best way to organize helix IR library

[willjrock]

Just wondered how you guys are organizing your IR library? Ive never RE organized my redwirez and they always seemed to be such a pain to get thru, because you either know what you like and go directly to that IR or you "search for a sound".  Now that ive had them for 10 or whatever years, im starting to gravitate towards 10 or 15  of them, but i still have never come up with a real great way of organizing them, in any program.

 

Do you: grab your favorites? Or do you just grab the contents of an entire folder and toss them in there? If you only have 128 possible entries, that would fill up pretty quickly that way. auditioning with the Helix doesnt seem real intuitive to this dummy, so i feel like its either -  know what you like and put it in the IR library, or you toss a bunch in and delete what you dont like.

 

Thanks!

[PeterHamm]

I rename the files of the one I use "001_xxxxxxx.xxx" so that I can easily put them back into the unit in order after a re-set.

[silverhead]

That's what I do too - include the IR slot # in the name.

[willjrock]

That's what I do too - include the IR slot # in the name.

I rename the files of the one I use "001_xxxxxxx.xxx" so that I can easily put them back into the unit in order after a re-set.

 

 

Thanks guys. You have been quite the help. Still not sure how i want to approach the IRs yet. i guess my main hang-up is how to audition each one semi-systematically...narrowing down just to what i need/want.

 

All info is welcomed and noted, as im sure you guys have forgotten more about Helix than i know yet. Respect!!

[PeterHamm]

Thanks guys. You have been quite the help. Still not sure how i want to approach the IRs yet. i guess my main hang-up is how to audition each one semi-systematically...narrowing down just to what i need/want.

 

All info is welcomed and noted, as im sure you guys have forgotten more about Helix than i know yet. Respect!!

 

There are gobs of free ones to at least try, though. My experience has been that I LOVE what I get with dual cabs and I'm not bothering with IRs after trying a few and realizing I liked the control and flexibility of the built-in dual cabs way better.

 

But... I DO use IRs to dress up my acoustic and faux-acoustic powerBridge sounds. Whoah nelly that is awesome!

[spikey]

Great ideas guys! Just how many IR's does Helix come with anyway?

[PeterHamm]

Great ideas guys! Just how many IR's does Helix come with anyway?

 

None (although the built-in cabs are IR-based). The idea of loading your own IRs is that you can buy or make your own.

[willjrock]

There are gobs of free ones to at least try, though. My experience has been that I LOVE what I get with dual cabs and I'm not bothering with IRs after trying a few and realizing I liked the control and flexibility of the built-in dual cabs way better.

 

But... I DO use IRs to dress up my acoustic and faux-acoustic powerBridge sounds. Whoah nelly that is awesome!

Ha! you guys have been really busy around here. Youre all a great help thank you, and its a sweet lil community.

 

BTW i really like how the forum here is laid out. Makes it easy to navigate and pretty intuitive IMO. 

 

closer to topic: Im liking the Redwirez along with a stock Helix cab (dont own ownhammer yet- biggest reason is because they expect me to buy Marshal cabs based on their mesa demos :huh: )  The redwirez sound fantastic, but as has been noted, you forfeit a bit of control with the IRs, so loading a native Helix cab with the redwirez...kinda gives the best of both worlds....soooo much to explore yet.

 

on topic: right now im just grabbing a handful of redwirez that are close to the sound i want for a particular amp, (maybe i'll grab all the "cone edges" and all the "caps")  then settling on one or two of them... and then deleting the rest. Not perfect for sure but a start. Navigating IRs in ANY program feels clumsy.

 

side note: Man id love to know how to grab some TH3 impulses. Yeah i know id just have to find the wavs for their cabs, but i havent yet :)

[mileskb]

Slightly off topic but maybe not..  Rather than audition cabs till my ears are numb, I use the built in cabs to get close.   I adjust the mic's and positions and get the best I can get, THEN I load the IR that's as close to those settings.

 

I've only done this twice as a "proof on concept" but it worked really well.  Granted the IR does sound slightly different, but so far in a good way.  Bigger, fuller etc..

[willjrock]

THEN I load the IR that's as close to those settings.

 

 THEN I load the IR that's as close to those settings.

Are you talking about the IR as a replacement? Is your initial selection a "temporary sound" ?

 

Or using the IR to "support" your first cab selection?

 

I think im doing what you are now, but i just pull up any ole cab in the beginning,  because choosing the right cab for the amp and more importantly the track, can take some doing, so i rarely waste time (no offense) fiddling with the temporary cab sound.

[mileskb]

THEN I load the IR that's as close to those settings.

 

Are you talking about the IR as a replacement? Is your initial selection a "temporary sound" ?

 

Or using the IR to "support" your first cab selection?

 

I think im doing what you are now, but i just pull up any ole cab in the beginning,  because choosing the right cab for the amp and more importantly the track, can take some doing, so i rarely waste time (no offense) fiddling with the temporary cab sound.

 

I scroll through the internal cabs and figure out if I want a 4 x 12, 2 x 12, mesa, marshall, etc...  and I audition mics and placement as well.    Once I have the overall sound I'm looking for....   I replace that cab with an IR cab that was done with the mic and placement I'm looking for.

 

I generally don't do a lot of fiddling having been playing through full-range cabs for the better part of 25 years now, and never really having a choice in amps when I played on someone elses, the names and descriptions of the cabs themselves are just gobbledygook to me.  Now microphones and mic placement, that I've been doing for the better part of 45 years.   I hear a sound, I know what mic to grab and roughly where to place it, but I never got the memo that I should have paid attention to what brand/model I was putting the mic in front of.   In a way I find this a blessing as my choices aren't colored by what "should" work, I make my choices by what does work.   On the other hand...  when someone says they prefer the 4 x 12 mesa cab to the 5150 cab...  I have no idea what that means without listening to those cabs.

[spikey]

I don't have my Helix yet- so Is there a way to switch IR's on the fly, and audition them in real time one after the other without having to back out of something 1st? Oh yea, and will the coming editor allow this?

[surfsup1955]

you can load 128 at a time onto the Helix, audition those "on the fly" within any patch. if you find one you like you can save it to your current patch (and any other patch later) and that reduces your available slots for different IRs to 127. rinse and repeat. it's not quick. hopefully the software editor will provide a method to run through all the IRs within your current patch, via your hard drive, edit/tweak, then move the IR onto the Helix. a good example of such software (plugin) is the Torpedo Wall of Sound III.

[spikey]

TY surf!