Impulse Response (paid) comparison

[vino_buono]

I also have a couple of packs of 3sigma acoustic IRs. They work very well for me with a piezo pickup and also with some magnetic pickups to obtain a nice acoustic guitar sound.

 

[Jynx]

Borgen Digital - Kinda flat I thought, especially when compared to the in-house ones on the Quad Cortex which are great. Probably because they're made by -

Nolly. GGD studio cabs. Zilla Edition - Really good IR pack. Sounds really beefy. Ability to mix and match up to 8 IRs and then export that IR to use on your moddler. Been hearing great things about the new GGD Cali Edition too.

 

[Madmax25]

I have a LOT of IRs in stock by now. I pretty much exclusively use York Audio IRs now. They just sit really well with my tones without much fuss. I don't even go beyond the mic mixes he does, I don't want to go deep diving into different mics and stuff and with YA I don't feel I have to.

i have one of the sigma acoustic packs. I wasn’t aware anyone else was doing those types of IR’s. I will definitely check out the ones you mentioned.

Any other companies doing good sounding acoustic IR’s?

For everything else… York Audio.

Sean Meredith-Jones
www.seanmeredithjones.com

I have to check out that Worship Tutorial acoustic IR. They have a free sample pack I'm going to try.

In the mean time, while not a 'company' per se, here's a very large free collection of acoustic IRs. I've tried out some of them and there are some really good ones among them. I've mainly tried out some of the Gibson and Martin IRs.

IR database - Acoustic IR

The free IR database lets you search for the IR files that best match your guitar and pickup. Each IR file is an acoustic image of a real guitar. (...)

acousticir.free.fr

 

[LaXu]

I mostly use ML Sound Lab these days, but not their IR packs but the MIKKO application where I can make my own multi-mic/cab mixes and export that as IRs. They have some unique cabs especially in the Classified pack but otherwise it's mostly rock/metal oriented 4x12 cabs. Their voicing tends to be on the "full but a bit dark" spectrum, at least compared to York Audio. That's easy to correct in MIKKO tho so in that sense you rely less on the "signature sound" of an IR maker.

 

[Foxmeister]

JT Industries, all day every day. When should I expect my payment to arrive?

 

[yesteryear]

I've got most of the popular brands out there, but I will still come back to Amplitube 5's. I know you can't buy them separately, but they are still an IR suite that you can use with any modeller. Something in the low end and hearing the cabinet size is what I prefer about them.

 

[JWDubois]

Which ones in particular did you like?

I had been using OH and York 4x12 greenback mixes mostly, but after Fractal released the Cygnus FW I found I was having to do too much tweaking in the amp block to tame the low end.

I got tired of all the tweaking I was having to do every time I tried a new amp. I decided to start fresh and find IRs that were brighter and didn't require much, if any, low cutting. I also shed my preconceptions that I needed to use a 4x12 greenback, and that mixed IRs were what I needed to use instead of single mic IRs.

So I started with a basically untweaked hot rod Marshall (Brit Brown is my favorite) and started running the factory IR racks. What I found was that there were any number of cabs that sounded like a$$ with the way I had been tweaking my amp blocks that were usable with little or no tweaking of the default Cygnus amp blocks.

But they weren't 4x12s for the most part, they were 1x12s, or 2x12s, and they weren't all greenbacks either. I find using a bright, single mic 1x12 or 2x12 gives a lot more focus and clarity than the 4x12 blends I had been using. I also don't have to perform major surgery in the amp block to get the bass down.

 

[stratzrus]

I had been using OH and York 4x12 greenback mixes mostly, but after Fractal released the Cygnus FW I found I was having to do too much tweaking in the amp block to tame the low end.

I got tired of all the tweaking I was having to do every time I tried a new amp. I decided to start fresh and find IRs that were brighter and didn't require much, if any, low cutting. I also shed my preconceptions that I needed to use a 4x12 greenback, and that mixed IRs were what I needed to use instead of single mic IRs.

So I started with a basically untweaked hot rod Marshall (Brit Brown is my favorite) and started running the factory IR racks. What I found was that there were any number of cabs that sounded like a$$ with the way I had been tweaking my amp blocks that were usable with little or no tweaking of the default Cygnus amp blocks.

But they weren't 4x12s for the most part, they were 1x12s, or 2x12s, and they weren't all greenbacks either. I find using a bright, single mic 1x12 or 2x12 gives a lot more focus and clarity than the 4x12 blends I had been using. I also don't have to perform major surgery in the amp block to get the bass down.

That sounds great. I'd like to explore going that route before buying a bunch of IRs, particularly if they'll need major tweaking.

Are there any specific IRs that you're using that you'd recommend?

 

[JWDubois]

That sounds great. I'd like to explore going that route before buying a bunch of IRs, particularly if they'll need major tweaking.

Are there any specific IRs that you're using that you'd recommend?

I'll turn it on this afternoon pick a few off the list, there were quite a few actually. But just taking an hour or two to run the list yourself is probably going to get you better results. Your ears aren't the same as mine, and I might be going for a totally different sound than you.

Like a lot of old guys, I have a degree of high frequency hearing loss, I may be over hyping the top end to get it to sound right to me. Also, I like to use Eric Johnson levels of reverb and delay, so the amp and cab sound needs to be extra bright to cut. My choices might be overwhelmingly bright to someone who runs dry.

Unfortunately Fractal has nerfed the ability to quickly audition cabs just by scrolling in Axe Edit. Now you have to either mouse scroll and click, or arrow scroll and press enter. Really slows things down.

 

[JasonE]

I had been using OH and York 4x12 greenback mixes mostly, but after Fractal released the Cygnus FW I found I was having to do too much tweaking in the amp block to tame the low end.

I got tired of all the tweaking I was having to do every time I tried a new amp. I decided to start fresh and find IRs that were brighter and didn't require much, if any, low cutting. I also shed my preconceptions that I needed to use a 4x12 greenback, and that mixed IRs were what I needed to use instead of single mic IRs.

So I started with a basically untweaked hot rod Marshall (Brit Brown is my favorite) and started running the factory IR racks. What I found was that there were any number of cabs that sounded like a$$ with the way I had been tweaking my amp blocks that were usable with little or no tweaking of the default Cygnus amp blocks.

But they weren't 4x12s for the most part, they were 1x12s, or 2x12s, and they weren't all greenbacks either. I find using a bright, single mic 1x12 or 2x12 gives a lot more focus and clarity than the 4x12 blends I had been using. I also don't have to perform major surgery in the amp block to get the bass down.

I can definitely relate to this. I find that 1x12 or 2x12 is much better to my ears. I am also a fan of the 2x10. I like that configuration with real amps as well.

 

[stratzrus]

I'll turn it on this afternoon pick a few off the list, there were quite a few actually.

Thanks...greatly appreciated!

Sadly, at the moment I don't have a few hours to run down the list. A close friend was admitted to the hospital and I'm back and forth all day long currently. I'm lucky to have this moment for a TGP break to lower the stress level.

 

[roachone]

JT Industries, all day every day. When should I expect my payment to arrive?

Checks in the mail......usps...

 

[John Mark Painter]

Which ones in particular did you like?

This is the wrong question.
Like what mustard do you like?
Oh...I put mustard on scrambled eggs

What kind of sounds are you going for?
What amp models do you prefer?

The only IR I am using other than York (I help him test and love them deeply) is an old OwnHammer Tweed 10 and 12.
But that's because York hasn't done one yet

A great start is to get the York Mesa 212 for $2 and dial in some sounds.

 

[stratzrus]

This is the wrong question.

There are no wrong questions, only wrong answers.

I'm not interested in buying or loading aftermarket IRs at the moment. That's why I was asking for recommendations of factory IRs that JW liked because he's using them.

Yes, if I wanted to go narrow focus, giving more details about my preferred amp tones and models would have been helpful but I assumed he was only using a handful of factory IRs and I wanted to check them all out.

I may someday get some IRs from York. Many players seem to really like them. But for now I'm trying to keep it simple and see if there's anything already in the box that works for me without spending hours auditioning hundreds of IRs looking for a needle in a haystack.

Auditioning scores of IRs seems to parallel auditioning profiles with a Kemper. I'd really like to avoid that if at all possible so if JW has a few factory IRs that really work for him with Cygnus I'd really like to check them out.

 

[Fireproof]

I've got too many IR's to count. I have many, many different packs from each of the following and can speak to their characteristics:

York Audio - I don't want to say "new kid on the block" but has completely overtaken other brands in popularity over the last year. Justin worked with Kevin at Ownhammer several years ago and he's a professional touring guitarist so he has good ears. He has a really good variety of products and pretty straightforward and simple files and naming. Sonically they are a good balance of being natural/raw but well recorded, so they seem closest to a really good engineer miking up a cab.

Ownhammer - was the longtime standard for IR's for a few years, but recently fell in popularity compared to York Audio. Kevin hasn't really released anything much in the last year and change, so I'm not sure if they will continue operating or not. Anyways, there's a massive amount of products with a lot of overlap, so lots of options but it can't be confusing to figure out what to get. The last Revolution pack helps to narrow it down though. In terms of files, the packs kept getting bigger and bigger with more and more files and mixes, so you can get overwhelmed with options. Sonically they tend to have a little bit of a pre-EQ'd sound that is more pleasing, like a little less in the harsh upper midrange and a little more low end. They tend to sound really good either solo'd or in the mix without any fuss, just less natural than York for instance. They may need a little low end cutting though.

Personally I have been "re-discovering" some of the older packs, especially the quick start folders when there were just a few options, and really enjoying the pre-mixed "OH1" stuff. Again, a little more EQ'd and pleasant than the York stuff, for when you want that sound.

Celestion - really seemed promising out of the gate, as they obviously make the speakers and have a really good philosophy. Use generic cabinets and a stripped down file convention. But in practice, very disappointing. Most of the stuff is too thin or harsh or unpleasant. It doesn't sound raw in a good way. And it's inconsistent...sometimes the R121 files are bright in one pack and dark in another. I've spent a lot of money and can't recommend them.

3 Sigma - another promising pack that's a bit of a letdown. They started with cheap packs and only 10 files per pack, very simple. But eventually they added more files and mixes because they were so scooped sounding. Now there's a lot of files, and still almost all of them are scooped and/or bright. And the prices have gone up quite a bit. They can sound good at times with a lot of EQ, but it's hard to recommend them with better competition.

I have done some comparisons:





Used to have more, and would make more, but I ran out of space on my Soundcloud and I'm not paying to host them.

Wow - what a post!

And that’s almost my exact findings as well.

My Top 2 are Ownhammer (#2) and now York Audio as #1. Surprised the OP didn’t have either of these on his list.

I tell everyone to try York Audio before anything else now…. (Try the best, forget the rest…)

 

[John Mark Painter]

There are no wrong questions, only wrong answers.

I'm not interested in buying or loading aftermarket IRs at the moment. That's why I was asking for recommendations of factory IRs that JW liked because he's using them.

Yes, if I wanted to go narrow focus, giving more details about my preferred amp tones and models would have been helpful but I assumed he was only using a handful of factory IRs and I wanted to check them all out.

I may someday get some IRs from York. Many players seem to really like them. But for now I'm trying to keep it simple and see if there's anything already in the box that works for me without spending hours auditioning hundreds of IRs looking for a needle in a haystack.

Auditioning scores of IRs seems to parallel auditioning profiles with a Kemper. I'd really like to avoid that if at all possible so if JW has a few factory IRs that really work for him with Cygnus I'd really like to check them out.

That's one difference with York
If you pair a 'proper' cab with your amp, you can load up a single 57 (I often prefer the SM58) or "Mix 01" and dial in a tone.
He only gives about 13-15 mixes and then has separate folders usually with 5 main shots with each mic.

His IR are not thousands of shots where the mic gets moved another inch.
He is listening to each one with different modelers/guitars as well as sending them to other players with very different tastes.
That's a big reason they are popular.
They are cultivated but really really versatile.

 

[stratzrus]

That's one difference with York
If you pair a 'proper' cab with your amp, you can load up a single 57 (I often prefer the SM58) or "Mix 01" and dial in a tone.
He only gives about 13-15 mixes and then has separate folders usually with 5 main shots with each mic.

His IR are not thousands of shots where the mic gets moved another inch.
He is listening to each one with different modelers/guitars as well as sending them to other players with very different tastes.
That's a big reason they are popular.
They are cultivated but really really versatile.

I've heard great things about them and definitely want to check them out.

 

[Shadownight5150]

I just got some york IR’s dang those are incredible

 

[Pat6969]

OH 412 MRBW GNR-M75 MMMC for me. Absolutely incredible IR’s with killer mixes.

I’ve tried a couple York packs and really wanted to like them, I just don’t. They all sound thin and brittle to me, but hey, they’re popular so people are hearing something. Different strokes I guess.

 

[Shadownight5150]

OH 412 MRBW GNR-M75 MMMC for me. Absolutely incredible IR’s with killer mixes.

I’ve tried a couple York packs and really wanted to like them, I just don’t. They all sound thin and brittle to me, but hey, they’re popular so people are hearing something. Different strokes I guess.

I understand that
Im using the torpedo cab M+
so it has a eq so you can add or take away treble or bass