why so??
 
Tazz said:
Dear Fractal,
You guys are beyond great at what you have achieved with amp modelling.

Why cant u guys provide us stock IR's that are so great that we dont need to depend on third party IR's.
Clearly most users arent happy with stock IR's have to purchase custom IR packs to achieve their tones. Why so??
Click to expand...

YMMV
But, the stock IRs are very good IMO. Especially when you look, what other modelers have to offer.

Also many guys have specifig needs for IR, so this might be impossible to make everybody happy. In this situation 3rd party IRs come in the game.
 
Tazz said:
Dear Fractal,
You guys are beyond great at what you have achieved with amp modelling.

Why cant u guys provide us stock IR's that are so great that we dont need to depend on third party IR's.
Clearly most users arent happy with stock IR's have to purchase custom IR packs to achieve their tones. Why so??
Click to expand...

There are almost 200 stock cabs, a great arsenal. But people want choices. They want that same cabinet but with another microphone, for example. Or a cab that isn't among the stock cabs yet. Having cab packs is no lack of trust in the stock cabs. The stock cabs are excellent.
 
Absolutely nothing wrong with the stock IR's, don't buy the notion that cab packs are needed to get the most out of the AX8. 3rd party IR's are like swapping pickups or changing tubes in an amp. Usually nothing wrong with the originals but guitar players are known for being prone to try anything that will "improve" their tone whether it really does or not. To be honest, if one can't find a stock IR or two they are happy with, 3rd party IR's won't be much help. The only advantage I've seen to 3rd party IR's is the versatility of combining and mixing various mics and cabs via Cab Lab and, as has been mentioned, the number of mics that are typically available.
 
I like to use 3rd party IR as well. But I still hate the rabbit hole where you end up with them. Not to mention when you start to make your own mixes of them. You might notice after a while, that you chase the perfect IR more, than play guitar.

#Been there
 
From what I have read most users are "happy" with the stock IRs. It is just a matter of finding the ones that fit personal sound preferences to the amp that is being used. Adjust amp and cab controls for sweet spot(s) than sit back and jam. Lots of excellent stock cab choices. I use a few 3rd party IRs for some presets but use many stock cabs as well.
 
i prefer brighter IR's, that's why i don't gel with many since Cliff prefers darker IR's. it's all preference.
 
Agreed, I personally am very happy with stock IR's. But I read a lotta people on the forum raving about how better the third party IR's sound and how they have managed to obtain the tone only after getting these. Apart from peer reviews and marketing, I often wonder if I am really missing out on some thing and tempted to sip the kool aid too. Clearly, there seems to be something missing in the available stock cabs.
 
I know what I like when I mic a cab and I want an IR to do the same. The advantage of third party IR's (I use @ownhammer HHC and @York Audio Bipolar Pack a lot) is the ability to find the same cab, speaker and mic position I'd use in the "real world".
 
Yeah I must admit that's a great way of putting it, well said. My problem is I'd probably go into option anxiety mode Lol
 
Tazz said:
Agreed, I personally am very happy with stock IR's. But I read a lotta people on the forum raving about how better the third party IR's sound and how they have managed to obtain the tone only after getting these. Apart from peer reviews and marketing, I often wonder if I am really missing out on some thing and tempted to sip the kool aid too. Clearly, there seems to be something missing in the available stock cabs.
Click to expand...

I think you're getting buzzed from the smell of the Koolaid. :) Keep in mind that an IR is such a huge part of the sound and Cliff isn't going to throw junk IR's in there that will sonically ruin his work. On top of that, Fractal has included many IR's from popular IR packs such as Ownhammer, ML and of course the older Redwirez. If you look at the cabs in Axe Edit the commercial IR's are designated with the companies initials in parentheses. (OH) = Ownhammer (ML) = ML Soundworks etc...

With that being said, many of the great IR packs are really affordable. If you wanted to get your feet wet to see what you thought, you can spend $15 or less on a single cab pack that would give you a lot of mic options for a specific cab/speaker combo.
 
The stock cabs are awesome but I still buy after market IR's for the same reasons Yek mentioned. You may like the sound of the cab but want more choices regarding mic type and placement.
 
I've owned my AX8 for over a year and have never felt the need to purchase 3rd party IRs. There are plenty of excellent options in the stock cabs and the ability to blend in stereo or use CabLab for custom blends is extremely versatile. I understand why people decide to try 3rd party IRs but they are in no way essential to getting great sound out of this unit. Do some tweaking, use the high and low cuts and some subtle EQ to suit your guitar/amp combo. If you still can't find "your" sound then by all means, dive down the rabbit hole, but insinuating that the stock options are inferior is simply false. They may just not be for you, but I find it hard to believe that one could come to that conclusion without extensive experience with the unit.
 
I'd be interested to know how the OP knows "most users aren't happy with the stock IR's". Not challenging him on his data, just wanting to understand it.

Stock IR's are fine with me. I've tried a couple different versions of third party IR's and do understand some versatility they can provide with different mic positions and such. But the "rabbit hole" referred to by a previous poster makes my brain melt after a few minutes of, "This IR? Or this IR? Or maybe this IR with this IR with this mic position? etc. etc. etc.

For those with more time and stronger brains than mine, I salute you!

Bottom line, after trying third party IR's, I realized that I'll need to be thoroughly familiar with the rabbit hole of stock IR's before it's worth it to me to invest in third party products.

As it is, I get very good results with what I already have.

-Your results may vary-
 
its only a rabbit hole if you don't know what you like...if you know what you are after it's easy and not a rabbit hole at all.
 
jlynnb1 said:
its only a rabbit hole if you don't know what you like...if you know what you are after it's easy and not a rabbit hole at all.
Click to expand...

Agreed.

The rabbit hole for me has been when I've pursued possibly an even better tone... "What about this? How about this?" Then I end up using the IR I had set in the first place, most of the time.

I tend to gravitate to the idea that a lot of these subtleties we hear when we set up our IR's get lost in the band mix anyway. So I'm learning to go with what I like and leave it at that.

Kind of funny when our history is, for the most part, is buying an amp and cab (or combo) that we like and then just giging with that for years without thinking much more of it after we adjust the eq.
 
Given that there are tens of thousands (if not more!) of IR's out there, it would be impossible for Fractal to please everyone with their IR choices. I think they provide an excellent selection to choose from. Personally, I only use the stock cabs for cleanish sounds but that's just me. I happened to find a few IR's that work for me for gainy stuff (Cabir.eu) but others may hate them. The nature of having lots of choices.
 
Stock cabs (mostly) for me. I think options are great. Having other options does not automatically mean that the factory cabs are lame.
 
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