what are the best cab packs to buy for AX8?

Thanks Smittefar, I am gonna try the factory cabs, but I know there are other good too, it is what I want to know, thanks bro, I really appreciate your words
 
I am more than overwhelmed with the stock cabs for now, but If I had to look elsewhere I'd go Ownhammer
 
Pascal Caraballo said:
those good for clean, power chords, leads, and jazz
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"what are the best cap packs to buy for AX8?"

I prefer "Super Bangs" for my cap guns:
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;););)

I only use Factory IRs (currently) so I'm not much help other than for satire.
 
I'm in the middle of a cabinet rabbit hole right now. Much of the time I like the sound of aftermarket cabs when A/B'd against the factory cabs, but you have to dig through a lot of options to get there.

My high level take on a few of the cabs out there:

Factory - Wide variety of sounds that seem to already have EQ or filters applied. So you get different blocks of tones but maybe not many full range sounds from lows to highs. I want to spend some more time digging through these again though.

Ownhammer - I have several of their packs and they generally have a very wide range of frequencies from low end to high end. They have a lot of midrange content which may or may not be good in a mix. Each pack has a "quick start" folder with different mixes and selected IR's to start from as well as detailed microphone and mix placements for a TON of options, which can be overwhelming. But the OH1F is a nice starting point, then you can roll off the low end to taste. I do find in general the cabs have a lot of upper midrange presence which is hard to dial out without sounding like a blanket on the amp, which is why I have been looking around.

3 Sigma - I bought several cabs from them when I had a Helix last year and don't really like the sound. It's very hyped with way too much bass and really sharp treble and sucked out midrange. Nowhere near the stock cabs IMO. I reloaded them yesterday and it's just not for me.

Celestion - I just bought the V30 cab yesterday and they are good but not as nice as the Ownhammer for me. The sound was even across the midrange but lacked low end compared to the Ownhammer stuff. It was "flatter" and less "3D" if that makes sense. The V30 pack was MUCH better than the trial IR though.

I'm kicking around the idea of buying an ML cab pack as the samples sound different than Ownhammer (less midrange in general) but still not super hyped in any frequency and no dumb settings that sound out of whack. Fewer options than OH but still plenty to choose from.

Anyways, there are a couple free samples out there you can check out. Ownhammer and Redwirez both have free 4x12 cabs on their website. You can download Cab-Lab Lite from the Fractal website to convert the IR files to work with the AX8. Useful to hear some differences.

For your tastes, I think there's a few interesting options.

The Ownhammer Deluxe 1x12 is a really nice cab set for cleans. The V30 is fuller sounding and the Jensen is brighter. There's also a blend between the two. I wouldn't use this for anything like classic rock or high gain but for everything else very nice. Think of the 1x12 AC20 stock cab but clearer and brighter.

The Ownhammer California Duo pack has a TON of options. An open back 2x12 with four speakers and a closed back 4x12 with four speakers. It would cover everything from Vox type cleans up to classic rock and high gain. Lots of options can be overwhelming though.

They also have a Core Tone pack which is interesting. It has a 1x12 Deluxe with Fane, 2x12 Vox with Alnico Blues, a 4x12 Marshall with G12M, and 4x12 Mesa with V30's. So it covers all your basic tones. The Deluxe with Fane is a really nice clean speaker, much like the other Deluxe set, pretty smooth sounding but clear. The Vox is chimey as you would expect. The Marshall and Mesa are hit or miss...Marshall is an oversized cab which can sound bassy and the Mesa sounds kind of scooped. I need to spend more time with them.

I also like the clips I've heard of the ML USA Combo cab pack...two different Deluxes and two different Princetons. Seems like it could cover a lot of ground with cleans.
 
I purchased the Ownhammer California Duo, extremely versatile and fairly inexpensive considering what you get. There's nothing "wrong" with the factory cabs, I do like and use some of them, but I really like the ability to tailor my own cab tones. I also purchased Fractal's Cab Lab and it's invaluable for creating custom cab mixes. Only drawback is factory cabs cannot be imported into Cab Lab, just 3rd party IR's or Fractal's cab packs.
 
I have a lot of cabs from my studio. But for guitar I'm using mostly factory cabs suggested in manual. If you need a special ones you should know in detail all needs....as a mike, room, distance and so...
 
I'm not that big a fan of most of the stock cabs. Ownhammer is a mainstay of course but I've really been digging the ML cab packs that are available now.
 
I tend to really love the ML cab packs. My favorite must be Cab Pack 13. The oversized Mesa 412 with the good old English V30 speakers. From Cab Pack 13 the SM57-R121 03, in the alloy ace folder, must be my most used IR in the AX8 and my absolute favorite IR of all time. It can be used for almost anything! The Marshall IRs from ML are also great.

I use some Ownhammer IRs from the factory cabs, and there are some really good ones in there. But the ML IRs seems a little bit more ''even sounding'' to me. Of course, YMMV. This is some serious subjective stuff we're talking about here.
 
E-Sound said:
I tend to really love the ML cab packs. My favorite must be Cab Pack 13. The oversized Mesa 412 with the good old English V30 speakers. From Cab Pack 13 the SM57-R121 03, in the alloy ace folder, must be my most used IR in the AX8 and my absolute favorite IR of all time. It can be used for almost anything! The Marshall IRs from ML are also great.

I use some Ownhammer IRs from the factory cabs, and there are some really good ones in there. But the ML IRs seems a little bit more ''even sounding'' to me. Of course, YMMV. This is some serious subjective stuff we're talking about here.
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What do you like for cleaner tones?
 
Jarick said:
What do you like for cleaner tones?
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Depends on what type of clean you mean. Again, the SM57-R121 03 from cab pack 13 is so versatile that i also use it for alot of my clean stuff. Especially cleans that work well with v30 speakers. For Marshall type clean, the TV MIX C1 from ML from the factory cabs are really good. For Fender cleans, the Ownhammer DLX P12R Fat from the factory cabs are great.

There are a lot of good factory cabs in the AX8. More than I have listed here. I just find it easier to find a handful IRs that really stands out, and then stick with them.
 
I do quite a bit of reading on the forum. I learn so much from the guys that know much more than I do...just an old guitar player. Been playin since the year of the flood.

My take from the many posts I have read is not the quality of the factory cabs vs the 3rd cab packs, but the flexibility, multiple mic positions, mixing is, etc.
I bought up most of the cab packs at the beginning, but stopped a few years ago. Found myself using the same 5 or 6 cabs most of the time...some factory, some cab packs.

I have always liked ML and ownhammer as far as cab packs go.
 
I couldn't help myself and got the ML Bulb Zilla pack tonight. Only have an hour in it so far but this is the best cab pack I've purchased since the Ownhammer stuff. It has a voice across all the speakers and mixes but every IR is very usable and predictable and the speakers/mics have nice flavors. It seems a lot simpler to find the right IR too. I tested it with a few patches...a Friedman HBE, a Morgan AC-20, a Tweed Deluxe, and a Twin Reverb. Surprisingly I found it very versatile, working with all of them, even the Twin.

I'd say if the signature voicing of the Ownhammer stuff is to be very brash and forward, almost raw sounding with a lot of presence in the upper midrange and the low end, the signature voicing of the ML stuff is a little more clean and mix ready. Midrange seems a bit more relaxed in general.

Going back to the factory cabs there are a LOT of great options in the box. Massive variety from bright and thin to honky to dark to muddy to scooped to whatever. The downside is it's a mystery as to what you get until you really learn it. The aftermarket stuff is more consistent and predictable, but they all kind of have their own signature tone, and it's hard to tell what you like off the bat. Luckily, there are examples of most names in the box already (OH = Ownhammer, ML = ML, RW = Redwirez, TAF = The Amp Factory). So maybe see which ones you like and if you want to explore more of that maker, check them out.

I'd stand by either the OH Core Tone or California Duo packs as well as the ML Bulb Zilla. Same price for each of them I believe.
 
Jarick said:
I couldn't help myself and got the ML Bulb Zilla pack tonight. Only have an hour in it so far but this is the best cab pack I've purchased since the Ownhammer stuff. It has a voice across all the speakers and mixes but every IR is very usable and predictable and the speakers/mics have nice flavors. It seems a lot simpler to find the right IR too. I tested it with a few patches...a Friedman HBE, a Morgan AC-20, a Tweed Deluxe, and a Twin Reverb. Surprisingly I found it very versatile, working with all of them, even the Twin.

I'd say if the signature voicing of the Ownhammer stuff is to be very brash and forward, almost raw sounding with a lot of presence in the upper midrange and the low end, the signature voicing of the ML stuff is a little more clean and mix ready. Midrange seems a bit more relaxed in general.

Going back to the factory cabs there are a LOT of great options in the box. Massive variety from bright and thin to honky to dark to muddy to scooped to whatever. The downside is it's a mystery as to what you get until you really learn it. The aftermarket stuff is more consistent and predictable, but they all kind of have their own signature tone, and it's hard to tell what you like off the bat. Luckily, there are examples of most names in the box already (OH = Ownhammer, ML = ML, RW = Redwirez, TAF = The Amp Factory). So maybe see which ones you like and if you want to explore more of that maker, check them out.

I'd stand by either the OH Core Tone or California Duo packs as well as the ML Bulb Zilla. Same price for each of them I believe.
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The Zilla pack is a good one. I'm about to pull the trigger on the ML Brit Family pack myself;)

And I think you're right about the ML vs OH observation as well. ML is a little more relaxed in the midrange (but not scooped) and sounds a bit more mix ready. I do stil use high and low cut in the cab block though. Ownhammers are a bit more raw.

As mentioned by Stratman68, it's not that the factory cabs aren't good. Because they really are! It's more to do with a consistent voicing and preferred mic and/or mic combinations that you know will work (most of the time). The cab packs give you those options:)
 
I love the ML packs (I have Cab Packs 7 and 13, I think). They just sound fuller, clearer, and more "3D" than either the factory cabs or the random free IRs I've played around with. One catch is that I'm coming from using the real world cab and mic combos that these model so I may just be used to how they sound but, to my ears, those cabs just make any preset sound better.
 
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