So testing a few of these. In theory they sound promising.

The issue is (I'm using ReaVerb for these) when I load them up they are all over the place, crazy volume jumps and all. I've got "normalize to -18db" on Reaverb which is giving me the best of the worst for now.

I could be doing something wrong.

What is your MO using these IRs?
Which VST do you use with them?
Do I need to do some crazy EQ cuts to make these work?

Suggestions welcome.Thank you

 

From sistersite user: ZZAudio

"
You can use the following plug-ins to load IR files.
Stereo IR files = Waves IR1 Efficient
Mono IR files = Waves IR1 Mono
Multi Channel IR files = Waves IR1 Full

Let me give you some TIPS.
1. When loading an IR file, choose "Import IR - do not normalize" from the IR1 menu and save it as a user preset.
2. When using a saved preset, use Waves IR1 in the bus track if it is a reverb or delay IR. For tape machine or microphone IR, use it as an insert on each track.
3. When inserting into the bus track, start with a send level of about -40dB. When using it as an insert, turn down the output level of IR1 to the lowest level before using it. Gradually increase the level and make it exactly the same as the dry level of the material in 0.1dB increments."

"I've experimented with other chamber reverb plug-ins to see how they compared. And the results were more clear than I had expected.
I was particularly excited about Waves Abbey Road Chambers as a comparison, but to my surprise, PastToFutureReverb's IR was far superior in sound quality.
Waves ARCs, a modeling plug-in, has strong "harsh digital sounds" that is unpleasant to listen to if used as-is, so the material must be properly processed before using the plug-in, and the output from the plug-in must be filtered.
However, PastToFutureReverb's IRs are of sufficient quality to be used as is, and I was able to obtain a very natural and ideal chamber reverb sound.
Compared to other IR-based chamber reverbs (not modeled hardware reverbs), PastToFutureReverb's IR is top of the line in terms of quality.
I will be the first to try this IR in future situations where a chamber reverb is needed."

 

Nope, you're not. I was really irritated about what you've written, so I tried it myself with Beatle Chambers and here the 1A IR.
In ReaVerb I had to use Apply -18dB gain and additionally pull down the wet to -13dB to avoid clipping in the plugins output (used as a send FX with source peaking at -1dB FS and send set to 0dB).
Similar result for Waves IR1 Full. Here I had to set the output to -25dB to avoid clipping.

Oh, BTW, of course both sound the same, but IR1 has way more options to affect the sound.

 

I got some IR's from them, apart from the ones that exists at the sister site and it was a huge jump for my style of production.

If it's an Hardware/Microphone convolution, use it 100% wet on the insert because it will simulate the frequency response of that device, generally with bumps, bandwidth and stereo field. No saturation, so if you want the distortion, you gotta put something after the IR to a more complex and complete circuitry emulation (for example, Kush Omega A after API IR; Kramer Tape after Ampex IR, etc). Keep in mind there will be volume jumps so you need to tweak the output level to match the one before you inserted the IR and see if its helping or not

If it's a reverb i can put it as an insert and use the dry/wet knob if i want it on the source or 100% wet as a fx send.

I'm using the Native convolver of my DAW, but Convology XT is free and kind of a standard. Unfortunatly can't help with recomendations of IR loaders and don't know how to tweak it on Reaper.

I'm a Acustica Audio user that loves the fact that their tech has convolution behind the scenes. And PastToFuture is bringing new possibilities for those that like the musical imperfection of the analog domain, apart from harmonics only. And before anyone says, no, you can't replicate the frequency response of a transformer on Pro-Q 3.

 

Thank you all.

Yeah I was doing what I usually do with other IRs in Reaverb, but thought maybe I had missed something. I don't usually use impulses.
Tried a few of the reverbs from PTF and the one's I did had the same behaviour. Crazy volume jumps when switching IRs.

Gonna give Waves Ir1 and Convology a try though. Thank you for the tips.

Cheers

 

ReaVerb only does peak normalisation - I think.

You could use Reaper or some other tool to normalise the impulses to some RMS or LUFS value.

I just tried with ffmpeg and rsgain and here's what I've found out so far:

ReaVerb ignores ReplayGain and EBU R128 tags in audio files. You need to apply gain changes to the audio data.
After normalising, loudness is much more level, but is still off by quite some margin. Impulses are probably too short to get a super accurate measurement.

Here's what I'll try next:

https://github.com/ReaTeam/Doc/blob/master/REAPER-CLI.md

EDIT: Reaper's batch converter worked pretty nicely. I went with LUFS-M to -36 and ~85% of my impulses are now reasonably close in loudness to one another.

 

Last edited: Sep 10, 2023

everytime a new pack shared on s/s I will spend few minutes to create a new bank on Reverberate, gain match everything to proper volume roughly with VU meter, each IR needs different adjustment. I also did minor EQ the low/high end just to remove the very low and very high of every IR with the built in EQ and copied them over. Already get used to it so I can do it super fast with just copy and pasting and doing 1 bank per day only needs 5 minutes. Easier to browse through them IRs this way as everything (other banks too) is already at give or take same levels.

 

Last edited: Sep 10, 2023

Thank you.
That sounds interesting Stevie.
If you'd be so kind, can you just do a rough walkthrough of how you achieve this in Reverberate? I'd like to give it a try.

 

Oh, btw tried the MConvolutionEZ from Melda and it does a good job with keeping the levels even whenever you switch IR.
It's has a super simple layout but actually it does a really good job.
Of the ones I tried the Melda takes the prize, and I usually avoid their plugins because I just don't fancy the workflow provided by their UI, but this one top notch.

 

why can't people just use OmniChannel Properly

 

On Mac I use the Terminal script 'PatchMaker SpaceDesigner Presets' to make presets complete in seconds of any .wav/aif IR folder... so, later, you can quickly use them in Space Designer.

Don't know if this super fast process work for others IR soft too like Reverberate, ReaVerb, Waves, Convology, if not... maybe some willing code expert could modify that script to make it compatible with other IR plugs!?!?

It would be nice if someone could try it and let us know.

 

Last edited: Sep 12, 2023

I'll try my best.

1. Open up Liquidsonics Reverberate, go to the top left corner, click at the "Bank" and select "Empty Bank"

2. Go to the bottom right corner, click on the "Preset Bank" to expand the plugin, you get something like this :



3. Assuming you already copied the IRs folder to proper permanent location to store it, and "1:Default" is selected (marked as 2 in the pic) click on the Load IR (mark as 1 on the pic) and load the first IR of the pack.

4. At the location marked as 3, click on the names and rename you preset.

5. At the location marked as 4, set the Level and Dry/Wet. This depends on how you like it. I always set the Dry/Wet to 100% and locked.
- to adjust the level, you can either use sine wave or just any loops you have and place a VU meter plugin after the the reverb and at 100% Wet settings, adjust the level to where you like it. I do it until the signal peaking at -6dbfs. Around -14 to -18RMS.

6. When you're done click "Saved Banks" (marked as 5) and choose "Save Bank File" and save the Bank file. Now the Bank will display on the top left Bank menu. Bank file needed to be saved at the location prompted. You can create a folder in there for organization, but it must be saved within that location so it will appear on Reverberate Menu.

7. Select the first preset on the bank and go to "Options" (marked as 6) and select "Copy/Paste" >> "Copy Current Preset"

8. Select the second preset on the bank and go to "Options" again and select "Copy/Paste" >> "Paste Over Current Preset", now you have same preset on the second location.

9. With the second preset selected, click next ">" (location marked as 7) to pick another IR. Redo Step 4, 5, 6. 8. Skip 7. I think you'll get the idea.

10. When you are saving the bank, just overwrite the bank file. Careful with the copy and pasting and make sure you select the right preset location before doing it.

11. All your changes can easily be erased if you select another bank, so make sure to save/overwrite the bank file after any meaningful changes.

12. Just want to add, Reverberate is dual engine convolver. So make sure "Reverb 1" is always selected when you are doing this. Mind that there are 3 sections of FX processing. For Reverb 1, Reverb 2 and Mix (both, like Master channel). If you want to EQ the IR, make sure to do it on the Reverb 1 EQ section. Also experiment with the SIM-TS it's epic and adding Synthetic Early Reflection on Reverb 2 and combine it with IR on Reverb 1. Or any other weird ass stuff, trust me this is the best reverb convolution plugin ever for this type of shit. Routing too.

It's a little slow at first, but I promise it will get quicker on your 50th times. Hope it helps.

 

Last edited: Sep 12, 2023

Thank you for the rundown stevie! Super useful!