JST Conquer All Bundle

Full Description

What is an impulse response?

An impulse response (IR, for short) is an acoustic measurement using a soundwave (impulse) which captures the conditions of the space or equipment. In this case, an impulse can be used to capture a guitar speaker cabinet or can also be used to capture a space or room. An impulse response is captured into a .wav file and captures the conditions around the guitar speaker cabinet including the room, microphone, microphone preamp and any outboard equipment used.

An impulse does not include the tonal characteristics of the amplifier head but instead captures the response of the cabinet to the soundwave (impulse) that has been played through. This means then an impulse needs to be used with either a guitar amplifier simulation plug-in or using a hardware amplifier and load box to record a signal into your interface. Once captured and stored in a .wav file, they can be loaded into a session with an impulse response loader plug-in and because of the universal nature of .wav files, they are universally compatible with guitar hardware solutions which offer third-party impulse response hosting.

Impulses are quickly becoming the gold standard for modern guitar recording solutions. Digital simulations of guitar speaker cabinets are often created with basic EQ curves to approximate the sound and response of a certain speaker or cabinet manufacturer. An impulse however takes an exact signal chain and setup that you would use in a professional recording scenario to give you the real deal!

Improve the quality and workflow of your sessions

In the studio, consistency is key. Recording loud guitar amplifiers in a studio the traditional way is costly and time-consuming and unfortunately may not all happen within the same session. This creates technical problems you as an engineer or musician may go to set up your guitar rig to match previous sessions, but something as small as a microphone being moved 1cm or the preamp not having the same settings may create a drastically different sound to what you previously recorded.

Even the nature of hardware tube amplifiers means that they may respond differently on different days and this inconsistency across sessions can cause unnecessary headaches when in the studio. The preamp settings, microphone placement, speaker and cabinet selection all remain identical when using impulses, meaning that should you ever need to re-record a part which wasn't quite in time or tune, you will maintain a consistent sound.

It's then obvious impulses are then easier to recall in the future. You may find a great tone for your project in the studio using a traditional amplifier and cabinet setup which you want to utilise in future recording sessions. No matter how hard you try, it will be close to impossible to recreate that tone in future sessions in the studio due to the number of variables at play. With an impulse, once you find a great tone you like, you can recall this again and again in any future recordings.

The easiest way to change your tone

When recording in a studio, you might find a tone that you think is perfect for your project or you might not have the luxury of time to continue tweaking your sound until you get it right. Once you bring your recordings home, you might realise that the sound you thought was perfect doesn't fit in your mix and the rushed tone is simply not up to standard.

Wouldn't it be great to be able to change your sound after recording without having to hire another studio session and attempt to get a better sound under the stresses of a studio? With an impulse, you can! There's no rush to get your sound 'right' the first time. They offer experimentation to tweak and find the right cabinet sound for your project after the recording has taken place!

Harness the sound of boutique speakers and cabinets in your recordings

Traditional cabinets are expensive and take up a huge amount of space if you're creating a collection. Using impulse responses, you can take the knowledge and expertise of professional producers and utilise a capture of their boutique equipment in your sessions for a fraction of the cost. Your modest setup can be transformed into high-budget sounding guitar tracks, just by using an impulse which has been created using premium speakers, cabinets, microphones and outboard equipment!

Get the studio sound, without the volume

As it's well known, getting a tube amplifier to sound 'right' often involves cranking the volume to get your cabinet moving serious air. Not everyone has the luxury of turning a loud amplifier up to 11, which is why impulses are the perfect solution! For bedroom sessions at 3 AM (you can't control when inspiration strikes) to producing on the go anywhere you can carry a laptop, impulses let you take professional guitar cabinet sounds with you on the go.

Specifications

• Operating sytem:
  • Mac: MacOS 10.10 - 11.x. Big Sur support (Intel only), unofficial compatibility under Rosetta 2. Native Apple Silicon M1 chip not currently supported
  • Windows: Windows 7+
• Number of impulses: 339 (Raw and Mixed available)
• Format:
  • Wav Format, Fractal Audio Axe FX I & II Formats, Kemper Profiling Amp Format
  • Note: For Kemper compatibility, users are required to please down-sample the .wav's to 44.1kHz, 16/24-bit in your DAW or via a sample rate conversion utility or application, and then run Cab Maker to reprocess for import
• Requirements: Impulse Response loader and any amp or simulator
• Product code: 1188-25