Using The Waves IR Convolution Reverb Library in Reaper?

[amonte]

Hi,

I recently found the Waves IR Convolution Reverb Library and have read on other sites how it can be used with IR reverbs other than the Waves plugins.

https://www.waves.com/downloads/ir-c...reverb-library

With that in mind, I had expected to find .WAV files within the zip but they were a different format (I want to say IRT?)

Is there a way to use this library in Reaper? Does it require a third party plugin?

Thanks!
Jerry

[Softsynth]

Apparently they can be used in any convolution reverb plugin according to a website I just found, but I don't know if they have to be modified. I never tried it.

[amonte]

Originally Posted by Softsynth

Apparently they can be used in any convolution reverb plugin according to a website I just found, but I don't know if they have to be modified. I never tried it.

Yup, I saw that too. But all the other convolution reverb plugins I see just use WAV files. Has that been your experience too?

[Softsynth]

Originally Posted by amonte

Yup, I saw that too. But all the other convolution reverb plugins I see just use WAV files. Has that been your experience too?

I found one website saying Waves IR uses WIR format whic would be their own system, so maybe that's been changed, or that website got it wrong, or they are expecting advanced users to convert the formats?

I mainly have used algo reverbs but my main convolution is Reverberate 3.
Reverberate has the basic Wav files library and it's own proprietary Fusion IR or FIR files.

NI Reflektor handles regular wav IR and it's own GRIR files.
Actually all the standard convolution engines that I am aware of handle regular wav files, sometimes along with their proprietary formats for copyright control. Only Liquidsonics actually offers genuinely different performance with their proprietary format as it isn't just there for copyright control but is in fact multiple IRs per instance in what they call "Fusion IR" designed to create more variation in the sound.

It could be that all the non standard self generated or algorithmic convolution reverbs cannot handle external wav files because they are only designed to handle their own self generated impulse responses.
Melda, Liquidsonics and Waves are the companies that come to mind that have made some self generating convolution IR plugins.

Reverberate 3 is excellent. I can recommend that, though the sale just ended.
I haven't felt the need to even download the Waves IR1 library, but it's registered to a free Waves account. Judders likes it, if I remember correctly.

[yellowmix]

https://github.com/opcode81/wir2wav

Seconding Reverberate 3. It handles the true stereo WAV files (4 channels) automatically. And if you give it a non-true stereo IR, it can simulate it convincingly.

My favorite thing to do with it is mix and match ER and LR. Especially with the Bricasti M7 Fusion-IRs it comes with.

[tubegeek]

@yellowmix (or anybody who'd be kind enough):

I was able to run the python script and output .wav files from the .WIR Files Who Shall Not Be Named. When I compare these to the .wav files that I have used in ReaVerb, they sound different and don't work in ReaVerb to create a reverb effect. I can load other .wav's and get them to work.

When I listen to the converted .wav files themselves they just sound like a bunch of clicks, not a spacious whoosh kind of sound. I don't know if this is because they were generated with "pop" type impulse vs. a sweep, or what exactly.

Any idea what I'm doing wrong? Go easy on me, I'm new at this IR stuff. The ones I'm trying sound great, curious to hear these fancypants ones.

[yellowmix]

Originally Posted by tubegeek

When I listen to the converted .wav files themselves they just sound like a bunch of clicks, not a spacious whoosh kind of sound. I don't know if this is because they were generated with "pop" type impulse vs. a sweep, or what exactly.

Impulse generation by "bang" or sweep if done optimally should result in extremely similar impulse response files.

Some IRs can sound like a click if it's a short one. It would help if you explain which files don't sound correct. For example, in the Stadiums folder there are long reverbs. In Ampitheatres, Siracusa, the dropoff is nearly immediately and steep. This is characteristic of mostly open spaces where there are fewer reflection surfaces. There are also creative reverbs like "Rotor" that are rhythmic.

Note there are some true stereo impulses so there are 4 channels. There were also many duplicates (many true stereo presets were pared down for "regular" stereo but reuse the same source impulse response files), so I deleted a bunch.

Checking the impulse files directly are fine (and necessary to get a quick look at clipping and other issues) but when you load them up and listen through Reaverb do they sound properly reverberant or do you hear something else?

[tubegeek]

Originally Posted by yellowmix

Checking the impulse files directly are fine (and necessary to get a quick look at clipping and other issues) but when you load them up and listen through Reaverb do they sound properly reverberant or do you hear something else?

Thanks for replying -
Let me see - I think the ones I tried were the two spring reverbs, Spring Verb_xcg1V2 and Spring Verb_xcg1V2.

They do not produce any reverb output, no audio comes through either the wet or dry outputs of the FX, and the spectral view is very different from the one's I've seen in other IRs. See attached.

https://imgur.com/a/7uiQCoZ

[clepsydrae]

I'm going through this right now myself... the issue seems to be that the converted files are extremely loud. E.g. the pic you posted shows a max of 754dB for that impulse. Most of the ones I saw were more like +77dB, but that's still way too loud. It's possible that your overload protection (a reaper feature) is kicking in on the track because the resulting reverb is so loud, and as a result you hear nothing (or it's just totally distorted, etc.)

I'm working through a way (on linux) to normalize the files using a utility called ffmpeg-normalize. It works but it changes from 32bit float to 16bit, so I'm trying to sort that out with the developer.

Long story short, try finding an impulse that's a little quieter than 754dB (!), then change the reaverb "wet" slider to like -90dB, and change the send to the channel to like -40dB, and see if you can get something into a reasonable range. (That method works fine, but it's kind of annoying, hence my quest to normalize the files.)

Alternately, import the impulse wav file, hit Shift-N to normalize it, and render it out to a new file, and use that.

[clepsydrae]

Just wanted to report that after normalizing the files with reaper's coming-in-the-next-release batch normalization features, they work great! Only took about 6 minutes. Thanks @yellowmix for the tip on that python script -- I had no idea it was out there. Now I have 1700+ new IRs I can use without having to use IR1 (which I purchased but was disappointed with.)

(ffmpeg-normalize didn't work out because ffmpeg has a bug in its volumedetect filter.)

[Masi]

Originally Posted by amonte

I recently found the Waves IR Convolution Reverb Library and have read on other sites how it can be used with IR reverbs other than the Waves plugins.

That would surprise me. IMHO the library of the special locations (eg famous halls and clubs) is - at least nowadays - the most precious part of an IRCR.

So only the generous vendors ship their IRCR plugins with libraries in WAV. AFAIK Waves is not know for generosity ... only for weird pricing strategies.

If you really think you need them, set the price you are willing to pay and wait for some "Platin Bundle for 200,- bucks" day.

Masi

[Ruzzi]

Originally Posted by yellowmix

https://github.com/opcode81/wir2wav

Seconding Reverberate 3. It handles the true stereo WAV files (4 channels) automatically. And if you give it a non-true stereo IR, it can simulate it convincingly.

My favorite thing to do with it is mix and match ER and LR. Especially with the Bricasti M7 Fusion-IRs it comes with.

I recently demoed Waves' Abbey Road Studio 3, Nx Ocean Way Nashville and CLA Nx. Some of these contained .wir files and wir2wav didn't convert these to wav, I suppose Waves made changes to combat this.

[tubegeek]

Originally Posted by clepsydrae

I'm going through this right now myself... the issue seems to be that the converted files are extremely loud. E.g. the pic you posted shows a max of 754dB...
Alternately, import the impulse wav file, hit Shift-N to normalize it, and render it out to a new file, and use that.

This seems like a good plan - THANKS!