The business of cabinet simulation and impulse responses can get a little complicated but TC Electronic hopes to demystify the process with Impulse.
A mini-pedal that arrives preloaded with a dozen Celestion digital IRs and the memory to store up to 99, Impulse allows guitar players to manage their cab sim from the comfort of their pedalboards.
Impulse should look familiar to anyone who has used TC Electronic’s smash-hit looper pedal, the Ditto+. It assumes a similar form, with a bright LED screen, a single dial with arrow buttons on either side for navigation.
Out of the box, you have 25 IRs already loaded – including those from Celestion occupying slots 1 to 12 – and to download more to the pedal, simply connect Impulse via USB to your computer and drag and drop, or use TC Electronic’s dedicated IR organiser.
Having cab sim and IR tech in a pedal format has obvious benefits, not least to those looking for a simple way of managing their sound, but also for players looking to go direct when playing live. There is an impulse response that’ll allow players to transform their pedalboard into a fly-rig and send their signal direct to the mixing desk.
Acoustic guitar players have not been left out, with five built-in IRs to help amplify a piezo signal and get the best out of the instrument.
The footswitch can be used to turn the pedal on and off, or to toggle between two favoured settings. Players can upload their own or third-party IRs of up to 200ms in length, and there is a global compensation EQ with low shelf and high frequency filter to accommodate different rigs, and 24-bit uncompressed audio to ensure top-dollar sound quality.
And all this moderately priced. The Impulse cab sim and IR loader will set you back £/$129. See TC Electronic for more details.
