8/6/2015

Convolution Processing with Impulse Responses

SoundOnSound:Est.1985

Inthisarticle:

ConvolutionProcessingwithImpulse
Responses
HowItWorks
PublishedinSOSApril2005
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Technique:Theory+Technical

Althoughconvolutionisoftenassociatedwithhighendreverb
processing,thistechnologymakesmanyothernewsoundsavailable
toyouifyouunderstandhowitworks.

ConvolutionInputSignals
LateralThinking
ConvolutionEngines
ThirdpartyIRFiles
CommercialIRCollections
ConvolutionSoftwareReviews
InSOS
PureSpaceIRLibraries
SpectralRelativityIRLibrary
WebResources
KaleidoskopyIRLibrary
Hints&Tips
ImpulsePower!

MartinWalker

Convolutionor'sampling'reverbsarenowextremelypopular,andit'snot
hardtoseewhy.Theyprovidethesoundsofrealacousticspacesthatare
farmorerealisticthanmostreverbeffects(althoughtheseremainincredibly
usefulwhenyouwantmoreflexibility),andcanalsogiveyourrecordingsthe
soundofbeingpassedthroughanexoticmic,preamp,compressor,guitar
amp,orindeedanyothereffect,bothhardwareandsoftware.Eachofthesespacesordevicesis
encapsulatedintowhatiscalledan'impulseresponse'filethatcanbeloadedintoacompatibleconvolution
playbackdevice.SuchdevicesrangefromfreewarePCandMacpluginstodedicatedhardwaresuchas
Focusrite'sLiquidChannelorSony'sDRES777reverbprocessor.
Aswithmostothertechnologies,manypeoplewillbecontenttousetheIRs(impulseresponses)bundled
withtheirparticularplaybackdevice,andtodownloadotherfreeonesfromtheInternet.(Iprovidedalistof
suitablesitesforconvolutionreverbpluginownersinmyrecentroundupofPCFreewareinSOSJuly
2004).Whilecapturingyourownimpulseresponsestothestandardofcommerciallibrariesmaybe
daunting,it'snotparticularlydifficulttogetrespectableresultswithalittlegear,andyoudon'thaveto
restrictyourselftotheusualhalls,churches,andstudioseither.
Effectspecialistsinthefilm,TV,andvideogamesfieldsarefindingitextremelyusefultocaptureIRson
locationforuselateronwhenplacingoverdubbeddialogueoreffectsintoarealacousticspace.Moreover,
notmanypeoplehavecottonedontothefactthatyoudon'thavetorestrictyourselftoIRsofexisting
spacesandgearonceyouabandonrealismandstartconvolvingotheraudiofilesthere'sabizarrenew
worldoftreatmentsoutthereforyouraudiotracks.
ConvolutionInputSignals

Tocapturethesoundofarealspace,plugin,orhardwareprocessor,youneedasuitabletestsignal.The
mostobviousapproachistoplaybackashortimpulsecontainingallfrequencies,sothatyoucanrecord
theresultingresponseacrossthecompleteaudiorangeasingle0dBlevelpulselastingasinglesample
couldbeused(andI'verecommendedthisinthepastforlisteningtothesmoothnessofreverbtails).Ifyou
don'twanttocartloudspeakersabouttogeneratethispulseinthespaceyouwanttocapture,realworld
alternativesincludefiringastartingpistol,poppingaballoon,orinanemergencyevenclappingyourhands
althoughjudgingbytheresultsI'veachieved,thislatteroptionisofverylimiteduse.
However,there'sadisadvantageinallthesesignalstheirshortness
resultsinarelativelypoorsignaltonoiseratio.Inmorepracticalterms,this
meansthatthebackgroundnoiseinyourIRswillbehigh.Thebestway
roundthislimitationistoextendthetestsignal,whichiswhymostserious
experimentersusesomesortofsweptsinewavesignaltypicallylasting
twelvesecondsorso.Tocaptureparticularlynoisyenvironmentssuchas
thoseinsidefactories,onboardships/planes,andinsideothervehiclesas
cleanlyaspossible,youcandoublethisto24seconds,andofcourseswept
tonesarealsotheeasiestwaytocapturethesoundofsoftwareplugins,
micpreamps,guitaramp/speakercombos,andsoon.
Somesoftwareconvolutionplaybackdevicesofferafunctiontoconvertthe
swepttonerecordingsyou'vecapturedintoIRs.TheseincludetheAltiverb
IRPreProcessorfromAudioEase,thelatestversionofWavesIR1,andthe
onethatstarteditallonthePCsomesixyearsago,SonicFoundry's
AcousticModeler(nowSonyMedia'sAcousticMirror).Suitabletestsignals
maybebundledwiththesoftware,orareavailableasdownloadablefiles.
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/apr05/articles/impulse.htm?print=yes

Therearethreemainsources
ofconvolutionimpulse
responses.Theeasiestthingto
sampleisasoftwareplugin
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Theycanevenbegeneratedbysomeutilities.Forinstance,forPCusers
there'sVoxengo'sDeconvolver(reviewedinSOSOctober2004),whichisa
generic$23utilitywhichcangenerateswepttonetestsignalsthatyoucan
transfertoanyaudioplaybackdeviceforuseinthefield.Youcanthenuse
anyDATorotheraudiorecordertocapturesuitableresponserecordings,
andDeconvolvercanconverttheserecordingsbackintoimpulseresponses.
Sincemostpeoplewillendupwithloadsoftestrecordings,therearebatch
processingoptionsinthesoftwaretoconvertthemallinonehit.

chain,sincethiscanbe
capturedentirelywithinasingle
softwareapplication,asshown
inthetopdiagramusing
Wavelabasanexample.
Capturingthesoundofa
hardwaredeviceisonlyslightly
moredifficult,requiringa
soundcardsendreturnloopto
besetup,whilecapturingthe
LateralThinking
soundofarealacousticspace
generallyrequiresa
Apartfromtheobviousacousticspaces,youcanalreadyfindquiteafew
loudspeakerandmicrophone
impulseresponsescapturedfrommicpreamps,guitaramps,loudspeakers,
combination,althoughsome
speakersimulators,tapemachines,andsoon.Thesecanbeagreatwayto
acousticnoisescanalsobe
addsonicinteresttoanotherwiseblandelectronicsound,andtheirtypically usedinplaceofthe
shortIRsoftenactlikecomplexEQswithresponsesfarmorecomplexthan loudspeaker.

mostresonatorplugins.

However,alittlelateralthinkingrevealsthatthereareplentyofothersounds
thatcanbepressedintoservicetoprovideverymusicalresults.Youcould
forinstancecapturetheuniquecollectionofresonancesbelongingtothe
bodyofanacousticguitarorviolin,orthesympatheticresonancesofa
pianosoundboard,andapplythemtootherinstrumentsorsounds.Since
theseresonances'ring'slightlylongerthantheoriginalsound,thiswillalso
impartsome'timesmearing'towhateveryou'retreating,likeaveryshort
reverb.Whilethiswon'tconvertanelectricguitar/pianosoundintoan
acousticone,theresultwillcertainlyhavesomeoftheacousticinstrument's
Formorerealisticsampled
characteristics,aswellasaddingextralifeandinterest.
OtherpossiblesourcesforIRsamplingincludetelephonesandhuman
speechingeneral,soyoucangiveonesoundsomeofthecharacteristicsof
anotherthiscanbeaveryfruitfulareaforanyoneworkingonfilmor
gamesoundtracks,orindeedmusiciansinsearchofnewandexciting
sounds.

instrumentlibraries,Tascam's
Gigastudio3usesits
Gigapulseconvolutionengine
toprovidePedalUpandDown
resonancesforitslatest
GigapianoIIlibrary.Youcan
alsousethesameconvolution
technologytomodeldifferent
micresponses,asshownhere.

However,youdon'thavetohaveanendresultinmind,andsomeofthe
mostinterestingresultscanbeachievedifyoucompletelythrowcautionto
thewindandloadanyWAVfileintoaconvolutionplugintoactasanIR.Of
coursetheresultswillbeunpredictable,butforthesonicexperimenterthisisallpartoftheexcitement
drumloopsandsyntharpeggioscanbeturnedintounusualechounitspadsoundsresultindrones,
ambientwashes,andbackgroundtexturesandshortfilesprovideexoticcombfiltering.

Conversely,youcanalsotryloadingimpulseresponsesintovariousotherpluginstoproduceyetmore
outlandishresults.Candidatesincludevocodersthatcanloadaudiofilesforuseascarrierwaves(suchas
theoneinPropellerheadReason,ProsoniqOrangeVocoder,ortheWavesMorphoder),additivesoftware
synthslikeCamelAudioCameleon5000andWhiteNoiseAdditive,orother'morphing'pluginssuchasthe
ProsoniqMorphVSTplugin.Alloftheseusethecharacteristicsofonesoundasthebasisfortreating
anotherit'snotconvolution,butit'stheresultsthatcount.
ConvolutionEngines
Therearenowquiteafewconvolutionpluginssupportingdifferentformatsandplatforms,andtherearealsoconvolutionfunctionsbuiltintovarious
standaloneapplicationslikeAdobeAudition,BiasPeak,SteinbergNuendo,andMagixSamplitude.Thereseemstobeafarwiderrangeavailablefor
PCsthanforMacs,andsomeofthebestareonlyavailableononeformatortheother.Forinstance,AudioEase'AltiverbandAppleSpaceDesigner
areonlyavailabletoMacusers,whilethehighlyregardedVoxengoPristineSpaceandTascamGigapulse(andofcoursethefreewareSIR)arePC
only.
DigidesignProToolsuserswillnodoubtbeinterestedinlookingatTrilliumLabsTLSpace(whichisavailableforbothMacandPC),whileWavesIR1
alsocoversbothMacandPC,includingRTASandMASoptions.ProsoniqRayverbisalsocrossplatform,butasmentionedinthemaintestisrather
differentfromaconvolutionreverb.There'sevenaconvolutionengineavailableforLinuxandUnix(BruteFIR),andafewinnovativeplugins,suchas
DelayDots'SpectrumworxandSpectralMorpher,offerconvolutionalongsideotherfrequencydomaineffects.
Itseemsthatalmosteverymonthanewconvolutionpluginofsomedescriptionisreleased,aswellasnewupdatesforsomeoftheexistingones.An
uptodatelistthatI'vefoundusefulcanbeseenatSpiritCanyonAudio'swebsite,whichdescribesallthelatestcontendersandwhatplatformsthey
eachsupport.Youcanreaditatwww.spiritcanyonaudio.com/convolvers.php.

ThirdpartyIRFiles

AlthoughthemoreexpensiveIRhostslikeWaveIR1arebundledwithworldclasslibrariesofreverb
responses,others(likeVoxengo'sPristineSpaceandthefreewarePCutilitySIR,forinstance)comewith
none,tokeepbothcostsanddownloadtimesdown.However,mostusersareinterestedinaddingtotheir
IRcollection,andtherearenowquiteafewwebsitesofferingfreelydownloadableIRfilescreatedbyusers
manyofthecommercialconvolutionplugindevelopershostuploadsofferedbytheirusers,andthere
arealsositeslikeNoisevaultmaintainedbyenthusiasticusers.
Sincecapturingtheessenceofrealspacesisquiteanarttodotoahighstandard,themajorityofsuchfiles
tendtobecapturesofhardwaredevicessuchasreverbsandamplifiers,andtherearesomegemstobe
foundifyou'vegotafastmodemandplentyoftime.However,freeIRstendtobeofwildlyvaryingquality,
sothereareafewthingstolistenoutforwhenauditioningthemifyouwanttopickoutandusethebest.
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First,thevastmajorityoffilestendtobe16bit,andallofthesecompromisethedynamicrangeof24bit
signalsbeingtreated.Second,andrathermoreobviousinmanycases,I'venoticedmanysignsofpoorset
up,withhighlevelsofbackgroundnoise,missingreverbtailends,orstillvaguelyaudibletesttonewhines
(againmostobviousneartheend).
CommercialIRCollections

Althoughtheytookalongtimetoappear,therearenowalsosomeexcellentcommercialthirdpartyIR
libraries,andI'llbelookingatafewofthesefortheremainderofthisarticle.However,beforeyouthinkof
investinginanyoftheseyoushouldbeawareofvariouspotentialrestrictionstotheiruseifyouwantto
avoidfrustration.
Forexample,whilethemajorityofuswouldideallylikeauniversalaudiofile
formattobeusedforIRs,it'snotsurprisingthatcommercialdeveloperswho
bundlehugeIRlibrarieswiththeirconvolutionproductstendtouseavariety
ofproprietaryformatsforthemafterall,suchlibrariesareahuge
investmentoftime,expertise,andmoney,anddevelopersdon'twantthem
passedaroundtheglobeforallandsundrytousewithotherproducts.
Fortunately,mostconvolutionpluginsthatusetheirownIRfileformatcan
alsoacceptmorestandardones,whichmakesitfairlyeasytousethemwith
commerciallibraries.ThetwomostwidelyadoptedIRimportformatsare
WAVfilesforPCandAIFFfilesforMac.SincemanyMac/PCaudio
applicationsacceptbothofthesefiletypesit'sgenerallyfairlyeasyto
convertlibrariesfromonetotheotherifnecessary,toloadthemintoa
particularconvolutionplugin.AudioEaseAltiverbisslightlymoretricky,
sinceitonlyacceptsaleftrightpairofSDII(SoundDesignerIIformat)files,
althoughonceagainMacDAWsoftwaresuchasBiasPeak,MOTUDigital
Performer,andAppleLogicshouldbeabletoperformtheconversionfor
you.

Youdon'thavetolimityourself
toreverbwhenusing
convolutionplugins.Anyaudio
filescanbeloadedinasan
impulseresponse,providinga
vastrangeofcomplexeffects.
Hereyoucanseesomeofthe
863effectsoftheSpectral
Relativitylibrary(reviewedin
thisarticle)loadedintothe
freewareSIRplugin.

However,afewconvolutionpluginsmightyetgiveunexpectedresultswith
commerciallibraries.Forinstance,whileWaves'IR1hasanexcellentreputationforitsaudioqualityand
worldclasslibrary,itcurrentlyrestrictsitsIRstoamaximumofsixsecondsinlength,andsimplytruncates
anylongerresponsesatthispoint.Wavestoldmethiswasbecausemanyhostsdon'tallowreallocationof
memorylateron,soIR1grabssixsecond'sworthwhenit'sinitiallyloadedwhen96kHzstereoIRsare
supported,aswellasmultipleinstancesoftheIR1plugin,thiswaschosenasareasonablecompromise.
Unfortunately,thisrestrictionwillpreventyoufromusingmanyoftheexcellentresponsesfromthe
commercialIRlibrariesreviewedhere,exceptthoseinthedeliberatelyshortercollectionprovidedby
Kaleidoskopy.Nuendo'sAcousticStampconvolutionenginesimilarlyhasanarbitrary12secondlimit,
althoughthishasfarfewerlibraryimplications.AnotherthingtolookoutforisthattheReversefunctionof
TrilliumLane'sTLSpacetruncatesanyIRlongerthanfiveseconds.
Prosoniq'sRayverbisslightlyunusualinnotbeingastandardconvolutionplayer.Instead,ituses'inverse
raytracing'tomodelrealacousticspaces,andprovidescomprehensivecontroloveritsroommodel.This
makesitextremelyversatileforreverbpurposes,andyoucanstillimportandanalysethirdpartylibrary
files(althoughbothMacandPCversionsonlyacceptAIFFfiles),buttheywillbeinterpretedbyRayverb's
algorithms,andwillprobablysoundcompletelydifferentfromwhattheirdevelopersoriginallyintended.
ConvolutionSoftwareReviewsInSOS
AudioEaseAltiverb:May2002.
www.soundonsound.com/sos/may02/articles/altiverb.asp
DelayDotsSpectrumWorx:August2004.
www.soundonsound.com/sos/aug04/articles/delaydotsspectworx.htm
DelayDotsSpektralBundle:PluginFolderJune2002.
www.soundonsound.com/sos/jun02/articles/plugin0602.asp
EmagicSpaceDesigner:December2003.
www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec03/articles/spacedesigner.htm
ProsoniqRayverb:October2004.
www.soundonsound.com/sos/Oct04/articles/prosoniqrayverb.htm
SIR(SuperImpulseResponse):PCMusicianJune2004.
www.soundonsound.com/sos/jul04/articles/pcmusician.htm
SonyMediaSoftwareAcousticMirror:January1998.
www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan98/articles/acoustic.htm
TascamGigapulse:inTascamGigastudio3reviewJanuary2005.
www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan05/articles/gigastudio3.htm
VoxengoPristineSpace:September2004.
www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep04/articles/voxengo.htm
WavesIR1:May2004.
www.soundonsound.com/sos/may04/articles/wavesir1.htm

PureSpaceIRLibraries

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ThefirstofthethirdpartyIRlibrariesI'mgoingtolookatcomesfromErnestCholakis,whowillalreadybe
wellknowntomanymusiciansforhiscreationoftheDNAGrooveTemplates.Hehasbeenexploring
reverberationimpulseresponsesforthelasttenyears,andhasalreadyreleasedsampleCD'susingthis
extensiveknowledge,includingtheacclaimedDroneArcheology(reviewedinSOSDecember2000).
EachPureSpaceseriesCDROMcontainsasetofimpulseresponsefiles
availablein16bitat44.1kHzor48kHzsamplerates,orin24bitat44.1,48,
88.2,96,176.4,and192kHzforprofessionalsthisimmediatelyplacesthe
potentialaudioqualityaboveandbeyondthatofmostotherofferingsfrom
thirdpartdevelopers.AvailablefileformatsareWAVforthePCandSDIIfor
theMAC.
Usinghisownextensiverecordingsofspacessuchasconcerthalls,
cathedrals,monasteries,andeventheambienceinsidetheGreatPyramid
KufuatGiza,ErnesthasresynthesisedtheimpulseresponsesinthePure
Spacelibraries,whichmeansthattheresultssufferfromnoneofthe
limitationsofrealworldrecordingsforinstance,becauseoftheway
Ernestgenerateshisresponses,the24bitversionsofferadynamicrangeof
morethan140dB,whiletheirfrequencyresponsesarevirtuallyflat,soyou
canEQyoursourcestotastebeforeconvolvingthem.

Ifyou'reconsideringbuyingIR
libraries,notallconvolution
playbackpluginsmaybe
totallysuitable.WavesIR1for
instanceonlysupports
responsesuptosixsecondsin
length,andanylibrary
responselongerthanthiswill
TherearecurrentlytwolibrariesavailableClassical&MysticalandFilm& betruncatedasshown.

Sacredandeachcontains55impulseresponsescleverlyorganisedin
orderofacoustic'size'.Eachresponsehasthreefurthernumbersassociatedwithit,thatcompareitslow,
mid,andhighfrequencydecaytimestotheaverageforthatset.Whenyou'relookingforasuitable
reverberationimpulseforarecording,thisapproachcanmakealotmoresensethanwadingthrough
nameslikeLargeHallorStLuke'sChurchRow42.
Afterallthiscarefulpreparation,theIRsthemselvescertainlydon'tdisappoint,anddon'trunawaywiththe
impressionthatsincetheyareresynthesisedtheymightsoundunnaturalorlackcharacter.Theseare
amongthecleanestandmostsilkysmoothreverbsI'veeverheard,withnoneofthegrittiness,lumpiness,
ormetallicovertonesthatcharacterisemanysynthesisedreverbs.Therearesomegorgeoustailsinthere
withoodlesofcharacter,andtheyencompassahugerangeofdecay'timbres'.
Itriedouttheselibrarieswithclosemikedsoloinstruments,vocals,andeven
anechoicallyrecordedorchestralsnippets,andwithoutexceptiontheysounded
verynaturalindeed.Therearenosmallrooms(thesmallestspaceintheClassical
serieshasatwosecondtail)buttherearechambers,halls,churches,cathedrals,
andmagicalspacesgalore.
Theseareextremelyprofessionallibrariescontainingworkcreatedovertenyears,
andwithpricetagstomatch,rangingfrom$299(16bit),to$399(forthemost
popular24bitversions),to$599forthe24bit/192kHzversion.Thisisstillfar
cheaperthanbuyingadecenthardwarereverb(thatstillprobablywon'tsoundas
good),butifyouwanttobuyjustoneofthetwolibrariesIwouldpersonallyoptfor
themoreversatileClassical&Mystical,sincethiscontainstheshortestandlongest
reverbs(plusloadsinbetween),rangingfromtwoto10seconds,andeachone
soundsquitedifferent.
SinceErnestsellshisCDsdirectlytotheenduserwww.numericalsound.com,he
cangivethemanindividualregistrationnumberand'installerlockcode',which
preventsthecasualcopierfromunpackingandinstallingthefiles.Eachfileonthe
CDalsoemployshisuniqueSonicTracedigitalwatermarkprotectionsystem,whichencryptstheuser's
nameintoeachandeveryreverbimpulse,soitcanbetracedtotheoriginalownerevenwhenusedin
multitrackaudiorecordings.Finally,there'salsoan11pointlicenseagreementtosignbeforeuse,whose
termsmaydismayafewpotentialusers,socheckitoutbeforebuying.Otherthanthat,thePureSpace
librariesaresuperbresourcesforprofessionals,andwon'tdisappoint.
SpectralRelativityIRLibrary

Describedas'exoticambientimpulsesforelectronicmusicians',SpectralRelativityisavast635MB
collectionofover80016bit/44.1kHzfiles.Theyaredeliberatelynotintendedtoproviderealisticreverbs,
andalthoughsomecanprovidestrangeandoftenetherealreverbtreatmentswhenusedasimpulse
responses,mostcreatesometimesbizarreandsometimesverybeautifultonalcolours,drones,and
ambientwashes.
ThefirstfoldercontainsColors88extremelyshortfilesrangingfromninesamplesto64mS.These
involvepreciouslittletimesmearing,insteadofferingahugerangeofEQs,butwithfarmoreexotic
responsesthansimplecombfilters.Likemostoftheotherimpulsesinthiscollectiontheyarebestused
100percentwetformaximumeffect,althoughtherearenorules.
ThenextfolderisnamedCosmic,andhereweenteraweirdandwonderfulworld
ofimpulsesthatlastanywhereupto16seconds.Some,likethedeepanddoom
ladenBlackSun,theplummetingmetallicdronesofSpiralDescent,andhaunting
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echoesofNearMiss,couldbedescribedasweirdscifireverbs,whilewithsomeof
thelongeronesthetimesmearingbecomessogreatthattheoutputsignals
becomebarelyrecognisable.
Theresultsareperfectforambientwashesandbackgroundtextures,andIfound
vocalrecordingstobeparticularlyeffectivesources,asyoucangeneratehaunting
humanlikedrones.Forinstance,HeliopauseandLunarMonolithprovideinspiring
2001styleangelicchoirsfromalmostanysourcesignal,whilePlanetaryNebula
createspitchedmetallicdrones.
TheFantasy&Fictionfolderevokesimagesfromliteratureandthemedia,with
plentyofscifiandfantasyfilmsandbooksmakinganappearance.Iparticularly
enjoyedtheshortmetallicsmearsofGomJabbar,themultiplegatedrepeatsof
PickledPeppers,andthereverseflangeddronesofSkynet.Horror&Paranormal
givesus,amongmanyothers,thewhisperingAngels&Demons,theeerie
hollownessofBurningMan,thelongmoaningofHeartOfDarkness,andthe
menacingHidingInTheAttic.
ThecontentsoftheImpressionsfolderaredesignedtoevokeanimageinthelistener'smind.Ifoundthe
fallingpitchesofBombsAwayquitehauntingwhentreatingcompletesongs,asweretheevenweirder
CetaceanMatingCallandthehighpassanimationsofDustInTheGroove.Thosewithdarkerleanings
shouldlovetheIndustrialfolder,includingthepulsingmetallicArmorPlate,thegatednoiseofCracked
Piston,andthepowerofFeelItThroughTheFloor.Isimplyhaven'tgotenoughspacetocoverthe
remainingMiscellaneousfolders,the102weirdobjectsinthePeriodicTablecollection,the83hightech
washesandfiltersoftheScience&Technologysection,andthe167combinedinhabitantsofWeirdand
WeirderStill.
Iabsolutelylovedthiscollection,andit'sobviouslybeenareallabourofloveforitscreatorDarrenBurgan,
evendowntothefilenames.ThedescriptionsofeachtreatmentinthePDFmanualareabsolutely
invaluableinguidingyoutosuitablecandidates,althoughyou'llneverknowexactlyhowtheysoundwitha
particularsourcesignaluntilyoutryit.It'sgreatifyou'renotfeelingparticularlyinspiredIfounditalmost
impossiblenottobecomecatapultedintocreativitywithinafewminuteseverytimeIusedthislibrary.It's
alsoincrediblevalueformoneyatjust$24.99,andanyonewhoownsacompatibleconvolutionreverbplug
inshouldmakeittheirdutytobuyitimmediately!
WebResources
Acoustics.netisthenewandofficialsourceofIRsfortheWavesIR1range,withlotsofinfoabouthowWaves
captureandcreatetheirownlibraries,plentyofIR1impulsestodownload,plusauserforum.
www.acoustics.net
AudioEaseprovideasimilarresourceforAltiverbusers.
www.audioease.com
EchoChamberisaGermansitewithfreeIRdownloads.
www.memi.com/echochamber/responses
NoisevaultisthebiggestfreewareIRdownloadsource.Italsohasarticlesoncreatingyourown,andvery
helpfulforums
http://noisevault.com
CKSDEhasbothcommerciallibrariesandfreedownloads.
www.cksde.com
PureSpaceambientimpulses.
www.numericalsound.com/purespac.html
SpiritCanyonAudio'swebsiteishometotheIRlibrariesreviewedinthisfeature,plusarangeoffascinating
freeReaktorv4ensemblesusedtoprovidesomeoftheirtextures.
www.spiritcanyonaudio.com
FokkevanSaane'ssitehaslotsofIRsofeverydayobjectssuchastelephones,buckets,factories,domesticenvironments,andmusichardware.
www.xs4all.nl/~fokkie/IR.htm

KaleidoskopyIRLibrary

ThissecondIRLibraryfromSpiritCanyonAudioisaslightlymoresubtlecollectionthanSpectralRelativity,
intendedtobeusefulinawiderrangeofmusicalstyles.Itmanagesthisbyrestrictingitsfilelengthssothat
theendresultsaren'tso'smearedout',whichmeansthatpercussivesourceslikedrumsandmostloops
don'tlosetheirsenseoftiming.Thistimeallthefilesare24bit,whichwillpleaseaudiopuristswhowantto
maintainthemaximumdynamicrangeintheirmusic,andthereare2025ofthemtotalling684MB.
Ahugeselectionoffilesarespecificallyintendedforuseatcertaintempos,providingexoticbeatsync'ed
effects.TheIRsaregroupedintofoldersaccordingtotempo,covering80150bpm,eachfoldercontaining
around90IRs.Toprovidethemaximumrhythmiccompatibility,there'ssomeoverlapbetweenthefolder
contents,withquiteafeweffectsprovidedinmultipleversionstosyncwithmultipletempos.Ifyouwantan
evenclosermatchforaspecifictempo,youcanimporttheclosestversionintoyourfavouriteaudioeditor
andtimestretchittofitexactly.
OfthishugesectionofthelibraryIparticularlylikedthefeedbackcluster
echoesofLargePrintEdition,thetinklingchimeslinesofBinkertell,andthe
guitarhistrionicsofHeavyOnTheHarmonics.Thebeautyofallthese
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treatmentsisthatwhileyoucanusethem100percentwetforunbelievable
transformations,addingalittleprocessingunderablanddrumloop,for
example,canturnitintosomethingreallyunique.
Therearefivefoldersdevotedtosingleshoteffects,andineachonethe
contentshavebeensubdividedintoshort,medium,andlongIRs,indicating
theamountoftimesmearing.TheModulatorsaretheshortest,andI
particularlylikedthemachinegunburstof60HzMassage,theswelling
chordaldronesofBadYearBlimp,thecartooncoughanddrillingofDon't
LookNow,thebouncingjuddersofLogisticalLogic,thetelephonicechoes
ofFondlingTheLeadedCrystal,andtheshimmeringmetallicovertonesof
TungstenGlow.

Alwaysbearinmindthatwhen
usingconvolutionplugins,their
CPUoverheadisdirectly
relatedtothelengthofthe
impulseresponsehereyou
canseeVoxengo'sPristine
Spacetakingjusttwopercent
ofmyPentiumIV2.8GHz
processorwitha100mS
impulse,butninepercentwhen
runninga10secondone.

ThemediumandlongReverbfolderscontainsuchgemsastherising
metallicpitchesofI'mHuntingWabbit,thedistantringingtonesofStainless
SteelBalls,andthepianoclustersofAluminiumDiminished.TheRooms
containveryshorttailsandevensomevaguelynormalreverbtreatments
suchasthechimedecaysofMessagesInTheGroundLoopHum,the
distantslapbackofHubcapWallpaper,andthetwintonesofTwelveStoryAtrium.

ThetimesmearingoftheWeirdfoldersisstillgenerallylessthanonesecond,butthetreatmentsaremore
extreme,withmorepitchshiftingandpanningeffects.IparticularlylikedthetimepiecechimingofAtThe
ToneItWillBeTwoO'Clock,thehauntingechoesofBrainStemDysfunction,andthedistantcavernsof
FloatingCity.
Overall,whileSpectralRelativityexcelsincreatinglongerdronesandtreatmentsthatareoftena
springboardforcreativity,Kaleidoskopyseemstoworkbetteratjumpstartingexistingsongsthatneed
rejuvenating,sinceyoucangenerallystillrecognisetheoriginalmaterialbeneath,underitsnewsuitof
clothes.Kaleidoskopyisjust$34.99,oryoucanbuyitasabundlewithSpectralRelativityforjust$49.99.
Togethertheyareatourdeforceofinventivebeautyandweirdness,andshouldbeownedbyanyonewho
wantstoexplorenewsonicterritory.
Hints&Tips

ThemostimportantgeneralpieceofadviceIcangiveyouaboutusingIRpluginsandtheirlibrariesisthat
theCPUoverheadisnearlyalwaysdirectlyrelatedtothelengthoftheresponsebeingused.Thismakes
sense,sinceeachsampleofincomingaudiomustbeprocessedforthefulllengthoftheconvolution'tail'
thelongerthisis,themorecalculationsarebeingcarriedoutatanypointintime.Soifyoudon'twanttorun
outofprocessingpowerinyoursongs,trytokeepyourreverbdecaytimeswithinreason.
Ifyoufancyhavingagoatcapturingyourownimpulses,eachdeveloperthatoffersasuitableconvolution
testsignalwillalsogenerallyprovidestepbystepinstructionsonhowbesttouseit,andtherearealso
othermoregeneralguidesontheInternet.Itshouldgowithoutsayingthattocaptureanacousticspace
accuratelyyouneedtousehighqualitymics,preamps,amplifiers,andspeakerswithaflatfrequency
response.Omnidirectionalorcardioidmicresponsesgivethebestresults,althoughanypolarresponse
shouldworkreasonablywell.
Ingeneral,thespeakerthatplaysyoursweepsignal(orthestartingpistol,orballoon,orwhatever)should
beplacedwheretheperformerwouldbe,whilethemiccapturingtheacousticresponseshouldbe
positionedintheaudience,althoughobviouslytheyareyourimpulseresponsessoyoucanpointthings
whereyoulikewithinreason!Ifyou'vegotamultitrackrecorderandplentyofmicsyoucaneventry
capturingIRsurroundreverbbysimultaneouslyrecordingthesweeptoneatvariousdifferentpositions,and
importingthemintosuitablesurroundconvolutionpluginslikeWavesIR360,VoxengoPristineSpace,or
TascamGigapulse.
ImpulsePower!

Finally,ifyou'researchingforexotictransformations,don'tforgetthat,justlikeanyotherplugin,youcan
chainthosewithconvolutionfunctions.Asingleconvolutionplugincanprovideresultsthatareeither
extremelyrealisticortotallybizarre,soimaginewhattwoorthreeofthemcansoundlikeinseries!
PublishedinSOSApril2005

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