I really couldn't hear a difference. I think it certainly helps that the IR was created through the exact same mic/cab setup the 'live' take was done with. Proves IRs can sound exactly like the source.
Now it's just a question of: is there an IR out there that you like, that sounds like you want?
It would have been more interesting to me to have the mic backed off the cab to get more of the room sound, and make an IR with that, to see if the room 'air' was also being correctly captured, not just the cab itself.
For recording, I have found that without an A - B reference, it doesn't matter what the IR sounds like. If I play to you through my least liked IR, to you it will just sound like I am playing through whatever your interpretation of my amp rig is. Without a reference, it sounds like dog poop or amazeballs to you. Out of 10 people, there will be 7 that think one way, and 3 that feel the other way about it. IR's fulfill an objective solution to a subjective problem. The Human is the weak link.
Can you hear the difference?
I'll do this when I get home tomorrow and can put them on my reference monitors.
I will be surprised if I cant tell, as I know a few things to listen for that are giveaways generally.
I really couldn't hear a difference. I think it certainly helps that the IR was created through the exact same mic/cab setup the 'live' take was done with. Proves IRs can sound exactly like the source.
Now it's just a question of: is there an IR out there that you like, that sounds like you want?
It would have been more interesting to me to have the mic backed off the cab to get more of the room sound, and make an IR with that, to see if the room 'air' was also being correctly captured, not just the cab itself.
Looking forward to it, seriously!
I love doing this stuff, Im at 45k feet above Arkansas river right now. be home tonight!
IRs make a great (indistinguishable?) copy of the real thing.
I suspect that the main reason to go with a tube amp these days is repairability. I've happily used tube amps that were 60 years old and still doing their thing perfectly. It's unusual for me to use software that is even just twenty years old, and modern hardware to run the IRs certainly doesn't seem to be built to last.
Can a human even hear 45kHz?