IR loader

A device or piece of software that applies an impulse response to a signal, most often to give a guitar a convincing cabinet and microphone sound without one being present.

It works by convolution: the response of a real cabinet, mic and room is captured as a short audio file, and the loader mathematically imposes that response on whatever comes in. The result is much closer to a miked cabinet than a simple filter, which is why loaders have replaced basic speaker simulation in most digital rigs. Loading the wrong file length or sample rate is the usual cause of a poor result.

Example: an amp modeler with a good impulse response loaded will sit in a mix convincingly even though no speaker was ever involved.

IR loader

See also