Is it worth paying for IRs?

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  • RolandRoland Frets: 8590
    FarleyUK said:
    Out of interest, which of the 12 billion options you get with the package is your favourite? :)
    I tend to stick with either the GNR or MED voicings, and around SP2-5 on both. That's for live use.
     MED SP2 M+ and MED BOLD M+  You can tell that I like prominent mids. Boosting the mids in the CAB means that I get a consistent sound, whereas boosting mids in the AMP would mean that the mids change more when I change AMP.
    Tree recycler, and guitarist with  https://www.undercoversband.com/.
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  • RolandRoland Frets: 8590
    Herein lies the problem with IRs. I’ve just spent 30 minutes playing with SP2 05 instead of M+. Very enjoyable for me. Will it make a difference in a band context? I’ll know after the next gig.
    Tree recycler, and guitarist with  https://www.undercoversband.com/.
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  • onyironyir Frets: 45
    I quite like the 2 IRs you can download from the Hughes & Kettner Red Box page. I think they're from a 4x12 with V30s. I find them great for live performance
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  • NelsonPNelsonP Frets: 3347
    NelsonP said:
    simonk said:
    FarleyUK said:
    I never got on with the Celestion IRs.... however, I always come back to the OwnHammer GNR greenback 4x12 IRs. Sound absolutely amazing.
    My sentiments entirely.
    Ha me too. Ownhammer GNR ones are the best I've tried
    Out of interest, which of the 12 billion options you get with the package is your favourite? :)
    Wis'd for that.

    Answer nearly always seems to be the third or fourth one i try. I lose the will to live after that.
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  • onyir said:
    I quite like the 2 IRs you can download from the Hughes & Kettner Red Box page. I think they're from a 4x12 with V30s. I find them great for live performance
    Ah - darn, don't work on my system...shame. I'm a bit of an H&K fanboy :)
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  • CirrusCirrus Frets: 8481
    I was really, really impressed with the two ownhammer packs I've paid for - the Class A one, with old alnico blues, silvers etc, and the oversized Bognor 2x12 with V30s and greenbacks. I've always preferred 2x12 cabs for the tighter bottom and more focused mids, so I was pleased to hear that character in the IRs.

    Sorting through the packs does take a while. I think it helps if you have enough experience to immediately discount stuff you won't be interested in. For example, in the Class A pack, I knew I didn't care for Celestion Golds after long hard experience with the real things, so I didn't try them. I knew I prefer SM57s for raw tones and condensers for more full, polite tones, so I focused on the SM57 and c414 options. I ignored the 421s, 121s etc. I knew I prefer single mics to multiple mics and don't like mixing speaker types so didn't listen to the blends.

    That narrowed it right down, So then I got systematic. Started with the SM57'd 2x12 blues cab, and loaded ir00, 03, 07 and 10 into my Helix (00= center of speaker, then each increasing number moves the mic closer to the edge). Played with those 4 for ten minutes, decided 07 was a bit too close to 10 so switched it for 06, likewise 03 for 04. Bingo, now I've got 4 options for a miked 2x12 with blues going from bright to dark. Gave them names that'd make sense for me in the Helix. Moved on to the c414 miked version of the same cab.

    The process took an hour, then I spent another hour randomly trying some of the stuff I was curious about like the 1x12 Bad Cat speaker option, but since then I've not had to revisit it. Ended up with a reasonably systematic and easy to navigate library of about 20 IRs covering Alnico Blues and Silvers, and Ceramic Badcat 1x12 which was a nice surprise. Same for the Bogner 2x12s - about 20 irs covering V30s and Greenbacks. Having done the initial work, I've got enough options without having option paralysis when it comes to covering the range of tones I want to use, and with each cab+speaker combo there are 3 or 4 different mic positions to choose from.

    So, that was how I dealt with having hundreds of files to choose from!

    It *definitely* helps if you have some idea of your likes and dislikes going into the process, otherwise I can imagine it being very hard to get a handle on the IR library when it arrives on your computer.
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  • My process was pretty similar. I like SM57s and MD421s for single mics. I just loaded up 00-10 of each into my Axe FX, plus the 57 and 121 combo files for another option. Went through those and picked some favourites. 

    On some packs I've checked out other mics/combos too but that’s where I start usually.

    I do agree that having experience of the real gear and knowing your preferences helps, same goes for dialling in a modeller really.
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  • Yeah, I'm probably suffering from lack of experience of different cabs and speakers. I've always played through a Marshall 1936 with V30s. I also have a Orange 1x12 with a V30 which I like...it's smoother than the Marshall but maybe a bit boxy, being a 1x12 I guess. I'd heard nothing but good things about the Orange 4x12 cabs so I shelled out for the OH pack. I also got the GNR pack on the basis of reviews and comments - but to be honest neither of these are really my thing. I prefer the free OH Mesa 412 sample - tbh the stock cabs that come with the unit are pretty good. I'm reluctant to shell out for more - I think for me, it's not worth it.
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  • onyironyir Frets: 45
    onyir said:
    I quite like the 2 IRs you can download from the Hughes & Kettner Red Box page. I think they're from a 4x12 with V30s. I find them great for live performance
    Ah - darn, don't work on my system...shame. I'm a bit of an H&K fanboy :)
    How come? They're just wav files. I though that would work in almost any system
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  • Not sure - it's an older unit...I think they need to be 44kHz. Might be that. It just says the file type is incompatible.
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  • The free one off the Celestion site is my new fave :)
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  • Celestion IRs have a different vibe to Ownhammer 

    It might be you prefer Celestion. 
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