My First Impulse Response! (Crate 4×12 w/Sterling Condenser)(Free Download)

I’m a big fan of using impulse responses for reverb, and for doing direct guitar recording. However, I’ve never got around to making my own IR’s…. until now!

Anyway… I got a new Crate Half-Stack and it sounds better than it has any right to sound (perhaps that’s just my inner 15 year-old death metalhead talking), and I tested it out comparing it with the direct in from my preamp, and it’s different but after a little mild EQ and compression it’s so close that I’d say wouldn’t be sounding any different than just recording on a different day with the microphone slightly offset.

I was using a cheap Sterling Condenser Microphone with a placement that’s pretty center on the cone, but offset until I got the bass thump that I like to start with. This is definitely the kind of sound that you have sculp a bit in a mix, but after some of the demos I’ve recorded with it, i’ve found the grit of the frequencies of this cab is pretty good sounding! I think it’s a nice change of pace from everyone’s mesa boogie and marshall cab IR’s. For the placement I was using a GT-001 with a 5150 preamp in the FX-loop and I just played with it until it sounded right to me. Volume wasn’t super loud in the speaker, but I like it so whatever.

Here it is if you want to load up this IR in your own Impulse response loader…

My suggestions with post processing are basically do a low cut (below about 40hz) and high cut (above about 10khz) and do a broad boost around 800k-900k for more in-your-face-grit, and maybe a little bump around 5k if you need more bite and air to the sound, and if you need a little more thump do a slight boost around 60hz or so depending on your source tone. cap it all off with a 5:1 compression (or higher limiting) to control the palm-mutes a bit and it ends up really gnarly sounding in a mix double/triple tracked with a bass and drums.

Here was a early test I did with the same amp/mic combo on instagram