Frequently Asked Questions

  Impulse Responses     Store / Account  


Wave Audio Format



If the platform in question accepts wave audio format (.wav) files in 24-bit resolution, mono channel count, and at 44.1, 48, 88.2, or 96 kHz sample rate: YES.

If verification is necessary prior to making a commercial purchase, this can be accomplished with the OwnHammer Freebie IR Library.

PLEASE NOTE: any technical difficulties that an individual may encounter are NEVER the fault of the IR, and AWLWAYS the fault of the loading platform or the individual attempting to load it. Whether it is a USB driver issue, multi-file array import issue, user error, etc, you will find that if you take any file you may have an issue with and load it into a product from a different manufacturer, that the problem goes away. For this reason, technical support is not offered regarding impulse response libraries, as it is ALWAYS the loading platform that is the culprit and NEVER the IR. Therefor, the burden of support is ALWAYS on the loading platform manufacturer/developer, and will not be permitted to be outsourced to OwnHammer.




OwnHammer is not the appropriate resource for such a question, nor officially qualified to answer on behalf of any 3rd party entities regarding their products' functionality. Rather, this responsibility lies with the 3rd party platform, either via their provided documentation or customer support system.

OwnHammer wave audio format IR's are 24-bit, and in 96, 88.2, 48, and 44.1 kHz sampling rates, should you need to confirm those specifics against 3rd party documentation or with 3rd party platform support.

In the event that the platform in question finds itself in the below list, some information on known/submitted platforms and their native operating formats and requirements can be found at:

ownhammer.com/tutorials/file-formats




As stated in the above two entries, OwnHammer is not the appropriate resource for such a question, nor officially qualified to answer on behalf of any 3rd party entities regarding their products' functionality. Rather, this responsibility lies with the 3rd party platform, either via their provided documentation or customer support system.

While not constituting nor substitute for official 3rd party documentation or media, the following tutorial pages contain information and media that may be helpful :

Tutorials :: Fractal Audio
Tutorials :: Kemper Profiler
Tutorials :: Line 6 Helix
Tutorials :: S-Gear
Tutorials :: Wall of Sound




At the time of its inception, there are very few outboard modeling units that have the available (or dedicated) CPU overhead or requisite advanced function to take advantage of the OwnHammer TrueStereo™ format. At the time this entry was last updated, only the Strymon® amp+cab modeling product line has this capability for all-in-one platforms, not only to load the TrueStereo™ dual channel format directly and without alteration, but to also facillitate the use of full length, naturally decaying IR files that are not heavily truncated, decimated, or both.

To this end and when in doubt, use the singular Mono files as the safe bet for compatibility with most modeling platforms and in non-critical, CPU/RAM resource friendly DAW based recording situations.


Line 6 Format




No. Libraries in this category contain files that are in Line 6's ".hir" file format, which is a proprietary encryption only readable by the Line 6 products built to accept this file type. This currently includes the "Helix Core" group: Helix hardware and software, HX hardware, and POD Go.




No. The content in this category will not be made available in wave audio (.wav) format, and at the current time are only available through the Line 6 Marketplace web store.




From your account (1), click on Marketplace Downloads (2), then on the library you wish to download (3):


(click to enlarge)




The same way as wave audio (.wav) files. Please see the Helix Tutorials page for additional information. If you continue to have issues loading files, Line 6 support can be reached at:

line6.com/support/tickets




First and foremost, content sold in the Line 6 Marketplace is copy protect encrypted. In order to load Marketplace IR's and Presets into a compatible Line 6 hardware device or software program, the latter needs to be registered to the same account that the IR's/Presets are purchased from and assigned to. More often than not, those experiencing a license error simply have not registered their hardware/software yet, and doing so will resolve the licensing error.




The specifics are considered proprietary, with any relevant and/or disclosable information to be found on the product page or in the PDF documentation included with the library package.




The Workhorse Collections provide many unique opportunities, one of which being the omission of misspelled and "based on" inferences to the names/trademarks of other entities that in no way participated in nor benefit monetarily from the sale of OwnHammer intellectual property.

In addition to the suggestive text used for the titles, digital graphic likenesses for each Workhorse cabinet are currently being developed to contribute to representing them, and will be linked to here when available.




No. OwnHammer Line 6 Marketplace content are separate and unique products exclusively sold and supported by Line 6 - a financially and operationally independent company from OwnHammer - and do not translate to or entitle one to anything sold on the OwnHammer website.


Fractal Audio Format




No. Libraries in this category contain files that are in Fractal Audio's ".ir" and ".syx" file formats, which are proprietary encryptions only readable by the Fractal Audio products built to accept these file types.

Designer Hardwood Collections contain Ultra-Res .syx files, and are compatible with Fractal Audio Systems Axe-Fx II, Axe-Fx III, AX8, FM3, and FM9 hardware products.

Player Packs contain .ir files compatible with Fractal Audio Systems Cab Lab 3 software, and Ultra-Res .syx files compatible with Fractal Audio Systems Axe-Fx II, Axe-Fx III, AX8, FM3, and FM9 hardware products.




Files with the .ir extension (found only in Player Packs) are usable in the Cab Lab software plugin/application. Files with the .syx extension (found in Hardwood Collections and Player Packs) are usable in compatible Fractal Audio modeling hardware. Please see the Fractal Tutorials page for additional information. If you continue to have issues loading files, Fractal Audio support can be reached at:

fractalaudio.com/getting-help/




The specifics are considered proprietary, with any relevant and/or disclosable information to be found on the product page or in the PDF documentation included with the library package.




No. OwnHammer Fractal Audio web store content are separate and unique products exclusively sold and supported by Fractal Audio Systems - a financially and operationally independent company from OwnHammer - and do not translate to or entitle one to anything sold on the OwnHammer website, nor vice versa.


General




Impulse responses are small wave audio (.wav) files that contain linear measurement data consisting of the frequency response, phase response, and reverberation decay of a measured system. These files are in a format that can then be read, interpretted, and applied by software containing a convolution reverb algorithm.

In the context of how they are primarily implemented and sold on the OwnHammer website, these systems are mic'd up guitar and bass cabinets/speakers. The data they capture representats the cabinet, the speaker, the microhpone/microphone placement/multi-microphone mix, and the outboard recording equipment (mic preamp) all the way back to the recorded digital audio of the signal path. Hence the informal nickname "cabs" that can be seen used amongst the user community when referring to such files.

Additional information on how to USE the impulse responses offered on the OwnHammer site can be found in the Tutorials section of the website.




A) With Software Virtual Amps

There are two primary methods of application here:

I. Standalone
Connect your electric guitar/bass to a DI/Mic Pre then to analog to a digital conversion interface (line-in of sound card, firewire/usb interface, etc) or into the instrument-in section of an all inclusive or proprietary interface. Once you are able to get your instrument's output "in the box", you will need to launch a standalone amp sim application/program that has a convolution reverb engine capable of loading/importing external impulse response files. Simply navigate to the cab/speaker simulation portion of the host and search for a button that will allow you to open external .wav files.

II. Plugin via DAW Host:
Get your instrument "in the box" as mentioned above, but now you will need to launch the virtual amp sim plugin on the audio track that you are capturing the instrument on, or on a bus that the instrument track is being sent to. You can load the impulse response file(s) either (a) through the convolution reverb engine built into the virtual amp sim plugin (if it is capable of loading external files), or (b) by disabling the cab/speaker simulation in the virtual amp sim plugin and placing a convolution reverb plugin instance after the virtual amp sim plugin either on the same track or on a bus that the track is being sent to.

If the convolution reverb host has a "Wet/Dry" mix knob, setting it to 100% wet will force all of the sound through the cab/speaker IR, and is the desired setting in most applications.

If you are unaware if/how you can load IR's into your host of choice, please see the documentation for that product provided by the respective developer.
B) With Amp Modelers

Again, there are two primary methods of application here:

I. Within the Patch
Connect your electric guitar/bass to the input of your amp modeler. Load/insert the impulse resonse of your choice into a cabinet slot via your platform's editor/configuration interface, and select that slot within the cabinet block/section of your patch.

I. Within the DAW
Only recommended for recording applications - in this case, disable all cabinet simulation within your patch, and load the impulse response in a convolution reverb plugin assigned to the track insert that your modeler is routed to in your DAW session, or on a bus that track is being sent to.

C) With Guitar/Bass Preamps

Connect your electric guitar/bass to a preamp and into your conversion interface through the appropriate input. Once the signal is "in the box" and feeding a track in your DAW, the first insert you need to assign to it is a power amp simulation. There are very few of these on the market, and we have had the best results with Ignite Amps' TPA-1. Once the "full amp" signal is now in place, you can follow the power amp simulation with an IR loader/convolution reverb plugin instance on that audio track or on a bus that the track is being sent to, depending on your workflow. Without power amp simulation, the overall sound may be very mid heavy, with much less low and top end than one would normally expect, be accustomed to, or desire.

If the convolution reverb host has a "Wet/Dry" mix knob, setting it to 100% wet will force all of the sound through the cab/speaker impulse, and is the desired setting in most applications.

D) With Guitar/Bass Amps

Connect your electric guitar/bass to an amplifier head or combo. Connect the speaker out of the amplifier with a SPEAKER cable to a dummy load that (a) is rated at the same impedance you are sending out of the amp (b) is rated at DOUBLE the wattage of the amp you are sending from, and (c) is equipped with a line out. It is recommended that even if you are attenuating at 100%, a speaker cabinet of the same impedance rating as the amp out and dummy load is connected via a SPEAKER cable to the dummy load's speaker out/through UNLESS IT SPECIFICALLY STATES THIS IS UNNECESSARY IN THE USER MANUAL OF YOUR DUMMY LOAD. Turn the line out volume of the dummy load and the amp's master volume to zero, and connect the line out of the dummy load to either the DI/line level in of a mic pre or to the line in of your audio interface. Then begin the process of setting the amp where you like it, and where you can get away with that within the output of the line level volume on the dummy load and/or any line level preamps that may be following it. Once you have your sound "in the box", you can load the impulse/library within your DAW host either by placing a convolution reverb plugin instance on the audio track or on a bus that the track is being sent to.

If the IR loading host has a "Wet/Dry" mix knob, setting it to 100% wet will force all of the sound through the cab/speaker impulse, and is the desired setting in most applications.

As stated in section "4. Disclaimer." of the Terms of Use Agreement for OwnHammer.com, all of the above does not constitute professional advice, and OwnHammer, LLC holds no liability to any damages you may incur from use or misuse of this information. It is your responsibility to evaluate the accuracy and completeness of this information, and apply it at your own risk.




Product recommendation and usage consultation are not services that OwnHammer provides.




No. Under no circumstances are OwnHammer IR's to be redistributed or included in presets/sounds, this includes Kemper profiles as a part of the captured signal chain as this constitutes derivative works. All circumstances violate the Terms of Use of the OwnHammer website, and the End User License Agreement for all OwnHammer products.

There are no affiliate programs or licensing tiers available for preset vendors. If you have built sounds around and require/recommend the use of OwnHammer products/services, simply note the product and/or URL link in your documentation for users to also purchase from the OwnHammer website.




No. This could be from a perspective of competitive advantage, or the information simply was not kept record of. In the latter case, enough time has passed that any legacy library not befitting of the feature set found in the majority of the current catalog would have been considered to be created in an experimental phase, and in many cases was an impromptu configuration that may not have been repeated, and notes on them cleared. At the end of the day, knowing what is in a mic mix doesn't change how it sounds, so your ears will serve you better than your eyes in determining if a mix is right for your persuasions and intended purposes. In the case of the (r)Evolution Series IR's and those from around and after this time period, the common sense terminology has been implemented in the mix file naming structure, so as to better speed the workflow in auditioning and using such pre-made mic mix IR's.




No. Legacy libraries that have been discontinued have been so because they either do not meet the current sonic requirements and therefor do not serve current brand reputation, do not and/or can not meet the current file format standards and presentations, and/or were part of third party agreements/collaborations that are no longer active. If it cannot be found in the current menu or through the search function, it is not available.




No. Libraries are only available as they are presented on the website.






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