A little confused about speaker IRs

  • So when I pull up a favorite Mcbritt profile can I change speakers with an IR file? Please excuse my ignorance. I've been using the Kemper for years but pretty much straight out of the box. I've tried searching this subject but still don't quite get it. Does it have to be a certain type of profile to be able to swap speakers with a IR? Specifically: I'm using Mcbritt's "Lil Willie" profile and have come across some speaker IRs that I'd like to try with it if that's possible. The profile sounds great as is but I've been made aware of some Eminence IRs available that are designed for pedal steel and I'd like to give them a spin if they'll work this way. :?:

  • Short answer: Yes, you can do that and it's quite easy.

    Direct Profiles are those made without a speaker as part of the signal. You have to add a cabinet (Kemper or IR) A Studio Profile uses both, but you can switch cabs out. Kemper's digital voodoo has found a way to take a studio profile and separate the amp from the cabinet. It's not 'exactly like', but so close it's not worth discussing. My favorite clean sound at the moment is a '67 Champ into a Marshall 412. Both were taken from studio profiles. Sounds glorious.

    You can choose different cabinets, including imported IR files and replace what's already there.

    “Without music, life would be a mistake.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

  • Short answer: Yes, you can do that and it's quite easy.

    Direct Profiles are those made without a speaker as part of the signal. You have to add a cabinet (Kemper or IR) A Studio Profile uses both, but you can switch cabs out. Kemper's digital voodoo has found a way to take a studio profile and separate the amp from the cabinet. It's not 'exactly like', but so close it's not worth discussing. My favorite clean sound at the moment is a '67 Champ into a Marshall 412. Both were taken from studio profiles. Sounds glorious.

    You can choose different cabinets, including imported IR files and replace what's already there.

    Is that the Hays 67 champ? I am using one of them and it's really really good. (Thanks to the "hidden gems" post) Blends right in with MBritt profiles for quality. That and the Carr amp that comes in the free pack are my favorites for cleanish sounds. The Carr is real bright and springy works great with a Tele! Surprisingly I have yet to find a Twin or Deluxe tone that comes close. I like that real bright piano like springy sound. Can I ask which Marshall 4x12 profile you nabbed the cab from? I'm cab shopping right now! Sorry to hijack but I think the OP has the question answered.

  • its probably more information than you'll need but its important to remember that a cabinet and head interact with each other a lot more than people realise.

    Cabinet impulses are essentially just applying a filter over the sound - a real guitar cabinet puts a load on the output transformer, and there will (usually) be some negative feedback in the circuit going back into the input of the amplifier. In short, an amplifier ITSELF will sound different when different cabinets or loads are attached.

    This means regardless of whether you use direct profiles or studio ones, switching cabinet IR's will lose that initial interaction between amp and cabinet. If you're switching from one 4x12 with v30's to another impulse of that, its not going to really present an issue - if you're switching from a 4x12 with v30's to an open back 2x12 with Eminence's then its not going to be as accurate as a profile capturing that in the first place. The same goes for various load boxes, or DI's placed in between an amp and cab - the resulting load will influence the sound of the amplifier and changing IR's doesn't account for these changes.

    That said, just go with whatever sounds good. If you're looking for the most accurate reproduction of an amplifier and cab, then this information is very important but its more important to just have a sound you like.

  • Here you go Bryan >>>> https://eminence-digital.com/c…-guitar-impulse-responses And they've got ton's of others available on that site for guitar players etc.. I won't get to this for a few days so let us know how it goes. I'm betting Eminence wouldn't put them out there if they didn't really nail they're speakers. Each speaker set comes mic'd several ways. At $12 a pop I can hardly afford not to try them.


    I just noticed they have a sound sample button. Don't bother if you're wanting a steel sound. For whatever reason they plug it into a plexi amp and play distortion metal type guitar sounds. That's ok but doesn't tell you anything about it for steel.

    There is also a description of how the IRs were made and I found it interesting that Micheal Mcbritt had quite a bit to do with them. Here's a little excerpt.

    "For profiling the Eminence speakers, Britt installed each speaker in a 3rd Power 112 cab switchback cabinet with a partially open back. Describing his cabinet selection, Britt said, "Using the 3rd power cab delivers a relatively flat response, so it doesn't impart as much cabinet sound to the speaker you're using with it. Also, the diagonal ports in the 112 keep standing waves and resonant cab frequencies to a minimum. What you end up with is a very even sounding cabinet with exceptional frequency response, which enables precise capture of the speaker's character."

    Edited once, last by geoffsct: more info ().

  • Grabbed the TT 15...so far so good! I will probably get all the packs, just because it's awesome that Eminence even bothered to make them. Always harder to find stuff geared for steel.