FREE Custom IRs for Your Guitar and Its Pickup (Acoustic Guitar IR Impulse Response)

[DakotaCovers]

Originally Posted by jonfields45

I have owned a ToneDexter in the past and it is a fine product. I wanted an IR in a single multipurpose pedal, my HX Stomp, and ToneDexter IRs are encrypted. Also, I did not want to have to bother Cuki to generate a new IR everytime I bought a new pickup or guitar. And finally, encrypted IRs are useless if you buy a new pedal.

It seems clear to me an open solution you can run yourself at home has merit.

If you could send me a screenshot of Octave not running jf45ir correctly I can tell you what is wrong. I've been helping three other guys this week (US, UK & China) and that is a fast way to a solution.

Do you know if my Optima Air encrypts the IRs that it generates?

EDIT: I emailed NuX regarding the Optima air. They told me that they use 1024 length IRs and you can transfer the IRs made by the optima air to other IR loaders, so it must not be encrypted.

[DakotaCovers]

Originally Posted by open-road-matt

I am one of those that Jon has kindly helped out this week. Jon has been wonderfully accommodating and super generous with his time! I asked a ton of questions to make sure I got the recording right and then had a bunch more questions about pedals and IRs in general. Thank you again Jon for all the help! (and the IRs, the script and all the work that went into all of this!)

I'm so glad I gave this a try! I was a tad intimidated by the process despite having done quite a bit of home recording but it was all pretty simple once I figured out exactly what to do.

I sent one recording to Jon and once I heard how those IRs sounded, I knew I wanted to do more. I got set up to run Jon's script and made some more myself today!

I have been playing around with these through my DAW as I don't have a pedal yet. I did order one today so I should deep into the world of IRs later this week. Now to get my hands on more mics!

Matt

So what pedal did you get and how are the IRs sounding?

[jonfields45]

Originally Posted by DakotaCovers

So, do different pedals handle different lengths of IR samples, Jon?

2048 samples is plenty long enough for acoustic guitars and typical of higher end products. 1024 is apparently all that is needed for good speaker cabinet emulation for electric guitars. The longer IR has better reach into lower frequencies. A 1024 IR should be fine for "de-quacking" but might not get all the low end lushness that can be achieved (and likely later be a pain at high stage volumes).

IR play back in real time is a relatively compute intensive problem. Even the HX Stomp, which requires a non-standard 27 watt power supply and runs as hot as desktop PC, can only do one 2048 IR at a time (it can do two 1024). Cheaper pedals typically only do a single 1024 IR.

Before gigging with any IR, set up your PA at home and try them at gig volumes. Likely you will find the shorter IR actually beneficial.

[DakotaCovers]

Originally Posted by jonfields45

2048 samples is plenty long enough for acoustic guitars and typical of higher end products. 1024 is apparently all that is needed for good speaker cabinet emulation for electric guitars. The longer IR has better reach into lower frequencies. A 1024 IR should be fine for "de-quacking" but might not get all the low end lushness that can be achieved (and likely later be a pain at high stage volumes).

IR play back in real time is a relatively compute intensive problem. Even the HX Stomp, which requires a non-standard 27 watt power supply and runs as hot as desktop PC, can only do one 2048 IR at a time (it can do two 1024). Cheaper pedals typically only do a single 1024 IR.

Before gigging with any IR, set up your PA at home and try them at gig volumes. Likely you will find the shorter IR actually beneficial.

Thank you. This is a fascinating topic and technology to me.

1. So with the longer IRs at high volumes, do you tend to get too much boominess, or feedback at lower frequencies, or ....?

2. Does it depend at all on whether or not you are playing solo or with a band?

3. Do some people use one IR for lower volume use at home and a different IR for a louder volume at gigs? (Same guitar)
4. Likewise, do some IRs work for fingerpicking whereas other IRs work better for strumming? (Same guitar)

I have never played a gig but maybe someday!

[jonfields45]

Originally Posted by DakotaCovers

Thank you. This is a fascinating topic and technology to me.

1. So with the longer IRs at high volumes, do you tend to get too much boominess, or feedback at lower frequencies, or ....?

2. Does it depend at all on whether or not you are playing solo or with a band?

3. Do some people use one IR for lower volume use at home and a different IR for a louder volume at gigs? (Same guitar)
4. Likewise, do some IRs work for fingerpicking whereas other IRs work better for strumming? (Same guitar)

I have never played a gig but maybe someday!

1. In general, what sounds best at modest volumes is troublesome loud.
2. In a band you can generally get away with a less realistic tone which can be more feedback resistant with less bass response.
3. Yes.
4. IMO, no but that is an eye-of-the-beholder judgement.

[Cuki79]

Originally Posted by DakotaCovers

1. So with the longer IRs at high volumes, do you tend to get too much boominess, or feedback at lower frequencies, or ....?

Longer IR are not necessarly boomy. It really depends on how you design your IRs.

From what I have understood from discussing with Aaron. Nux software is simplistic. Therefore the boominess.

You have to use more advanced IR recipe to avoid those or use High pass filter and/or Parametric EQ.

If you want to avoid feedback, kill the 120-180 Hz main mode resonance using EQ on your pedal... Or postprocess your IR files with EQ.

[open-road-matt]

Originally Posted by DakotaCovers

So what pedal did you get and how are the IRs sounding?

I went with the HX Stomp and I think the IRs are sounding wonderful!

I make one IR for each guitar. I load that into the HX Stomp and make two separate patches (I think that is what Line 6 calls them) for each guitar. One for strumming with a flat pick and one for fingerstyle with bare fingers. This allows me to have different volume and EQ settings for each playing style and I can click back and forth with the footswitch buttons.

Matt

[jonfields45]

Since this old thread is up and running again, two things to keep in mind.

1. Mic placement is the largest variable in the IR generation process. That mic output is the target of the IR algorithm. Lots of experimentation in placement and then testing the resultant IR at stage volumes is a good idea.
2. Second, to get decent SNR out of a mic you need to place it less than ~16" from the front of the guitar (no doubt you can try to push it farther and maybe it will work for you). Absolutely no one listens to their guitar with one ear plugged and the other 8" in front of the sound hole. It is however how mics are placed for live sound, so it is not entirely stupid, but it is not my guitar louder either.

And finally a sales pitch for my generator... It has three thresholds set in its operation to keep it from locking onto noise and generating a boomy IR or high frequency out of band boost (CD and DVD sample rates support frequencies well beyond a guitar). It seems to be a bit more robust than the alternatives with instruments off the beaten track. Using a DAW and running my script is useful as you can equalize the mic track after recording but before IR generation and fine tune the IR to your tastes (to get that close mic'ing to sound more like your guitar louder).

[kevinplarson]

Originally Posted by open-road-matt

I went with the HX Stomp and I think the IRs are sounding wonderful!

I make one IR for each guitar. I load that into the HX Stomp and make two separate patches (I think that is what Line 6 calls them) for each guitar. One for strumming with a flat pick and one for fingerstyle with bare fingers. This allows me to have different volume and EQ settings for each playing style and I can click back and forth with the footswitch buttons.

Matt

I too have the Stomp. Would love to hear more about your patches and which IRs you use.

[open-road-matt]

Originally Posted by kevinplarson

I too have the Stomp. Would love to hear more about your patches and which IRs you use.

Hi Kevin!
I use Jon's IR generator. I try to keep things super simple. I know that if I go down the rabbit hole of trying different mics, messing with the placement, etc. I'll drive myself nuts!

I use a RODE NTK and record the sample as instructed. Some strumming, some finger style, playing regular chords and then moving up the neck. After I'm done recording, I'll cut everything below 80 Hz on the mic and usually make a small cut in the low mids. Then I use the IR generator.

I only make one IR per guitar. I load that into the Stomp. Then I make 2 patches per guitar (using the same IR for both patches.) One patch is for strumming with a flat pick and one is for fingerstyle with bare fingers. My first block is the IR. I set the low cut at 80-90 Hz depending on the guitar. I've been running the IR blend at 60-70%. I know that's higher than most recommend but it's been working for me. (Most of my shows have been live streams where I don't have to worry about pushing much volume. But I did a couple of high volume shows over the summer and I was able to use that blend without any trouble. ) Then I monkey with the level on the IR block to adjust for either strumming or finger style.

My next block is an EQ, either parametric or simple depending on the guitar and my EQ needs. Then a plate reverb and that's it!

I currently have patches on the HX Stomp for 3 guitars and 1 ukulele:

Gibson J45 with LR Baggs Anthem
Furch Green GC-SM with LR Baggs Element
Goodall Concert Jumbo with K&K PWM
Mainland Mahogany Tenor Ukulele with MiSi Acoustic Trio

I'm quite happy with the sound of all the instruments. Once I get the early work done making the IRs and building the patches, I'm all set to go!

Hope that helps!
Matt

[kevinplarson]

Originally Posted by open-road-matt

Hi Kevin!
I use Jon's IR generator. I try to keep things super simple. I know that if I go down the rabbit hole of trying different mics, messing with the placement, etc. I'll drive myself nuts!

I use a RODE NTK and record the sample as instructed. Some strumming, some finger style, playing regular chords and then moving up the neck. After I'm done recording, I'll cut everything below 80 Hz on the mic and usually make a small cut in the low mids. Then I use the IR generator.

I only make one IR per guitar. I load that into the Stomp. Then I make 2 patches per guitar (using the same IR for both patches.) One patch is for strumming with a flat pick and one is for fingerstyle with bare fingers. My first block is the IR. I set the low cut at 80-90 Hz depending on the guitar. I've been running the IR blend at 60-70%. I know that's higher than most recommend but it's been working for me. (Most of my shows have been live streams where I don't have to worry about pushing much volume. But I did a couple of high volume shows over the summer and I was able to use that blend without any trouble. ) Then I monkey with the level on the IR block to adjust for either strumming or finger style.

My next block is an EQ, either parametric or simple depending on the guitar and my EQ needs. Then a plate reverb and that's it!

I currently have patches on the HX Stomp for 3 guitars and 1 ukulele:

Gibson J45 with LR Baggs Anthem
Furch Green GC-SM with LR Baggs Element
Goodall Concert Jumbo with K&K PWM
Mainland Mahogany Tenor Ukulele with MiSi Acoustic Trio

I'm quite happy with the sound of all the instruments. Once I get the early work done making the IRs and building the patches, I'm all set to go!

Hope that helps!
Matt

Thank you. I’ve used some I’ve purchased from places. What’s the difference between doing it that way versus what you are doing? Your way seems a little bit above my level.

[Gordon Currie]

Originally Posted by kevinplarson

Thank you. I’ve used some I’ve purchased from places. What’s the difference between doing it that way versus what you are doing? Your way seems a little bit above my level.

The IRs you buy are a 'snapshot' of a guitar that is not yours.
(For example, the purchased IR might be made with a guitar that has a spruce top, whereas yours has a mahogany top.)

The IRs you make reflect the particular characteristics of YOUR instrument.

Generic IRs can be great when ALL or MOST products sound alike. For example, a particular stock speaker cabinet might not vary much.

OTOH a Martin D-28 could be all over the map soundwise. And we guitarists tend to prize a special specimen of a popular instrument.
Thus the appeal of 'make your own' when it comes to IRs.

[jonfields45]

Originally Posted by kevinplarson

Thank you. I’ve used some I’ve purchased from places. What’s the difference between doing it that way versus what you are doing? Your way seems a little bit above my level.

Before writing an IR generator, I bought a few IRs from several venders (they are not expensive). I was unable to get anything close to a custom IR. As much as I liked ToneDexter, I wanted a single pedal that would also cover compression for single note leads and reverb, in addition to an IR, which pushed me towards an HX Stomp.

However, I have had decent luck with Zoom's Acoustic guitar pedals, not spectacular but definitely value added. They are certainly some kind of IR under the hood and they seem to have struck on a way to add value with generic IRs.

[kevinplarson]

I’m still new to this, so please be patient with me, but I guess I don’t understand what the purpose of the IR is. Can you help me understand what it is trying to accomplish? Why do I need a model of my guitar? How does that help go beyond just plugging it in and hearing its natural sound? [emoji51]

[Cuki79]

Hi Kevin,

We are talking about plugged-in sound.

Watch these (please use good headphones)