mattbarden Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 So I've come to the conclusion I like Ownhammer's free Mesa IR better than the stock cabs. It sounds pretty good to me, but are their paid ones even better? I know this is all personal taste and option, just curious how anyone who took the jump felt about their purchase. I'd hate to shell out $50 for a pack and go "yeah they're good, but the free one still works just fine too". Not really interested in their clean cabs at the moment, it's just the heavier ones in the Helix I find a bit lacking. Thanks all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roscoe5 Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 I'm really digging the OH California Duo pack for $30. Covers a lot of ground between the Mesa 412 and the 3/4 back 212 with different speaker options. It's better than the Mesa 412 demo pack IMO. I also purchased the 412 Marshall Checkerboard cab pack with Greenbacks, plus the EVM and V30 expansions, $35 total, this week. I think I'm good for a while. I have about 10 or so 3Sigma $7 packs of similar cabs, and I personally prefer the OH ones with Helix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattbarden Posted January 13, 2017 Author Share Posted January 13, 2017 Yeah its between that one and the heavy hitters pack for me. The 2x12 might come in handy, but more 4x12s is really tempting. Decisions, decisions lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelco Posted January 13, 2017 Share Posted January 13, 2017 Quick questions - do yall take out the amp+cab model and sub in just the amp, using the IR as the Cab? Does the amp with IR cab+mic use more DSP than the amp+cab? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roscoe5 Posted January 13, 2017 Share Posted January 13, 2017 Yeah, amp-only Helix model with the IR as the mic+cab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vmoncebaiz Posted January 13, 2017 Share Posted January 13, 2017 I went in for about $50 with Redwirez IRs a few years back, and then recently put in about the same with Ownhammer. I like the ownhammer IRs a lot more. Without a doubt they are worth the money I was debating the heavy hitter collection, but I ended up buying separate cab IR packs instead. I think the ENGL 4x12 with V30s is incredible for heavy stuff. Then I also grabbed some 2x12s - the Orange 2x12, Mesa 2x12, and the open back Bogner 2x12. I use the 2x12s more for clean sounds at the moment, but they handle gain very well. The Bogner is better for rock/fusion type tones rather than metal, but it is one of the healthiest sounding pieces I've played with in Helix. I don't like the mesa 2x12 as much, and it makes since because I don't like Mesa 2x12 cabs in the real world either (their V30s are apparently voiced differently than others) The mixes folder has proven to be my favorites in all cases. The MDRN and OH1 files have become my go to after trying to audition IRs for way too long. Once I inevitably get bored of all the options I have so now, I'd have no problem supporting Ownhammer and buying some different IRs later on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vmoncebaiz Posted January 13, 2017 Share Posted January 13, 2017 Quick questions - do yall take out the amp+cab model and sub in just the amp, using the IR as the Cab? Does the amp with IR cab+mic use more DSP than the amp+cab? Ownhammer IR packs have folders labeled "MPT" minimum phase transformation. They are the same IRs you normally find, but they work for use alongside the stock cabs in Helix. So you can replace the cab block with an IR block, but you can also use both IRs and stock cabs blended together if you want to. This works particualrly nicely for the single mic IRs (not as much for the mix files) and the "room" "mid" and "rear" capture IRs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roscoe5 Posted January 13, 2017 Share Posted January 13, 2017 Good tip on the OH MPT IRs and HX cab mixes. I'll have to try that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattbarden Posted January 13, 2017 Author Share Posted January 13, 2017 Well I sprang for the California Duo, that 4x12 kicks the crap out of the free one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorke Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 Try the Sigma3 IR's, to me they sound more 3 dimensional, the file system is a lot more simplified than the OH stuff. Not knocking the OH Ir's, but to me the Sigma3 stuff sounds a little bit better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mileskb Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 Try the Sigma3 IR's, to me they sound more 3 dimensional, the file system is a lot more simplified than the OH stuff. Not knocking the OH Ir's, but to me the Sigma3 stuff sounds a little bit better. A lot said in the short post... I'm serious. If you are looking for a particular setup, like to replace an existing live rig because you have a signature sound and mic placement, I would go with the appropriate Ownhammer and you'll likely be able to dial in your cabinet. This would be the same if you were doing work on a mix and no longer had the original rig, but had to add something or replace something. As long as you knew the cab, mic placement etc... Ownhammer might get you there quicker. If you are looking for great sounding cabinets but don't have to "match" a particular sound to detail... the 3 Sigma's sound fantastic. To be specific... A. If you want a great sounding Mesa cabinet I'd go with 3Sigma. B. If you want a Slanted front Mesa Cabinet, with 60 watt Celestion Vintage 30's mic'd with a pair of SM57's using the Fredman Micing Technique... you might want Ownhammer. It's really not a matter of one being better than the other. It's proper tool proper job. I don't mean to downplay 3Sigma, they sound fantastic. You could likely mimic a particular setup as well, it just might take a little more tinkering. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bsd512 Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 Dang, I really want to get that California Duo pack. But then I have go through the hard process of deciding what IRs I'm gonna boot in order to make room for the new ones. I sooo wish we had more than 128 slots for IRs in the Helix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattbarden Posted January 16, 2017 Author Share Posted January 16, 2017 The quick start folder in the Ownhammer packs is a great place to start so you don't have to go through everything. You can hone in on which specific ones you like and go from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roscoe5 Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 Yeah, had the pack for a couple of weeks now and still happy with the 38 quick start in the 412 V60 folder. You can always audition IR's in your DAW and only bring selected ones into Helix. There are free DAW IR loaders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattbarden Posted January 16, 2017 Author Share Posted January 16, 2017 That's a good point. I should really start doing that with these fancy reamping options. Then if I have to make other little tweaks I could do it all at once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bsd512 Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 Oh well, GAS just took over and I picked up the duo pack. Previously I had purchased just individual cabinets - but this is like a mega-pack with all those speaker combinations. On the cabs I'd purchased before, each cab generally had two different kinds of speakers and the combination of the two. This one has four - much more to go through. I rarely venture beyond the "quick start" and "summary" directories, though, which are plenty for me, so that keeps things reasonably sane. I'm really liking what they are calling their "bold" mix which wasn't present in the previous cabinets I purchased: "a proprietary mix that has a forward midrange with a slightly relaxed top and bottom end." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattbarden Posted January 16, 2017 Author Share Posted January 16, 2017 Yeah I really like the V70 cabinet in the duo pack. I went right for the modern mix cause I like a 57 and 421 blended. I should check out the other options it has too though, that bold mix sounds interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarjonSDS Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 These days I almost always end up using the OH1 mixes from the quick start folder. Always using the same mixes really keeps things easy and it allows you to quickly find the cab that fits the tone for the song. A couple of my favorite packs: I mostly use the California Duo and the Heavy Hitters collection. You simply can't go wrong with those. Next to that I also really dig the Orange 2x12, Diezel, all the Mar-CB options, the Engl and things like the Bogner OS 2x12. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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