Am I using the wrong cabinet IRs?

[Markus Esch]

Hey guys,

i'm working on different projects at the moment, but i just can't get the guitars right. Either they are too boomy or too harsh with nasty resonant frequencies in the 600 - 1200 hz area. No matter which way i eq it just sounds like crap.

So i guess i'm using the wrong IRs here. I use ESP LTD MHB401 -> Motu Audio Express -> TS808 -> Legion -> Asem Recto or Catharsis IRs.

http://we.tl/rxuVSEkvVc

Could you guys do me a favor and tell me if it's even possible to eq it the right way and if so how you did it. Also please name some really good IRs.

Thanks!

 

[Mago]

You should be able to get it to sound decent with these impulses...they are considered as one of the best around here.
So either your taste in guitartone is totally different to what they sound like, or the settings on your sims are weird, or if theres a tonal character you cant get out regardless of sim or impulse then it's either guitar or playingm technique.
(cant listen to clip right now sry)

 

[Markus Esch]

Thanks for the answer mago
Well, i guess it's the guitar and playing technique... if you can, have a listen to the clip.

 

[He's Dead, Jim]

Well, as far as I know, all of those IRs were made with tube power amps rather than solid state, and the Legion already has power stage emulation, so that would explain the boominess. Try using the Le456 with the impulses (it's only a preamp) or Legion with a power stage-less IR. The Kalthallen Cabs free package has a V30 cab shot with a bunch of different mics, and the b/c versions of each mic position are with a solid state power amp. That should help tame the boominess.

You can use the Legion with those IRs (many people do), but you're "doubling" the power stage, which is why it sounds strange.

 

[Mago]

Listened to it now, I think I hear what you're talking about, but I don't think it comes from the IRs.
Also it's not as bad as I thought it would be after reading your post.
Doesn't sound too bad imo!

Try EQing the DI to find where the nasality is coming from. Or use a different TS. How are your TS settings?

 

[Markus Esch]

@He's Dead, Jim: Ahhhh, that explains alot! I didn't know about the differences between IRs. So the sonic footprint of a tube power stage is part of some IRs! Thanks for that!
@Mago: I tried that, but the level of resonant frequencies changes depending on what is being played. TS settings: 50% Drive, 50% Volume, a little bit brighter on the tone knob. Is it common to eq before distortion?
Thanks for your answers guys, you rock

 

[Daybreak]

IR's is at least half of what makes a guitar tone - I would suggest, even though it is time consuming, trying out IR's in the mix, not just the guitar by itself. In my experience, some of the best guitar tones I have achieved sounds the shittiest when solo'd, but really shines in the mix. So yeah, if you're not happy with your tone - Try some different IR's!

 

[indecizo]

These IR's are the culprit. They are too fizzy on their own. Why don't you upload DI's and see if I can get a tone that is more on your alley?

 

[Markus Esch]

I'd love to hear what you can do to these DI'S

http://we.tl/ZP1wu4aMWp

 

[indecizo]

It's the impulses and a little bit of the playing. I think you're palm muting too much to the right/away from the bridge pickup, causing a muddier tone.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/28110505/1.mp3
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/28110505/2.mp3

 

[Markus Esch]

Yeah, you're right. I choked the tone. What amp and cab did you use for the takes?

 

[Terminus]

No post-eq? I didn't listen to the clip, for cookie agreement reasons.

 

[Markus Esch]

Nope, no post eq. Is there a sticky or a tutorial around about equing guitars? They always sound wrong to me, fizz here fizz there.

 

[Mago]

@Mago: I tried that, but the level of resonant frequencies changes depending on what is being played. TS settings: 50% Drive, 50% Volume, a little bit brighter on the tone knob. Is it common to eq before distortion?
Thanks for your answers guys, you rock

If the guitar has a "problemzone" I like to EQ the DIs, but nothing major.
And 50% drive (would make it noon, right?) on a TS adds quite a lot of low mids to the signal that isn't beneficial to high gain tones, imo

Edit: Just DL the DIs, and holyfuckin noise batman. It's already audible on the DI, and through the amp it gets worse, naturally.
Was that there all the time or only during export?

Here's a clip through the last standardpreset I had going before I got the kemper.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3961577/Mixes/GuitTest.mp3

That noise tho...didn't seem as bad in your example.

 

[schismatic]

Nope, no post eq. Is there a sticky or a tutorial around about equing guitars? They always sound wrong to me, fizz here fizz there.

I too need help with this. I seem to hear fizz from around 2.5k all the way up to maybe 6.5k on my tracks. Is this mainly a result of:

• My DIs/guitar?
• The amp sim?
• The impulse?

I've had some limited success using ReFIR to draw sharp notches around problem areas, also some more success using notches in Equilibrium, where I can right-click-hold on the marker and it inverts the sound, isolating the fizz. I can then scan around to find the fizz and then release to set the notch properly. Anybody else do something similar to find fizz?

 

[Markus Esch]

Hahaha, i guess some noise added up and i didn't mute the master bus while exporting. But yeah, indeed. Holyfuckin noise batman
I like the sound of the kemper, is there a ts in front of it?

New DI: http://we.tl/ERuDraVOAw

 

[Mago]

Ah yeah these DIs are better.

That wasn't the Kemper (too lazy to set up reamping right now), it was TS808 into X50 into a LeCab2. EQ and saturation, and a bit of EQ on the DI.
But I don't think the guitar or playing has anything so "wrong" in it, that you wouldn't be able to pull a decent tone.

Just adjust the settings or use a different ampsim until you are happy.

 

[Terminus]

I too need help with this. I seem to hear fizz from around 2.5k all the way up to maybe 6.5k on my tracks. Is this mainly a result of:

• My DIs/guitar?
• The amp sim?
• The impulse?

I've had some limited success using ReFIR to draw sharp notches around problem areas, also some more success using notches in Equilibrium, where I can right-click-hold on the marker and it inverts the sound, isolating the fizz. I can then scan around to find the fizz and then release to set the notch properly. Anybody else do something similar to find fizz?

Pretty much. You can't get rid of it all unfortunately. Trust me I've tried for years. One thing I want to mention is after my surgical cutting EQ, I like to put a nice colorful Pultec style EQ and play with that. It really brings it out of that flat zone that I find happens without it, pretty much no matter what EQ is done before it.

 

[ashgallows]

I've never really cared for legion, but as someone else on here mentioned. set all controls on the amp sim at their default position, bring the gain up to where you are happy with it and then start going through ir's to find whats best for you. this would be the equivalent of moving the mic around the cab in the studio but in the box. If you want you can throw a hp at around 100 and a lp around 7-12k while you do it. Beyond that once you settle on what you like, you should be able to nail the tone with some slight amp controls first and a few shallow e.q. dips second. I kind of dig the original tone you had tbh. if none of that gets you 100% there some more suggestions would be 1. after doing the first part play around with the tone and drive control on the ts and/or 2.start adjusting pickup height or look into new pickups.