Struggling with the York Audio IRs

[mtmartin71]

So I bought some York Audio IRs (the M25 Marshall, H30 Marshall, a V30 cab, the 2x12 Vox and the 2x12 Matchless)

Everyone raves about these IRs. When I used to do IRs (in the mid 2010s), I was an Ownhammer fan and owned those. I did buy the Revolution pack.

Where I'm struggling is the Yorks are bright...I mean bright as all f$%^. Now, I'm using these on Kemper matched to direct or merged profiles. Maybe they just don't translate to Kemper's paradigm well. It's odd. I mostly have the MBritt profiles which he uses and oversize 2x12 on a CL80 speaker. That's live/volume ready for the most part. The Ownhammer revolutions, with the "Full" mix sound pretty close EQ-wise to the MBritt. Anyhow, the Yorks seem/feel so much brighter than either of those with similar settings that I feel like I blew my money as a Kemper user. Well...I blew my money going down the IR rabbit hole again...with a Kemper...but that's another story. I'm finding them piercing through a CLR. They're more tolerable through my Focal Studio Monitors.

Any tips? Any other Kemper users get these Yorks going in a usable way?

 

[Bob Zod]

A

So I bought some York Audio IRs (the M25 Marshall, H30 Marshall, a V30 cab, the 2x12 Vox and the 2x12 Matchless)

Everyone raves about these IRs. When I used to do IRs (in the mid 2010s), I was an Ownhammer fan and owned those. I did buy the Revolution pack.

Where I'm struggling is the Yorks are bright...I mean bright as all f$%^. Now, I'm using these on Kemper matched to direct or merged profiles. Maybe they just don't translate to Kemper's paradigm well. It's odd. I mostly have the MBritt profiles which he uses and oversize 2x12 on a CL80 speaker. That's live/volume ready for the most part. The Ownhammer revolutions, with the "Full" mix sound pretty close EQ-wise to the MBritt. Anyhow, the Yorks seem/feel so much brighter than either of those with similar settings that I feel like I blew my money as a Kemper user. Well...I blew my money going down the IR rabbit hole again...with a Kemper...but that's another story. I'm finding them piercing through a CLR. They're more tolerable through my Focal Studio Monitors.

Any tips? Any other Kemper users get these Yorks going in a usable way?

Are you using built in cuts or a post cab eq?

 

[primemover12]

I use an Axe III and a ton of plugins. When I first bought York’s Bogner pack, I thought they were really bright too. I went right back to the Ownhammer’s I’d been using. Then one day I saw someone say that they’d been able to go undo all the tweaks they made to get their ownhammers to sound present enough. So I went into my presets and reverted the impedance curve to the correct one instead of the one I tweaked for the ownhammers. Suddenly it is like magic. The York ones sounded like a mix-ready sound while the trusty ownhammers sounded silky but also dark and muddy. So far, anytime I’ve replaced an ownhammer with a York, I get good results if I revert to a more stock sound on my amp block.

 

[mtmartin71]

A


Are you using built in cuts or a post cab eq?

I wasn't, but I did a Studio EQ block and use High/Low cuts at 90hz and 10000hz, but maybe I need to use that much more.

The reference point before were the Kemper Mbritt profiles. His newer ones...which had more high end than his old which felt too dark. Those are live and loud ready. Even with the studio EQ, the Yorks are very bright at volume. I guess I can squeeze it and go more aggressive...down to 5000hz or something.

 

[saltbird]

I think York Audio IRs are good, but they do get a lot of hype. People seem to act like they solve all their problems and they're experiencing "night and day" differences between them and whatever they used before, but I've found it to be largely overblown. I've noticed many of the folks who rave about them tend to be geared towards rock and heavier stuff, so maybe they're optimized for that kind of music. I've had more success with CabIR and Celestion as far as my preferences go.

 

[Pat6969]

There is no magic solution unfortunately, no matter how much hype. You either like someone’s IR’s or you don’t. Most everyone employs a different technique so find one you like and roll with it.

 

[John Mark Painter]

Are the MBritt profiles to be used with MBritt IR?
His stuff sounds VERY different.

I can't speak to Kemper, but you can't just load up presets you have been using and just swap out the IR.

 

[mtmartin71]

I use an Axe III and a ton of plugins. When I first bought York’s Bogner pack, I thought they were really bright too. I went right back to the Ownhammer’s I’d been using. Then one day I saw someone say that they’d been able to go undo all the tweaks they made to get their ownhammers to sound present enough. So I went into my presets and reverted the impedance curve to the correct one instead of the one I tweaked for the ownhammers. Suddenly it is like magic. The York ones sounded like a mix-ready sound while the trusty ownhammers sounded silky but also dark and muddy. So far, anytime I’ve replaced an ownhammer with a York, I get good results if I revert to a more stock sound on my amp block.

I guess I can subtract some of the profile EQs. I did mess with reducing the definition too

 

[mtmartin71]

Are the MBritt profiles to be used with MBritt IR?
His stuff sounds VERY different.

I can't speak to Kemper, but you can't just load up presets you have been using and just swap out the IR.

I'm just using either merged or direct profiles. Using a baked/unaltered MBritt profile only as an EQ reference point to get in the ballpark with the direct profiles I'm adding the Yorks to

 

[John Mark Painter]

@York Audio probably knows something about using them with Kemper

 

[John Mark Painter]

Try loading up "SM58 01" on a well paired cab and try to dial it in.
I generally start with SM58 or SM7.
If I can't find something ballpark there, it's the wrong cab.

 

[PB26]

The York Recto IRs I've tried (FM9) seem to have less low end and more upper mids, and they are very tight. The Ownhammer Recto IRs have more low end oomph and more width and saturation, and while they are not as tight as the York IRs, they are plenty tight with a tube screamer. I find the York IRs lop on more of what I already do with pre-EQ, so it can be a bit of overkill in terms of tightness at the expense of fullness. But for certain styles they are great.

 

[Karl Houseknecht]

Where I'm struggling is the Yorks are bright

Ownhammer (r)Evolution. They are the darker variety. I like both brands for different reasons.

 

[York Audio]

@mtmartin71 Imagine dialing in a great gritty Marshall tone with a semi-hollowbody like an ES-335. You love the tone so much that you tell your friend to plug in and try it. He has a Tele and hits the first chord and winces from how bright it is… Now, anyone who’s played a Tele through a Marshall knows that it’s an awesome experience, but the tone controls that sound great with the Tele are different than the settings that sound great with an ES-335. All that to say, dropping an IR into a patch without tweaking the patch to suit your new “cab” is like using two very different guitars and not tweaking the amp to suit each guitar.

I’d have to hear the MBritt profile to give you targeted advice, but I can only guess that either A) the mic position he chose is really dark and he used bright amp settings to make his profile, or B) he used a typical mic placement, but EQ’ed the channel to be darker. Either of those scenarios would make my captures appear to be bright.

First, I’d try loading Mix 01 and tweak the EQ knobs to see if that sounds more natural. If Mix 01 still sounds too bright with some amp tweaks, then MBritt is doing some serious post processing on his profiles or using very dark mic placements. In that case, try a single 58-CN, 58-OA 3, or 58-CNE and see if those STILL feel too bright to you.

And feel free to send me a PM if you need any help.

-Justin

 

[mtmartin71]

I think I need to give my ears a break first and come at it fresh. Too many variables that I'm trying a patter in...which is a fool's errand for sure.

 

[mtmartin71]

@mtmartin71 Imagine dialing in a great gritty Marshall tone with a semi-hollowbody like an ES-335. You love the tone so much that you tell your friend to plug in and try it. He has a Tele and hits the first chord and winces from how bright it is… Now, anyone who’s played a Tele through a Marshall knows that it’s an awesome experience, but the tone controls that sound great with the Tele are different than the settings that sound great with an ES-335. All that to say, dropping an IR into a patch without tweaking the patch to suit your new “cab” is like using two very different guitars and not tweaking the amp to suit each guitar.

I’d have to hear the MBritt profile to give you targeted advice, but I can only guess that either A) the mic position he chose is really dark and he used bright amp settings to make his profile, or B) he used a typical mic placement, but EQ’ed the channel to be darker. Either of those scenarios would make my captures appear to be bright.

First, I’d try loading Mix 01 and tweak the EQ knobs to see if that sounds more natural. If Mix 01 still sounds too bright with some amp tweaks, then MBritt is doing some serious post processing on his profiles or using very dark mic placements. In that case, try a single 58-CN, 58-OA 3, or 58-CNE and see if those STILL feel too bright to you.

And feel free to send me a PM if you need any help.

-Justin

This is fair. Part of this too was I was listening with my eyes. FWIW, I mostly try to use SM57 + R121 captures in both the profiles and IRs. I think what I've discovered is unlike a modeler where the amp paradigm is pretty consistent and you can make broad/specific tweaks in the EQ in a "natural" way, the profiler is all over the place in terms of capture style, amp settings (which usually aren't shown/shared), and variety of the same amp.

The more I think about it, the more I feel like IRs better suit modelers in terms of an approach. Anyway, I have em now when I want to use IRs in a plug in or an actual modeler. Appreciate all the comments. I may still wade back in but less inclined to do so with the Kemper

 

[Jarick]

This is fair. Part of this too was I was listening with my eyes. FWIW, I mostly try to use SM57 + R121 captures in both the profiles and IRs. I think what I've discovered is unlike a modeler where the amp paradigm is pretty consistent and you can make broad/specific tweaks in the EQ in a "natural" way, the profiler is all over the place in terms of capture style, amp settings (which usually aren't shown/shared), and variety of the same amp.

The more I think about it, the more I feel like IRs better suit modelers in terms of an approach. Anyway, I have em now when I want to use IRs in a plug in or an actual modeler. Appreciate all the comments. I may still wade back in but less inclined to do so with the Kemper

That’s exactly why I sold the Kemper both times. Felt like I had to jump through hoops to get some consistent tones.

 

[southbeck]

Mbritt profiles are darker by purpose to sound good through a Pa. If you are used to Mbritt profiles you probably will think that york audio is brighter. To me that´s the great part about York audio. They are very clear sounding and sits in the mix very well.
Just use your ears and dial the Eq in the way you like it.

 

[JWDubois]

I've gone through this sort of thing as well. It's sort of like tuning an amp for a Les Paul and having it sound too bright with a Strat.

Lately I've gone from using darker pre blended IRs to using much brighter single mic IRs. This requires a different approach to tweaking the amp, but I like the results a lot better.

 

[Akeron]

How much "bright" is too bright for you? A reference tone you consider too much could be interesting. It could be that we like different tones and that's ok. For me, too much it's a single coil guitar into a Marshall or similar