New Friedman IR-X preamp

[JiveTurkey]

Last week when I read the announcement and watched about five minutes of Dave Friedman talking about it, I saw it was available locally and picked one up. Now I see they are back ordered. Seems there's been a lot of demand for these.

Also, has anyone figured out the MIDI CC values? I don't see them anywhere in the manual, the website, or the app. I e-mailed Friedman over the weekend to see if they could provide. I want to set up external switching dammit!

Would this work since it seems pretty Synergy adjacent?

Synergy SYN-2 MIDI with Morningstar MC8

In case anyone is wondering how to setup a Morningstar MC8 to change channels on a Synergy SYN-2. The Synergy SYN-2 manual has the following chart for MIDI assignments: and states: "When selecting a channel using CC messages, only a message with a CC value of 64 or higher will have any...

thegearforum.com

 

[dbagchee]

The way I interpret the manual, it sounds like it only takes PC midi messages, so you may not be able to mess with the individual controls via midi without changing presets.

 

[Jarick]

Would this work since it seems pretty Synergy adjacent?

Synergy SYN-2 MIDI with Morningstar MC8

In case anyone is wondering how to setup a Morningstar MC8 to change channels on a Synergy SYN-2. The Synergy SYN-2 manual has the following chart for MIDI assignments: and states: "When selecting a channel using CC messages, only a message with a CC value of 64 or higher will have any...

thegearforum.com

Tried those and doesn't seem to work. I can get PC to work fine.

 

[Jarick]

The way I interpret the manual, it sounds like it only takes PC midi messages, so you may not be able to mess with the individual controls via midi without changing presets.

That would be kind of a bummer. I'm hoping to be able to toggle channel selector and that's tricky from what I can tell with most of my devices.

 

[Badonkey Kong]

That would be kind of a bummer. I'm hoping to be able to toggle channel selector and that's tricky from what I can tell with most of my devices.

Wow. That seems like a major omission.. Unless you can set channel per preset?

 

[Jarick]

Wow. That seems like a major omission.. Unless you can set channel per preset?

You can set the channel 1/2, IR, presence, thump, and boost on/off. So you can do most of what you like, but I was hoping for a CC# that could toggle channel 1 vs 2, or at least CC#'s to hit 1 and 2 directly. I think I'd be able to set up in the Helix system with command center CC switching so I can have one button that toggles between PC 0 and 1 (my clean and dirty). Can't seem to do that with the Boss GT-1000 and haven't figured that out with the Axe FX 3 either.

 

[Jarick]

Okay I figured out how to add PC# signals on scene changes AND map PC# toggle to the FC-12 on the Axe FX 3. So now I can get the best of both worlds, automatic changes with scenes and a channel toggle switch for effects usage.

One step closer to listing the Boss and Kemper for sale. Maybe the Stomp will follow suit as well.

 

[Mongillo19]

One step closer to listing the Boss and Kemper for sale.

You can do it!

 

[nicolasrivera]

Question is when will the NAM captures and TONEX files be available!!!

 

[Whizzinby]

Question is when will the NAM captures and TONEX files be available!!!

I’ll try to snap some captures on That Which Shall Go Unnamed, when mine gets in.

 

[southpawdd]

I'm still doing some testing, but with 12AX7 swapping, the IR-X sounds as good as my Runt 20 head and a bit more alive than the Fractal tonez. Definitely a keeper device. I'm all about that AIC type gain and this thing does it easily.

 

[Whizzinby]

I'm still doing some testing, but with 12AX7 swapping, the IR-X sounds as good as my Runt 20 head and a bit more alive than the Fractal tonez. Definitely a keeper device. I'm all about that AIC type gain and this thing does it easily.

You hitting it with an OD or just using the built in boost? Been curious if it needs an OD unless you’re just looking for the tone of a specific OD.

Dave said he did shape the boost a bit so it’s not just a pure flat boost. Curious how that will work out vs some of my OD’s.

 

[southpawdd]

You hitting it with an OD or just using the built in boost?

Only using the built-in boost so far which is great to give you a channel that can go 'more' in the way that you want either volume, gain or both. I've not had a lot of time with it - I set the gain trim on the side panel to half-way up and let it rip. Now that I've tried it, I wish the JJ Jr and Runt style amps had the same foot-switching boost settings and features.

I can see how the normal mid hump ODs would be great for leads.

 

[Jarick]

I tried half a dozen dirt pedals and the Sugar Drive was my favorite out front. It's funny because the digital drives aren't that much different, but there's something in the analog pedals that I just kind of go with rather than fuss around. Maybe it's all psychological. But with the analog stuff I tend to be more accepting of the tone and "that's what it is" where the digital is more "that's pretty good let's see if I can make it even better".

Also I just snagged a used HX Effects off Reverb to give that a shot. I've wanted to try one for years and see how it compares to the Stomp for effects only.

 

[Baba]

I tried half a dozen dirt pedals and the Sugar Drive was my favorite out front. It's funny because the digital drives aren't that much different, but there's something in the analog pedals that I just kind of go with rather than fuss around. Maybe it's all psychological. But with the analog stuff I tend to be more accepting of the tone and "that's what it is" where the digital is more "that's pretty good let's see if I can make it even better".

Also I just snagged a used HX Effects off Reverb to give that a shot. I've wanted to try one for years and see how it compares to the Stomp for effects only.

I wonder if it's the A/DA converters?

I feel the same. I've been using the HX drives for the last month or two, and they SOUND great, and feel pretty good, but not EXACTLY like their analog counterparts.

 

[Jarick]

I wonder if it's the A/DA converters?

I feel the same. I've been using the HX drives for the last month or two, and they SOUND great, and feel pretty good, but not EXACTLY like their analog counterparts.

That's what I aim to see.

IR-X in the loop of the Boss GT-1000 was quite bright and aggressive, and while some of the effects sounded really nice, others did not. The platform is very limiting and the drive pedals are not good. I'm done with that unit.

IR-X in the loop of the Axe FX 3 sounds killer. Effects all sound very rich. Pleased with that setup for sure. But downside there is I tend to just dial in the same 80's rack sound every time.

IR-X in the loop of the Stomp...not sure. I prefer the drive pedals in the Stomp and love many of the effects. It's a different vibe and character than the Fractal, but overall it's not quite as engrossing. I really want to see if the HX Effects is any different in terms of sound and interaction.

 

[hemmelight]

I literally just bought a Marshall a week ago but this thing is pretty attractive. It could function as a direct recording / headphone practice unit in addition to playing through my real cab and pedalboard if I use the Amp1 I already own as a power amp.

 

[Baba]

That's what I aim to see.

IR-X in the loop of the Boss GT-1000 was quite bright and aggressive, and while some of the effects sounded really nice, others did not. The platform is very limiting and the drive pedals are not good. I'm done with that unit.

IR-X in the loop of the Axe FX 3 sounds killer. Effects all sound very rich. Pleased with that setup for sure. But downside there is I tend to just dial in the same 80's rack sound every time.

IR-X in the loop of the Stomp...not sure. I prefer the drive pedals in the Stomp and love many of the effects. It's a different vibe and character than the Fractal, but overall it's not quite as engrossing. I really want to see if the HX Effects is any different in terms of sound and interaction.

I keep forgetting the "playing at home" vs "playing live" thing, for me. Meaning, no matter what you use, when thrown into a mix, any/all of the minutae just disappear.

So, with my normal workflow, what will inevitably happen is, I'd compare it to the Placater, at home, feel and hear the differences, and then take it to the gig, where all of those differences will disappear, or not be enough to warrant hooking up the extra piece of gear.

 

[Whizzinby]

I literally just bought a Marshall a week ago but this thing is pretty attractive. It could function as a direct recording / headphone practice unit in addition to playing through my real cab and pedalboard if I use the Amp1 I already own as a power amp.

That’s exactly what I’m planning to do with it. Small little practice pedal board, Tumnus/TS/OCD > IRX > Dispatch Master. Thinking of adding the Deco in there if it meets expectations. Cool little practice setup potential.

 

[Jarick]

I keep forgetting the "playing at home" vs "playing live" thing, for me. Meaning, no matter what you use, when thrown into a mix, any/all of the minutae just disappear.

So, with my normal workflow, what will inevitably happen is, I'd compare it to the Placater, at home, feel and hear the differences, and then take it to the gig, where all of those differences will disappear, or not be enough to warrant hooking up the extra piece of gear.

Yeah I always said if I were in a gigging bar band I'd just get a Helix Floor and be done with it since nobody would hear or care. At home I like the limited options.