Merged Cab IRs and pairing with Direct Amp IRs I made separately

    So I've been doing direct profiles of the pre-amp/power-amp of some different amp heads. I did one of an Orange OR-50 and sold that. I did the profile with my own Port City 2x12 Vertical OS attached. I did not have the right mics and room (or experience) to try a studio profile that was going to do any better than the MBritt stuff and I've kind of standardized on his profiles in terms of my live rigs. The profile sounds great and accurate through my Matrix and the cab that was attached. It got me to thinking...If the merged profiles are made by separating the amp from the cab better, couldn't I just take the one pack of MBritt merged profiles (he did this on the JCM800 pack) and pair up the CL80 versions of those cab IRs to my direct profile? It sounds good actually, but, each cab IR of the same cab/speaker sounds different per profile that I pulled from...one noticeably from the other two. If the merged process separates the amp/cab more cleanly than the studio process, then why so much variation in the tone of the what is the same cab and speaker? Could it simply be variations of where he mic'd the speaker for each session, or is it the load...something else? Just curious.

    FWIW...I actually found a non-merged profile cab that really fit with it from the MBritt catalog. I separated out the Orange AD30 to pair with my profile of the Orange OR50. I also played with the clarity, tube shape, compression, etc. (which I hadn't touched) and dialed in a profile that really sounds good. What I like about it is I set the amp the way I wanted to hear it when playing and now through pairing with the MBritt cabs, it fits into the same sonic space but is more "my sound" if you will. More testing will have to come from live work but the results feel good so far. I've found that playing by myself though...even loud...doesn't really reveal things until I get into a band mix.

    One thing I'm still interested in...if anyone knows...is why the wide variation in the cab IR sound of the same cab/speaker on different amps? It's just as I asked in my OP. Anyone know?

    I'm not sure why there is so much variation other than to say the Kemper isn't just capturing an IR, which is typically just done using a sine wave sweep. Changing the controls on the amp, even doing merged profiles, will alter the final cab capture. I can do a whole set of profiles with the mics in the same position, just changing the amp controls and the cabs won't be identical. My guess is that the profiling algorithm is complicated enough that there are so many variables that every minor change makes a difference in the finished product. I know it's a bit of a rabbit-hole, but swapping cabs can yield good results sometimes. It can help fix a not-so-great amp profile sometimes. But I haven't found a one-size-fits-all cab that works for everything yet. With the number of profiles I've made using the same speaker cabinet you'd think I'd found the magic one by now but it's so subjective and every day is a little different. I always try new profiles out live or at soundcheck but I keep going back to a few that just work best with the band. And they aren't necessarily the ones I think sound the best at home or while recording. Different profiles for different applications.

    Quote from lonestargtr

    I'm not sure why there is so much variation other than to say the Kemper isn't just capturing an IR, which is typically just done using a sine wave sweep. Changing the controls on the amp, even doing merged profiles, will alter the final cab capture. I can do a whole set of profiles with the mics in the same position, just changing the amp controls and the cabs won't be identical. My guess is that the profiling algorithm is complicated enough that there are so many variables that every minor change makes a difference in the finished product. I know it's a bit of a rabbit-hole, but swapping cabs can yield good results sometimes. It can help fix a not-so-great amp profile sometimes. But I haven't found a one-size-fits-all cab that works for everything yet. With the number of profiles I've made using the same speaker cabinet you'd think I'd found the magic one by now but it's so subjective and every day is a little different. I always try new profiles out live or at soundcheck but I keep going back to a few that just work best with the band. And they aren't necessarily the ones I think sound the best at home or while recording. Different profiles for different applications.


    Thanks a ton and that was what I was guessing would be the case. Thanks for confirming. Some of the IRs that came from your profiles...whether Studio or Merged...really click for me. I really like the 69 Marshall Plexi 50 4x12. Also dig the IR made with the Jubilee and your 2x12. For the most part, I've stayed out of the rabbit hole and just used what you made the studio profiles with.