How To Enhance Your Music With Free Impulse Response Packs

So you’ve got yourself a fancy free convolution reverb plugin already and now you want to use some interesting Impulse Responses to spice up your mix. The good news is, there are TONS of free impulse response packs on the internet.

And not just any IRs- these packs come with all sorts of different acoustic environments including concert halls, churches, outdoor spaces…

Impulse response packages are a great way to enhance your sound without having to spend hours tweaking knobs in your DAW. We’ve put together a list of some of our favourites. Inside are some famous studios, natural ambiance, and some vintage reverb hardware impulses.

Check it out below and choose a pack that works for you!

What Are Impulse Responses?

Impulse Responses are a recording of the ambiance of a room. They can be used with convolution reverb plugins or speaker modeling plugins.

Essentially, the acoustics of the room are recorded using a quick one-shot sample like a burst of white noise or even a drum hit. This sample is then used as a reference for a convolution reverb plugin. The plugin then applies the ambiance of the IR to the signal.

IR’s even have a place in the guitar world, many guitar amp simulators use impulse responses to replicate the sound of a specific guitar or bass cabinet.

Why Should You Use Impulse Responses?

Impulse responses are a valuable tool for any producer looking for more realistic recordings. You can use IR’s with amp simulators or add room tone during mixes. IR’s help makes your mix sound realistic.

Here are a few benefits of using Impulse Responses

a) Increase the replay quality of your music. Impulse responses can take a sound and make it feel more “real” and immersive. Algorithmic reverbs can sometimes sound a little too digital and sterile. Impulse responses tend to sound more natural.

b) Find the perfect acoustic environment. You might have some elements you want to sound like they were recorded in a church. With impulse responses, there is no need to go record in a church. Simply download an IR from a church and load it into a convolution reverb plugin.

Free Impulse Response Packs

Below is a list of some free impulse response packs you can find on the internet. Take a look at what is available. You will be surprised at the unique spaces that are available.

The impulse responses below replicate the sound of hardware reverb devices.

• Signal To Noize (not free, min. $1.00 each)
• Fokke van Saane random places and electronics
• Voxengo Free Room/Studio Impulse Responses Pack
• Echothief IR’s from real life spaces like bridges, caves, cathedrals
• Airwindows room and reverb impulse responses
• Waves free impulse responses
• Housecall FM Lexicon 480L
• Samplicity’s Bricasti M7 Impulse Response Library
• Factory Presets from the Lexicon PCM 90 Digital Reverb Unit
• REAPER Blog’s Free Reverb Impulse Response Library
• Big IR sample pack from Joshua Casper
• 200 impulse responses made from organic sources and materials
• OpenAir real world impulse responses
• Unnatural spaces from Intelligent Machinery
• Impulse responses for creating drones and distortions
• Marshall 1960s guitar cab impulse responses
• Zombie Cabs guitar cabinet impulse responses
• Noel Borthwick Free Impulse Responses For Your Convolution Reverb
• Wire Grind Impulse Response Library
• Room sounds and spring reverb impulse responses
• Reddit resource of free impulse responses
• Free Funktion One impulse responses
• Free Impulse Response audio files from CKSDE
• EMES Virtual Rooms Impulse Library
• Free concert hall IRs from Finland

Conclusion

The free impulse response packs above are sure to provide you with some creative direction. They are a great way to try out some more natural reverb sounds in your mix.

Download your favourite convolution reverb or cabinet simulator and get started with experimenting!