Is there a such thing as the "best" IR Loader?

[dboy1612]

I really do hope this doesn't sound like a stupid question, but I'm new with Guitar Impulses and am getting a little lost on the mass amount of tools and freely made IRs out there.

Is there a such thing as the "best" or atleast "better" impulse loader? Currently on a Mac I've given LeCab2, kefIR, nadIR, and the one built in the TSE X50v2 a shot so far (am thinking of trying SIR2). The issue where I get lost is I don't know what the end result of the impulses are supposed to be and if the loaders are "ruining" them. Do some cut hi EQ? Do some add too much low end for whatever reason? Are some letting through more then they should?

Again, I'm new too all of this. Any bit of advice is helpful. Thanks.

 

[BearOnGuitar]

Recabinet and X50v2 are the best sounding ones for guitar cab impulses imo. They both have speaker dynamics modeling and X50 even allows you to change the IR length.

 

[Rygar91]

Some people say there is but ive never noticed a difference between any of them. If there is a difference its incredibly small, not enough to make you consider one over the other. I use NadIR for everything and the X50v2 one when im using that amp. I use them simply because they are incredibly easy to use and I like the way they look.

 

[He's Dead, Jim]

I hate nadIR and can't get it to work on my DAW, which is weird since I rarely have compatibility issues and every other plugin Ignite has ever made is amazing. I use the Recabinet cabs often so it's my go-to choice, and it has a large interface for selecting the impulse. X50 is great too, since it's become my standard guitar sim. I don't think many add any sonic anomalies. FWIW, I would go with Recab because you can load two at a time, plus speaker dynamics simulation, plus a built-in eq for each impulse, which is a godsend for reducing latency and clutter.

 

[LBTM]

Loaders are one trick ponies and they all sound exactly the same unless there's some kind of post-processing in the plugin. I believe there isn't with most, if not any, loaders.

 

[Kazrog]

Actually, there are almost always small, subtle differences between IR loaders. While convolution is an absolute mathematical equation with only one correct answer for a given signal through a given response, to perform it in realtime there are a variety of ways it can be "optimized," which essentially trades some small degree of accuracy for CPU efficiency. For the most part, this shouldn't even be something you can readily distinguish a difference between, although I have heard a couple of more obscure IR loaders (which will remain nameless) that are horribly inaccurate and sonically inferior to any of the usual suspects.

 

[HOFX]

The two best seem to be Recabinet and the X50 v2.

AxeFX is arguably the best amp modeller on the market [I don't consider Kemper a modeller]. Have a look where Cliff talks about UltraRes Cabs, and how IRs need at least 8000 samples to really capture the low end nuances and realism of a cab (paraphrased there). So, Cliff has obviously done a lot of work in this area and that is his current position.

I have invested a lot of effort over the years in trying to find my sound with amp sims (because I don't have the facilities for micing amps and I think $2000-3000 for a Axe/Kemper is exorbitant given the price of other amps sims) - what I have learnt in the last 12-24 months is that power amp modelling makes a difference. To get more 'life' out of an IR, I think the power amp modelling needs to be a bit hyped to push it around.

Also, take a read of these threads:
http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/backline/926412-x50-v2-cab-movement-vs-recab-3-dynamics.html

http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/backline/928363-x50-v2-cab-movement-vs-recab-3-dynamics-part-ii.html

 

[XxSicRokerxX]

I like Reaverb and SIR2

 

[Kazrog]

I really appreciate all the Recabinet love, by the way. The standard I held my plugin to in terms of convolution accuracy during development was SIR2, and I'm pleased to say it's just as good for loading cabinet IRs. If you need longer IRs (rooms, reverbs, etc.) then SIR2 is by far my favorite. Such a great, focused, simple plugin.

 

[FrancescoFiligoi]

I have both NadIR, LeCab and MixIR2 but have never compared them sonically. I definitely should one of these days!

 

[Nuno Filipe]

I still use voxengo boogex. Really like the option of the equalizer there, before going to a real eq.

 

[Wookieslayer]

Started with SIR2 then moved to LeCab but now almost exclusively use NADir because it uses the least CPU power!

 

[EnjoiTrent]

I use LeCab always right now. Probably will try NADir soon.

 

[LBTM]

NadIR is the only IR loader you'll ever need.

 

[DocSauerkraut]

Some years ago, I did a comparison of different IR loaders including SIR2, Cubase's Reverence, Voxengo Boogex, keFIR and leCab. I compared the results sound wise and mathematical.
I was not able to hear any difference between the IR loaders (at this time i did not have good monitors though), but there were small differences when i compared the signals to a convolution that i calculated with a special program (Matlab).
Based on the error sum, the best IR loader was SIR2 (best = the signal was closest to the theoretical expected signal) followed by Steinberg, keFIR, LeCab and Boogex.
LeCab and Boogex also produced a small delay (in my test around 66 samples).

As i said, the differences were very small and with the equipment used i was not able to hear any differences. However, when comparing the tested programs, i would recommend using SIR2. Me personally, i use mostly Recabinet or sometimes "Wall of Sound III" (which is offered free by Two Notes).

 

[FrancescoFiligoi]

I just did a comparison between NadIR, X50 v2, LeCab, MixIR 2 and Axe-Fx II here: http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/backline/951938-cabinet-impulse-response-ir-plugins-shootout.html

Hope it helps

 

[Auster]

With a bass cab impulse, i compared lecab2, boogex, NadIR, recabinet and i noticed that leCab2 sounds really different, the mids were more scooped out, the others were mostly alike !
I did keep lecab on that bass sound, but it's good to know that it colors the sound..

 

[Sethis]

NadIR for me. It's also uses the least CPU power from the ones I've tried if that's something you care about.

 

[Torniojaws]

I have used LeCab quite a lot, and there is one thing about it: Quite often when I have 4 tracks of guitars, LeCab will randomly mute one or more tracks completely from both monitoring and rendering. You can "bypass" that by reloading the track FX via a preset, but it's a big annoyance, and you can easily end up with only 3 rhythm guitar tracks and not notice it until later.

 

[nezvers]

If I'm using something not recabinet4 or tse50x2, than I'm using reverberate le. Boogex, kefir, lecab gave me some latency when I jammed with guitar. I don't remember what was results with nadir tho. Reverberate le also come with some amazing IRs I'm using for vocals.