Third Party IRs sound better than IR of my own physical cab. How best to build presets?

Matt007

Inspired
For shows and rehearsals I play through an AXFX3 and Seymour Duncan Power Stage into a Matrix NL212 cab. I bypass the cab block. I really like this set up for the weight and the sounds are good.

For practicing at home I really like playing through studio monitors and using third party IRs. What I have found is that the IRs sound very different than the cab. I know this is obvious, but I’ve found the Matrix cab loaded with V30 type speakers breaks up way earlier than most studio IRs I use (greenbacks, other V30s, etc).

I shot an IR of the Matrix cab and it’s not bad, but other Factory cabs sound better to my ears on my monitors.

Do you guys typically have separate studio and live presets or should I just find a neutral sounding IR for studio?

Ultimately I would like to tweak my tones at home and have them loosely replicate the sound using a physical cab. I know I’ll still tweak at practice but at least this will get me in the ballpark.

Sorry if this is a dumb question. Thanks!
 
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A 2x12 cabinet, like the Matrix NL212 cannot have a flat range full response curve, so it doesn't faithfully reproduce the curve of the IR. That is the reason why the IRs sound different than through Studio Monitors that are FRFR

Make one test: listen to your favorite music through the Matrix NL212. Does it sound like at the studio monitors?
 
If this is not a full-range speaker cabinet, typically you don’t use IRs since you’re simulating a guitar cab then going into a guitar cab. That’s like mic’ing up a guitar cab and sending it to another guitar cab.

You might get better results using it as intended and turning off the cab block or Cab Modeling in Global settings.

Some people use IRs with real cabs but it’s not the general suggestion.


This is no longer relevant as the original post has been updated with more detail.
 
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Hi Matt,
This is exactly what i would expect.
The big challenge appears to be finding frfr cabs that are actually accurate enough to be as good as quality studio monitors.
if you want to develop your presets for cab live use, you could create a good ir of your cab, and create all your presets using that ir, (in the studio) then disable the cab for live use (or send the output before the cab to another output).
Thanks
pauly


For shows and rehearsals I play through an AXFX3 and Seymour Duncan Power Stage into a Matrix NL212 cab. I really like this set up for the weight and the sounds are good.

For practicing at home I really like playing through studio monitors and using third party IRs. What I have found is that the IRs sound very different than the cab. I know this is obvious, but I’ve found the Matrix cab loaded with V30 type speakers breaks up way earlier than most studio IRs I use (greenbacks, other V30s, etc).

I shot an IR of the Matrix cab and it’s not bad, but other Factory cabs sound better to my ears on my monitors.

Do you guys typically have separate studio and live presets or should I just find a neutral sounding IR for studio?

Ultimately I would like to tweak my tones at home and have them loosely replicate the sound using a physical cab. I know I’ll still tweak at practice but at least this will get me in the ballpark.

Sorry if this is a dumb question. Thanks!
 
I like the IR through monitor set up better then real cab myself, you are getting a finished product, were with the cab you are not getting the whole signal chain like you hear on an album. I myself would go frfr with ir's for live, before having presets that are totally diffrent for studio and live.
 
I am bypassing the cab block when using the physical cab. Should have clarified.

Just wondering if I should have two sets of presets, or settle for an IR that sounds closer to the physical cab (just not as pleasing to my ears in the studio).
 
let's take IRs out of the equation for a bit:

say you have your mission cab for gigging.

at the studio at home, you have a different physical cab that you think sounds better.

what would you do then?

it's possible you also just prefer the sound of an IR through a full range speaker.
 
Thanks Chris. I guess what I’m trying to say is I can create a preset with cab sims off where the physical cab sounds great, but in doing so my sound running to FOH with cab sims on is very different. Bottom line: the preset isn’t translating similarly for both purposes. I’ve added a GEQ Block that only affects the physical cab that helps address the issue somewhat.
 
Thanks Chris. I guess what I’m trying to say is I can create a preset with cab sims off where the physical cab sounds great, but in doing so my sound running to FOH with cab sims on is very different. Bottom line: the preset isn’t translating similarly for both purposes. I’ve added a GEQ Block that only affects the physical cab that helps address the issue somewhat.
Maybe make some IRs of your cab?

Also, remember that the way you hear a cab is different than how a microphone hears the speaker. And an IR is the latter case.
 
Thanks Chris. I guess what I’m trying to say is I can create a preset with cab sims off where the physical cab sounds great, but in doing so my sound running to FOH with cab sims on is very different. Bottom line: the preset isn’t translating similarly for both purposes. I’ve added a GEQ Block that only affects the physical cab that helps address the issue somewhat.
oh. i didn't get that from anything typed previously.
 
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