I understand the usage of pedals, preamps, amps, cabs, and reverb impulse responses, but I'm having trouble understanding the use of a guitar IR, e.g., Gibson J-16 Acoustic by Past to Future. I just don't get it. Does it transform the tone of my Gretsch Jim Dandy into a Gibson J-16?

Thanks for any info and/or thoughts.

 

That's exactly what it does, with varying degrees of succes. An acoustic guitar recording of a cheap piezo can be turned into a much more expensive sounding mic recording quite convincingly, and I've even had good results making my telecaster sound like a Gibson acoustic. Basically, the closer the original guitar and the target sound are, the better the results. I wouldn't bet on an IR making your 8-string, C-tuned metal monster sound like a classical guitar though.

 

No but a steel stringed acoustic works fine with a good IR and some compression and EQ and some reverb especially in a studio live not so much and of course it will not sound like a real acoustic guitar but i.m.o much better than a using a piezo.

Here is a clip that is dry imagine some tweaking on it compressor,transient shaper, reverb, eq etc and it will sounds much more like an acoustic guitar

 

Last edited: Feb 28, 2024

It's just a basic eq curve, which all impulse responses are basically. Pickup selection could also help when testing these as single coils help better getting that 'twangy' sound of acoustics. Experimentation is key, as always.

 

I would be recording my parlor guitar with an SM57. Would I then run that track through NAM, Tonocracy, ToneX, or other IR host loaded up with a guitar IR, processing to another track?

 

I was using the Taylor ES2 responses from 3 Sigma running through a Mooer Radar for live situations and it worked out pretty good. I couldn't use it alongside the Live Play Acoustic Body Res however. That gave it a sort of tinny chimey sound.

 

Those are not IR loaders.
NadIR is an IR loader

When you add an SM57, it may create some strange effects.
Those IRs are more pickup oriented (piezo, contact ...)

 

I'm not adding an SM57 IR . . . just recording an acoustic instrument with it. Would there be much of a difference between a Shure and some cheapo piezo?

 

the magic is always in the hands of those with good ears and good technique. it could be shite, it could be great. thats what experimenting is about.

 

if you are recording an accoustic guitar there are some basic techniques that have already been sussed out by generations of musicians and studios. 1st point the mic at the sound hole, usually fairly close to get the best sound. now figure out how to keep your guitar in the relatively same position while changing chords and fingerings. also use headphones to avoid feeback from speakers.
off center micing also works well and a separate room mic to get the sound from farther away to mix in, is considered worth the effort.

 

yes there would be a lot of difference, a piezo has a different eq curve and amplitude characteristics. if you hit the strings too hard, you get squack, so a compressor or compressor pedal helps with taking that out. The amount of string noise you get will also vary from piezo to dynamic mic like the shure.

you can lower the string noise by putting some oil on the strings., coconut oil works well.
most people prefer the sound of a mic'd acoustic guitar, but hate the feedback, so thats how and why the piezo was developed.

 

Don't invest more : use SM57
It will just add another "filter" to the IR (already mic ed).

 

This tip brings me only shitty sound

 

usually the piezo is enough for me, I'll split it and run it through 2 amps and mix the results to get something i like.

 

Dunno how to do this with EQ or IRs, but a pretty good way is to aim a mic slightly offaxis and off from the soundhole, then another at the fretboard to pick up the liveliness and the finger sounds (not too loud though), around the middle of the string is usually working for me.

 

I thought you'd be using an electric guitar. To be honest, if you have an acoustic and can mic the guitar, just go ahead and experiment with that only; maybe try different miking techniques, if you haven't yet. I doubt you'll benefit from additional processing from IRs as you'd be micing the guitar again, layering it "twice", so to speak.

 

So stating is so wrong impulses are not just a basic eq curve its much more than that take cab impulses you cant get i.e the early reflections with an eq and you cant create room hall reverb with an eq.
If it was just a basic eq curve noone would have used IR's period
B.t.w have you heard cab IR's created witha basic EQ and compared them to REAL IR's?
If not do that plz.

 

Last edited: Feb 28, 2024

No. Most acoustic guitar IRs are made to make piezo pickup recordings sound like they've been recorded with a microphone, so if you record your acoustic guitar with a microphone it kinda defeats the purpose (and it probably won't sound good when you use the IR on it).

Record your acoustic guitar straight into your interface (through the onboard piezo pickup) and then insert an IR loader on the track with an acoustic guitar IR. It should make the boring and stale piezo pickup recording sound a bit more like it was recorded with a nice acoustic through a microphone. Don't expect any miracles though, the IR is only an EQ curve.

 

I stand corrected. I am dealing with guitar cabinet and reverb impulse responses daily and what you wrote is absolutely correct. I know the differences you mentioned for IRs vs eq curves, but I was thinking about and referring to the context that OP has mentioned. Maybe I should have rephrased it as "basically some sort of complicated eq-curve" instead of "a basic eq curve." My intentions were lost in translation, I guess.