You probably know that after any amp simulation, you need to add a guitar cabinet simulation.
Just like in reality, no matter how great your guitar amp simulations are, if the cabinet emulation you put after is not great, then your sound will be just mediocre.
It is therefore important to use suitable plugins (VST, AU, AAX…), combined with quality impulses (impulse responses in English).
If this word “impulses” doesn’t ring a bell, no worries: I will explain everything to you in this article.
If on the contrary you are simply looking for software or quality impulses to simulate your guitar speakers, scroll down a bit on the page to access a selection of the best plugins and IRs.
The Principle of IRs
Each guitar cabinet (or cabinet in English) has a specific audio response.
Thus, if you plug a Marshall amp into a Marshall, Orange, Fender, or Bogner cabinet, you will never get the same sound.
More specifically, the tone of the response depends notably on:
- the cabinet itself (construction materials; size: 1×12, 2×12, 4×12, oversized; open or closed…)
- the speakers it contains (Celestion Greenback, Vintage…)
- the microphone used to capture the sound (the sound of a Shure SM57 will be very different from a Royer R-121 ribbon mic)
- the position of the microphone (angle and distance from the speaker)
Keeping this in mind, there is a very simple solution to simulate a cabinet: you pass a specific signal through the cabinet and record the result.
From this, it is possible to generate an IR (Impulse Response or simply Impulsion in French), which will generally take the form of a WAV audio file.
Using Convolution technique (like for convolution reverbs), we will somehow apply the characteristics of the impulse — and thus of the cabinet — to the output signal from the amp.
For this, we use an effect plugin in which we will load the impulse in WAV format. The plugin will thus be responsible for performing the mathematical calculation. These are called Impulse Loaders or impulse loaders.
The result? Well, unsurprisingly, your guitar will sound as if the amp was plugged into the modeled cabinet.
Of course, this means that the sound generated by any impulse will depend on the cab, the speaker, as well as the mic used and its position. That’s why it is often useful to have many impulses on hand, to choose the one that best fits the sound you are looking for and more generally the song.
The Best Impulse Loaders
The choice of “software”, or rather existing plugins to load impulses is quite limited, but there are several very good ones.
No need to have 10 in any case, since apart from a few options they all generally do the same thing! 🙂
Here is a selection of three of the best, free or paid:
Ignite Amps – NadIR
Developer : Ignite Amps
Formats : VST (32 and 64 bits), AU (32 and 64 bits)
Price : free
For me, a very effective option, developed by a quality publisher. You can load a maximum of two impulses in parallel, which is ideal in most cases.
Some simple adjustments (high-pass and low-pass filter, delay) allow you to tweak your sound as you wish.
Kazrog – Recabinet 5
Developer : Kazrog
Formats : VST, AU, AAX (32 and 64 bits)
Price : $49.99 (as it is now included in the Thermionik amp simulation suite)
Recabinet 5 is paid, but it is a very powerful tool (I personally use version 4 very regularly).
Quite similar to NadIR, it includes an equalization system modeled after an analog console and a “Speaker Dynamics” option that adjusts the responsiveness of the speakers to the dynamics of the sound.
Click here to download Recabinet 5.
LePou – LeCab 2
Developer : LePou
Formats : VST, AU (32 bits only)
Price : free
Finally, LeCab is also very famous and used in many (home) studios.
Its major advantage is that it allows loading up to six impulses in parallel, which multiplies the sound options.
Of course, you are not obliged to use them all, but it’s nice not to be limited…
Click here to download LeCab 2 (links in the right sidebar of the site – via Wayback Machine)
The best guitar cabinet impulses
On the internet, you can find all sorts of impulses. You can even download gigantic packs filled with hundreds of IRs.
Unfortunately, the quality is often variable — so it can sometimes be difficult to navigate and know what to focus on.
To save you hours of searching, here is a selection of the best guitar cabinet impulses.
Some are free, and others are paid. I deliberately chose to include the latter because the price is generally quite low, but the quality is very high.
Free impulses
Paid impulses
Tip: if you want to mix several impulses, make sure they are in phase for optimal sound.
Often, for example in Kazrog’s pack, the phase of the IRs is synchronized. But if you mix two IRs from two different sets, it’s better to check.
In conclusion
With all these IRs and plugins, you will undoubtedly be ready to record your guitar in the best possible conditions, thanks to a range of sounds from the most vintage to the most modern.
If you have any further questions, leave a message below and I will try to guide you.
Finally, if you ever need it, feel free to check out my list of free amp simulations — you will surely find inspiration for your next sounds! 😉