devices · Axe-Fx II · reference · cabs and user IRs
cabs and user IRs
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What a User Cab is
An impulse response is a recording of what a mic'd speaker cabinet does to a sound. A frequency sweep is played through a real cab and recorded, then the sweep is removed mathematically. What remains is the cabinet's fingerprint, and it can be applied to any signal. Fractal call these User Cabs when they are yours and Factory Cabs when they shipped with the modeler. They are the same kind of thing.
how much room you have
It depends on which Axe-Fx II you have. The XL and XL+ carry over 150 factory cabs and 1,024 user locations. The Mark II has 130-odd factory cabs and 100 user slots, so a Cab Pack that assumes a thousand slots will not fit. Both support standard 2048-resolution IRs and the higher-detail UltraRes format, which raises resolution without costing more CPU or storage.
Fractal Audio: Axe-Fx II product and support pagesthe slot you chose before sending is the slot it lands in
Filenames play no part. Set the Cab block to a user slot, then send the file: the modeler stores it where the block was pointing. Get the order wrong and the cab lands in the wrong slot. A preset that references a slot number loads whatever is in that slot, with no warning.
Getting them on there
Loading a User Cab
IRs transfer as MIDI System Exclusive data. Fractal's own applications are the recommended route, though a third-party SysEx librarian works too.
- step 01
ready the modeler to receive
Open a preset containing the CABINET 1 block, select it and press EDIT. Make sure MODE is not set to STEREO, then set the CAB parameter to the numbered USER slot you want to load into.
- step 02
then send the file
Axe-Manage Cabs in the editor is the drag-and-drop route and lets you manage what is already in memory. Fractal-Bot sends individual cab files to any memory location.
- step 03
audition before you commit
The four SCRATCHPAD locations at the end of the cab list hold a cab for trying before it takes a permanent slot. They help most when user memory is full, and they clear every time you restart the modeler.
Notes
where to get them
Fractal's shop sells professionally produced Cab Packs, including ones from third-party producers. Axe-Change, Fractal's file-sharing site, is a large free library. To capture your own cabinet, use the modeler's IR Capture utility. It needs a mic and a preamp, plus either a flat full-range power amp or a speaker-level DI box.
what Cab-Lab is for
Cab-Lab is an IR mixer. It blends several IRs into one, the way an engineer blends several mics on a real cab. Fractal also recommend it for capturing, because its interface is easier than the built-in utility. You do not need it to load an IR someone else made.
stereo mode blocks the transfer
The CABINET block's MODE must not be STEREO while you are loading. In STEREO, a transfer that looks fine does nothing.