Here i have decided to share my favourite Impulse Responses (IRs) from our Library that i have noticed myself using more frequently than others. In the end it always comes down to taste, but i have noticed that the following Impulse Responses have always “fit in the mix just right” for me and the sound i was going for when working on a project.
First on the list is the Mesa Powerhouse 8×10, This set of IRs have really served me well in the studio when mixing various different Bass tones.
When we recorded these at Rocksta Soundranch, we had several microphones placed aimed at serving different purposes. We had Room microphones picking up the room, Sub-microphones placed behind the cabinet for picking up rumble, and microphones of different types placed in front of each element in different ways – all giving a different character.
I usually blend a spot mic, room mic and a sub mic to form a certain sound i am going for. This blend is what i send the processed Bass chain through.
This is the method we created Andreas Sjöstedt’s Bass tone that he now uses live on stage every night with his band Kill The Kong.
Andreas Sjöstedt’s Impulse Mixes
These pair of IR’s were both made when we showed the band Frances Bloom how Impulse Responses work. They had a hard time being convinced at first when we were discussing it all, so we decided to show them by recording Impulse Responses of the microphone placements they had at the time, as they were all in the middle of creating their album.
Here is a video of them testing out the IRs made from their Cabinet in the next room.
“It sounds exactly the same!” – Freddy of Frances Bloom
They contacted me later that year and told us that they used the IRs when they sent the album to the record label for mixing, and have decided to work with IRs in the future as well. I personally use these 2 IR’s blended together when i want that classic screaming Marshall sound.
Tom always trash-talked his cabinet that he bought secondhand that was homebuilt and has unknown elements in them, and i wanted to prove that everything can sound great, it’s more a matter of how to use it!
He decided to let us make a couple of IRs from his cabinet, and they really did turn out great. They give quite a fat-bottomed low end to them, which is great when you want those rhythm guitars to sound extra chunky in certain situations – That is how i use them anyway!
Here you can see how they sound when Tom plays through them!
This Impulse Response comes from a workshop we had in our hometown. We took the cabinet they had by the side of the stage and made an IR which we later showed everyone how to upload to our Library.
The IR itself happened to turn out really cool, and has been one of the most downloaded ones so far. I usually refer to this IR as the “House of Wax”, being a play on words where it was created.
This is by far my favourite when it comes to using Room-Microphones and Sub-Microphones to blend a a tone for Guitar, for some reason we managed to get a really cool and dark rumble, when blended correctly can really give a nice and controlled low-end, acting as a sort of glue between the Bass and Guitar. I don’t use it often – but when i do, it really does the job.
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