MGR/Brian Johnston « Ultimate IR Creator & Loader »
Published on 12/16/23 at 02:54
Best value:
Excellent
Audience:
Anyone
I’m a hardware guy, although I do use digital/software tech, including my DAW. Cabinetron, however, was a no-brainer and I was very anxious to try this software, mostly to customize IRs, rather than use it as a loader. Yes, it does work in DAWs and as a stand-alone perfectly fine, but to create unique sounding IRs and then load them onto hardware, is key for my use.
Cabinetron does include hundreds of IRs, and you can import your own to customize them further, but the ease of use and flexibility is what makes Cabinetron highly desirable. And based on what I’ve seen out in the industry, this likely is the ultimate IR creator and loader at the time of writing. Cabinetron’s customization is vital since different gear and guitars can result in an IR sounding good in one instance, or too dark, muddy, etc., in other instances. If only you could tweak that IR. What’s mind-blowing is that you can stack upward of 8 IRs into a very usable and unique impulse response. Not that you have to – perhaps one is enough for some people.
There are a number of videos demonstrating and addressing the ‘details’ of this program, and so, I’ll focus the features I like best and tend to use most. As indicated, you can load up to 8 IRs, whether from the Cabinetron package or from your own collection. Each IR then can be customized via an EQ, altering the distance of the mic, adding gain, panning, etc., what a number of programs offer. What’s kick ass is the ‘Mutation’ list, so that you can make an IR sound heavier and fatter, scooped, punchier, more on ‘fire,’ etc., and that’s at a click of a button (you can listen to changes via an A/B comparison). This one operation makes a huge difference, and I find combining IRs with different characteristics produces some very distinctive and practical IRs. From there, the Mixer allows you to adjust the balance among the IRs (if two or more), and then the EQ section allows for further modification and blending to your specs. EQ is possible on the main page, but this other EQ section is for that final tone balance among the group, if required. In many instances, I was content with the EQ and left it. The advanced EQ section does have a number of common presets, e.g., top shelf, high pass, flat tilt, etc., although you can manually transform the EQ.
There’s a Tone Capture function, in the event you want to narrow in on a particular song’s sound, as well as a Room option for some ambient reality, and a Doubler for Metal players (20 ms latency to the right channel for a wider sound), although the Doubler does provide a unique quality to clean tones, and the program can operate in stereo. As well, Cabinetron also is for bass, with ten highly useful IR presets that literally transforms a bass, from warm to rock-aggressive. I included these in the demo, whereas the guitar has hundreds of IR samples that were far too extensive to go through.
Once all is said and done, you can save your presets or export them (in a host of different digital sizes and responses), even if stacking 8 IRs into one and adding the Doubler or Room. And Cabinetron is so simple to use, I can see how people will start developing IRs for distribution using this program. More importantly, it is a joy to use. I never encountered any bugs or glitches, and I’m using this program to not only achieve great guitar tones, but to achieve those details that cut through the mix and match my gear even better. I’m uncertain what could be added to Cabinetron, but what it does offer is amazing.
Cabinetron does include hundreds of IRs, and you can import your own to customize them further, but the ease of use and flexibility is what makes Cabinetron highly desirable. And based on what I’ve seen out in the industry, this likely is the ultimate IR creator and loader at the time of writing. Cabinetron’s customization is vital since different gear and guitars can result in an IR sounding good in one instance, or too dark, muddy, etc., in other instances. If only you could tweak that IR. What’s mind-blowing is that you can stack upward of 8 IRs into a very usable and unique impulse response. Not that you have to – perhaps one is enough for some people.
There are a number of videos demonstrating and addressing the ‘details’ of this program, and so, I’ll focus the features I like best and tend to use most. As indicated, you can load up to 8 IRs, whether from the Cabinetron package or from your own collection. Each IR then can be customized via an EQ, altering the distance of the mic, adding gain, panning, etc., what a number of programs offer. What’s kick ass is the ‘Mutation’ list, so that you can make an IR sound heavier and fatter, scooped, punchier, more on ‘fire,’ etc., and that’s at a click of a button (you can listen to changes via an A/B comparison). This one operation makes a huge difference, and I find combining IRs with different characteristics produces some very distinctive and practical IRs. From there, the Mixer allows you to adjust the balance among the IRs (if two or more), and then the EQ section allows for further modification and blending to your specs. EQ is possible on the main page, but this other EQ section is for that final tone balance among the group, if required. In many instances, I was content with the EQ and left it. The advanced EQ section does have a number of common presets, e.g., top shelf, high pass, flat tilt, etc., although you can manually transform the EQ.
There’s a Tone Capture function, in the event you want to narrow in on a particular song’s sound, as well as a Room option for some ambient reality, and a Doubler for Metal players (20 ms latency to the right channel for a wider sound), although the Doubler does provide a unique quality to clean tones, and the program can operate in stereo. As well, Cabinetron also is for bass, with ten highly useful IR presets that literally transforms a bass, from warm to rock-aggressive. I included these in the demo, whereas the guitar has hundreds of IR samples that were far too extensive to go through.
Once all is said and done, you can save your presets or export them (in a host of different digital sizes and responses), even if stacking 8 IRs into one and adding the Doubler or Room. And Cabinetron is so simple to use, I can see how people will start developing IRs for distribution using this program. More importantly, it is a joy to use. I never encountered any bugs or glitches, and I’m using this program to not only achieve great guitar tones, but to achieve those details that cut through the mix and match my gear even better. I’m uncertain what could be added to Cabinetron, but what it does offer is amazing.