I KNEW it was EQ, but now i feel like i have been lied to all this time, it seems that developers make their own version of cabinets, what THEY like and sell it saying "this is the best pack of impulses responses you will ever find".
But, its all f***** EQ! I tried making my "own" cabs by just bypassing all cabinets/impulses, leaving only the raw amp distorted sound, made a low pass cut at 48db at 4 - 6k, this way i was getting already a tone that was cutting the mix really well, but it needed more work, so i used a ton of bell notches here and there, removing fizz and what not, and voila, i got a cabinet that was sounding like those of Line 6 PODs!
Even better because i could make the cuts/boost were i wanted.

Now, i am not saying that this is the best option, but maybe that is the reason i was getting muddy tones with my distortions? i play mostly death metal stuff, in the old school era, that means scooped mids and ton of distortions with solid state amps.

I feel like i found a new way to make my own cabs instead of messing with lots or IRs just to waste time.

Also, i was one of these people that thought that EQ matching a guitar from X band was cheating, but now, knowing that i was already using other people "EQ matching of a cabinet" all this time, i can live with it lol.

 

its convolution not just eq , its more complicated than that , it mimicks how a system reacts which you cant do with any eq , it gives basically reverb+texture+eq+envelope

 

They're similar, but IRs are more dynamic being Convolution based..

It would be long to explain all technicalities,
but look into it, there's a difference..

As for the POD cabs,
I've got a POD HD500 and I always thought its cabs Suck big time..
However using proper external cabs, like Amplitube 4 cabs gives a much better result

 

yeah, if it was "just eq", you would not have ir files for reverbs.

 

An IR should response dynamically, so there's a difference. But when you shred the shit out of your guitar this hardly matters. Therefore a static EQ can very well be working for you.
On top of that, depending on the genre/sound, a combi of stomp box and amp emu can be sufficient even without a cab or extreme eqing (been there, done that).

 

Pod HD are filterbased calculations of how a cab "might" sound
But Pod HD does sounds really good with IR's just turn of the built in cab even Pod XT and old Pod 2.0 sounds good with IR's
Amplitube 4 cabs doesnt sound good it sounds like crap compared to real IR's and basically it sounds like Pods cabs.
Here how amplitube sounds even when using the same IR as other ampsims and even with an ampsim they can call Mesa (i bete they had to pay Mesa alot of mopney for using their name)

 

No they are NOT EQ
Basically you can call it EQ but you will never dial in an EQ to sound like an IR
More likely to sound like Pod and Amplitube 2,3 & 4 and Guitar Rigs built in cabs
The famous Tom Scholz Rockman used EQ curve to simulate how a miced up guitar cab sounds even though the rockman sounds "good" compared to IR's it sounds crap.

 

It's true. Cabinet IRs are just EQs. As long as they're very short WAVs, meaning they don't capture reverb.
So yes, they don't capture the cabinet dynamics/distortion. Which is very little compared to the amphead's, unless you're using a very clean tone.
The reason they're in wav files is because it's convenient and they're truly recorded.

If you want to design/modify your own ones, I strongly recommend you Meldaproduction MCabinet.

 

Well it totally depends on the IR - the closer the microphone was placed to the loudspeaker during recording, the more likely an EQ could replace the IR. It's never a perfect replacement though, even in an anechoic chamber you've got the speaker cabinet with a few reflections and resonances that can't be fully emulated using a conventional EQ.

 

I knew about this too, but since a IR its just a "snapshot" or screenshot of a mic´ed cabinet, i thought its almost the same.

Oh, i think POD cabs are great, they got a particular sound to them, Amplitube 4 its all over the place, some cabs do sound good, others are WTF sounding.

Amplitube 4 is a fake company that takes the official names of the products they emulate to win more money, i stopped using Amplitube forever after i got 10x better results with free stuff, and yeah, that Mesa Rectifier emulation is the WORST.

Actually Guitar Rig cabs are Redwirez IRs, i dont know why people never noticed this, they just say "THIS IS SHIT BECAUSE ITS GUITAR RIG" but the IRs are actually very good, the FXs as well.

I tried MCabinet but didnt liked it, it was very "random", the sounds were strange haha, but the Melda EQ to make IRs is AWESOME, and i discovered it thanks to you mentioning it on a thread.

 

Not only Amplitube uses IR's, but it uses Hundreds of them per speaker,
this way it can account for 3D positioing, and which Microphones and Speakers are used..
(we're talking +600 IR's per Cab in AT5..)

It can also load external IR's no problem..


The comparison video you linked is comparing the Amps+Cabs,
not only the Cabs, so it's different..

Before watching it,
if you asked me I would've told you the best VST emulation of a Mesa Dual/Triple that I tried/know is the Brainworx plugs.

Great stuff, certainly Much Better than Amplitubes take,
(which is kinda Wrong: not too bad in terms of Color/Tone, but all the Drive/Distortion is somehow.. gone!)
or even the Nembrini mesa, which sounds very plasticky..

However, as good as Brainworx Cab IR's are,
Brainworx Mesa sounds better with the Amplitube 4 Mesa 4x12 Cab.. at least in my exprience.

However I'm certainly not a chugga-chugger,
so my requirements or taste/preferences might be different.


@Ghaleon,
In POD HD500 some Cabs are passable in terms of Color,
they are tailor made for each amp, so at least they correspond and sound minimally..

But in terms of character/dynamics they're Super Bad bro...
for the best result with AT4, you need to listen closely matching Amp with the best Cab possible, (be it for the same/similar amp, or not..)
then also do some tweaking to choose the proper Mics, adjust their position or change Speakers..

More options gives you more possibilities,
but it's all there if you know how to do it..

Regular IR's otoh, don't give you as much flexibility/options:
they cannot be positioned freely (you need another IR),
they don't simulate the Room and Ambient mics,
and they don't let you choose Microphones or Speakers..

However I'm not saying AT's Cabs are the end-it-all tho..
In general terms I would say AT4's Cabs are at the Same level as Torpedo WOS,
but different and in sum, Inferior to UAD's OX Box, which is pretty much state of the art

 

Last edited: Nov 18, 2021

After watching the Mesa comparison video..
I still think Brainworx is one of the best,
together with Thermionik, Studio Devil, Amplion Pro.. and maybe Lepou

TH3 is not bad at all,
but Guitar Rig/Revalver are equally as crap.. although not as much as this horrible PG BIAS example.

Line6 otoh, makes Mesas sound a bit like Marshalls or ENGLs?.. lol

 

Last edited: Nov 19, 2021

vs

 

IR's are like super-detailed frequency/time dependant multi-tapped EQ's,
and thus capture the Color/Tone, and to a certain extent the Character/response of a real Cab..

You would need a super precise EQ with Lots of sensibly placed peaks to even get tonally close,
which is what for instance Waves QClone does..


However you could still get a usable result EQing it manually,
but it will never sound or react like a Cab, that's what convo maths/algorithms are for

 

convolution folds the input signal with the IR, they are basically EQ + phase + / over time x

 

You only missed: FIGHT!!

 

Apparently the best cab simulation on the market is Amplitube's.
Not my words. I don't use Amplitube. I mean, as much as a metalhead I am, 2+GB only for the ampsim... I have smaller Kontakt libs for chrissakes

 

Oh yeah, i knew about Amplitube using 600 irs per cab, what i always liked about amplitube was how you can move the mics and change speakers on a 3D space, it was MUCH easier than scrolling in hundred of IRs for sure. I tried Amplitube 5 and i feel about the same as Amp 4 cabs, some of them are good, and it depends a lot on where you position the mic of course. But if i try to compare the sound of a Redwirez impulse in the same position with the same cabinet/speaker against Amp 4 cabs, the Redwirez one sounds much better, more real and less fizzy.
So i think their cabinets are easier to use, but when compared to other IRs, they arent so good sounding... HOWEVER, what i found with Amp 4 cabs its that they fit more easily in a mix, so that is a WIN for sure.

LOL

Exactly a EQ with lots of notchs and filters...
Oh and by the way, yeah i think Brainworx Megadual is the best Mesa emulation out there for sure. It also feels very good to play!

 

Did you liked Amp 5 cabs? and its really the best cab simulation in the market?

 

I don't know if I can articulate this well or add anything new to the discussion but I don't think eq notches and filters is all there is to impulse responses.

They are sampling an entire room, gear, mics and their angle/distance/positions to give you the final product. Some companies go about their impulse responses differently than others also. Just check this guy out who is making his own plugin with 9600 different impulse positions. I actually can't wait for this.

You're basically just getting their processed chain in a wav file to plug whatever gear you have to sound as close to that as possible but all results may vary. All of this effects your signal down the line differently than in their space.

That's why looking for and saving those impulses that work for you personally is such a vital process to recording metal. I surprised myself at which tones work on my gear and guitars when I swore that other brand was better for me prior to going on a hunt for tone that's still everlasting.

Nice to see someone else around here into old school death metal. You check out the Grindstein pedal plugin which they emulated after the real pedal? So many great tones from Bloodbath to Obituary or Swedish chainsaws you could ever want. I'm obsessed. Very versatile for death metal.

 

Last edited: Nov 19, 2021