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Nembrini guitar amp - Can we insert effects before the cab?
So I just downloaded a bunch of free Nembrini effects and a couple of amp sims to see if they really sound much better than the Bias apps from a few years ago. The Nembrini amps include a lot of cab simulations. Is there a way for me to insert effects before the cab?
I am using AUM, so I was thinking a couple of instances of the app would do it. I can turn off the cabs him in the first instance, but I don’t see a way to only activate the cabs sims in the second instance. Maybe I’m just missing something.
Thanks,
Joe
Comments
You could use a separate cab sim; there are a couple in IFXRack, for example. Or get Thafknar and use a cab IR. There are many, many available. Selection has been discussed in other threads here.
But isn't this kinda non-physical? You'd normally put the FX between the guitar and the amp, with the amp directly driving the cab.
You can only bypass the cabinet in Nembrini, you can’t turn off the amp and use only the cabinet IR, that’s not the intended design and nobody would do that anyway, since there are better IRs out there that you would load into a separate app in the AUM chain. Those Nembrini cabinet IRs are optimized to work with the amp they’re pre-loaded into. Some apps allow you turn off the amp power and cab power separately, some apps have a visual amp component and a visual cab component which you can separate.
Most importantly, why are you trying to put fx between the amp and the cabinet, that doesn’t make any sense. The cabinet sim or cabinet IR should always be the last thing in your chain, unless you’re adding Eventide reverb or other broadstroke master fx after the cabinet. If you are thinking it’s like an amp fx loop send and return, that doesn’t make sense. In the real world an fx loop exists between the Pre amp and power amp of an amp. It’s not between the power amp and the speaker. In the digital world of sims, you can’t even separate the pre amp and power amp stage of an amp sim. If you turn off the amp it’s off. There’s no separate pre and power toggle.
So with what you want to do, you would be putting fx after the power amp but before the cabinet. It doesn’t make sense, and it’s not necessary. Just put your modulation effects like reverb, delay, after the cabinet if you want. Or put all the fx pedals including modulation, before the amp sim. But not in between the amp and cab, don’t do that.
There are many IR loader apps (Thafknar, Impulsation) that you can use to load an IR. Those go last in the AUM chain, and the amp before it should have the cab “bypassed”. There are guitar apps where you can load your own IRs as well into separate modules (Overloud, Rhino). Generally you can’t just run an IR and not the amp itself, unless the amp and cab are separate components.
With “build an amp” features like the ones in Bias
Amp or Ge Labs, you could separate the pre amp and power amp sections. So there you could conceivably put fx before the power amp and therefore before the cabinet. But those are IAA apps and not AUv3 so you can’t run several instances.
Thanks for the feedback.
With ToneStack I have put reverb and other effects before the cab sim. I hear you that in the real amps with fx loops that isn’t the case.
Joe
There are no rules. If you wanna throw FX between the amp and the cab, and it sounds good to you, go for it! I almost always bypass the Nembrini cab and use Thafknar with one my favorite impulse response files. I can also recommend Impulsation for this (it has a more pleasing UI).
There's going for realism, and there's going for cool tone. They don't have to be the same thing.
Yep! No harm in jumping off a virtual cliff, right?
I do appreciate the input and discussion. So I’ve gone ahead and got Thafknar and figured out how to spend the three bucks to make the AU functionality work.
And downloaded a few IR sets via the app, which could use some user experience love. It’s not as bad as it initially looks to use it. And I don’t have to bother figuring out how to get IR files that are worthwhile off the Internet and onto the iPad.
Thanks folks.
You'll now get a plethora of advice about IRs. I'll sum up my take on it briefly...
I've never found any truly satisfying free IRs on the internet. Some are pretty good. A few are better than the ones included in the Nembrini apps. But good purchased IRs are generally considered a cut above. Ownhammer is my preferred source.
The problem (as I see it) is there are 10 gazillion IRs available from Ownhammer and others. How to get what you want without spending the next few months draining your wallet and taking hours and hours wading through them? That can be a massive distraction IMO.
I picked one cab, not a collection, that was from the amp I most wish I owned. I picked five of the IRs that sounded the best to me and imported them into Thafknar. I then put away the hunt permanently. There's nothing I hate more than sitting down to play, then realizing three hours later that all I've been doing is tweaking tone.
Thats just me. Others get off on collecting zillions of amps and IRs. That's cool. But not my thing.
tldr; Ownhammer IR's are way better IMO than anything you'll find for free on the internet.
what cab simulator apps are non IOS? and are any Au ?
AMEN!
On that well-reverberated note, do you have two or three Ownhammer IRs you might recommend? Any links would be good.
Thanks
Glad you echo my thoughts.
I use the 115 VVRB E130, but the last thing I would do if I were you is go by my taste. I seem to run counter to almost everyone around here when it comes to tone. 😂
That said, I just messed around for the first time with the Nembrini BG Extasy and found that I liked it better with some of the included IRs. Kinda nice not to have to add an additional plugin. (Of course, tomorrow, my ears will prolly be totally different. I have no trust over my taste as it seems to change daily.)
fwiw, i bought the Ownhammer 112 RECT VTP-12A. it seems nicely balanced, somehow both warm and clear. works well with many amps. this is the one (r)Evolution cab that's not part of the bundle. i've been so happy with it that i haven't yet bought the bundle! but... just got an email announcing a 30% off sale at Ownhammer. it's bundle time! :^)