DunedinDragon Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 I bought this set of OwnHammer IRs a couple of weeks ago and just now got around to doing some real testing with them. I thought I'd pass my impressions along since this is a relatively new offering from OH and there may be some folks interested here. This set of IRs is based around two Vox cabinets, the AC15H1TVL which is a 1 x 12 open back solid mahogany cabinet, and the AC-30/6 open back fawn 2 x 12 setup. Interestingly, OH has apparently dropped the 2 x 12 VX30 IRs as they're no longer listed and seem to be replaced by this group and the single IR pack for the AC-30/6. This pack interested me because I do quite a bit of blues and british rock tones which use Vox cabinets so it seemed like something I'd get a lot of use out of. Obviously I didn't have time to go through all of the various IRs, but I spent a couple of hours working with some of the basic arrangements to get a feel for how they performed using a single patch based on the Litigator amp model set to an edge of breakup tone I'd commonly use for bluesy jazz using my Gibson Les Paul. The 1 x 12 pack comes with four speaker variations, a Celestion Bad Cat proprietary speaker, a Celestion Blue Alnico, a 1979 Fane speaker (commonly used in HiWatt amps), and a Celestion Alnico Gold. The 2 x 12 pack also has four speaker variations; a Blue Alnico, a Celestion G12M-25, a Celestion Silver Alnico, and hemp cone Celestion Vintage 30. The pack also includes various mixtures/combinations of these speakers. For my test I just focused on using the Royer R-121 Mic in the position 3 location just a bit outside of the speaker cap. My first impression is I REALLY like the 1 x 12 cabinet. It's very much an "in your face" kind of sound compared to the 2 x 12 which is a bit more docile and mellow. There were no real surprises with the blue alnico speakers, typical "throaty" or "chimney" sound you'd expect from a typical Vox. But the Alnico Gold and Silver were a nice surprise in that they had just a touch of that throaty sound, just enough to give it a bit of mellowness. Both the Bad Cat and the Fane speakers were a bit more rockish in nature with the Bad Cat having a bit more bass and body, but both were really nice sounds and the Fane turned out to be my personal favorite for the tone I was going for which was more of a very edgy/crunchy sound but needed a lot of clarity for some jazzier parts. The only one that really didn't make much of an impresson for me was the Celestion hemp cone Vintage 30. It's not that it was bad, just didn't leave much of an impression. From what I can tell from my test I think I'm going to get a lot of use out of this pack in a pretty wide range of various styles. I intentionally tested all of these setups with no high or low cuts going out to my Yamaha DXR12. I might incorporate some slight cuts on some of these were I using a brighter amp, but overall everything was pretty pleasing to my ears in this arrangement using the Litigator amp. I'd probably recommend this pack to anyone that's doing a considerable amount of blues, jazz or even classic rock tones from Rolling Stones to The Who or even Queen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Verne-Bunsen Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 Great write up, thanks! This collection sounds very appealing to me. I've got Ownhammer's Vox 2x12 VX30 (Top Boost) and 2x12 VXT (Extension) cabs and I get a lot of use out of them. Evidently they've both been discontinued! Another of my favorites, the Gibson GoldTone 10/12 was also recently discontinued; you've really got to jump on his stuff while it's around! I've got 3 Sigma's AC15 1x12 but the speaker offerings in the Ownhammer package are VERY intriguing. Really makes me long for more IR slots, 'cause mine are all full! Still, given his proclivity for making his IR packages disappear, I may just grab it anyway... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DunedinDragon Posted May 24, 2017 Author Share Posted May 24, 2017 Great write up, thanks! This collection sounds very appealing to me. I've got Ownhammer's Vox 2x12 VX30 (Top Boost) and 2x12 VXT (Extension) cabs and I get a lot of use out of them. Evidently they've both been discontinued! Another of my favorites, the Gibson GoldTone 10/12 was also recently discontinued; you've really got to jump on his stuff while it's around! I've got 3 Sigma's AC15 1x12 but the speaker offerings in the Ownhammer package are VERY intriguing. Really makes me long for more IR slots, 'cause mine are all full! Still, given his proclivity for making his IR packages disappear, I may just grab it anyway... Wow...what a shame they got rid of that GoldTone 10/12. That's an amazing IR that I use a lot, especially with my Gretsch hollow body. Glad I grabbed it when I did. That's a very unique sound that I can't get out of most of my other IRs other than maybe with some of my Jensen speaker IRs. Even then they don't really compare to the Gold/Tone. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Verne-Bunsen Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 Wow...what a shame they got rid of that GoldTone 10/12. That's an amazing IR that I use a lot, especially with my Gretsch hollow body. Glad I grabbed it when I did. That's a very unique sound that I can't get out of most of my other IRs other than maybe with some of my Jensen speaker IRs. Even then they don't really compare to the Gold/Tone. I agree, I was very surprised to see it dropped from the catalog. I do wonder what drives that. Once you've done the work of capturing and packaging the IRs, what's the reason to take it off the market? Maybe just marketing to drive up demand for the new stuff, "get it before it's gone!" Curious at any rate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarmaniac64 Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 Here is a video using that new pack I might buy it soon a long with the core tone bundle or i just buy that new marshall 82 from the core tone bundle And if you must have Helix only here is another one 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Verne-Bunsen Posted May 25, 2017 Share Posted May 25, 2017 I really like his demo pieces, but I always get caught up in his playing and composition and forget to pay attention to what he's demo'ing. At any rate, really good stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DunedinDragon Posted May 25, 2017 Author Share Posted May 25, 2017 The problem with demo videos is they really don't give you a feel for the range of sound you can get from a pack of IRs. They can only realistically demo just a few sounds. But there's really no way to find that out other than get the pack and experiment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarmaniac64 Posted May 25, 2017 Share Posted May 25, 2017 The problem with demo videos is they really don't give you a feel for the range of sound you can get from a pack of IRs. They can only realistically demo just a few sounds. But there's really no way to find that out other than get the pack and experiment. Agree but since he is using Helix In some of his videos he go thrue how he created the presets in Helix AQnd that is always good in this video he put a delay FIRST in the signal chain in one preset? Even before the overdrive? That was new to me havent tested that before and it did sounds cool. So the golden rule in where in the signal chain you should to put the effects IS? There is no rule. Try everything move the blocks around before you put it where it "suppose" to belong in the signal chain it might sound awesome :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.