Cab Impulse Response Megathread

[Bonsist]

I tried to edit my comment earlier but it doesn't let me now. I meant to say that the different mic options make all the difference.

I find myself with my own demo in the back switching different IR cabs out with the same amp settings surprised at how much the different mics are changing the tone of my bassline giving it's own character within the mix.

I only just now started messing around inside the single files & mixing 2 cabs together in my loader because I was just stuck on the hypereal & choice mixes.

A lot of the time just one cab does the trick but you can always go deeper with these by mixing 2 IRs. I like to slightly offset the volume of each cab if I'm mixing them together in my loader. '

These cut through the mix nicely, they have lots of character. Each IR file differs from the last unlike some I've had before where cycling though 3-5 of them has barely any audible difference.

I use these mostly for metal so I run the gain hot & process them with some grit even though some of them pretty gnarly without adding much of anything at all in post.

Chucking some Pultec emulation over the top sounds amazing because you can boost low end with about a 200hz or so scoop that you by tweaking the attenuation which you usually probably do anyways manually with EQ's on your own to remove some mud while keeping lows nice & thick as bass should be where a Pultec keeps that technique in mind & applies it automatically. Very handy especially for bass guitar.

 

[jcburn]

You mentioned you like using a power amp? Can you explain to someone as basic as me what that's all about? I've been hearing more about it lately but it's kind of new to me. I have an old crown power amp but I never thought to use it with my bass guitar. Only used it to power a small live setup in the past.

Sorry man - my mention of poweramp IRs relates to one of the items on my pedalboard. It's a cabsim IR loader from Shiftline called a Cabzone X.
A+ CabZone X (shift-line.com)

It's an IR loader, has Aux in (i.e. cellpone 3.5mm jack), headphone out, DI. The device also has the ability to load certain tube poweramp sims that also alter the character of the out going tone depending on what poweramp is selected. You can run the unit with cabsims only, or run the cabsim into the poweramp sim.

I run the unit last on my pedal, so that way it captures all the tone shaping and effects of my board through the cab simulation then into whatever interface I send it. For practice I can send music playing on my cell phone in, then I can monitor through IEMs or headphones. For recording I can send the affected cabsim signal direct to DAW and get an amplified tone without having to mic up a physical live amp/rig, and when playing live I can send an unaffected signal to my stage rig (cause it already has cabinets!!) and run the affected signal to the FOH.

 

[jcburn]

I just noticed too that Dr. Bonkers seems to have fixed his demo videos....they sound a lot better and easier to hear what the cabsim is doing.

 

[Bonsist]

Sorry man - my mention of poweramp IRs relates to one of the items on my pedalboard. It's a cabsim IR loader from Shiftline called a Cabzone X.
A+ CabZone X (shift-line.com)

It's an IR loader, has Aux in (i.e. cellpone 3.5mm jack), headphone out, DI. The device also has the ability to load certain tube poweramp sims that also alter the character of the out going tone depending on what poweramp is selected. You can run the unit with cabsims only, or run the cabsim into the poweramp sim.

Oh ok sorry I thought you were referring to the cab IR's shifline has available lol

I've seen these cab loader devices in peoples pedalboad chains before & figured it was just an IR loader but it looks fixed. Is there one that you can load your own onto? One that's more like a usb stick like some Mp3 player with IR's instead.

I run the unit last on my pedal, so that way it captures all the tone shaping and effects of my board through the cab simulation then into whatever interface I send it. For practice I can send music playing on my cell phone in, then I can monitor through IEMs or headphones. For recording I can send the affected cabsim signal direct to DAW and get an amplified tone without having to mic up a physical live amp/rig, and when playing live I can send an unaffected signal to my stage rig (cause it already has cabinets!!) and run the affected signal to the FOH.

I've been meaning to ask someone about these devices actually so I'm glad I ran into you. That's wicked though. Sounds very handy! I kind of want one now just for the purpose of practicing out side or something, that's a great idea. Tossing that into my shopping folder, thanks a ton man!

I just noticed too that Dr. Bonkers seems to have fixed his demo videos....they sound a lot better and easier to hear what the cabsim is doing.

Yeah to be fair he says himself that he's not much on making demos, he's more about making Impulse responses & listening to them back in my own mixes says it all.

Other companies definitely have some goodies but he has some truly unique stuff that doesn't do that much overlapping with what's already out on the market.

He also gives you a vast amount of options with each pack where most companies give you small amount of content, which I have no problem with but it's so much nicer when you're hooked up well.

He has your basic SM57s & SM58s which is the same mic with a different haircut, but then he hits you with a mic you have to research lol

He also has this unique Fender suitcase amp from like 2012 but it looks like it's from the 50s on there which I want next time I'm shopping.
Dr Bonkers Guitar Cab-Oddities™ Volume 22: EXEL 1X15 Guitar...

 

[PraiseBassing]

Oh ok sorry I thought you were referring to the cab IR's shifline has available lol

I've seen these cab loader devices in peoples pedalboad chains before & figured it was just an IR loader but it looks fixed. Is there one that you can load your own onto? One that's more like a usb stick like some Mp3 player with IR's instead.

You can load 10 cab IR's onto the CabZone LE via microsd and switch beteen them. The CabZone X uses micro-usb to load the IR's and also adds 10 amp sims to be switched between. The amps and cabs are independent on the X.

 

[Bonsist]

You can load 10 cab IR's onto the CabZone LE via microsd and switch beteen them. The CabZone X has that same feature, but also adds 10 amp sims to be switched between. The amps and cabs are independent on the X.

Mind blower, now I see why those things have gotten so popular lately. That's great news, I need one now too.

 

[PraiseBassing]

Mind blower, now I see why those things have gotten so popular lately. That's great news, I need one now too.

You read my post before I edited. Just for accuracy, the IR's and sims are loaded onto the CabZone X via micro-usb.
I have not used them, but had a Shift-Line Olympic MKIIIS. You could load either 2 IR's of your choosing, or two "hex" files, which are cab plus amp sims, via microsd and switch between them. They were absolutely great to use!

 

[Bonsist]

You read my post before I edited. Just for accuracy, the IR's and sims are loaded onto the CabZone X via micro-usb.
I have not used them, but had a Shift-Line Olympic. You could load either 2 IR's of your choosing, or two "hex" files, which are cab plus amp sims, via microsd and switch between them. They were absolutely great to use!

So they go in straight from the PC through the micro-usb but they are fixed to hex files only from the Cabzone site? They do sound very convenient & easy to use though, I would love just play on my porch in the morning for example & this would allow me without waking anyone.

Or can you load custom ones of your own choosing? I have seen hex files in different packs & always assumed they work with midi oriented pedals like Line6, Kemper & AxeFX. Never knew what they were to be honest so I just used wav IR's only since I use mostly plugins to track, having never owned a multi pedal like that.

 

[jcburn]

My pedalboard is quite simple. The Cabzone X is the last in chain. I've put a few shots below to show all the different connections.
Shiftline themself have a pack of bass cab IRs that come installed on the device, but you can upload any 3rd party IR that matches the required specs (48k, 16 bit WAV files from memory which is the standard).
They also have 10 poweramp IRs that come pre-installed. I guess you could technically upload 3rd party IRs for this too if anyone produced such files. I've never gone down this rabbit hole.

The Cabzone X doesn't need the hex files to be created....both the cab sim IRs and the poweramp IRs are loaded as WAV files into seperate folders on the device when connect to a PC and it does it's own internal "combining" of the two files.

The device connects to a PC via micro USB cable (seen at the side next to the power plug inlet). Sorry for the big pics.

 

[Bonsist]

My pedalboard is quite simple. The Cabzone X is the last in chain. I've put a few shots below to show all the different connections.
Shiftline themself have a pack of bass cab IRs that come installed on the device, but you can upload any 3rd party IR that matches the required specs (48k, 16 bit WAV files from memory which is the standard).
They also have 10 poweramp IRs that come pre-installed. I guess you could technically upload 3rd party IRs for this too if anyone produced such files. I've never gone down this rabbit hole.

Does it do 24 bit as well? Not a big deal if it doesn't. I noticed that power amp knob on on their site when I was looking it up a minute ago.

These Dr.Bonkers packs I bought have DI files & power amp files which have 200ms & 500ms file sections but I have no idea what that really means yet. MS meaning time delay in milliseconds or what?

Thanks for telling me there's a rabbit hole to get into!

The Cabzone X doesn't need the hex files to be created....both the cab sim IRs and the poweramp IRs are loaded as WAV files into seperate folders on the device when connect to a PC and it does it's own internal "combining" of the two files.

Thanks for explaining all of that & sharing your pedal board with me. Shines a lot of light having a run down behind some ones setup. It's relief that you can just use plain old wav files since they are universally compatible. @jcburn

 

[jcburn]

I think the DR Bonkers files are a single WAV file with the poweramp or DI signal already mixed in.
I think the differece in file length can alter the quality of the produced IR, but don't quote me on that, and I also don't really know HOW it alters the tone!!!

 

[PraiseBassing]

So they go in straight from the PC through the micro-usb but they are fixed to hex files only from the Cabzone site? They do sound very convenient & easy to use though, I would love just play on my porch in the morning for example & this would allow me without waking anyone.

Or can you load custom ones of your own choosing? I have seen hex files in different packs & always assumed they work with midi oriented pedals like Line6, Kemper & AxeFX. Never knew what they were to be honest so I just used wav IR's only since I use mostly plugins to track, having never owned a multi pedal like that.

I can't say for sure how the Cabzone Le operates. The Olympic MKIIIS needs to have the hex files generated from the site, from what I remember. However, you can upload your own IR's in the tool and pair them with their amp sims. That was what I ended up with.

 

[jcburn]

I can't say for sure how the Cabzone Le operates. The Olympic needs to have the hex files generated from the site, from what I remember. However, you can upload your own IR's in the tool and pair them with their amp sims. That was what I ended up with.

Correct - to use the Amp files with the Olympic III or the Cabzone LE you need to create a hex file (a combo of whatever cabsim and amp sim you decide upon). The Cabzone X is different - you don't need to create the .HEX file. Both the cabsim IR WAV files and the amp sim IR files are set in seperate folders on the Cabzone X and the device does the "combining" according to what slot you select on the device.

 

[Bonsist]

I think the DR Bonkers files are a single WAV file with the poweramp or DI signal already mixed in.
I think the differece in file length can alter the quality of the produced IR, but don't quote me on that, and I also don't really know HOW it alters the tone!!!

Yeah he has lots of mix files, bare files & everything else in between. He has info attached with it but I've been too busy fitting tones to read it the last whole month. Should really dig into it though haha

Really? That's very interesting, first time I heard that the file length can affect your the tone of your IR. Maybe that's why there are 2 separate MS folders included for that reason? Very interesting topic though. I'm still noobing stuff up.

I can't say for sure how the Cabzone Le operates. The Olympic needs to have the hex files generated from the site, from what I remember. However, you can upload your own IR's in the tool and pair them with their amp sims. That was what I ended up with

Oh ok, cool. So long as there's a way to still pair it with the IRs you hold near & dear then there's no fuss.

Correct - to use the Amp files with the Olympic III or the Cabzone LE you need to create a hex file (a combo of whatever cabsim and amp sim you decide upon).

This is actually pretty wicked now that I think about it. I like that you can actually get that deep with it if you wanted to.

The Cabzone X is different - you don't need to create the .HEX file. Both the cabsim IR WAV files and the amp sim IR files are set in seperate folders on the Cabzone X and the device does the "combining" according to what slot you select on the device.

But this sounds like less of a headache, plug in straight then go.

How much is the Cabzone in comparison to the Olympic? Both seem to be a difficult decision to make.

 

[PraiseBassing]

Yeah he has lots of mix files, bare files & everything else in between. He has info attached with it but I've been too busy fitting tones to read it the last whole month. Should really dig into it though haha

Really? That's very interesting, first time I heard that the file length can affect your the tone of your IR. Maybe that's why there are 2 separate MS folders included for that reason? Very interesting topic though. I'm still noobing stuff up.


Oh ok, cool. So long as there's a way to still pair it with the IRs you hold near & dear then there's no fuss.


This is actually pretty wicked now that I think about it. I like that you can actually get that deep with it if you wanted to.

But this sounds like less of a headache, plug in straight then go.

How much is the Cabzone in comparison to the Olympic? Both seem to be a difficult decision to make.

On Reverb right now, Cabzone X's range from $135-179. Olympic MKIIIS's range from $396-440.
The Olympic MKIIIS includes space for two IR's/HEX files, but also includes a high quality tube preamp.

I looked at it as the Olympic MKIIIS is an all in one package while the Cabzone is just the simulation if you already have a preamp you prefer.

 

[jcburn]

On Reverb right now, Cabzone X's range from $135-179. Olympics range from $396-440.
The Olympic includes space for two IR's/HEX files, but also includes a high quality tube preamp.

Good summary.
The Olympic is a sweet tube preamp with the ability to house 2 cabsim files.
The Cabzone X is a great tool if you already have your preamp needs taken care of. This is me. My "preamp" is my G&L L2000 basses into my Billy Sheehan Deluxe (I use the MXR M80 solely for distortion, not as a preamp)

I looked at it as the Olympic is an all in one package while the Cabzone is just the simulation if you already have a preamp you prefer.

 

[Bonsist]

On Reverb right now, Cabzone X's range from $135-179. Olympics range from $396-440.
The Olympic includes space for two IR's/HEX files, but also includes a high quality tube preamp.

I looked at it as the Olympic is an all in one package while the Cabzone is just the simulation if you already have a preamp you prefer.

Man that is a hard decision you make & it's not made any easier on you because for the bigger price you truly get more in a smaller package but on the other hand you get something ready to go for dirt cheap in comparison.

It feels like it may be one of those products & situations where I buy one then graduate to the other because they both seem like they would fill each others weaknesses with their strengths.

I'm guessing if I want to mostly record & practice by going directly in then I should go with the Cabzone for now? But if I want to simulate & replace a lot in a chain & play live then I should probably go with the Olympic? Since it seems way more deep in comparison to the former. Price range also is playing into a decision haha!

 

[PraiseBassing]

Man that is a hard decision you make & it's not made any easier on you because for the bigger price you truly get more in a smaller package but on the other hand you get something ready to go for dirt cheap in comparison.

It feels like it may be one of those products & situations where I buy one then graduate to the other because they both seem like they would fill each others weaknesses with their strengths.

I'm guessing if I want to mostly record & practice by going directly in then I should go with the Cabzone for now? But if I want to simulate & replace a lot in a chain & play live then I should probably go with the Olympic? Since it seems way more deep in comparison to the former. Price range also is playing into a decision haha!

Either one would be a great tool. You can use different IR's in the CabZone as EQ and not have to worry about a lack of preamp EQ. Add to that the fact that Shift-Line has some amp sims that are amps with the output tubes being pushed into distortion, and you can use the amp section as your gain staging.

Really their just different feature sets and the cost is just to cover what the maker spent trying to create the different options.

 

[Bonsist]

Either one would be a great tool. You can use different IR's in the CabZone as EQ and not have to worry about a lack of preamp EQ. Add to that the fact that Shift-Line has some amp sims that are amps with the output tubes being pushed into distortion, and you can use the amp section as your gain staging.

Really their just different feature sets and the cost is just to cover what the maker spent trying to create the different options.

Agreed, which is why I thought it would be great to probably own them both later down the line as they seem to cover each others bases fairly well. Just going to probably offset their purchase dates though haha.

 

[Bonsist]

So I've got a new favorite that holds up just as good if not better than the other Dr.Bonkers 8x10 IR's I mentioned earlier like Aguilar, Mesa, Orange & Ampeg. Which is the Marshall - 2008 8x10 VBC810 from him.

Yowzers this thing sounds perfect. Kind of reminds me of the Ampeg in some ways but somehow just more refined in the best of ways.

It's full of character yet full & smooth. Has grit yet supports your mix perfectly. It might just be one of the best ones in my colossal Bonkers folder.