I will say that I believe IRs make the 11R a top shelf unit. In fact, they will also make something even less expensive sound awesome!

To spare you the boring details - I use a Digitech RP360XP -> Torpedo CAB -> Line 6 M9 -> PA rig at church. Using the Scumback Ownhammer IR lights the Digitech preamps up!!! In fact, the CAB lastest firmware update puts their native cabs on par with the Ownhammer IRs (IMHO - although I admittedly don't have fool-proof ears when it comes to this sort of stuff).

Not to derail off the EPSi - but more to confirm that a quality IR loader will transform your tone.

Although I am in IT professionally (I am in QA currently although I did spend some time as an application developer) I can't say I know the details on DSP usage. What I hear over and over is what TLTD stated above - IRs seem to take a ton of resource capacity. To find a unit that does only that allows you to get top shelf quality without having to pay another $1K or more to get it.

To bring this long winded post to conclusion - although I am using a Torpedo CAB I would go out now and get an EPSi today if I didn't have the CAB. It makes THAT much difference (IMHO).

I'm so on the fence with the epsi c. I know it is an awesome unit and I can improve on my sound live but..... My recorded guitar tone sounds very very close to pro level quality (or so I have been told). This is due to the countless hours I out in streamlining the ozone plugins for post processing.

I've tried tons of IR plugins with the 11r ,since my rhythm tracks don't have a lot post cab anyway, and I haven't been blown away.


Still At $199 it's a steal...

if you don't need it, don't go down that rabbit hole my friend. as much as i like mine, there are WAY too many IR options to chose from, which can waste a bunch of your time that could be spent playing.

I grabbed a bunch of free IRs from all over the place a few years ago, and man it was tedious to audition them, even in a DAW with an existing recorded track. I ended up deciding while they all provided different options for sure, I couldn't say it was worth having that set up for my general daily use. Maybe it is easier with the EPSI or Torpedo, dunno. I guess if you find a special cab model that really works for what you are doing, it is the way to go.

And Narsh, I would tend to agree - your stuff sounds top notch already!

I found it hard to love an IR until Ownhammer did the Scumbacks. They come to life for me. The 412 SLM M75 is killer. Haven't tried the H's but from the demos around the time I bought them, the M's are the best. I'm holding off a bit on playing again because my new job is killing my hands as it is, but I hope you find your IR. Free ones are not good, the methods they use to make them and the gear is very basic stuff that shapes the sound, but there's no life or feel to them like the Ownhammer impulses. You might still need to EQ them, but you wont be notching out frequencies that take the life out of them.

I don't know how the current packs look, but there weren't a whole lot of impulses to go through and I actually liked that because I remember going through a landfill of impulses back in the day too.

This one, I decided was my goto out of them all. I want to say I may have modified this one, but I think I ended up just renaming it: https://db.tt/td2e6t6Z

There's no way to redownload my pack, and they are improved now, otherwise I would not share this particular impulse file. It's named MD1 because I was trying to get Mark Day's Flying High Again sound with it at the time.

here is a good example of what the Epsi and good IR's can do:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZdEdYCUttU

Nice. I like how he mixed the Cathellan and Ownhammer impulses left & right. Never thought of that.

I'm not using my Eleven Rack for recording at this time, but will be soon. How much difference does the Epsi make to you guys that are using the Eleven Rack with a powered monitor for live playing?

Wes

it makes the same difference live as it does in the studio....depending on the IR you use, it can be a lot of difference.

It makes a huge difference to my ears. It is like the difference between having things fit perfectly, precision fit, and being close but not aligned or symmetrical in a way that does affect performance. It is as if it makes the engine run better than it ever could without IMHO. I would not want to play the 11r if I had to play without it, I'd play through my amp, but with it I forget I even have other gear.