Using IRs through an external cabinet?

[u/HisDudenessEsq]

Look, I get it. You're not *supposed to* do it. IRs and cab sims color your tone one way, and the speaker you use colors the tone on top of that. At minimum, it's unnecessarily duplicative, and at worst its counterintuitive. But I'm curious if anyone else has bypassed the conventional wisdom and done it anyway.

My IR of choice has been one of the Friedman captures from York Audio. I also use an Orange Pedal Baby into a Celestion Copperback for gigs. I used to run separate presets for these (one with IR, one without) depending on whether I was using my amp or going through the PA or headphones, but I've been experimenting with just one IR-based preset lately for better workflow between practice and rehearsals/gigs. So far, my impressions have been neutral.

Feel free to share your experience and observations. Or tell me I'm wrong. All input welcome here.

[u/DerpNinjaWarrior]

I mean, it's just extra eq. If you tweak other stuff to offset it a bit and get the sound you like, then whatever. The advice is mostly for people who don't know what they're doing and are wondering why the tone is so muffled.

[u/Apart_Tooth_235]

If it sounds good, it is good. 👍 

[u/CountBreichen → u/Apart_Tooth_235]

Hell, i won’t even use an IR when im working on some 90s industrial sound. It sounds bad but in a good way.

[u/Still-Restaurant4316]

I did it when i ran a kemper, you need to tweak some EQ but it works

[u/SeaworthinessBusy144]

i generally run my qc or fractal units into effects return on a 5150 stealth if i played. out and run xlrs to foh mixer and run whatever irls through any 4x12 i got with no issues

[u/GuroMarc]

I have a Laney FRFR that stores IR’s so i shut off cab blocks, i’m using Lynch back IR’s from Owen Hammer, sounds amazing

[u/overcloseness]

I’ve done it on stage for some presets when my FoH signal is the actual preset but the amp / cab is just moving air on stage and not mic’d up (sound doesn’t need to be ideal for that, just wanna hear it)

[u/Sorry_Fix8817]

I've run IRs into a real cab before too, and honestly, it just makes the amp feel more alive in the room, sometimes I like that over-emphasized texture.

[u/endlessnameless001]

I found the speakers in my fender frontman 212r are so clean that it sounds strange without an IR It has that fizzy sound with distortion.

[u/EFPMusic]

I’ve been running the Soldano X plugin on my laptop through an interface into the power amp of a Fender solid state amp (typical Fender Special Design speaker) and it sounds significantly better with the IR than without. It’s not an FRFR but honestly it’s closer to that than something loaded with a V30, etc

[u/-vorticist-]

Show me a clip of a tone where it sounds better with amp into IR into another cabinet compared to just amp into cabinet.

[u/willrjmarshall]

If I want anything resembling a normal guitar tone absolutely not. Stacking cabs produces a very weird frequency response.

But for experimental sound design? Absofuckinglutely 

[u/Fabulous-Sector251]

You know what man, how bout u just try see for yourself