Since we launched our first Celestion Bass Speaker IRs back in January 2019 with the PULSE10 and PULSE15, our collection quickly grew to include the PULSE12, BN15-300X and the BN10-200X. Now, we’re excited to announce our family of Bass Speaker IRs has expanded again with the BL10-100X and the mighty BN15-400X available to download now!
Check out the newest additions to our range in a bit more detail:
The Speakers
Our first bass IRs were for two of our most popular bass speakers: the PULSE10 and PULSE15. With a strong steel chassis, round copper voice coil, Ferrite magnet and Kevlar-loaded, straight-sided cone, each speaker has been expertly designed to provide not just depth, power and excellent articulation, but also to deliver a top-end ‘zing’ – a much sought-after bass tone characteristic.
The Celestion PULSE10 is a 10-inch, ferrite magnet speaker from designed to deliver a potent combination of rock-solid low-end with focus and articulation.
This Impulse Response is versatile enough to handle a wide range of musical styles. It features a straight-sided, Kevlar-loaded cone for a fast, dynamic sound, together with extended length voice coils for a deeper bass sound with less tubbiness, and a lower inductance magnet assembly that reduces unwanted distortion.
With double the power-handling of the PULSE10 and an even lower frequency range, the Celestion PULSE15, doesn’t compromise on the midrange warmth, balance and articulation of its smaller brother.
The Celestion PULSE15 is a true powerhouse of deep bass tone. This superbly designed sonic artillery includes a range of features in the cone, voice coil and suspension system that combine to provide an exceptionally linear performance free from unwanted distortion and full of rich musicality. The PULSE15 is a bass speaker that adds a bold authority to your sound, whatever your style.
Following the success of the PULSE10 and PULSE15 Impulse Responses, we then went on to launch the PULSE12, BN15-300X and the BN10-200X to provide an even greater scope of meaty, low-end bass tone to our loyal bass guitarists.
The PULSE12 bass speaker Impulse Response is for bassists who demand rock-solid bass tone with well-defined clarity and stunning articulation. Delivering the ideal combination of a growling, rumbling, rock-solid low-end with a rich, warm mid-range and enough of a zingy top-end to break through in any performance situation!
Primed for high-powered rock performances where a full-bodied, warm, defined tone is essential, the BN15-300X bass speaker is characterised by an extended low-end and superior linear excursion, delivering a meaty low-end thump.
The BN10-200X delivers rich, full-bodied, defined bass tone with aggressive, powerful low-end punch – making it ideal for high-powered rock performances!
Now, New For 2020 is the BL10-X100 and BN15-400X!
The BL10-100X 10” Bass Speaker Impulse Response delivers heavy duty presence, clarity and full-bodied tone! Designed for an extended, balanced low-end and punchy mid-range, the BL10-100X is characterised by huge amounts of linear excursion and defined bass tone!
The Celestion BN15-400X is your go-to speaker when you’re looking for aggressive, low-end bass tone. Whether you want vintage thump or a propulsive bass tone, the BN15-400X delivers rich, warm bass tone that never sacrifices punch.
About Our Bass IRs
Our Bass IRs capture the tones of our bass speakers with the same level of accuracy that has come to be associated with our huge range of guitar speaker IRs. They are fully compatible with all our existing impulse responses and are downloaded in .WAV format – so you can load them quickly and easily into whatever gear you are already using for your other Celestion IRs. You can then quickly and easily mix and blend with any IRs in our range, to achieve that perfect tone you have in your head.
The Microphones
The first key element of IR capture is to select microphones that are widely revered yet especially suited to the lower frequencies generated by our bass speakers, while also not missing out on any distinctive midrange or high frequencies present.
We’ve used three main microphones (Sennheiser MD421, Neumann U47 FET and AKG D112), a room mic (Neumann TLM 107) and a specialist high frequency mic (Neumann KM84):
Sennheiser MD421 – The MD421 was also used on our regular IRs but can pick up frequencies down to 30Hz. In addition, a five-position bass roll-off switch gave us plenty of choice about how the lower frequencies are captured.
Neumann U47 FET – The Neumann U47 FET has an extremely flat frequency response right down to 40Hz, making it a great choice for picking up the low-end as accurately as any midrange frequencies.
AKG D112 – The AKG D112 is intended for use with low frequency instruments such as kick drum and is perfect for picking up super low frequencies down to 20Hz.
Neumann TLM 107 – The TLM 107 is the same room mic as we use for our guitar speaker IRs. With a very wide frequency pickup as low as 20Hz, this is a microphone that works just as well for capturing our bass speakers as our treble speakers.
Neumann KM84 – With a frequency pickup ranging between 40-20,000Hz, this mic was positioned to capture the driver’s initial high frequency ‘attack’ element of a bass guitar note. This can be adjusted in-level by the player or turned down completely.
Mic Positions
We’ve selected the same six microphone positions as were used for our regular IRs, giving you six tone options per microphone, referred to within the files as Balanced, Fat, Thin, Bright, Dark and Dark2. This gives you a base of 18 IR files per cabinet.
The TLM 17 room mic was also positioned in the same way as for our current IRs, to give a further three options – Left, Right or Stereo.
The KM84 was positioned to capture any high frequency elements present, giving you the option to mix some additional HF into your tone.
Any of the files can be mixed together within your DAW or amp modelling software to give you a high level of control over the final tone.
As for our existing IR range, we’ve also pre-mixed a number of the mic options for you (e.g. MD421 plus U47 FET), giving you yet more ‘off-the-shelf’ tone options to experiment with.
Playing Style Options
All of our bass IRs can be bought as Bass Bundles, which come with additional ‘Playing Style’ options. These have been optimised for different playing methods. The five Playing Style variations available are:
- Finger Basic
- Finger Warmth Detail
- Slap
- Plectrum Basic
- Plectrum Aggressive
In addition to these five Playing Style variations, each speaker/cab also has the following mic mixes included to provide the user the widest range of bass tone available:
- D112+KM84
- U47+KM84
- MD421+KM84
- D112+MD421+KM84
- U47+MD421+KM84
- U47+D112+KM84
- All mics
- All mics+Room Stereo
- All mics+Room Mono
Download our full range of bass impulse responses here!
Have you tried any of our Celestion Bass IRs yet? If so, we’d love to hear from you!
Send us your videos or email digitalinfo@celestion.com and we will promote the best ones across our blog and social channels!