A cab IR is a small WAV file that makes your amp simulator sound like a real speaker cabinet with a microphone in front of it. If your free amp sim or Neural Amp Modeler sounds fizzy, thin or harsh, a good IR is usually the fix, and plenty of good ones cost nothing.
I’ve gone through the free packs people keep recommending and checked each one on 29 September 2026. Some famous free packs are gone or now cost a dollar, so everything below was still free and downloadable from its maker that day. After the packs come four free plugins to load them, and a short setup guide.
If you still need an amp simulator to go in front of the IR, start with my list of free guitar amp simulators.
Why Your Amp Sim Sounds Fizzy Without One
A guitar amp doesn’t reach your ears directly. It goes through a speaker, and a guitar speaker cuts off most of the harsh top end; Celestion lists its Vintage 30 as covering 70 to 5,000 Hz. An amp simulator without a cabinet skips that step, so you hear everything the speaker would have filtered out. Origin Effects describes that raw sound as bright and harsh, and TONE3000 calls an amp capture without a cab thin and harsh.
An IR puts the speaker back. Origin Effects’ definition is a frequency measurement of a miked guitar cab, contained within a WAV file. A plugin called an IR loader goes after your amp simulator and applies that measurement to your sound. That’s also why the same amp sounds so different through different IRs: you’re changing the speaker, the cabinet and the microphone all at once.
Quick Comparison
| Pack | Cabinets | Sample rates | What it asks for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Origin Effects IR Cab Library | 9 vintage cabs | 44.1, 48, 96 kHz | Tick the licence |
| Kalthallen Cabs Free | 4×12, two speaker types | 44.1, 96 kHz | Nothing |
| Science Amplification 4×12 | 4×12, three speaker types | 96 kHz | Nothing |
| Overdriven.fr | Dozens of collections | 44.1 kHz | Nothing |
| Forward Audio faIR Modern Rock | Marshall, Mesa and Engl blends | 44.1 to 96 kHz | A free account |
| Tone Junkie free pack | Five classic cabs plus two packs | 44.1, 48, 96 kHz | |
| Redwirez Marshall 1960 | Marshall 4×12 Greenbacks | Not stated | |
| Celestion free IR | Vintage 30 mix | Not stated | |
| Bogren 100 Years of beyerdynamic | V30 with vintage mics | Not stated | |
| Devil’s Lab free pack | 7 cabs | 44.1, 48 kHz | $0 checkout |
Origin Effects IR Cab Library
- Cabinets: 9, including a Marshall 1960B, Vox AC30, Fender Twin, Tweed Deluxe, Vibrolux 2×10 and a Bogner V30 4×12
- Mics: three blended mixes per cab (bright, medium, dark), plus the single mics behind them
- Files: 163 WAV files, 24 bit, 44.1, 48 and 96 kHz, 200 ms
- To download: tick the licence agreement; no email
If you only download one pack, make it this one. Origin Effects, the British pedal maker, recorded nine vintage style cabinets at Woodworm Studios in England, from a Magnatone 1×12 and a Fender Brown Deluxe up to two Marshall 4x12s and a Bogner loaded with Vintage 30s.
Each cab comes as three ready made mixes, bright, medium and dark, so you can get a good sound in seconds, and the single mic files are included if you want to build your own blend. It was made for Origin’s own amp pedals but works in any IR loader. The only condition is the licence: free to use, not to share or resell.
Kalthallen Cabs Free
- Cabinets: one 4×12 with Celestion Vintage 30 and G12T75 speakers
- Mics: SM57, SM58, SM7, MD421, MD21, i5 and AT4050, 34 positions
- Files: 136 WAV files, 24 bit mono, 44.1 and 96 kHz
- To download: nothing; a direct 6 MB download
Kalthallen’s free library has been around since 2012, and the maker still offers it as a free download. It’s one 4×12 captured every way you can think of: two speaker types, seven microphones and 34 mic positions, each position with a photo so you can see exactly where the mic was.
Every position comes in four versions: driven by a tube power amp or a solid state one, at 44.1 or 96 kHz. The readme says the tube versions are meant for amp sims, and the solid state ones sound a bit flatter but less fizzy. It downloads as a .rar archive, so you’ll need an unzip tool that handles those, like 7-Zip.
Science Amplification 4×12
- Cabinets: a closed back 4×12 with Vintage 30, G12H-75 Creamback or G12H-150 Redback speakers
- Mics: four per speaker, each in a brighter and a darker version
- Files: 24 WAV files, 24 bit mono, 96 kHz only
- To download: nothing; a direct download (donations welcome)
Science Amplification builds amps and cabinets, and gives away IRs of its own closed back 4×12 so players can hear it. The interesting part is the speaker choice: the same cab loaded with Vintage 30s, Creambacks or Redbacks, which is a cheap way to learn what each speaker type does to your tone.
Two things to know. The files are 96 kHz only, so use a loader that converts sample rates, such as NadIR, Pulse 2 or Neural Amp Modeler’s own IR slot. And they’re about a second long, longer than some loaders use. The video shows them used alongside another maker’s IRs, which is the only demo I could find. There are free bass cab IRs on the same page too.
Overdriven.fr
- Cabinets: dozens of collections, one cabinet and speaker type each, from vintage UK 2x12s to US 4x12s
- Mics: usually four per collection, such as dynamic, ribbon and condenser types
- Files: WAV, 24 bit, 44.1 kHz, 100 ms in the newest collections
- To download: nothing; extra mic sets cost a small donation
Overdriven.fr is one guitarist’s home project, and it has grown into one of the biggest free IR collections around. Each collection is a single cabinet and speaker, recorded at home and tested in the NadIR loader, and new ones keep appearing; the latest when I checked was a vintage 2×12 with Greenback speakers from November 2025.
The basic mic sets stay free, and extra mics and mixes cost a donation through Buy Me a Coffee. Because every collection is different, start at the download index and pick a cab you know. The video is a player’s demo of the free metal collection with a 4×12 and Vintage 30s.
Forward Audio faIR Modern Rock
- Cabinets: blends of a Marshall 1960A 4×12, a Mesa Rectifier 4×12 and an Engl 2×12
- Mics: two to four mics per file, from SM57s to AKG C414s, including a Fredman style capture
- Files: 28 WAV files at 44.1, 48, 88.2 and 96 kHz, 500 ms, plus Kemper and Fractal versions
- To download: a free Forward Audio account; no card
Forward Audio calls these 28 free IRs “not a teaser”, and they’re built to sound finished straight away. Every file is a blend of several mics, and sometimes several cabinets, loaded with Vintage 30, G12T-75 and Greenback speakers, so you don’t have to mix anything yourself.
That makes it the pack to try if you play rock or metal and don’t want to spend an evening auditioning single mics. You do need a free account, because the licence is tied to it, but there’s no card and no time limit. The video demos Forward Audio’s free IRs, although it doesn’t name which of its free packs it uses.
Tone Junkie Free IR Pack
- Cabinets: five favourites (by their file names an AC30, a Vibrolux 2×10, an Orange 4×12, a Marshall 4×12 with Greenbacks and a Deluxe 1×12), plus a 2×10 pack and a full 2×12 pack
- Mics: single mics such as SM57, SM7B, R121 and e906, plus ready made blends
- Files: 188 IRs, each at 44.1, 48 and 96 kHz
- To download: an email sign up
Tone Junkie’s free pack is the one behind the ToneJunkie TV video above, which has been watched more than 800,000 times. It’s generous: a folder of five favourite IRs of classic cabinets, a 2×10 pack and a whole 2×12 pack with 168 blends.
The five favourites are the place to start, since they cover the classic British and American sounds in five files. You sign up with an email to get it. When the page was checked, its sign up form showed a warning, so if it doesn’t work, try again later.
Redwirez Marshall 1960 IR Pack
- Cabinets: a Marshall 1960 4×12 with four 25 watt Celestion G12M Greenbacks
- Mics: Shure SM57, Royer R121, Sennheiser 421 and Neumann KM84
- Files: not stated on the page
- To download: join the Redwirez mailing list; the link is emailed
Redwirez has been sampling cabinets for years, and the Marshall 1960 with Greenbacks was the first one it ever captured. The free pack gives you that classic British 4×12 through four famous studio mics.
You get it by subscribing to Redwirez updates, and the download link arrives by email. The page doesn’t say how many files you get or in what format, and the video is from 2020, when the pack may have been bigger.
Celestion Free IR
- Cabinets: a Vintage 30 in a closed back 1×12, blended with an open back cab and room mics
- Mics: Royer and SM57 up close, a rear SM57 and Neumann room mics
- Files: one IR mix, in a ZIP
- To download: subscribe to the CelestionPlus mailing list
This is a single IR, but it’s an official one from the company that makes the speakers. Mixing engineer Cenzo Townshend built it around a Vintage 30 in a closed back 1×12, with a Royer and an SM57 up close, a rear SM57 from an open back cab for low end, and a touch of room mics.
It’s a good reference for what a finished, professional cab sound is like, and a taste of Celestion’s paid IRs. You get it by subscribing to their mailing list. The video is Cenzo talking about how Celestion’s IRs are made, rather than a playing demo.
Bogren Digital 100 Years Of Beyerdynamic
- Cabinets: mostly a Celestion Vintage 30, captured with different beyerdynamic microphones
- Mics: modern and vintage beyerdynamic mics, in up to 13 positions in the full pack
- Files: a few files from each category of the full 235 IR pack
- To download: enter your email; the free version is emailed
Bogren Digital made this pack with producers Jens Bogren and Kristian Kohle and the microphone maker beyerdynamic, to mark its hundred years. The full version costs 39 euros, but there’s a free version with a few files from each category: producer blends, technical captures and IRs made with historic vintage mics.
It’s a nice way to hear what different microphones do to the same speaker. Bogren’s older free pack now costs 1 euro, so this is the free one to get.
Devil’s Lab Free IR Pack
- Cabinets: 7 guitar cabs (the maker doesn’t list which)
- Mics: blends of several mics, speakers and EQ per file
- Files: 175 WAV files at 44.1 and 48 kHz, time aligned and normalized
- To download: a $0 checkout on the maker’s Gumroad store
Devil’s Lab is a small studio that gives away several IR packs on its Gumroad store, and its main free pack has 175 IRs from seven cabs. The maker doesn’t say which cabinets or mics were used, only that every tone blends several mics, speakers and EQ, so judge it by ear.
The same store has other free packs worth a look, including Wasteland Cabs for stoner, doom and 70s rock, and a Guitar Tone Thickener pack meant to blend under your main IR. The video demos Dog Bite, another of its free packs.
4 Free Plugins To Load Your IRs
You need an IR loader to play these files. Put it right after your amp simulator, and turn off the amp sim’s own cabinet so you don’t end up with two.
NadIR
The classic free loader from Ignite Amps. It loads two IRs, blends them, and adds filters, a delay and even a room reverb, with zero latency and automatic sample rate conversion. It now downloads from STL Tones, bundled with the free Emissary amp sim, for Windows and Mac, with a standalone version included.
Lancaster Pulse 2
Pulse 2, made with Aurora DSP, blends up to four IRs, lines up their timing automatically, and can export your blend as a new WAV file. It converts sample rates in real time and comes with four of Lancaster’s own IRs. It’s free through Lancaster’s shop at $0.
Bogren IRDX Studio Free
A newer loader from Bogren Digital. It blends up to five IRs on a graphical mixer, aligns their phase, and has a browser that makes big IR folders easy to audition. Bogren says it’s yours to keep forever, with only an optional paid add on. It needs a processor with AVX2 support, which rules out some very old computers.
Neural Amp Modeler’s IR Slot
If you already use the free Neural Amp Modeler plugin, you don’t need a separate loader: it has an IR slot right under the amp model. Load an Amp Head capture, then click Select IR and choose a cab file. It converts the IR to your session’s sample rate automatically and uses the first 8,192 samples, about 0.17 seconds at 48 kHz. Switch the IR off for Amp + Cab captures, which already include the cabinet.
Two more options: TONE3000’s free plugin plays IRs as well as captures, and most DAWs can load a cab IR into their own convolution reverb, such as Logic’s Space Designer or Reaper’s ReaVerb. Origin Effects’ tip is to set the reverb to 100% wet with no pre delay.
How To Set Up A Cab IR
- Put your IR loader directly after the amp simulator, never before it.
- Turn off the amp simulator’s built in cabinet, so you don’t hear two cabinets.
- Load an IR. Keep your IR files in their own folder, not in the plugin folder, where they won’t show up.
- If a pack offers several sample rates, pick the one that matches your project. NadIR, Pulse 2 and Neural Amp Modeler convert them anyway, but some amp sims and hardware can’t.
- Start with a blended or single SM57 file, then try others. Swapping mics changes the tone more than you’d think.
- Once you like a sound, try blending a second IR under it in NadIR, Pulse 2 or IRDX.
If your recordings still sound off after that, my guide to why your guitar sounds bad when recording covers the other usual suspects. And if you want to know how these files are made, it’s the same idea as miking a real guitar amp, captured with a test signal.
Free IR Packs That Aren’t Free Anymore
Many free IR lists online are out of date, so here’s what changed by September 2026:
- God’s Cab, probably the most famous free IR pack, has no official download anymore. The original maker’s site is parked and the store that later hosted it is unavailable, so what’s left are unofficial reuploads.
- Seacow Cabs is gone; its website no longer loads.
- York Audio has no free pack now. Its try before you buy pack costs $1.
- OwnHammer’s cheapest IR costs $1.
- Bogren Digital’s old free pack now costs 1 euro; the free version of 100 Years of Beyerdynamic above replaces it.
If a list sends you to one of these, skip it, and be careful with reuploads on random file sharing sites.
Common Questions
Do I Need A Cab IR With Neural Amp Modeler?
Only for amp only captures. TONE3000 labels them Amp Head, and says they’ll sound thin and harsh without an IR. Captures labelled Amp + Cab already include the cabinet, so leave the IR off for those.
Does The IR Sample Rate Have To Match My Project?
With most software loaders, no: NadIR, Pulse 2 and Neural Amp Modeler all convert IRs to your project’s sample rate. Some amp sims and hardware units can’t, and Lancaster names S-Gear as one example, so there the rate has to match. When a pack offers several rates, picking the one that matches your project is the safe choice.
Are IRs Just An EQ?
Not quite. Lancaster calls that a misconception, because an IR captures how the whole cabinet responds, including the speakers, the cabinet size and the wood. But Celestion points out the limit too: an IR can’t copy how a real speaker compresses and distorts when you push it hard.
Conclusion
Start with the Origin Effects library and Kalthallen’s free cab, since neither asks for anything, and load them in NadIR or Pulse 2. If you play rock or metal, add Forward Audio’s blends. Then spend an evening swapping IRs behind the same amp; it’s the cheapest tone upgrade you’ll ever make.
For more free tone, my list of free guitar VST plugins has pedals and effects to go in front of the amp.
Good luck and keep on rockin’!
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