Finally did the IRX firmware update.
I hadn’t played it for a while cause I had to pack up for a move, but is it just my imagination or does Ch1 get boxy and dark when pushing the gain past 12 o’clock, after the update?
I know the bright cap is defeated when cranking the gain but I don’t remember Ch1 getting dark and mushy when cranked prior to the update.
The good news is that Ch1 does seem to sound fuller, generally better, post update, but it’s sort of unusable for me with the gain past noon now, cause how dark it gets.
Ch 2 seems to have gotten more girth and sounds less compressed and more harmonically rich, I want to say. So yeah, improved for sure, to my ears.
The new OH IRs are great and I favor them now mostly. I can’t remember which ones I ended up choosing.
Recording wise I got great edge of break up and gain tones.
I did use my RME Babyface interface EQ to do a high pass filter, and to bump 500hz and 2.3khz.
I then killed the RME EQ, but plugged the IRX into a JHS color box v2 that I then plugged into the Babyface. I used the Colour Box parametric EQ and a little bit of step gain, and a bit of Hi Pass filter.
This produced the best DI recorded tones I’ve ever obtained, killer clean-ish to light gain and rhythm crunch to high gain tones. I had my Tech21 Leeds pedal out and that kicked the IRX into all sorts of face melting hot rod Plexi tones with the IRX on Ch2. Kinda stunning really.
Next I decided to see if I can build an IRX board to use with my Katana 100w combo (in the effects return), just for kicks. I normally use a Deluxe Reverb clone (Vintage Sound 22) with a brown face mod on the normal channel, with a Marshall Governor and JRocket Rockaway and a variety of fuzzes.
Both Ch 1 and 2 sound killer through the Katana Return. I’m stunned again.
I did use my EQ200 for pre gain EQ, and also for post gain EQ that I placed post IRX Send.
The post gain EQ ended up pretty crucial as I really needed to do a healthy low cut, and cut a tad at 500hz, and bump a tiny bit at 1 and 2khz. I ended up doing a small cut at 4khz too.
A lot of this will depend on the room of course, but it seems like the IRX definitely benefits from judicious EQ’ing, just like most pieces of audio gear.
Anyway, I could totally see playing live with this set up. I got better tones with this then with my current tube amp rig, and better tones than I remember getting with my old 78 JMP 100watt and 81 JCM 800.
The IRX CH1 is still way to dark and muddy with the gain past noon, but the setting you see gives a great edge of breakup tone to light gain, and cleanish depending on the pickup and guitar volume knob position, and great gain tones from my pedals, keeping the Ch1 gain at noon.
With Ch2 I kept the gain low for a great rhythm crunch and got every shade of gain that I needed with the pedals on the board. No modern metal tones for me, but definitely face melting hot rod Marshall tones. Killer heavy Godzilla monster fuzz tones too.
I’m super pleased
