Balance Mastering has released Funktion One IRs, a free collection of impulse responses which capture the sound of the Funktion One club sound system at The Hive Project club in London.
We’ve created some free impulse responses at a local club here in London of their Funktion One sound system. Was a pretty painstaking process as they were created as a mix tool rather than an effect. So they’re heavily shaped and sculpted by constant A/B-ing and tweaking by ear to sound as close as possible to being in front of the speakers.
Funktion One IRs are available for free download via Balance Mastering (1.4 MB download size, ZIP archive, contains 4 impulse reponses in 24-bit WAV format).
So, a collection of sound system impulse responses? Certainly not something we get every day, but a great idea nonetheless. Let’s discuss how these IRs can come in handy during a mixing session.
Basically, an impulse response captures an audio system’s frequency response, or its linear characteristics if you prefer. This means that the system’s dynamics (like distortion, etc.) are not captured, however you still get a static frequency snapshot of a particular audio system. By running your audio through such an impulse response, you can, to a certain extent, simulate how that particular piece of audio would sound when played through the audio system in question.
Things are not that simple, though. Pass a piece of audio through a certain impulse response and the play that through your laptop speakers and you’ll be miles away from the real thing. On the other hand, if you own a proper set of audio monitors or headphones, the results would be far better. In other words, the faithfulness of the emulation is limited both by the quality of the IR capture process and by your audio equipment.
So, in the right circumstances, the impulse responses provided by Balance Mastering will help you get a taste of what your music would sound like when played through the powerful Funktion One sound system at The Hive Project in London. EDM producers may benefit from this by testing how their tunes would sound in a club, right from the comfort of their home studio. According to the info provided by the creators of this free IR pack, they’ve done their best to create a set of high quality impulse responses of this sound system, so playing your tunes through these IRs can be a decent test before playing them live for the first time.
If you’re new to IRs and need a free VST plugin to use them, I’d suggest my all-time favorite LeCab2 by LePou,as well as KeFIr by Habib which is another good pick in this category. A full-featured article dedicated to freeware IR loaders is coming soon. In the meanwhile, happy mixing!
