IR's vs Cabs

[JeffersteinVS]

So anyone load up a nice quality IR yet? night and day difference? interested in hearing peoples results

[ozbadman]

So anyone load up a nice quality IR yet? night and day difference? interested in hearing peoples results

 

Not sure what you're expecting here.

 

Your topic title is flawed. Cabs on the HELIX ARE IRs, so the title "IRs vs Cabs" does not make sense. It could be "HELIX IRs vs 3rd Party IRs" if that's what you are interested in knowing about.

 

An IR is a sample of the cabinet, with a particular microphone, whether it's a Line 6 IR or a 3rd party IR. It's not like synthesis, where the modelling system itself can make a huge difference. The differences you will hear between IRs are not so much to do with "quality" of the IR, as the particular cabinet sampled and the microphone used to sample it.

 

So "night and day" differences when it comes to IRs are more to do with individual preferences rather than any actual quality differences.

 

The HELIX supplied IRs I'm sure would be excellent quality, but they may not be your particular preference, so it's not like you can load up a so-called "good-quality" IR and expect that instantly, the HELIX will sound "much better". It may however, sound "much better" for your purposes.

[JazzInc]

I have found using a good blend of my Redwirez IRs into the 2048 mono IR on helix makes a lot of difference. 

 

Try it for yourself:

http://www.familieassink.com/documents/MU67-Web121-noEQ-Room20.wav

 

I made it for this patch. Put it in IR position 15 on your Helix for it to work properly:

http://www.familieas...eRevTwoRock.hlx

 

NOTE ON SOME COMPUTERS, IT WILL SAVE THE PRESET WITH THE EXTENSION .HLX.TXT. JUST DELETE THE .TXT PART AND YOU'RE DONE

[ozbadman]

I have found using a good blend of my Redwirez IRs into the 2048 mono IR on helix makes a lot of difference.

 

Absolutely. Changing to a different cab IR/mic will make a massive difference. It's just a case of finding the right cab/mic for your purposes, whether Line 6 or 3rd party.

[duncann]

So anyone load up a nice quality IR yet? night and day difference? interested in hearing peoples results

 

I just picked up the Carvin Legacy 4x12 from Rosen Digital.

 

While there is probably something similar in Helix, I find the three Carvin Legacy ones to match almost exactly the sound in my head for a lot of tones I'm always after. No playing with different mics and mic distances. Just three to pick from and all three well worth the six dollars. But it's more of a compliment to what's already in Helix, not necessarily better. I'm glad the option to load IRs is there.

[PiFromBRC]

In anticipation of getting my Helix, I've been searching for a good IR site (particularly interested in getting a Diezel).  Aside from Rosen Digital, anybody have a good IR source?

[ccornel]

Check out this thread and the links for lot's of good info: http://line6.com/support/topic/16247-i-found-this-thread-and-i-think-its-worth-a-read-for-every-helix-users/

[mdmayfield]

Others have already said this, but it's worth repeating: the built-in cabs ARE IRs.

 

IR stands for impulse response, which is a recording/measurement (in this case, of a mic+cab+room). Studio engineers (or you, with the right software) set up a mic on a guitar cab in a nice room, in exactly the way they would record the cab for tracking; but instead of playing guitar through it, they play test signals through it.

 

It's very similar to the way the Kemper Profile takes profiles of an amp, except regular non-Kemper IRs do not capture any distortion characteristics - just the linear portions of the sound: the EQ, resonances, and reverb of the complete mic+cab+room setup.

 

The quality of the IR depends mainly on the mic, cab, and room themselves; the equipment used to capture it; and the ears and choices of the engineer who recorded the IR.

 

Common sense tells us that, almost certainly, there were professional LA studio engineers that Line 6 hired to take the measurements of the IRs included as built-in cabs. We also know that Line 6 have a pro-quality studio in their office facility, and that they're conveniently close to Los Angeles where there are plenty of world-class studios they might have recorded the IRs in.

 

You probably can find IRs that you personally like better than the built-in cabs - for example, you can measure your very own cab with your own favorite mic in your favorite studio! - but it would be a mistake to assume that, just because the built-in cabs are built in, that custom IRs must be better.

[Jonhatcher83]

s

Not sure what you're expecting here.

 

Your topic title is flawed. Cabs on the HELIX ARE IRs, so the title "IRs vs Cabs" does not make sense. It could be "HELIX IRs vs 3rd Party IRs" if that's what you are interested in knowing about.

 

An IR is a sample of the cabinet, with a particular microphone, whether it's a Line 6 IR or a 3rd party IR. It's not like synthesis, where the modelling system itself can make a huge difference. The differences you will hear between IRs are not so much to do with "quality" of the IR, as the particular cabinet sampled and the microphone used to sample it.

 

So "night and day" differences when it comes to IRs are more to do with individual preferences rather than any actual quality differences.

 

The HELIX supplied IRs I'm sure would be excellent quality, but they may not be your particular preference, so it's not like you can load up a so-called "good-quality" IR and expect that instantly, the HELIX will sound "much better". It may however, sound "much better" for your purposes.

 

 

This entire response is why I hate Forums. Elitist pricks that want to give smart@$$ "better than you" answers, all the time trying to belittle the original poster. And the thing is, you knoe EXACTLY what the poster is trying to get across, as does ANYONE that has read the title and the question.