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IR Loaders for iOS - Best one for general use vs best one for guitar cabinets?

So yeah - lots of talk lately on the board about IR loaders, specifically in reference to @flo26 and his ridiculously good guitar tones.

Let's be honest - the guitar tones in my videos leave A LOT to be desired. So, educate me on IR loaders - which is the best for general reverb use? Which is the best for guitar cabs? Is there a difference? What makes one better than the other?

Thafknar?

Impulsation?

iConvolver?

Fiddlicator?

Altispace?

I've used IR reverbs on PC before, but it's not something I've dived into too much here.

Didn't see another thread title specifically addressing this, but if someone finds an older thread to continue rather than this new one here, please point me in that direction.

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Comments

  • Thafknar and Impulsation are the only AU ones. Thafknar is the only one of those two that is universal. End of story as far as I'm concerned. I have Impulsation but see no reason to use it over Thafknar.

  • Nembrini have hinted at a something in the cabinet or Ir département. I would wait a bit before buying anything.

  • edited July 2020

    @ecou Not purchasing at the moment, just researching. And yes, now that you mention it I remember something being said about Nembrini and an IR loader as well. Food for thought.

    @wim Why Thafknar over Impulsation - because it's available in iPhone?

  • @Daveypoo said:
    @ecou Not purchasing at the moment, just researching. And yes, now that you mention it I remember something being said about Nembrini and an IR loader as well. Food for thought.

    @wim Why Thafknar over Impulsation - because it's available in iPhone?

    I’m probably going to get blamed for having iOS blinders but Thafknar is cheaper.

    You can also open zip directly In Thafknar and it will unpack them.

    You can record reverb Ir directly in Thafknar

  • wimwim
    edited July 2020

    @Daveypoo said:
    @ecou Not purchasing at the moment, just researching. And yes, now that you mention it I remember something being said about Nembrini and an IR loader as well. Food for thought.

    @wim Why Thafknar over Impulsation - because it's available in iPhone?

    Yep. To me an impulse is an impulse. I don't see any significant advantage of either, so ... universal wins.

    Applying IR to audio is pretty much a fixed mathematical operation as far as I know. It isn't like hardware that introduces coloration of its own, or like the different algorithms in filters, etc. So, unless I saw one using less CPU over another or something, I don't care.

    I think I remember some posts by @espiegel123 about stereo vs. mono impulse processing, but I paid little attention as I only care about cabinet and reverb impulses for guitar.

  • BTW, if you're considering reverbs, AudioReverb might be worth adding to the list. It's a hybrid, using IR for realism in the early reflections, combined with algorithmic reverb for the rest of the sound. It's always been one of my favorite reverbs.

  • @Daveypoo Let’s not forget this universal AU
    JAX Convolutor PRO (AU)
    https://itunes.apple.com/app/id1494157807

    iFX Rack also has an IAP version of IMPULSation in it..
    https://itunes.apple.com/app/id1462580765

    I have + use equally iConvolver + IMPULSation.. strictly an iPad user..
    iConvolver was my first + works great with my guitar cab IRs.. that’s all I use it for when I’m having a “guitar only” session..
    IMPULSation - I picked it up because it’s AU.. It has a bunch of built-in reverb IRs + I actually loaded a few extras myself.. I use it both for reverb + guitar cab type of IRs.. I mainly use it with my amp sims BUT I also find myself experimenting with it with many non-guitar apps.. I like the way it organizes my plethora of guitar cab IRs.. seems easier to find than within iConvolver..

    I look forward to what Nembrini may bring to the table.. they’ve become my go-to guitar amp sim + I ❤️ them all so far..

  • Thanks @wim but this is less about Reverbs (Lord knows I have a TON of those...) and more about IR Loaders specifically. I'm looking to improve my knowledge around building virtual guitar tones, however if I were to get one I know I've got a number of IR rooms from my PC that I could repurpose, so ideally it would be good at both.

    I think I remember folks saying that Altiverb was great for regular reverbs but not so much for guitar cabs....

  • Impulsation Is also on sale:

  • @royor I'd forgotten about the JAX one. I think they make good apps, but I have a hard time with their interface. Between iFX Rack and Impulsation, I'd get Impulsation only because I have no need for a multi-effects box. I already have too many dang effects!

    :D

  • edited July 2020

    @Daveypoo I think the only difference between the iFX Rack + IMPULSation version was an extra filter section inside of IMPULSation..

  • edited July 2020

    If you're iPadOS only then my vote goes for Impulsation because of it's ease of use and AUv3 functionality. The menu, the good dry to wet ratio control (meaning there's crazy range of minute degrees of dry to wet signal vs. that phenomenon of being past 20% and everything sounds like it's in a cave.), the UI is nice and importing IR's is simple. I use it for both reverb and in conjunction with guitar amp sims for cabinet IR's. Plus there's a great filter section in the stand alone version. The iFX rack from Gospel Musicians has an IAP version of Impulsation too.

    Fiddlecator is broken, I'm on 13.5 and it just doesn't work anymore. It may still work on lower versions but even when I used it it wasn't the easiest thing to program.

    The Convolution Reverb in Auria has long been junk. It only uses the proprietary file system from MoreVox now for some reason, so regular wav IR's just don't work.

    Altispace is one of those I never got behind because of the feel, if you understand where I'm coming from. It just felt clunky and without AU output it's just obsolete in my view.

    I know iConvolver is @flo26's IR loader of choice but I have never used it. From his videos there are what looks to be some pretty stout controls on it, but as I say I've never used it. For me Impulsation is just working great, and I think it may still be on sale as I write this.

    Good luck Pooman

  • @royor said:
    @Daveypoo Let’s not forget this universal AU
    JAX Convolutor PRO (AU)
    https://itunes.apple.com/app/id1494157807

    iFX Rack also has an IAP version of IMPULSation in it..
    https://itunes.apple.com/app/id1462580765

    I have + use equally iConvolver + IMPULSation.. strictly an iPad user..
    iConvolver was my first + works great with my guitar cab IRs.. that’s all I use it for when I’m having a “guitar only” session..
    IMPULSation - I picked it up because it’s AU.. It has a bunch of built-in reverb IRs + I actually loaded a few extras myself.. I use it both for reverb + guitar cab type of IRs.. I mainly use it with my amp sims BUT I also find myself experimenting with it with many non-guitar apps.. I like the way it organizes my plethora of guitar cab IRs.. seems easier to find than within iConvolver..

    I look forward to what Nembrini may bring to the table.. they’ve become my go-to guitar amp sim + I ❤️ them all so far..

    I would not recommend JAX Convolutor. It is not actively supported and has problems when running audio with wide dynamic range through it. There are other issues, too.

    For cabs, pretty much an IR app will do. I use THAFKNAR because I sometimes use long atmospheric IRs for reverb and have some amazing true-stereo IRs (which requires four chanels of IR). THAFKNAR is the only convolutor on iOS that can handle them -- though that is a pretty specialized use. True Stereo only makes a big difference in some contexts.

  • I use iconvolver not sure if it’s the best but gets the job done for my needs.

  • @espiegel123 said:
    For cabs, pretty much an IR app will do. I use THAFKNAR because I sometimes use long atmospheric IRs for reverb and have some amazing true-stereo IRs (which requires four chanels of IR). THAFKNAR is the only convolutor on iOS that can handle them -- though that is a pretty specialized use. True Stereo only makes a big difference in some contexts.

    Where do you find "atmospheric" IRs, @espiegel123? And how do you go about loading four channels that are all active?

  • @SNystrom said:

    @espiegel123 said:
    For cabs, pretty much an IR app will do. I use THAFKNAR because I sometimes use long atmospheric IRs for reverb and have some amazing true-stereo IRs (which requires four chanels of IR). THAFKNAR is the only convolutor on iOS that can handle them -- though that is a pretty specialized use. True Stereo only makes a big difference in some contexts.

    Where do you find "atmospheric" IRs, @espiegel123? And how do you go about loading four channels that are all active?

    The IRs I was referring to are commercial IRs recorded in places like cathedrals,mosques and caverns. Mine come as pairs of stereo files. In THAFKNAR there is a setting that use a pair of stereo IRs to do true stereo. One for the left input channel and one for the right Be forewarned that it is CPU-intensive.

    Almost all the IRs you will find at free download sites are mono-to-stereo or mono to mono.

  • Yeah, @espiegel123, that's pretty much what I thought. Who is a good company that provides these massive IRs?

  • @SNystrom said:
    Yeah, @espiegel123, that's pretty much what I thought. Who is a good company that provides these massive IRs?

    The ones that I am using are for Altiverb, which I own. There are other companies that sell IRs for which you can find reviews. It has been a long time since I researched this. So, I am not current on other sources. I will say that most of the time I use algorithmic reverbs as the COU penalty for long IRs is quite high.

  • I have AltiSpace, are those IRs available there as well?

    Very strange. It appears Altiverb and AltiSpace are no longer on the App Store!

    Is that possible???

  • edited July 2020

    I'm using Thafknar regularly and it's a great workhorse. Importing IRs needs getting used to but using it inside a DAW or AUM is super straightforward.
    Doesn't look as fancy as Impulsation but it's cheaper and lets me focus on the sound while browsing through different IRs.
    @Daveypoo Go and find some guitar body impulse responses already 😃

  • Yeah @rs2000 , how do you actually get your IR files to open in Thafknar???

    Mr. Poo, could you please make a video showing us all how to do it????

    I and many others have had a hellish failed experience getting our IRs to open in Thafknar!

  • edited July 2020

    @rs2000 I'm working on it, I'm working on it - sheesh! 😘 I have a larger plan in mind, but I'm still figuring out the steps first.

    @SNystrom I don't own any of these apps so I'm just doing some research to start. Possibly a video down the road, but it'll be a while.

    🤷‍♂️

  • That's cool @Daveypoo, I purchased Impulsation today, so I'm good for a couple days at least! 😉

  • @SNystrom I'll see you back here tomorrow 😉

  • edited July 2020

    @SNystrom said:
    Yeah @rs2000 , how do you actually get your IR files to open in Thafknar???

    Mr. Poo, could you please make a video showing us all how to do it????

    I and many others have had a hellish failed experience getting our IRs to open in Thafknar!

    It had been explained here several times but here's how I do it:

    • Put all your new IRs into a folder named like you want to see it in Thafknar
    • Zip the folder and load the zip file in Thafknar
    • Tap-hold on the imported zip until the popup menu shows, then choose "Unpack to IRs"
    • to see the imported files, choose "Parameters" on the bottom.

    From now on, you'll find your new IR folder in the AUv3 version.

  • Thank you @rs2000.

    I'll try that but even after watching a speedy Thafknar video on YouTube, I still couldn't get it to load properly.

    Guessing I'm the most stupid guy with a graduate degree ever! 🤓

  • @SNystrom said:
    Thank you @rs2000.

    I'll try that but even after watching a speedy Thafknar video on YouTube, I still couldn't get it to load properly.

    Guessing I'm the most stupid guy with a graduate degree ever! 🤓

    The Thafnkar dev seems to follow a UI paradigm not unlike the mathematical mechanism used in the reverb. Convolution is key 😁

    BTW, I agree with Altispace, what a wonderful app that would have deserved an entry into the AUv3 world.
    For anybody who doesn't know it:

  • Yeah, the amount of control the user has with Alta is truly spectacular. A beautiful interface.

    Does anyone know what happened with the developer(s)???

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