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

[Heinrich]

Thanks Cuki, yep, sorry, I edited my posting to correct this.

[hiddenmickey]

I just loaded Cuki's IRs into a Mooer Radar pedal and wanted to report on the results. First, the Mooer Radar is a very affordable IR loader in a small footprint. I wasn't sure about this pedal because it is designed to work off of a 12v power supply and 9v power was a must for me because that's what my Grace Alix provides and I didn't want to buy a pedalboard power supply or use a wall wart for this pedal.

I did some research and one of the folks over at TGP had confirmed with Mooer that it will run just fine on 9v, but won't have as much headroom. I figure I'm just using it in the loop of the Alix and the Alix is providing all the headroom I could ever want. In addition, I'm only using the IR feature of the pedal so it is not being worked hard at all. So the Mooer Radar works on 9v and supports 1024 IRs.

For the record, I am a bit obsessed over my plugged in tone. I don't want my guitar, but louder. I want better than my guitar, but louder!

I used to have another IR generator / preamp with an SM81 that I could not get dialed in. It was either hollow sounding or the blend made it sound like the pickup no matter what percentage I selected. Anyway, I sold that device and the SM81 and bought a Grace Alix. It is powerful and quiet, but vanilla as it gets. I added a TC Electronic Bodyrez last week and have been quite taken with that little pedal. I'm still not sure what it does exactly, but I do know my guitar is punchy and fat with it engaged. At this point I have already achieved the best plugged in tone I've ever had. Then I heard some sound clips of Cuki's IR with an HFN. That's when I knew I wasn't quite done.

So I read through this thread and went to Jon and Cuki's website and had everything I needed to create a .wav file except a good microphone. All I have is a 20 year old $50 Peavey PVi that was sitting in a storage building. I figured I could at least practice the process with this old mic and see if I can successfully make a .wav file for IR creation. Well the old Peavey ended up doing a great job with very little fuss. I thought the .wav file sounded really good so I sent it to Cuki and he worked his magic.

The other IR creation device I was using was picky about the mic I used. Apparently, Cuki's IR will work great on whatever mic you have. I loaded his IR's into the Mooer Radar and put it on the pedalboard for a test drive. I have all the EQ dials on the Alix flat and the Bodyrez is in the 1:00 position. The tone is unbelievable! The tonal goodness is coming from Cuki's IR and the Bodyrez. The Alix is doing nothing to color the tone. It is providing an impedance match for my pickup, amplification, and power to the Radar and Bodyrez. This is ideal because I can use the EQ on the Alix to deal with room conditions, not tone shaping.

I believe any good preamp/di would work just as well. I just like having a parametric EQ and notch filter at my feet if stage gremlins show up. I also prefer those controls to be physical knobs not buried in a menu. I'm too old to think fast!

In my opinion, Cuki's IRs are as good as they get. What he and Jon have done is incredibly generous and makes the entry into the world of acoustic IRs affordable. The Mooer Radar is $150. It's probably one of the more affordable IR loaders out there. It really lowers the barrier to entry into the IR world.

Cuki and Jon, thank you both so much for sharing your gifts with us!

[DakotaCovers]

Originally Posted by stevecuss

I can't tell you how exciting this all is! The ability to record and then form my own IRs is an incredible leap!

I am brand new to IR for acoustic guitars and it’s really interesting to look back on these year-old conversations! I have an Optima Air but am interested in Cuki and Jon’s IR software.

[jonfields45]

Originally Posted by DakotaCovers

I am brand new to IR for acoustic guitars and it’s really interesting to look back on these year-old conversations! I have an Optima Air but am interested in Cuki and Jon’s IR software.

Email me a 60 second wave file, pickup left, mic right, no clipping, and decent SNR (15 dB from clipping), and I'd be happy to send you some IRs.

I got a new M1 MacBook for Xmas and I've yet to try out Octave on my new laptop.

[DakotaCovers]

Originally Posted by hiddenmickey

I just loaded Cuki's IRs into a Mooer Radar pedal and wanted to report on the results. First, the Mooer Radar is a very affordable IR loader in a small footprint. I wasn't sure about this pedal because it is designed to work off of a 12v power supply and 9v power was a must for me because that's what my Grace Alix provides and I didn't want to buy a pedalboard power supply or use a wall wart for this pedal.

I did some research and one of the folks over at TGP had confirmed with Mooer that it will run just fine on 9v, but won't have as much headroom. I figure I'm just using it in the loop of the Alix and the Alix is providing all the headroom I could ever want. In addition, I'm only using the IR feature of the pedal so it is not being worked hard at all. So the Mooer Radar works on 9v and supports 1024 IRs.

For the record, I am a bit obsessed over my plugged in tone. I don't want my guitar, but louder. I want better than my guitar, but louder!

I used to have another IR generator / preamp with an SM81 that I could not get dialed in. It was either hollow sounding or the blend made it sound like the pickup no matter what percentage I selected. Anyway, I sold that device and the SM81 and bought a Grace Alix. It is powerful and quiet, but vanilla as it gets. I added a TC Electronic Bodyrez last week and have been quite taken with that little pedal. I'm still not sure what it does exactly, but I do know my guitar is punchy and fat with it engaged. At this point I have already achieved the best plugged in tone I've ever had. Then I heard some sound clips of Cuki's IR with an HFN. That's when I knew I wasn't quite done.

So I read through this thread and went to Jon and Cuki's website and had everything I needed to create a .wav file except a good microphone. All I have is a 20 year old $50 Peavey PVi that was sitting in a storage building. I figured I could at least practice the process with this old mic and see if I can successfully make a .wav file for IR creation. Well the old Peavey ended up doing a great job with very little fuss. I thought the .wav file sounded really good so I sent it to Cuki and he worked his magic.

The other IR creation device I was using was picky about the mic I used. Apparently, Cuki's IR will work great on whatever mic you have. I loaded his IR's into the Mooer Radar and put it on the pedalboard for a test drive. I have all the EQ dials on the Alix flat and the Bodyrez is in the 1:00 position. The tone is unbelievable! The tonal goodness is coming from Cuki's IR and the Bodyrez. The Alix is doing nothing to color the tone. It is providing an impedance match for my pickup, amplification, and power to the Radar and Bodyrez. This is ideal because I can use the EQ on the Alix to deal with room conditions, not tone shaping.

I believe any good preamp/di would work just as well. I just like having a parametric EQ and notch filter at my feet if stage gremlins show up. I also prefer those controls to be physical knobs not buried in a menu. I'm too old to think fast!

In my opinion, Cuki's IRs are as good as they get. What he and Jon have done is incredibly generous and makes the entry into the world of acoustic IRs affordable. The Mooer Radar is $150. It's probably one of the more affordable IR loaders out there. It really lowers the barrier to entry into the IR world.

Cuki and Jon, thank you both so much for sharing your gifts with us!

That’s great to hear that you have achieved the tone that you have been seeking! It’s just amazing isn’t it?

I am using a brand new Optima Air and a Body Rez and I love my tone! I’m still planning on sending Cuki and/or Jon my recodings to see how their IRs compare to the Optima Air-generated IRs.

[DakotaCovers]

Originally Posted by Doug Young

The Two-Notes CabM comes close to what you want, Id think, other than the price. All the "knobs" are menu-based, but other than that, it does what you're asking for, along with some pretty cool software for manipulating IRs, blending them, EQing them, etc.

NuX Mini Studio almost does it. All they need to do is update the firmware so that the “space” knob acts as a mix knob! My Optima Air works great for $150.

[DakotaCovers]

Originally Posted by jonfields45

I've modified the code to also generate a 1024 point IR for experimentation. You can load it into a longer IR pedal and see if the short IR does the job (my standard IR is 2048 samples). If it does, then one of the <$100 MAP IR loaders might be acceptable for you.

Another way to experiment, before investing in a cheap IR loader pedal, would be to run my shorter IR in your DAW (such as the ReaVerb plug-in included with Reaper) and see if it does the trick for you.

To summarize, the code now generates:

jf45ir.wav - 2048 sample IR
jf45ir5050.wav - 2048 sample 50% IR, 50% bypass
jf45ir1024 - 1024 sample IR

I am hopeful that since my IR generator does not have a big bass boost that the shorter IR might still be effective. You need the longer IR for the equalization to work at lower frequencies.

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

[DakotaCovers]

Originally Posted by jonfields45

I asked Lezz60 to evaluate my truncated 1024 length IRs and he reports:

Hi Jon,
no prob at all. I just did an A/B test of both, in otherwise identical Presets on my Helix LT. No noticeable difference to my ears...the 1024 seems just as good on my setup

It seems reasonable to me as even the 20 milliseconds or so of 1024 samples is enough to hold two cycles at 100 Hz (you need the longer IR for bass response). I think this makes sense given the fundamental of the low E string needs no adjustment in my approach which does not boost bass. Also LR Baggs concluded that mixing in a mic for their Anthem gets meaningful at 200 Hz and up for which 1024 samples is plenty.

I have contacted HoTone about a firmware version of Omni that supports an acoustic guitar mode with fewer features (volume, bypass/IR mix, and 2048 samples). They have replied to my email and seem to have not shut this idea down out of hand.

However, 20 millisecond IR pedals are here now for <$100 MAP. Here is one that MF stocks and is therefore returnable if it does not do the trick for you, the Nux Mini Studio. The IR is 1024 points and loadable from a PC.

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/ampl...udio-ir-loader

This little pedal would sit nicely next to the preamp you already own and love.

I was just looking at the NuX Mini Studio as something that I could use to plug into my Fishman loud box mini. The only thing that I wish it had is a mix/blend knob. It seems that they could update the firmware to allow the user to configure the space knob as a mix/blend knob for acoustic guitar IRs. Do you think that the mini studio runs the IR at 100%?

[DakotaCovers]

Originally Posted by Cuki79

The amplifire was tested with IR by AeroUSA when it came out. The logidy EPSI was the first pedal to be tested with custom IR on the AGF long before tonededter came out.

For those who were not here back in 2016 when I started that IR thing on the AGF, here are the original links:
This is my 1st thread [Lyric+D18]

2nd thread [Doug Young joined in]

3rd IR posts [HD-28 TA Amulet]

IR thread about DIY IR pedal

Sorry for the missing samples... Many soundcloud test samples have been removed [but not all]

Wow. It’s amazing to see that you were working with IR for acoustic guitar so many years ago! You are a trailblazer! Thank you!

[DakotaCovers]

Originally Posted by Cuki79

Here is a list of the IR "pedals" that I know. I currently work on a website on acoustic IR. I hope it will be ready in 1-2 months.


Strymon Iridium
500 ms / Hi-Z / IR loader / No PEQ / No HPF / No Blend

Hotone OmniIR
20 ms / Hi-Z / IR loader / PEQ / No HPF / No Blend

Logidy EPSI
1.5 s / Hi-Z / IR loader / 3bds EQ / HPF / LPF / No Blend

AMT Pangeae CP-100
20 ms / No Hi-Z / IR loader / PEQ / HPF / No Blend

AMT Virgin CAB
20 ms / No Hi-Z / IR loader / PEQ / HPF / No Blend

Yerasov IRon cab
20 ms / 60k Z / IR loader / PEQ / HPF / Blend

Joyo R-08 [CAB BOX]
20 ms / Hi-Z / IR loader / PEQ / HPF

MOOER Radar
20 ms / 100kΩ Z / IR loader / PEQ / HPF / No Blend

Nux solid studio NSS-5
46 ms / ? Z / IR loader / No PEQ / No HPF / No Blend

Nux Mini Studio NSS-3
20 ms / ?? Z / IR loader / No PEQ / No HPF / No Blend

Hotone Binary CAB
20 ms / Hi-Z / IR loader / No PEQ / No HPF / No Blend

ENGL CAB loader
20 ms / ?? Z / IR loader / No PEQ / No HPF / No Blend

Vsound 2
114 ms / Hi-Z / IR loader / PEQ / HPF / Blend

Valeton Coral CAB
? ms / ? Z / IR loader / 3bds EQ / No HPF / No Blend

This is a nice list of IR loaders that you have created. I really like my Optima air. I was thinking of getting a NuX Mini Studio for portable use with my Fishman loud box mini I just wish that it had a blend knob. I suppose most of these pedals don’t have blend knobs because they were initially created for electric guitar usage? It seems as though acoustic guitars are more likely to benefit from a blend knob?

[DakotaCovers]

Originally Posted by jonfields45

At this point I've made IRs for one person, Cuki made my IRs for another, and one person installed Octave and made their own (not including Doug Young who had them almost forced on him by me).

Only 3 customers and it's free. So far all three report very good results.

Either the market is small or the barrier to use them is too high :~(.

Thanks to you and Cuki for all of your work on this. It seems that IR has been slow to catch on for acoustic guitars but maybe that has been due to limited knowledge, marketing, word-of-mouth, and Hardware. It would seem that this should really takeoff in the next year.

[DakotaCovers]

Originally Posted by Marty C

I don’t have a way to use the IR. Otherwise, I would jump into this. I spent my budget on my last guitar. Nothing left for an IR pedal. I really appreciate all the effort you put into this.

The NuX Optima Air is $150 and I love it. I posted about it earlier today on a different thread. All I can tell you is that it is definitely worth the investment! I am blown away by the sound and I will never go back to pick up only. IR is amazing.

[DakotaCovers]

Originally Posted by Cuki79

You can also read what Larry Fishman wrote about it:
https://www.premierguitar.com/articl...digital-divide

Tonedexter applies a Finite Impulse Response filter.
Any EQ, Parametriq EQ, Graphiq EQ uses a Infinite Impulse Response filters.

IR is not a term specific to electric guitar, acoustic guitar... or guitar. It's a term that applies to any physical system that has a linear response... Which means 99.9% of everything on earth. However in this context, the term is used to describe the response of a filter.

You have to separate:

• The signal processing: the filter
• The filter design: the wavemap/IR training

The first point is not new. There is no more signal processing wizardry in tonedexter than in a ZOOM, Line 6, Fishman, BOSS pedal. They all apply linear filters with IRs (FIR or IIR).

The second point is "new" for the acoustic guitar market. However, as everyone can see, Jon's algorithm is not very complex (less than 40 lines of code), the greatness about Tonedexter is how robust, efficient and easy to use it is.

This is an excellent article you posted from 2015. This quote really struck me as true!

“Analog prejudices: Guitarists—especially acoustic players—can be the most conservative about amplification gear. They often choose passive pickups with their noise and inconsistencies over newer active models that sound and perform better. What drives me really nuts is the notion that analog electronics sound great while digital electronics sound “fake.” Sure, some analog electronics sound great, but I’ve heard plenty that sound horrible. Likewise, digital done poorly sounds bad, but done properly, it can be amazing. Keyboardists, drummers, and recording engineers have readily embraced digital gear, yet guitar players tend to shy away from it.”

[DakotaCovers]

Originally Posted by jonfields45

In my engineering career the nursery rhyme "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" was a funny and useful poem to remember.

Often in engineering products we would find ourselves fixing problems caused by the previous new feature or bug fix and then find that next fix caused even more problems not discovered in test.

There is a beauty and goodness in something so very simple that we all can understand how it works. In my case you have to accept Fourier's work on faith and the rest is just high school algebra (like you can't divide by zero).

More complex solutions often have a bit of that old lady hiding in them and are waiting for just the right not included in engineering test problem to motivate swallowing something even larger :~).

I think you can EQ (in your other pedals) my IR generator to taste and get where you need to go. You can run it at home with as many mic recording or playing options as you care to. If you want it to generate longer IRs, it is a simple edit of the script. I am getting positive feedback from people who are running the script at home and I hope that takes off.

I got an email from Mooer saying they are running short of staff due to the Corona virus but do intend to get back to me on my proposal:

A small simple 2 knob (mix & volume) and a bypass switch pedal that can variably mix a 2048 length IR with the input for $100 MAP. The PC/Mac side software would include my script (rewritten to not require Octave to run).

Jon, Did you ever hear back from Moore on your proposal? Has anyone made a pedal with these features at $100 yet?

[DakotaCovers]

Originally Posted by jonfields45

I know this is not new news, but if you install my script (and Octave) and capture your guitar samples with a DAW (Audacity is free and easy), then it is a simple step to EQ the mic channel in the DAW while playing it back through your favorite speaker. Next you export that EQ'd mic channel and the raw pickup to a new WAV file to run through jf45ir. This gives you an IR that targets your EQ'ed to perfection mic. For example, as Guitarluva reported on a different thread, it allowed him to notch out a wolf tone.

The nice thing about using a DAW for IR generation is all of this is saved on your PC, input WAV files and IR WAV files, with clear filenames you chose and date information. Training real time on ToneDexter is less work, but the extra work of using a DAW has a huge payback in flexibility and record keeping.

Jon,
I am new to this. Are you saying that sometimes it is helpful to EQ the mic when recording the guitar instead of leaving EQ flat? Or, rather, record flat and EQ the track in the DAW afterward? I’m guessing the later. Thanks.