Workflow for Dialing in IR's

M

magooch

Member
Maybe a silly question, but I'm curious to see how others approach dialing in their amps/IRs...

I guess for me it's kind of an issue of chicken vs egg - like, how do you decide if a tweak needs to be made at the "amp level" vs at the "cab level"?
When you change IRs, do you reset your amp settings?
For your general workflow, do you...

1. Pick an amp model and pair it with a cab you're familiar with as a "baseline". Then dial in your amp settings and change/tweak IR as needed, OR
2. Pick an amp model, leave the settings stock (or close) and start trying out cabs till you find a good match, OR
3. Some other workflow/progression?

I guess sometimes I find myself getting a bit stuck in that...I might get a sound that's awfully close, but decide it's just slightly too dark. Do I just turn up the treble and/or presence a bit? Should I increase the cab low cut? Do I just find a brighter IR altogether (and then, if so - expect to keep the same amp settings or no?)

Anyways, just kind of spitballing. Perhaps it is just one of those things where there's more than one way to skin a cat, but just kind of curious if anyone else has any tips to improve workflow/efficiency!
 
I use #1 above more or less. I start from a template which has IN1, Drive1, Drive2, Trem1, Amp1, Cab1, Delay1, Reverb1, and Out1 blocks.

I typically use DynaCabs. I select the amp first, leaving settings at stock. Then select a cab I think I will like with it; most often the IRL cab/speaker if available, and if not the next closest thing. I place a couple of mics (usually dynamic1 and ribbon) in familiar positions.

Then using my neck pickup I adjust the gain of the amp to get a sound with a bit of grit with the guitar volume all the way up and cleans up when I roll the volume down. I then tweak the bass, mid, treble, presence to get a core tone I like. At this point I am listening for how the amp adds harmonic content and breaks up and trying to ignore any issues related to mic placement (e.g. proximity affect, broad bright/dark tone). Often I will adjust the amp input EQ if the amp is breaking up too much in the low end.

Then I return to the cab block to adjust the mic selections, positions, and mix. This then becomes Scene #1 - Neck.

Then I copy Channel A to Channel B for both amp and cab and switch pickups (middle on Strat, Bridge on Tele) and adjust the amp settings and then on to the cab. I almost always make changes to the amp input EQ, Bass, Mid, Treble, Presence and often make small tweaks in the cab (usually just mic mix). This becomes Scene #2 - Middle/Bridge.

With a traditional amp + pedalboard setup I would have to find a single setting on the amp (mine was a JCM800) which worked well enough with any pickup position. Fractal enables me to fine tune these settings per guitar (different Presets using same amp model) and even per pickup (different Scenes within a Preset). Typically I will use Scene #1 with the neck pickup and Scene #2 with the middle or bridge pickups, but not doing so gives me a really dark (almost wooly) sound with Neck pickup on Scene 2 and an extra bright, raspier sound with Middle pickup on Scene #1.

From here I keep the Cab block the same and add more Scenes with varying levels of amp gain (and other small adjustments). Often this is where I stop. Typically four Scenes - Neck, Middle/Bridge, Grit, and Dirt using four Channels of the amp block and two Channels of the Cab block.

My template provides "default" Channels for the Drive1, Drive 2, Trem, Delay, and Reverb blocks. Lately with some Presets (specific amps) I will make changes to the Drive blocks, but often I just leave them as they are. On most presets they are rarely used. Finally I will adjust the Reverb and Delay settings to taste.

I really never go back and change the selected DynaCab cabinet/speaker choice from the one I initially select to see what others may work better.
 
Last edited:
1. Decide what kind of sound i want.
2. Pick amp i expect to be 90% of the way there.
3. Pick IR i expect to be 90% of the way there
4. Confirm the above math was correct. If things arent quite lining up i will try 5-10 other IRs IF i dont think I can sort it out with advanced amp options.
 
Pretty much. I stick to similar-ish sounding amps, so I start with a sound I want to go for, and choose the IR accordingly, or try to craft new sounds altogether.

For example, my go-to for getting heavier sounds out of Marshall-esque amps is GERMAN/Uber/Bogner, since they have that kind of darker sound
 
I save a copy of one of my presets that will already have my cab block and effects set up, and then change the amp without resetting. So I work under the option 1 method more or less. I have some Dynacabs saved, and cab blocks that include my favorite IR’s. I don’t use many IR’s so I am familiar with the ones I do use. Lately I’m using mostly Dynacabs. It took awhile for me to warm up to them. I’m not bothering to match the speaker curve to the Dynacab but I will try the default and use it if it sounds best. The IR is more important than the amp imo. Using just a few makes it easier for me to get where I want to be.
 
I basically do what @skolacki does. Seems to lessen the time to get things dialed in.
I am mostly a Marshall & variant amp guy.
The controls that have the most impact for me are.
Input EQ, Input trim. I have Input Trim attached to one of my EV foot pedals for a nice range of drive/grit.
Cab Low cut ~80 High cut ~ 3850hz.
Most used cabs are L48 by itself, L102, L103 together. They cover a lot of ground for me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom