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can someone please go over the process of sampling a room to use in a reverb program like WavesIR-1? Step by step, maybe?

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IIRs Sun, 04/13/2008 - 03:32

PC or mac? If you're on a PC grab the Voxengo Deconvolver app from [="http://www.voxengo.com/product/deconvolver/"]here[/]="http://www.voxengo…"]here[/] (you can use it for free if you're happy only to deconvolve 3 files per session, or buy it for $40). If you're on a mac... hopefully someone else can suggest something.

1. Use Deconvolver to generate some test tones. I suggest generating a few of different lengths, some with fades for the 'reversed' technique and some without. (read the help file)

2. Set up the best speaker you have available in the room you wish to sample.

3. Set up a stereo pair of mics at the other end of the room (or in the middle, or wherever you think would sound good for a conventional recording)

4. Play your test tones into the room while recording the mics, and don't press stop too quickly after each test tone has finished: you need to record some 'silence' after each. If you want you can do this several times with the mics (or the speaker) in different places.* If you use more than one test tone, make sure you name the files to indicate which was used.

5. Load your recordings into Deconvolver, along with the appropriate test tones. Set the required bit depth for your impulses, make sure you tick 'Reversed Technique' if the test tone used fades, and hit 'Process'.

6. Load the resulting IR wav files into an audio editor and carefully trim the silence from the start and end. You may need to experiment a bit with different lengths: too short and you risk damaging the reverb tail, too long and you will waste cpu resources, as the longer the IR file the more number crunching is required to convolve it. You may also wish to normalise the files if you didn't do so in Deconvolver.

7. Load the imulse(s) into Waves IR (or [[url=http://="http://www.knufinke…"]SIR[/]="http://www.knufinke…"]SIR[/], or [[url=http://[/URL]="http://www.voxengo…"]Pristine Space[/]="http://www.voxengo…"]Pristine Space[/] or whatever it is you use) and enjoy!

* if you record one set of files with the speaker on the left side of the room, then move it over to the right side of the room and repeat, you could create sets of true stereo IRs. Similarly, moving the mics from the front of the room to the back might provide accurate surround reverbs.

Hack Mon, 04/14/2008 - 20:34

ok.. one more thing.. in voxengo.. I generate a 15 second sweep and when I play it.. no matter from what part it starts with a "click" sound.. like a square wave type click.. should I worry about that? do others hear that? I could send or upload the sweep that I am getting if someone wants to see if they could figure out if I am doing something wrong..