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IR creation with NUX Optima Air

2

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  • edited October 2023 Posts: 4,963

    Here are some audio files. I played Paquito melody and rhythm together. First acoustic guitar in front of the mic (same mic that did the modeling), then guitar into NUX and then my amp in front the the mic. It's all recorded into Reaper.

    When you listen to the sound of NUX model recorded, I really think that the position of the pickup plays a big role in the final result. The Manouche mic is installed internally and you can hear the sound of the guitar coming from the enclosed space. Internal mount is what Jokko recommended over the outside by the way. The sound of the guitar is modeled pretty good I think and it's there, but this sense of enclosed space screws up everything. In theory, at least that's what I thought, the modeling pedal is supposed to take care of that but it doesn't seem like it does completely. I don't know if the pedal passes through any of the pickup sound when the IR and AMP (which is a preamp section) buttons are engaged, I'll need to find out. Luckily it's not as audible when going through the amp, still there but not as obvious. And it might be a lot better going through the amp with a larger speaker (ZT Acoustic, 6" speaker). I'm a "it's good enough" kind of person and this is good enough for me. The question is was it worth the effort, is it that much better than the sound of the pickup going into the Amp? Not sure, we'll see...

    Edit

    These files really aren't a good representation of the IR modeling. The pedal has a preamp section which was engaged as I recorded these. I thought the preamp additionally shapes the sound of the IR, which made sense to me. But it actually engages the built-in pickup and it mixes it up with the IR sound and I think it only EQs the pickup. It would be ideal to have both but to me you're getting this pedal to get away from the built-in pickup sound so using the preamp section for that isn't what I'd use it for. It's not explained in the manual either way.

    DoubleWhiskyBillDaCostaWilliams
    Every note wants to go somewhere-Kurt Rosenwinkel
  • edited October 2023 Posts: 4,963

    Well, since I mentioned it, I had to record a sample of Manouche mic into the amp. NUX is definitively an improvement, it has nicer, more natural body of sound. But by how much? And Manouche mic has clarity, while the sound through NUX becomes a little bit messy with all that processing. In any case, IR modeling is far from plug and play.


    BillDaCostaWilliamsbillyshakesDoubleWhisky
    Every note wants to go somewhere-Kurt Rosenwinkel
  • Posts: 4,963

    I realized something today that's making a big difference for the better. The better mic premap you use while modeling your sound, the better the final result. So instead of Headway premamp that I've been using, I went into the Focusrite interface and that immediately sounded better. Almost perfect, the only difference I heard between it and the mic was the mic was brighter. Unfortunately I didn't save it...

    To save half a page writing about anecdotal experimenting, I think I found you want to start this process with fresh or nearly fresh strings. As I mentioned before, a studio quality premap will make a big difference. If you don't have one, see if you can take the NUX pedal someplace to do the modeling.

    I didn't have time to record and upload but will update.

    @DoubleWhisky just when I think I can load and try vintage mics IRs, I fall down the rabbit hole

    billyshakesDoubleWhisky
    Every note wants to go somewhere-Kurt Rosenwinkel
  • Posts: 4,963

    Now we're getting somewhere. That boxiness is absent and the natural voice of the guitar is there. Now I feel this is worth the effort.


    billyshakes
    Every note wants to go somewhere-Kurt Rosenwinkel
  • billyshakesbillyshakes NoVA✭✭✭ Park Avance - Dupont Nomade - Dupont DM-50E
    Posts: 1,403

    Nice playing, @Buco

    Buco
  • Posts: 306

    It sounds better now. But sounds like the a guitar mic'd in a bad position. No low end but is on the edge of feedback.

    I had his results with the tone Dexter and a big tone.

    Buco
  • Posts: 4,963

    I'm a little confused...are you commenting on the last file, named "not bad"? But either way, with this thing I also found what sounds good over the headphones may not sound the best when I'm plugged in the amp and using a backing track to hear how it might blend it with the band.

    Over the headphones I thought I preferred the IR made with a dynamic mic but it didn't sound the best when I plugged in.

    The last "not bad" file is is IR only (I made sure this time) going into the recording software. I'm pretty happy with how it sounds but we'll see what it's like live.

    Every note wants to go somewhere-Kurt Rosenwinkel
  • Posts: 4,963

    What do you think about this sound? You hear this guitar acoustically all the time.

    Every note wants to go somewhere-Kurt Rosenwinkel
  • edited October 2023 Posts: 4,963

    With Shure510c vintage mic IR

    Actually a perfectly serviceable sound. Another rabbit hole opening up, the link @DoubleWhisky posted contains hundreds of vintage mics IRs.

    Every note wants to go somewhere-Kurt Rosenwinkel
  • Posts: 306

    Man, every single one of my posts from my phone has typos. 😩

    The not bad file. It definitely sounds more like a mic on a guitar. But to me it sounds like how a poorly micd guitar sounds. I'm not saying you didn't mic it well. It's hard to describe this without sounding insulting lol . This is commenting on what the nux does.

    Buco
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