Impulse Responses

IMPULSE RESPONSES

Free - Paid

Can you reproduce the sound of an Orange PPC412, a Fender Deluxe Reverb, a Marshall 1960A, a Mesa Rectifier, a Vox AC30, a Roland Micro Cube, an Orange Micro Crush...? Yes you can!

YES YOU CAN!

Orange PPC412

Fender Deluxe Reverb

Marshall 1960A

Mesa Rectifier

Vox AC30

Roland Micro Cube

Orange Micro Crush

For each sample:

* 1 rhythm guitar to the left
Amplifier simulator Aradaz Crunch
Cabinet simulator LeCab, with the following IRs:
1 cab 80% left (microphone Royer R-121), 1 cab 60% left (Shure SM57)

* 1 rhythm guitar on the right
Amplifier simulator Aradaz Crunch
Cabinet simulator LeCab, with the following IRs:
1 cab 80% right (Royer R-121), 1 cab 60% right (Shure SM57)

* 1 solo guitar in the middle
Amplifier simulator LePou LE456
Cabinet simulator LeCab, with the following IRs:
1 cab 10% left (Royer R-121), 1 cab 10% right (Shure SM57)

This configuration is always the same, only the cabinet changes
(Orange, Fender, Marshall, Mesa, Vox, Roland)
For Roland Micro Cube and Orange Micro Crush, I used IRs that I created, (downloadable here), with a combination of a Shure SM57 dynamic microphone and a Rode NT5 static microphone.

For all other samples, I used IRs from the Redwirez retail collection.

As you can hear, even when always using the same amp head, the final sound will change a lot depending on the cabinet and the mike used, which is completely logical. You must find the right combination between the head and the cabinet. You can even use the head only if you wish. All of this is virtual, you may do things the way you like them!

FREE IMPULSE RESPONSES

On the Internet, you can find IRs made by people and freely distributed. Unfortunately, their quality goes from excellent to very poor. The only way to know is to try them. I gathered some IRs from various cabinet brands: Mesa, Fender, Marshall, Vox, Orange, Soldano, London City... That's already a very good start. The microphones used to make these IRs are classics from Sennheiser, Shure, Rode, AKG, Neumann...
For free, you will have something to make some good mixing.

Download: Cabinet simulator IRs
(267 IRs - impulses_guitar_speaker_cabinets.zip, 6.84 MB)

I add two zip files containing a total of about 950 more IRs. It's a wide collection, but the file naming is somewhat messy. Some names are crystal clear, some others... you'll have to guess...

Download: Cabinet simulator IRs
(about 350 IRs - impulse_pack_01.zip, 18.1 MB)

Download: Cabinet simulator IRs
(about 600 impulsions - impulse_pack_02.zip, 17.2 MB)

On this page, you can download IRs that I created with my own amps. Audio samples will give you an idea of the type of sounds you can expect.

These IRs are audio files to use in IR loaders such as LeCab 2 or MixIR 2, in order to assemble a virtual cabinet simulator.

You can download free IR loaders from this page.

PAID IMPULSE RESPONSES

You can also buy professional, high-quality IR packages. They sound really good, because the designers of these IRs have access to a lot of hardware and can provide us with a wide range of IRs. With each cabinet, several microphones are used, and each microphone is placed at different places before (or even behind) the cabinets, so you get nuances that will enrich the sound. Users can then combine several IRs for each guitar or bass take in order to get THE sound they're looking for.

REDWIREZ (web site)

This company offers the best cabinet IRs I ever tried. In the "Big Box Series" collection, Redwire offers 31 cabinets (some in several versions):

    - "Modern Classics" series: Bogner 2x12, Bogner Uberkab, ENGL Pro 4x12, Halfback (Bottom, Top Closed, Top Open), Krank Krankenstein, Krank Revolution, Marshall 1960, Matchless ES212, Mesa Rectifier 4x12, Orange PPC412, Peavey 5150 4x12, Roland JC-120, Soldano 412B

    - "Vintage Classics" series: '68 Marshall Basketweave, '75 Hiwatt SE4123, Fender Deluxe Reverb, Fender Dual Showman, Fender Twin, Marshall 1960 4x12, Mesa Mark II, Supro Thunderbolt S6420, Tweed Bassman, Tweed Deluxe, Vox AC30

    - For bass guitars: Ampeg B15, Ampeg SVT 810, Aquilar DB115, Hartke 4.5XL

They also offer IRs coming not from cabinets but from specific speakers placed in generic boxes:

    - Celestion Blue 12, Celestion G12H30 12, EVM12L 200w 12, Weber Blue 12

Microphones for guitar amplifiers: AKG C414B-ULS, Audix i5, Beyerdynamic M160, Coles 4038, Neumann U47, Neumann KM84, Neumann M8/CMV563, Neumann M7/CMV563, Neumann U87, Royer R121, Sennheiser MD421N, Sennheiser MD441, Sennheiser MD409, Shure SM7, Shure SM57, TAB-Funkenwerk SM57, Electrovoice RE20, Earthworks TC30/M50, Lawson L47, Blue Bottle/B4 (Room only), Blue Bottle/M7

Microphones for bass amplifiers: AKG D12, AKG D112, Audix D6, Beyerdynamic M380N, Coles 4038, Earthworks TC30, Electrovoice RE20, Heil PR40, Neumann U47FET, Royer R121, Sennheiser e602, Sennheiser MD421, Shure Beta52, Shure SM7, Shure SM57

Each cabinet offers a minimum of 550 IRs. The whole collection costs 121 dollars (about 90 euros), which is OK considering the number of IRs and the amount of work put into it. And good idea: you can buy each cabinet IR collection separately. You get the first cabinet collection for 10 dollars (about 7 euros) and the next cabinets will grant you volume discounts.

MESSAGES

aissa
le 27/01/2013 à 14h24

Bonjour,

Je suis chanteur de reggae et rappeur, j'aurais voulu connaître vos tarifs pour l'enregistrement de quelques titres à moi.

Je souhaiterais faire la prise de voix plus le mix.

Je suis habitué au studio. Faites-vous des tarifs à la journée ?

Cordialement.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Bonjour Aissa,

Merci de votre confiance, mais je ne suis pas un professionnel. Je n'ai pas de studio, simplement un home studio dans une pièce de mon appartement.
Je me contente de faire mes propres enregistrements, à l'occasion je bosse avec quelques potes pour leur filer un coup de main, mais ce n'est pas mon métier !
Et puis je n'ai jamais mixé de reggae ou de rap, alors je m'en voudrais de faire mal les choses dans un style que je ne maîtrise pas. Je vous conseille de vous tourner vers un studio pro spécialisé dans votre style, il doit être possible d'en trouver des pas trop chers.

Grebz

Veji
le 22/01/2013 à 02h42

Which particular Redwirez impulses
1)which mic(sm57/r121/421 etc)
2)distance(0''/0.5''/1''/2'')
3)cap/cone capedge etc
are your favorites for distortion and clean?

Also do you use the bass with shb-1 w/impulses or without?

Thanks

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Hello again Veji,

Concerning the SHB-1 bass amp sim, I find it very usable with and without impulses. Depends on the sound you want to get. The sound is brighter without impulses, deeper with impulses. It also depends on the tone you select on your bass when recording, on the settings you have in SHB-1 and on the impulse you pick.

I also sometimes don't use any amp sim for the bass track, leaving only the direct sound if it fits the song.

Or you can have one bass track with direct sound only, and a second bass track (a copy of the direct track) with an amp sim. Mixing the 2 can bring you the qualities of each, but it could also blur your bass sound. You need to try various possibilities and see (or hear) for yourself. Each song is different, so don't think you got it set once and for all. You probably need to make adjustments and try different combinations every time.

Now about the Redwirez impulses:
It's pretty damn difficult to tell you which impulses sound best. You probably won't use the same impulses if you play Metal songs or Rock'n Rollish songs. I am pretty sure that ACDC, Marilyn Manson, the Beatles, Oasis, Nirvana, Opeth, Metallica, Muse and Radiohead don't use the same gear.

It might be a good idea to try and find out what gear your favorite bands use and pick something similar, if that's their music genre you want to play.

As for me, I often use Vox AC30, because I love the Vox sound. That's my favorite.
But I also use Orange impulses, Engl Pro, Marshall 1960 as second choices.
Soldano, Bogner Uberkab and Mesa Rectifier from time to time.

For bass cabs, I try them all and change frequently. I don't have one favorite in particular. I have 4 impulse collections from Redwirez for bass: 2 Ampegs, Aquilar and Hartke cabs. They all have different qualities.

About the microphones and their positionning: most of the time, I use 2 impulses per guitar track.
My starting point is one R121 mic, CapEdge, 4'', and one SM57 mic, Cap, 0''. I found this combination to be pretty complementary, and it gives me a sound I'm immediately satisfied with. But it's not perfect every single time.
From that starting point, I will try to change the distances a bit until I find THE perfect combination (to my ears). Could be R121 at 2'' instead of 4, or CapOffAxis instead of Cap, etc.
It can be very time-consuming, it takes a bit of trials and errors, but if you want to reach your goal, that is to get THE sound you like, you have to go through this.

I also use my own impulses, particularly the Vox AC4 impulses, which sound pretty good, I'm proud :-)

Also note that the guitar you use will make a difference. My main guitar is a Fender Stratocaster, but a friend of mine lent me his Tokai Les Paul, and so my impulse settings need to be different, because these guitars sound different.

I also use Neumann U87 impulses, 421 or 414 mics... Really, I try a lot of things and it takes time.
Oh... and you have to try it in context. I mean, if you try various impulses while listening to your soloed guitar track, you will find a great sounding impulse combination, but when you play all the tracks together with all instruments, you will find that your combination doesn't sound so great anymore.

Have fun,

Grebz

Chochel
le 20/01/2013 à 07h40

J'ai tenté L'UCG 102 Behringer + AC Box Combo soi-disant facile, résultat : pas un son... Énervé, j'ai découvert Studio de Grebz.

Ma question :
Est-ce que j'oublie l'UCG102 ?
Quel montage serait le plus aisé et le plus simple pour un premier essai ? Le combo Marshall ?

Par la suite, je tenterai des montages plus sophistiqués.

Cordialement,
JP

Veji
le 19/01/2013 à 15h50

Hi,
What are your top 5 best amp plugins and top 5 best cab impulses?
Also can you send me the recabinet 2... I can't find it anymore.
Thanks

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Hi,

My favorite amp plugins for guitar are:
- Ignite Amps' NRR1 (free product).
- TSE's X50 (free product).
- Kuassa's Amplifikation Creme (retail product), US$ 34. Only emulates one amp, but the sound you get is fantastic.
- Overloud's TH2 (retail product), much more expensive - US$ 197 - but it emulates several real amps.

And for bass :
- Ignite Amps' SHB1
- Helian's 1st Bass or 2nd Bass (free products), which sound the same to me.

As for impulses, I use only Redwirez' impulses (retail products) which in my opinion are the ones that sound best of all the impulses I've tested so far. They're not free, but they're really unexpensive. The first cab impulses you buy will cost you US$9, then the more you buy, the more discount you get for the next impulses. And you can pick only the impulses you are interested in.

I cannot send you Recabinet's impulses, they are a discontinued retail product. They have been replaced by Recabinet 3, which cost only US$ 19.99 at the moment. That's quite a bargain, even though I think that Recabinet's impulses are not as good as Redwirez'. Your choice.

Finally, I am not sending any retail product to anyone. On my site, I make a large collection of free products available (amp sims, impulse loaders and impulses) for anyone to download, but I am not giving away any commercial products.

Cheers,
Grebz

Jak2112
le 08/01/2013 à 18h38

Salut !
Tout d'abord, félicitations et merci pour ce super site que je viens de découvrir et qui est très utile, notamment pour ceux qui débutent comme moi dans la MAO.
Donc en ce moment j'explore et je teste, mais j'ai un petit problème : je n'arrive pas à lire les extraits que vous proposez pour illustrer les différents plugins et logiciels ; le petit lecteur indique : Liste vide ! Peut-être ai-je oublié une manip en route ou autre ? Si vous pouviez m'aider ce serait super.
Merci d'avance et encore bravo !
Cordialement.
Jak2112

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Bonjour, et merci !

En ce qui concerne le problème de lecture des extraits... il s'agit de lecteurs Flash, il peut donc y avoir des problèmes de compatibilité avec certains navigateurs.

De plus, si vous utilisez un système Apple, sachez qu'Apple a décidé (unilatéralement) de bannir Flash de ses machines, donc impossible de lire quoi que ce soit en Flash avec un iPad par exemple ou un iPhone. Pour les ordinateurs Mac, je ne sais pas trop, je n'ai pas eu l'occasion d'essayer, mais je crois avoir lu que c'était possible en téléchargeant le plugin Flash Player, comme sur PC. En ce qui concerne Linux, j'ai lu que seul le navigateur Chrome proposait la compatibilité Flash.

Entre parenthèses, il vaut mieux que vous soyez sur PC si vous comptez télécharger des choses sur mon site, parce que je ne propose que des plugins pour PC. Je suis moi-même utilisateur PC, donc je ne connais pas l'univers Mac ou Linux. Rien de sectaire, mais je suis un simple particulier, je ne peux pas m'occuper de tout, donc je m'occupe de ce que je connais uniquement ! Mais utiliser un Mac pour faire de la MAO est une excellente chose, aucun doute là-dessus. Après, tout est question de préférence et d'affinités. Fin de la parenthèse.

Si vous êtes sur PC avec Windows, il n'y a pas de raison que vous ne puissiez pas lire les extraits, à moins que votre navigateur Internet soit trop ancien, donc pas à jour ou incompatible, mais tous ceux que je connais fonctionnent bien. J'ai testé avec Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, Opera et Safari, et mon site fonctionne bien avec chacun d'entre eux.

Ce que je vais faire, c'est essayer de proposer systématiquement de télécharger les extraits sonores en version mp3, ce qui permettra à tout le monde de pouvoir quand même les écouter même lorsque le lecteur Flash ne fonctionne pas. Il va me falloir un peu de temps pour mettre tout ça en place, mais je vais le faire rapidement, promis.

Grebz