The John Petrucci IR Collection: Vol. 1 offers users access to Petrucci’s signature impulse responses that precisely capture the exact sounds on an artist’s specific albums.
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, 19 July, 2023 — John Petrucci, the Grammy Award-winning founding member of the prog-metal band Dream Theater and one of the top guitarists in that ultimate genre of serious shredding, today announced the launch of Tonemission, his new company founded to promote high-tech products that enable guitarists to share in his love and pursuit of amazing guitar tones.
Tonemission’s first product, the John Petrucci IR Collection: Vol. 1, a curated collection of the impulse responses of his signature guitar rig, was created with the intent to replicate Petrucci’s exact signal chain, directly from the cabinet to the DAW, as heard on his last three records: Terminal Velocity, LTE3, and A View From The Top Of The World.
The release of the John Petrucci IR Collection: Vol. 1, which is priced at USD$79.99 through the Tonemission website, marks not only access to John’s world-class guitar sound but also the first time impulse responses have been created that precisely match the exact sounds on the artist’s specific albums. Users will access authentic and incredibly precise digital modeling of the IRs, driven by a multitude of microphones and analog processing, that emulate John's own personal amp cabinets and speakers that were integral in defining the sound on his last three records.
“I’m a tone freak,” said Petrucci. “I’ve always been obsessed with guitar and amplifier tone. This is my tone mission, and that’s the name of the new company that will bring the John Petrucci IR Collection: Vol. 1 impulse responses to the world: Tonemission.”
“For most of my career I’ve only known the world of physical guitar amplifiers and cabinets and admittedly, I scoffed a bit in the past at digital representations of these things,” he continued. “However, with incredible advances in capture techniques and resolution being made over the past several years, I now find myself a believer and a user. The goal was to make these IRs available commercially and share them with other guitar players and creative people who I just knew would love them as much as I did.”
John Petrucci
Best known as a founding member of the prog-metal band Dream Theater, the Grammy Award winner (Best Metal Performance for “The Alien” in 2022) has established himself as a brilliant and sonically innovative guitarist. But as fantastic as his technique is, Petrucci’s sense of sound is equally refined, the result of over 40 years of tinkering, tweaking, and tuning his gear.
The new John Petrucci IR Collection: Vol. 1 of his rig’s impulse responses was created with the intent to replicate Petrucci's exact signal chain, directly from the cabinet to the DAW, as heard on his last three records: Terminal Velocity, LTE3, and A View From The Top Of The World.
The Process
Expertly captured by John’s and Dream Theater’s longtime engineer and technical collaborator James “Jimmy T” Meslin at DTHQ, The John Petrucci IR Collection: Vol. 1 impulse responses was created via a full-range frequency sweep amplified through the 4 X 12 cabinet, its signal chain, and then recorded back into a DAW. The intent — to precisely replicate John’s entire signal and acoustical chain, from cabinet to DAW, exactly how it was configured on those three milestone albums — was deftly achieved.
To replicate the sound of all three records, similar approaches were taken: An array of microphone types were placed on Petrucci’s speaker cabinet, all accentuating different sonic characteristics. Condenser microphones captured the broad dynamics of the rig, while ribbon mics emphasize the woof and fullness of the low mids. Dynamic microphones pushed the upper mids to provide the forwardness of the guitar tone needed to cut through a dense mix.
“For each record, we took our time ensuring the sound in the room was heard and felt on the other side of the glass,” observed John. “With the John Petrucci IR Collection, our goal is to give you instant and convenient access to those sounds.”
What You Get
The impulse responses found in the John Petrucci IR Collection: Vol. 1 will give you access to direct sounds, blends, and assets — i.e., the room ambience elements — from these three landmark recording sessions that John created in the studio.
The granularity of the IR Collection: Vol. 1 is stunning: you can utilize each individual microphone as a standalone sound or create new blends to your liking by loading multiple different IRs. Create new blends, mix and match album sounds, and add your own touch to the fantastic sonic foundation that John has created. A total of 34 IRs are delivered in six different resolutions: 44.1-kHz/16-bit; 44.1-kHz/24-bit; 48-kHz16-bit; 48-kHz/24-bit; 88.2-kHz/24-bit; and 96-kHz/24-bit .wav files.
The Future
In addition to being a company, John envisions a Tonemission community comprising guitarists of all levels – professional to amateur – who can come together to discuss and share their own quest for a signature sound.
“Music is all about sharing sound, and so am I,” concluded Petrucci. “Almost every basic music instruction book includes the proverb ‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.’ The John Petrucci IR Collection: Vol. 1 is the first step for Tonemission and me to bring what I’ve learned to the broadest user base possible. From there, they can find their own sonic visions.”
