Darwin's Cat cabinet IRs
We love guitars and don’t always record them through a mic. We love and value mics, but at night that’s not an option. And sometimes the mic was hanging in the wrong place, and replaying a great part because of that is no fun.
That’s why we often use IRs, especially for parts with no character of their own, like hi-gain rhythms: their voice can be picked later.
And since we love IRs and use them, we’re putting up a few for you too.
And don’t forget the generators, Orbit Bass Cab Builder and Orbit Guitar Cab Builder: create lots of beautiful IRs for yourself, make the world a better place. This is the way.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an IR?
An IR (impulse response) is a short WAV file, a fingerprint of a cabinet together with its mic: how the two of them change the sound. An IR loader runs the signal of an amp with no cabinet through this fingerprint, and it sounds as if the cabinet had been recorded with a mic.
The nice part is that you can pick the sound of the cabinet and the mic for a part that is already recorded, right in the DAW. And good IRs imitate a cabinet quite convincingly, if, of course, they are well made themselves, and that varies.
Where can I get IRs?
Here, for free, under the CC BY 4.0 license: bass cab IRs and guitar cab IRs, ready-made packs by style and size. Or build your own cabinet in Orbit Bass Cab Builder or Orbit Guitar Cab Builder: DOWNLOAD IR saves exactly what you hear. Cabinet makers and studios also sell and give away IRs, and there are lots of them.
How do I use an IR?
Load the IR into an IR loader: a plugin in the DAW after an amp or an amp sim with its cabinet off, or a pedal or processor with an IR slot. In OrbitAmp and OrbitBass you can simply drop your own IR onto CAB. Take IRs at the same sample rate as the project (44.1, 48 or 96 kHz): our packs have all three.