Tone Factor XR IRs

[Karl Houseknecht]

For those that play on Sunday morning and need a great cab for their AC30:

• https://www.tonefactor.co/product-page/xr-ir-ac30-6tb-g12m-green
• https://www.tonefactor.co/product-page/ac30-6tb-blue-alnico-2x12-xr-ir-pack

I've been trying to roll my own with either Helix cabs or Fractal Dynacabs and I've seen the light with these cabs, particularly the following from those packs above:

• TF AC 2x12 G12M GREEN 545 3
• TF AC 2x12 BLUE ALNICO 545 3

Not that the tones I was getting with native cabs on either platform weren't good, but it was just missing...something. Of note, neither HX nor Fractal platforms have a 2x12 AC30 greenback cab option, and Fractal doesn't have an Alnico Blue AC30 cab option. As soon as I started using these IRs, particularly the greenbacks, the tones just matched the recordings perfectly and the guitar fell right into the mix without any help.

Now I'm wondering how some of their other cabs sound because these are just awesome. $20 a pack isn't cheap, but considering how well it solved my needs I feel like exploring some of their 4x12s for my more rock oriented stuff might be a good idea. The packs are well organized by mixes, mics, and positions. Easy to deduce how they're going to sound relative to each other.

Just thought I'd pass on something that worked well for me. I'm not compensated in any way. Bought both packs. Will probably buy some more.

 

[Jarick]

I did a video comparison of these a couple years ago.

The Vox with greenbacks is really good for what it is but I didn’t like the Marshall 4x12 or Orange 4x12 I tried. They are kind of all over the map sonically. Too bright or too dark. And their promo videos are horribly cringe inducing.

FWIW I picked up an Ox Stomp to use for cab sim but I started using the fractal factory 2x12 from orange maybe a mix of the 57 and 121 and it’s got a really good midrange cut.

 

[Karl Houseknecht]

I didn’t like the Marshall 4x12 or Orange 4x12 I tried. They are kind of all over the map sonically. Too bright or too dark.

Interesting. Didn't get that impression from their audio demo of the Marshall greenback cab, but I'll take that under advisement.

And their promo videos are horribly cringe inducing.

Maybe I haven't seen them. What's the cringe element to them?

 

[Karl Houseknecht]

I did a video comparison of these a couple years ago.

Just watched it. The one where you compared the AC30 greenback cab to 412 greenback cabs from York and Ownhammer? Seems like an apples to oranges comparison there.

 

[Jarick]

Revisiting the 71 Marshall 4x12, I am digging a mix of the 545 3 single mic and 121 1 single mic, blended in my Axe FX 3. It does have a really nice tone if you high pass at 100 and low pass at 6k.

If I recall correctly, the pre-blended mics and "quick starters" didn't sound all that great for the non Vox cabs...I think it was too muffled or boomy. Blending these single mics seems more balanced.

 

[Jarick]

Just watched it. The one where you compared the AC30 greenback cab to 412 greenback cabs from York and Ownhammer? Seems like an apples to oranges comparison there.

So that's exactly what they did when they compared their AC30 greenback cab to a bunch of factory cabs in a bunch of modelers here:



I basically did the exact same thing on my video, just to see if there was any tomfoolery in what they were doing, and because they were marketing the IR's like it was some kind of revolutionary discovery for guitar.



I found their video really cringey because they kept scrunching up their noses like someone ripped a fart, threw everything that wasn't their IR under the bus, and then saying "SICK" after every heavy riff.

 

[Karl Houseknecht]

I had not seen that video. Cringe indeed.

 

[crispsandwich]

So that's exactly what they did when they compared their AC30 greenback cab to a bunch of factory cabs in a bunch of modelers here:



I basically did the exact same thing on my video, just to see if there was any tomfoolery in what they were doing, and because they were marketing the IR's like it was some kind of revolutionary discovery for guitar.



I found their video really cringey because they kept scrunching up their noses like someone ripped a fart, threw everything that wasn't their IR under the bus, and then saying "SICK" after every heavy riff.

That first video is indeed cringe. It kind of reminds me of an old Andertons video. Rob Crapman and Lee were looking at some mid-tier Washburns. They had good specs (USA Seymour Duncan pickups etc) and they both kept saying stuff like 'I can't put my finger on it, but they just don't feel like good value'. It was around the time Chapman Guitars was starting to take off and were, of course, only stocked by Andertons in the UK and Lee has shares in the company. The Washburns had better specs than the similarly-priced Chapman guitars, so it was an obvious attempt at damning the competition with feint praise. Some people saw through it and commented as much, and obviously they denied it was the case, but come on...

 

[Karl Houseknecht]

Cringe aside, I am still very pleased with the sonic results of that AC30 cab. But I am less curious about the rest of their offerings now.

 

[Jarick]

Cringe aside, I am still very pleased with the sonic results of that AC30 cab. But I am less curious about the rest of their offerings now.

I think it's worth a shot if you like the AC30 quite a bit. There's something really good about that AC30 cab with Greenbacks they shot, it's surprisingly versatile for an open back. I'd be curious what you think of other stuff.

I'm also a bit tempted to try their Mesa 4x12 out of curiosity.

 

[Jarick]

That first video is indeed cringe. It kind of reminds me of an old Andertons video. Rob Crapman and Lee were looking at some mid-tier Washburns. They had good specs (USA Seymour Duncan pickups etc) and they both kept saying stuff like 'I can't put my finger on it, but they just don't feel like good value'. It was around the time Chapman Guitars was starting to take off and were, of course, only stocked by Andertons in the UK and Lee has shares in the company. The Washburns had better specs than the similarly-priced Chapman guitars, so it was an obvious attempt at damning the competition with feint praise. Some people saw through it and commented as much, and obviously they denied it was the case, but come on...

I kind of love those stupid old Andertons videos, although thankfully they bailed pretty early from what appeared to be having their female employees dressed up in skimpy clothes.