The Cab Block - Fractal Audio AX8 Owner's Manual

THE CAB BLOCK

The Speaker Cabinet Simulator or "Cab block" recreates the tonal characteristics of any number of speaker
cabs. The AX8 contains over 175 built-in "factory" cabinet simulations, plus 512 memory locations for loading
custom "User Cab" files. The Cab block also offers preamp and microphone simulations (including sub-
millisecond delays for accurate inter-microphone phasing), plus basic tone controls.
Factory cabs include custom creations by Fractal Audio Systems, plus selections from 3rd-party libraries by
ML Sound Labs, Buddy Gill, RedWirez, OwnHammer, TheAmpFactory, and contributions from Fractal Artists
John Petrucci, James Santiago, and loudspeaker design engineer Jay Mitchell.
The cab block supports UltraRes™ format IRs, as well as the older "Standard" or "High" resolution files.
UltraRes™ is a proprietary format that enhances resolution without intolerable CPU burden or latency.
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CAB (TYPE)
– Sets the cabinet type by selecting from "FACTORY" and "USER" IRs. The four SCRATCHPAD
locations found at the end of the list are designed to allow you to "audition" cabs before committing them to
a memory location. This capability is especially useful when user cab memory is full, or when you are using
Cab-Lab (available from http://shop.fractalaudio.com). Please note that the contents of the SCRATCHPADs are
cleared every time you restart the AX8.
MIC (TYPE)
– Selects the microphone simulation type used. There are ten different types based on classic
guitar cabinet microphones. Available microphones are listed below:
57 DYN (based on the Shure® SM57®)
58 DYN (based on the Shure® SM58®)
421 DYN (based on the Sennheiser MD 421 II®)
87A COND (based on the Shure® Beta 87A®)
U87 COND (based on the Neumann® U87®)
"NULL" is a perfectly transparent mic with a PROXIMITY control (below.)
"NONE" disables ALL mic processing in the CAB block.
Manufacturer and product names above are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or
affiliated with Fractal Audio Systems. The names are used only to illustrate sonic and performance characteristics of the MIC TYPES.
Factory Cabs whose names include the name of a microphone (ex: "M160") or the word "MIX" in their names
include microphones "baked in. " Selecting a virtual microphone while using these IRs is redundant.
PROXIMITY
– Simulates the classic proximity effect, causing an increase in bass or low frequency response
as proximity is increased. The PROXIMITY control has no effect when MIC TYPE is set to "NONE. "
Supports X/Y Switching!
E609 DYN (based on the Sennheiser® e609® Silver)
RE16 DYN (based on the Electro-Voice® RE16®)
R121 COND (based on the Royer Labs® R-121®)
D112 DYN (based on the AKG® D112®)
67 COND (based on the Neumann® U67®)
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