Cab simulation comparison (Studio Pre)

[ytse_jam]

Hi, yesterday I found myself reading one of MusicManJP6's posts in the "Recording" forum section ( http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=30495 ). He wrote about this IRs (impulse responses) techinque used for poweramp/cabinet/mic simulation, and I took a look at the site he linked. I downloaded the free VST plugin and some "impulses" (they're .wav files in the end)... well I like IRS-processed clips more than using the recording out (which I never liked too much). Just to share I recorded some clips with my Studio Pre to make a comparison.

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=7095002

It's just one .mp3 file with three clips:

1) Recording out
2) Raw signal coming from FX send (I like it better than the main outs)
3) The same clip as above but processed with keFIR VST plugin (free download), which uses that IRs technique.

Guitars are double-tracked and panned. Same settings for all the clips (except for Master and Lead Master, tweaked to get about the same output volume for all the clips). Graphic EQ is off. I didn't spend much time searching for a good tone, nor I tried to come close to the song's ("Basket Case" by Green Day) original tone. It's really just to make a quick comparison between recording outs and regular out + IRs.

 

[lyman]

cool, thanks for posting that. my thoughts on the general topic of direct sounds: i think recording direct definitely can be a cool thing in the right song, done the right way (the Beatles "revolution" comes to mind). i wouldn't track a whole song of just direct guitars, but here and there it could be an interesting texture to throw in. if it works, it works!

for your clips, i felt like the cab simulator plug-in was a bit over-processed. i think with the right eq-ing, you could get the recording out (sample 1) to sound good. recording is a funny thing: you might have a song where the guitars sound amazing in the mix, and if you mute every other track they sound weird/thin/whatever on their own. it's all about context! what sounds great in the room might be way too bassy and muddy in the mix.

 

[joe web]

@ytse-jam:
jup, those IR files are great.
that was the way i made the guitarsound in the sample i postet here: http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=30574

i used the recording out and mix it with the IR samples at the end. this is really an easy way to produce a great sound at home.

 

[MusicManJP6]

Yep, they make a difference. You can even get different results to compare depending on which impulse you use and the amount of gain you use etc. Try the Orange cabs that Brohymn provides on guitarampmodeling.com forums. They rock too!

Good job and thanks for sharing.