# Numerical Sound Releases HD IR's for Film Music



## ErnestCholakis (Jan 23, 2014)

January 2014 - Numerical Sound, a developmental leader in innovative audio products like DNA Groove Templates, Drone Archeology, and critically acclaimed Reverb Impulse Responses (convolution reverbs), announces the release of their newest product, the high resolution Hollywood Sound Impulse Response Collection. 

Tailored for film composers, recording engineers and post-production houses, the Hollywood Sound Impulse Response Collection comes with 241 combination early reflection/reverb tail impulses plus 27 bonus reverb tail only impulses. These accurately match the scoring stage sizes of such recording venues as Abbey Road, Air Lyndhurst, the Barbra Streisand Scoring Stage at Sony, and others. 

The Hollywood Sound Impulse Response Collection does not imitate these existing scoring stages and studios, but rather, through a proprietary convolution process, offers a larger than life high resolution alternative in 24bit with one bundle including both 44.1k or 48k .wav files and a second package containing 88K and 96k high resolution .wav files.

The complex Early Reflections start with an intimate 52ms followed by 73ms, 100ms, 125 ms, 150ms, and finally a dramatic 200ms. Early reflections are grouped by three colors: brighter, darker and warm. 

These six ER's, each with its own three colors, are then applied to these reverb tail lengths: .7s, .85s, 1.0s, 1.2s, 1.5s, 2.0s, 3.0s, 4.0s, and 5.0 seconds. These tails have super wide stereo fields and richness of space with no trace of the direct or dry signal which is common in many IR's currently available. This richness adds a 3-dimensional quality to any orchestral instrument (live or virtual) but can also be used with any style: live or virtual audio track.

Thus, these ER/Reverb Tail combinations enable any composer, engineer or post-production house using an A/B comparison approach to create a larger than life high resolution sound quickly.

Two Hollywood Sound Impulse Collection packages are available direct from Numerical Sound and selected vendors. The first is the 44.1/44k package with 241 ER/Tail combinations plus 27 bonus “tails only” per audio format, for a total of 536 impulses.

The second Hollywood Sound Impulse Collection is 88K and 96K that comes with 241 ER/Tail combinations and 27 bonus “tails” for a total of 536 impulses in all.

Both products are available for immediate download. Can be used in any convolution reverb.

For more information, demos and ordering please go to 

http://www.numericalsound.com/hollywood_sound_ir.html

Ernest Cholakis
Numerical Sound
www.numericalsound.com


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## Camus (Jan 23, 2014)

Hi Ernest,

I tried to order the new impulses but the cart shows "Lass edition" instead of "hollywood Sound Impulse response Collection"
Seems there´s something wrong with the ordering system.

Best Camus


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## ErnestCholakis (Jan 23, 2014)

Camus

Just fixed it. 

Ernest


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## The Darris (Jan 23, 2014)

Ernest, I am quite interested in this product. It would be nice to have Air and Sony IRs in my arsenal but I have to ask because it is unclear. Are these actual IR's from the locations or emmulated? With that said, do you have the ability to provide some demos of comparison between Dry samples using these IR's compared to Recorded samples that are in the actual room. (ie: dry strings with Air IR versus some Spitfire Strings, likewise for Sony and the CineSeries.) I would be really interested to hear how they compare. Thanks.


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## jumpenguin (Jan 23, 2014)

I enjoy using FORTI with Vienna Suites. How this new product different from FORTI? Is it a step forward to get this or sort of redundant to have both?


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## Peter Alexander (Jan 23, 2014)

I have this set. From the original post: 

_The Hollywood Sound Impulse Response Collection does not imitate these existing scoring stages and studios, but rather, through a proprietary convolution process, offers a larger than life high resolution alternative..._

_These six ER's, each with its own three colors, are then applied to these reverb tail lengths: .7s, .85s, 1.0s, 1.2s, 1.5s, 2.0s, 3.0s, 4.0s, and 5.0 seconds._

So what this means is that nine studio/concert hall sizes were selected for emulating where the RT60 (reverb tail/decay) ranged from .7s to 5.0s. Those from .7s to 3.0s are the published RT60s of recording studios where both film scores and sample libs have been recorded. 

For each one of these reverb tails there is a set of ERs: _The complex Early Reflections start with an intimate 52ms followed by 73ms, 100ms, 125 ms, 150ms, and finally a dramatic 200ms. Early reflections are grouped by three colors: brighter, darker and warm. _

So for each of the above listed reverb tails there are six different ER lengths and each ER length has three color characteristics: brighter, darker and warm. 

Think of it like a hardware unit where you're picking room size then turning another dial to select the ER by one of three colors. 

Ernest's approach is similar to what I did for Verb Session when I created a group of presets based on the published m3 of major studios and concert halls with names like Dear Abbey, Foxxy, etc.

The sizes selected are the ones most common for films and sample libraries. 

Just keep in mind that any IR in the collection you select is a combination of both ER and reverb tail. 

HTH


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## Peter Alexander (Jan 23, 2014)

jumpenguin @ Thu Jan 23 said:


> I enjoy using FORTI with Vienna Suites. How this new product different from FORTI? Is it a step forward to get this or sort of redundant to have both?



I have FORTI/SERTI. First, these are different IRs. Second, one impulse = ER + Tail while in F/S, you're picking and choosing individually which ER and Tail you want.

It's a much faster process than F/S.

Is it a step forward? Since I have both, I think it's better to say it's one more tool in the toolkit to help get the job done quickly. Also the whole F/S package has features this one package doesn't have. Think complementary.

To answer your other question, it's not redundant.


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## jumpenguin (Jan 23, 2014)

Peter Alexander @ Thu Jan 23 said:


> I have FORTI/SERTI. First, these are different IRs. Second, one impulse = ER + Tail while in F/S, you're picking and choosing individually which ER and Tail you want.
> 
> It's a much faster process than F/S.
> 
> ...



Oh I did not know that, for this collection, one impulse contains both ER + Tail. I really like one impulse approach since it can reduce the number of plugin counts. Thank you for clearing up. I agree with you that it is better to have one more tool in the toolkit... just I was wondering if this new tool was almost duplicate of tool I already have. Now I know it isn't and I will be getting this new tool soon!

Thanks.


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## ErnestCholakis (Jan 24, 2014)

> ... just I was wondering if this new tool was almost duplicate of tool I already have. Now I know it isn't and I will be getting this new tool soon!



jumpenguin

This combination of ER + Tail uses a different approach *and* sounds different from other Numerical Sound products. This collection includes ER's that are much larger in the 125-200ms range. Forti/Serti ER's have a maximum ER length of 99ms. The larger ER's with small tails (in the 0.7-1.5 second range) is also unique. These IR's can add richness in the sense of space for an instrument or ensemble section but without having to resort to using too large of a hall size. 

The large ER's can work well with legato or orchestral sections that do not have a strong percussive elements - like Mike Verta's Crimson Lake demo. In this demo a 73ms ER was used for the Violins and Violas and a 200 ms ER was used for the cello and double basses. This difference in ER's added depth and richness in the ambience. 

Ernest


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## paulmatthew (Jan 24, 2014)

Are these IR's in a format that can be imported into Ircam/Flux Verb Session? That has become my reverb of choice and I have QL Spaces too but I know that is a closed environment .


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## Peter Alexander (Jan 24, 2014)

paulmatthew @ Fri Jan 24 said:


> Are these IR's in a format that can be imported into Ircam/Flux Verb Session? That has become my reverb of choice and I have QL Spaces too but I know that is a closed environment .



Hi Paul! 

Ircam Verb Session is algorithmic so you can't import IRs into it. Reverberate from Liquidsonics is a good choice as you _can_ import IRs into it:

http://www.liquidsonics.com/software_reverberate_compare.htm (http://www.liquidsonics.com/software_re ... ompare.htm)


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## paulmatthew (Jan 24, 2014)

Peter , 
I completely blanked on that and forgot it was algorhtymic. :oops: It always feels like it's a convolution reverb because of the way the settings are done by room settings , ER , etc. I do own and use Liquidsonics Reverberate from time to time but I prefer Verb Session3 . I'm still considering these IR's , regardless.


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## ScoringFilm (Jan 25, 2014)

Ernest,

What is the difference between these and the Hollywood IRs?

Justin


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## ErnestCholakis (Jan 25, 2014)

ScoringFilm @ Sat Jan 25 said:


> Ernest,
> 
> What is the difference between these and the Hollywood IRs?



Justin

The "Hollywood Impulse Responses" (HIR) is different to the newly released "The Hollywood Sound
Impulse Response Collection" (THS_IRC) in several ways.

HIR does not have any Early Reflection instead only tails. The RT60 range of the HIR tails is about 1.6 sec
up to 4.4 seconds. THS_IRC has several smaller spaces in the 0.7, 0.85, 1.0, 1.2 & 1.5 seconds which
match many well known scoring stages used in Hollywood film recordings.

The unique character of HIR is that it has TILT filters and HP filters embedded in the tails. 
When you mix HIR tails with any track you can change the overall timbral of an instrument. The effect 
becomes more prominent when the wet level is higher relative to the dry level. 
There are 5 versions for each tail. First the Flat tail is neutral in character. Next two tail versions Clear and Bright can
brighten or add air to a track. The Dark
and Warm give the overall sound the oposite timbre and add warmth or more bass. Tilt filters
are the most neutral way of adjusting the overall spectrum of an instrument. BTW Numerical Sound released three 
TILT filter Rack Extensions for Reason. Check out the video that contains a brief explanation of
TILT filters and contain sound examples - here are the links 

Bass Tilt http://www.numericalsound.com/BassTiltFilter.html
Midrange Tilt http://www.numericalsound.com/MidrangeTiltFilters.html
Treble Tilt http://www.numericalsound.com/TrebleTiltFilters.html

THS_IRC have Warmer, Darker and Brighter character but does not have a TILT filter emdeding in the IR. Instead
it is flat (out to 45KHz for the 96KHz SR collection) but the higher frequencies decay faster for the Darker version and 
decay slower for the Brighter ER's and Tails. When you add these to an instrument or ensemble it will not change the 
overall timbre of the instrument.

Another unique element in HIR is the addition of super high definition HP filters at musical points
in the scale C2, G2, C3, G3, C4, G4. They have the advantage of only adding reverb above the musical
note. So if you have a violin track the lowest note is G3. One does not need the sounds below this
because it is noise. So you would choose the G3 version for the Violins for the flute C4 for Viola C3 for
Cello/Bass C2. This approach adds clarity to the overall mix and prevents a buildup of low frequency orchestral
noise. Some string libraries do have significant noise component below the lowest note of the
instrument. They are super high definition because they drop from 0dB to -100db with a single
semi-tone ! 

Ernest


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## jumpenguin (Jan 26, 2014)

ErnestCholakis @ Fri Jan 24 said:


> This combination of ER + Tail uses a different approach *and* sounds different from other Numerical Sound products. This collection includes ER's that are much larger in the 125-200ms range. Forti/Serti ER's have a maximum ER length of 99ms. The larger ER's with small tails (in the 0.7-1.5 second range) is also unique. These IR's can add richness in the sense of space for an instrument or ensemble section but without having to resort to using too large of a hall size.
> 
> The large ER's can work well with legato or orchestral sections that do not have a strong percussive elements - like Mike Verta's Crimson Lake demo. In this demo a 73ms ER was used for the Violins and Violas and a 200 ms ER was used for the cello and double basses. This difference in ER's added depth and richness in the ambience.
> 
> Ernest



Ernest,

Thank you very much for additional information and clarification. Large ER are very interesting. This year I am doing less anime/film/television works and more concert works so I would love to try to build different space. Large ER could be the sound I am after.

When I work with FORTI, I am mainly using only ER to drier VIs and I prefer using algorithmic reverbs for tails. But as Peter noted, "one more tool in the toolkit" is always plus!


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## ErnestCholakis (Feb 2, 2014)

Today is the last day of the introductory sale price of The Hollywood Sound Impulse Response Collection. 

Ernest Cholakis
Numerical Sound
www.numericalsound.com


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## Hedgehog081 (Feb 3, 2014)

What impulses format, stereo or true stereo?


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## korgscrew (Feb 3, 2014)

Hi Ernest, will these work with Altiverb?

Thanks.


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## ErnestCholakis (Feb 3, 2014)

Hedgehog081 @ Mon Feb 03 said:


> What impulses format, stereo or true stereo?



Hedgehog081

They are in 24 bit wav format and are stereo impulses. Numerical Sound did a series of impulses in True Stereo format for VSL's platform Vienna Suite (Forti and Serti). For ER's impulses it was not recommended (adding a non-zero level to Decorr Slider activated it) because it smears each of the individual ER. It works for tails but is a very subtle effect for a doubling of the file size. Our company will likely not bother with it in the future products. The width of the stereo field and the richness in Numerical Sound IR's in two channels is more than enough for 2 ears 

Ernest


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## ErnestCholakis (Feb 3, 2014)

korgscrew @ Mon Feb 03 said:


> Hi Ernest, will these work with Altiverb?
> 
> Thanks.



korgscrew

I have Altiverb 6 so I have not been able to test Altiverb 7 but it will likely work. 

A convolution plugin that I would definitely recommend is LiquidSonics Reverberate about $80 or Reverberate Core about $50 USD - depends on the 
British Pound Sterling. It is very accurate and sounds very good. Reverberate is cross platform software that supports Intel Mac and PC 32/64-bit VST, 
AU, AAX, RTAS, Reverberate Core 32/64-bit VST, AU, RTAS. It has all the features you would expect and more such as modulation of two impulses. 
A feature that I particularly like is the file browser window - where you can see all the impulses in a folder.
A single click is all that is required to load an impulse instead of going through the slow open file system. 

Another very important feature for me is the CPU efficiency - you can run many instances without it taxing your CPU. Overall it is 
an amazing deal for what you get. Do check out the Sound on Sound Review. Here is the link http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jul11/a ... t-0711.htm

BTW you can try it out for 30 days. 


Ernest Cholakis
Numerical Sound
www.numericalsound.com


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