Impulse Responses for Contemporary String Players

For business, lessons, & questions - / alexpricemusician
Line 6 HX Stomp - www.zzounds.com/a--3971116/it...
Impulse responses are incredibly powerful tools for transforming the sound of your instrument. The unfortunate reality with the most common mode of amplification for the violin, piezo pickups, is that they can often sound harsh. Through the use of IRs, we can shape the direct sound of our electric or acoustic violins into something more useable.
Thanks to Jonathan for giving me the idea to start this new series of videos, Gear for the Contemporary Violinist. Jonathan's channel - / thecellocoach
Table of Contents:
0:00 - Intro
1:22 - What is an Impulse Resonse?
3:05 - Why are IRs useful to string players?
4:15 - How do we use an IR in a live scenario?
5:15 - IR-loading pedals
6:34 - Impulse Response Sound Test
9:50 - Using different IR files for different sounds
11:00 - Impulse responses for cello
12:29 - IRs with an acoustic violin
14:51 - Outro
Impulse Response-Loading Pedals:
Mooer Radar ($150) - amzn.to/3bEVrEA
Fishman Aura ($345) - amzn.to/3azqHVh
vSound 2 ($350) - www.signalwizardsystems.com/pr...
Line 6 HX Stomp - amzn.to/3bHGAcC
These are affiliate links, which means that if you buy through them, I get a small commission. It doesn't cost you anything extra, but if you enjoyed the video - this is a way to return the favor.
Public Domain Impulse Responses - pcfarina.eng.unipr.it/Public/I...
3Sigma Audio Impulse Responses - www.3sigmaaudio.com/items/cat...
Playlist - Gear for the contemporary violinist:
• Gear for the Contempor...
Download my Complete Preset Library with 50+ presets - bit.ly/3hkkTCh
#ImpulseResponse #contemporary #violinist
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Hi! My name is Alex Price. I’m a professional musician based out of Pittsburgh, USA. I make a living from touring, performing on cruise ships, and while I’m home, teaching. Check out my new uploads every Tuesday and Friday for gear demos, lessons, and performance clips.
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If you’ve found value in this video, you are more than welcome to make a donation to help fund the channel. Drop a note and let me know how I can be of help in the future! I appreciate your support.
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🎛 Line 6 Helix / HX Stomp presets - www.AlexPriceMusician.com/helix
Use the coupon code TAKE5 to get $5 off any order over $20.
The presets I offer for download are the same presets that I personally use live. I've developed them over the course of hundreds of hours at home on my studio monitors and in empty venues testing them out on different professional sound systems. They've been developed and further refined throughout the 1,000+ shows I've played with my Helix unit and I know that they'll perform reliably for you on whatever device and amplification system you are using. Please explore all of the packages I have to offer and don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions!
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🎥 Playlists:
| Building a Pro Pedal Board from Start to Finish - bit.ly/3c59fsp
| Gear Demos - bit.ly/3b1B5V9
| Lessons - bit.ly/2L0ysZk
| Free Line 6 Helix Presets - bit.ly/3fk6ANA
| Gear for the Contemporary Violinist - bit.ly/2L00Af9
| Ambient Compositions - bit.ly/3df9Zvq
| The Inner Urge (my band) - bit.ly/3dfPyhR
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🎧 And my other projects:
| The Inner Urge - / innerurgeband
| Resolute Vibration - / resolutevibration
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📫 Contact - www.AlexPriceMusician.com/con...

[@AlexPriceMusician]

Last week I recorded an entire symphony of strings right from my own living room, one part at a time on ONE instrument by using Impulse Responses. Check it out here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ppemnImgbad9oNE

[@Nicholas-Santiago]

did the song get removed?

[@alexandrosgoulas]

Hi, can this video be found anywhere? The link doesn't work anymore :)

[@Gabeman6007]

I've watched this video so many times at this point. Thank you for introducing me to IR loaders. I didn't want to spend 6-700 on the hx stomp, but I discovered another solution that works for me. I bought a cheap flamma ir loader from Amazon, but was unhappy with it since the audio from it sounded much too muddy. I knew that mixing the dry audio with the wet audio would fix this, but I couldn't find a pedal with this feature other than the expensive hx stomp. So, I'm now doing it analog. I bought a 1/4 cable splitter. One audio signal goes to the flamma ir, the other bypasses it. Both signals go into a small mixer I keep on my pedalboard that combines the 2 audio sources. It looks pretty jank, but it sounds exactly like your audio here and is a much cheaper solution, so I'm happy. Hope that helps you all!

[@CelloCoach]

Alex taught me alot about my HX stomp and IRs, so thank you!!

[@neogeo8267]

Excellent video - tons of pertinent info in a short format clearly articulated - THANK YOU! Subscribed.

[@rickygomez2316]

Great summary at the beginning. I don't play violin but you have a nice way of explaining things. I feel like I understand IRs now

[@Nicholas-Santiago]

Wow, this is a crazy creative way of using IRs!!

[@morewith]

I appreciate all you share Alex! Still rocking that preset for Acoustic!

[@oficialbrucewayne]

Man! Thanks a Lot! This conttent is so much important,I've learned so much seeing your videos

[@AlexPriceMusician]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for commenting Bruce

[@tombauer6751]

Really interesting video. Thanks for sharing!

[@AlexPriceMusician]

Thanks Tom!

[@MattBellViolinist]

Great job, as usual!

[@AlexPriceMusician]

I'm flattered. Thank you Matt!

[@peakfiddler]

A great video, very well explained and a good demo of the versatility of Line 6 FX pedal. Links are really handy as well.

[@AlexPriceMusician]

Thanks! Glad it was helpful

[@ziyadurukan]

This video is very helpful. Thank you!

[@AlexPriceMusician]

Glad to hear that!

[@billchisholm7430]

Fantastic! Thank you

[@ReinhardtBuhr]

Thank you thank you thank you!!!!!!

[@AlexPriceMusician]

Happy to help!

[@JansonHarris]

Awesome vid my friend. I am using 3 sigma violin and cello IR's in my Axe-fx 3...sounds so awesome....even mixing them ...using cello IR on violin and vice versa :D!!

[@AlexPriceMusician]

Awesome! I’ve heard of people using both cello and violin IRs on extended range violins. So the lower strings are covered by the cello IR and the regular ones by the violin. Pretty cool 😎

[@urbansoban2669]

Excellent

[@Nachtuil36]

So interesting! I use a VSound2, but although the results are a huge step forward, much depends still on the input. My Yamaha SV255 does not sound great with any of the IR's while my semi acoustic Cantini is sounding quite good ! Still don't know for which e-violin the Signalwizard IR's were taylored ... On their website the results are incredibly realistic !

[@rebeccafaber]

Awesome video! Are there any more violin libraries that you know of, besides the links listed on the description of the video?

[@AlexPriceMusician]

None that are free, however I have a couple of the libraries from 3 Sigma Audio and they’re worth the money. Only about $10/each

[@ScottMoodie]

excellent tutorial! I just want to mention that many of the cheaper cab/IR pedals don't have the processing power to handle the length of convincing string IR's (in addition to lacking mix capabilities). So, folks might be rather disappointed if they go that route.

[@AlexPriceMusician]

Good point. Thanks for adding that Scott!

[@michaelbattista1334]

The Stomp or Helix are the best. I have both.

[@violin_vampire]

hi.. may i ask a question... what kind of IR is Noel Pointer's violin sound on "Oh What a Beautiful City" or Vanessa Mae's "Aurora"... Thanks in advance and I hope you can help me

[@neogeo8267]

@Alex Price - Do you know if the Zoom A1X (or G1X) series will achieve the same end? It seems to offer IR Loading but I've not tried it - thanks!

[@leonbanks719]

hey Alex your channel is so great man . My wife plays electric violin here in Belize , Cindy Burgos #theviolingyal #Cindytheviolinist .You channel is very informative.

[@TeddyOn]

Very nice educational video! Can You explain How to record your OWN impulse using your own acoustic violin?

[@AlexPriceMusician]

I’ve been meaning to do this soon! Check out Cuki IR generator - it’s a free program someone developed to do just this.

[@TeddyOn]

@@AlexPriceMusician thank You! But I have no idea: what exactly to do with the instrument to record impulse... I believe I need sort of soft tip sticks to hit the body gently and record it's resonance? It's so complicated🤔

[@TeddyOn]

Hi! Alex! Really need your advice: can you explain the difference between short - medium and long violin IR? And the second one: mono/stereo IR - in what scenario should I use mono or stereo? Big thank You in advance! You are the MAN!

[@AlexPriceMusician]

Hi Edward - apologies for the delayed response. Hope this is still useful for you. A short impulse response would be an IR used for replicating an instrument body or guitar cabinet. A short IR will only measure the acoustical response of a very small object. Typically you'll want a mono configuration for this to avoid any phase cancellation. A longer IR will be used for replicating a reverb in a large space - a church, concert hall, a room, stairwell, etc. This will usually be in stereo to give a more accurate representation of the space. The HX Stomp's IRs are always mono, though you can load in a stereo file. In this case the unit will sum it down to mono. The Helix products also have a limit on how long an IR can be to conserve digital signal processing power. A shorter IR for instrument or cab emulation will take much less DSP than a reverb.

[@TeddyOn]

@@AlexPriceMusician thank you for the response! Best regards! Cheers!

[@wolframgrotzner6729]

I'm absolutely flashed by your video! Really great stuff! Since I own a nxt4 cello I always wondered how to get a decent sound out of this instrument... You don't know any sources how to get an IR out of my acoustic cellos by logic x, by any chance? Congrats for your smashing, wonderful, gorgeous video! Yours, Wolfram

[@AlexPriceMusician]

Glad it was helpful! Actually, there is a way to make an IR of your own acoustic instrument pretty easily. I believe it’s called Cuki IR generator or something like that

[@wolframgrotzner6729]

@@AlexPriceMusician Great Tip! Thank you so much! :-)

[@4cidj4y]

subscribed; very interesting sounding series and some insights from this first video! thank you. I have a question, maybe you can help there, for playing in a swing dance band as a guitarist I am looking for an authentic acoustic archtop sound to play rhythm, but I would like to switch to a electric sound for soloing.. I would like to only bring one guitar to the gig, and as feedback is always an issue, I would prefer something solid - which then compromises on the main purpose: playing authentic sounding rhythm.. I was considering a yamaha silent guitar, but did not have a chance to test it yet, that would come with piezo... I would appreciate any ideas!

[@AlexPriceMusician]

Hi Jay - I would love if someone would come out with a couple archtop IRs but I haven’t heard of anything yet. I have a video from awhile back when I used a flat top acoustic IR blended with the clean signal from my electric to try and fake an acoustic jazz guitar tone. It’s okay, but I don’t think it’s fooling anyone. I think fundamentally they’re two completely different instruments on account of how the note decays. For years I was working on cruise ships where I could only bring one guitar. I usually took my solid body McCarty and for dance band comping would prefer a rather bass-y tone combined with kind of hybrid palm muting/down strum thing. Feel free to send me a message through my website if you’d like to discuss the technique in more detail!

[@4cidj4y]

@@AlexPriceMusician hi Alex, thanks for your quick response and thanks for the insight. I will approach you soon via mail.

[@JustFiddler]

bagus sekali ! matur suksma

[@CaboStrings]

Hi! LOVED your video. Can I use your violin preset library for my electric CELLO yamaha svc 210?

[@AlexPriceMusician]

Generally, I think so. You'll probably want to bypass the IRs that are there to be used with violin. Also if there are amp blocks, I'm sure they'll need adjusted settings. Effects should work just the same though.

[@CaboStrings]

@@AlexPriceMusician Thank you very much for your response. So... would you help me in case I buy the IR from your own website? Sounds incredible on Violin. But I have the Mooer Radar. Is it posible to play with it?.

[@AlexPriceMusician]

@@CaboStrings The Mooer Radar will not load Line 6 presets. It's only good for impulse responses, which are different. I don't have any violin IR bundles for sale at the moment.

[@hakajiru264]

Thanks a lot for this review! For the cello, why does one need an additional octave pedal, can't the line 6 do that as well?

[@AlexPriceMusician]

The Helix does have octave down patches, but they’re just not very good. Hopefully we’ll get an update soon with a usable octave effect.

[@Dobroz99]

Thank you Alex. I have been trying to find a way to make my EUB bass sound more acoustic. Do you know what the least expensive pedal available that allows mixing dry and IR is?

[@AlexPriceMusician]

Hi Virgil - I think that your best bet might be to get a crossover split pedal. Set it between 80-120hz or so and send the upper frequencies through the IR-loading pedal. Impulse Responses can sometimes not have a good effect on the sound that low in the register. This’ll hopefully get you realistic upper harmonics while retaining the fundamental low end.

[@leorasgidoofficial6305]

Hello, can the iR be used in pod hd500x ???

[@kane6529]

Have you tried your guitar through these? Thinking with an Ebow and similar patch you could recreate some violinish guitar sounds

[@AlexPriceMusician]

Haven’t tried that, though I do have an eBow somewhere. Great idea!

[@kane6529]

@@AlexPriceMusician yeah i would be very intrigued to hear how it sounds! Can't play Fiddle but have a dream of playing one through my guitar 🤗

[@violin_vampire]

hello... may i ask a question do you have videos using Mooer Radar? thanks in advance

[@AlexPriceMusician]

Hi Ken - no I have not used the Mooer Radar yet, but I do own an even more affordable IR loader that has the same features - the Sonicake Sonic IR - bit.ly/3qMYSna It loads acoustic IRs just fine and sounds good to my ear, though it doesn't have the same in-depth controls that the Stomp does. All the best.

[@monoswinger]

Hey Alex, thank you for the video, I'm totally new in this IR thing, there are several units out there, I would like to start with a cheaper one, but I'm not sure that those what are called cab simulator and has some free slots to upload 3rd party IR files, are ok, to upload violin IR-s, what are available in the moment? HX stomp is not available now from here, they say 5-6 weeks or more to get one, and I don't want to buy something instead for close to the same amount of money, what is just a DI with IR, so there are those cheaper pedals, like Flamma FS07 CAB, or Moer radar - are these pedals ok for this task? Mostly I'm going to jam sessions, where I don't really have too much time and/or space to setup my gear. I want one small pedal with a line out, pod go for example looks great, but too big for me. Thanks for you videos, and the answer!

[@AlexPriceMusician]

Many are just called cab simulators because that is typically what the main customer base will use them for, however as long as the acoustic IR you're using doesn't exceed the length that the IR loading device can handle (and really it shouldn't if the IR is created properly), there is really no difference. The Mooer Radar should work fine for you. Also check out the Sonicake Sonic IR if you want something affordable that just works. I have one and it has been great. - bit.ly/3qMYSna

[@monoswinger]

​ @Alex Price thank you for your time - and answer! Unfortunately - or fortunately, it depends - I've found a stomp in a local shop, so I've orderd, but it's an important information, as the price of the "dedicated wide range IR pedals" is close to a pod go, so if somebody only needs the IR part into the pedal board, a simple cheaper pedal can be better!

[@yzimsx]

Aren't you supposed to use a matching EQ or matching impulse response that takes the source instrument into account? There must be some amount of "body" character baked in the input signal, and that character should first be removed or neutralized before applying a different body.

[@nathaliebertrand2211]

Hello, you mention the Mooer Radar in your video. Could you plug the Mooer directly to ns design violin or cello and with headphone be able to use the IR included ? Without an amp ? Thanks !

[@AlexPriceMusician]

Hi Nathalie - apologies if I've responded already, it looks like it didn't go through the first time. The Mooer radar does not have a headphone amp built into it so you won't be able to use it with headphones unless you get something like this - amzn.to/3psjPl8 The Old Blood Noise headphone amp comes highly recommended from me!

[@nathaliebertrand2211]

@@AlexPriceMusician thanks a lot for your response ! So, if I understand correctly, I would plug my cello to the headphones amp and then to the Mooer and I should be able to use it or is it the other way around ?

[@AlexPriceMusician]

Cello -> Mooer -> headphone amp - headphones

[@johnmusachia466]

Do you know if the Helex stomp has a harmonizer?

[@AlexPriceMusician]

Yeah it does - chromatic but not diatonic if you're looking for something like that. It also uses a lot of DSP so don't expect to be able to combine it with much unfortunately.

[@rocu406]

Can you use IR to make your violin sound like a harmonica? Or maybe a saxophone?

[@AlexPriceMusician]

No. Think of IRs like a very specific EQ. If you want to make one instrument sound like another, you’ll want to look into MIDI.

[@samueloliveiravio]

So with the Mooer Radar pedal, I can work with violin samples?

[@AlexPriceMusician]

It'll load violin impulse responses if that's what you're asking. It doesn't do samples though.

[@samueloliveiravio]

@@AlexPriceMusician there is a site that sells impulse response for violin. I would like to know if this pedal carries these impulse response.

[@AlexPriceMusician]

@@samueloliveiravio Yes it will, as long as the IRs being sold fit the correct format the Radar is expecting to read. More than likely you'll be fine - all IR packs include various formats so they can be used across different devices.

[@diegeeleel]

$1000 plus in Australia for any of these effects.