When I first started using this I thought "okay this seems worth the money, I'm liking it but not loving it" but when I updated it to firmware 2.0 I thought "Wow this thing is incredible and tons of fun. this is an absolute steal - I would pay another $ and still be happy." The update sounds SO much better and has more of the marshall/friedman "oomph" and huge sound you expect from those types of amps. The sound is clearer with more definition and it becomes even more touch sensitive. I thought initially the overdrive sounded too compressed at times but with the update it sounds wonderful and open. The update takes it from a really good "marshall in a box" type pedal to a genuine amp replacement that is highly touch responsive, flexible, and huge sounding. The two identical channels are so versatile. An example (depending on how the pedal is set): guitar volume rolled slightly down for something cleanish (this pedal can get clean with low output pickups but not so much with higher output ones), guitar volume up for mild overdrive, boost for even more overdrive/volume. The boost has independent volume and drive to fully customize it to your needs. That's three tones in one channel and you still have another channel! Plus, that doesn't take into account any pedals you may be using, which this thing takes sooo well. It honestly feels and reacts like an amp, for a fraction of the price. How I use this pedal: I run it into the effects loop of my Roland Blues Cube Artist and I also use the headphone output, which is a lot of fun to mess around with the IR combinations (those are also much better with the update). I also have used it to go direct when gigging but I typically run it into my amp as I prefer having an on-stage cab. Just make sure you use the effects loop send when going into a combo amp to bypass the IRs. With the update I am utterly blown away by this. It covers all my marshall style tones from slightly more compressed JTM-45 up past high gain plexi tones. As someone who a) cant afford a Friedman Twin Sister and B) cant properly use one due to apartment life, this is an absolute no brainer. Yes, it is pricey when you look at it as just a pedal but it is a genuine amp replacement and if you already have an amp with an effects loop it is plug and play and gives you an entirely new amp. This thing is so much fun. Save up, buy one, UPDATE THE FIRMWARE, and rock on.

Excellent cleans and crunch tones. All the reviews are accurate, this preamplifier is very touch sensitive and has wonderful overtones. Very inspiring to play. I'd definitely recommend this preamp and the IR-X too. I've both and their both different, and I enjoy them more than I did my AXE FX iii, it was great but I spent way too much time tinkering. Now I don't tinker I just play

This unit has good tone and dynamic touch response. However, it is almost impossible to get a crystal clean tone, especially with hotter pickups or humbuckers. I had to crank the volume and set the gain on 2 for an "almost clean" tone. Setting the gain below 2 lowers the volume a LOT. I found that a little weird.

Here's the big problem: Switching channels causes a fairly loud "pop" in the audio. That is unacceptable to me, especially when running direct into a loud PA.

I can make my Quad Cortex sound 98% the same as the IR-D. I compared dry tones (no effects) and found that the only thing I liked better about the IR-D is that the touch response "feel" was a tiny bit more dynamic.

I'm sending this product back.

Got this because I live in a small apartment, and I can run it into headphones or DI into Reaper.
Plenty of tone here. It's basically a Twin Sister, with an IR where the power amp should be. If you're putting it on a pedalboard, make sure to allow for the power for the tubes.

Sounds great, easy to use. I just use at home mostly for enjoyment/tracking in my DAW. If I were still gigging, I would use this in a heartbeat. Having a headphone output is fantastic, good and loud for me without disturbing anyone else at home. Takes pedals very well and has an effects loop for verb/delay. I have also used it in the effects return of an amp( turned off cab sims first). Very happy with this. Most play blues and 70's-90's rock and grunge.

I have had the unit for about 2 months now, so I feel confident in my views. Overall, it is a very musical pedal. I have used it live running direct into the house/church PA and recorded with it. The tone is great and with two separate channels with independent boost on each channel, it pretty much covers all the sonic territory you need. I ended up loading my own Celestion IR cab files, but that is me. Others may find the pre-loaded IR cabinet files are perfect for their tastes.
Pros: Really musical pedal with the trademark sweet organic gain Friedman is known for. Very versatile for seemingly a simple pedal. Fun to play.
Cons: Mono only output. LEDs are overly bright, especially the red boost LED. Makes reading the control lettering very difficult. Clean headroom is lacking when using humbuckers. Note: I understand this may not be an issue for many players.

I Loved the IR-X and I am enjoying this one even more. It seems to bridge the gap between the two channels of the X. From my experience the IR-D seems to react to single coils better than the X but that may just be me. I am finding use for both between guitars. Friedman "knocked it out of the park" with these and of course Evan at Sweetwater knows how to take care of you!!

It just sounds fabulous. Great blues, cleans and crunch tones with touch sensitivity and dynamics. Accepts other pedals very well and the effects loop is great!!

I've been searching for a good direct option for a while and this does the trick! I've used quite a few digital options but have been left wanting more. I give 4.5 star because they should had added a xlr out and a 1/4 inch out with defeat able IR like the NUX amp academy for those of us who want to run it to FOH and non ir to a cab. Took no time to get set up how I'd want to use an amp and the software is easy to use and change IR's. Powered off my Truetone power supply with no issues and was awesome at my gig this last weekend. This thing rocks! I used a JHS buffered splitter in my loop to go to my pedal baby and cab and added a direct box for foh.

I've always been skeptical about this "amp in a pedal" movement we've been seeing recently in the guitar world but I've always wanted a Dirty Shirley so I took a chance with this. It does a decent job, fairly good tones direct and sounds absolutely killer into the return of my Mesa. Love the versatility! Infinite fiddling with the IRs is a bit tedious but it must be done to find the sound you want which might be effecting the final score for me. I wish it sounded as good direct as it does through the return so that is preventing the 5 as well. Good but not perfect.

Sent mine back. Has no clean headroom and gain has an unpleasant quality. The IR D preamp did have the amp like sound advertised IMO.

Very good product

So I received my IR-D last Tuesday, because at the time of purchasing, this was on sale so I had to get it. I am so glad I did. I was on the fence for a while after seeing many reviews of the IR-X and then recently the IR-D, it was very difficult to make a decision. Once I got the IR-D out the box, I knew I made the right choice. The tones I get do not sound digital or synthetic, but actually organic if you will. Even when I run the IR-D into my Tascam Model 24 and into Reaper, I am quite satisfied with the results. I am new to the IR world, and I feel the IRs loaded already sound fine to me. Could they be improved upon? Everything in life could be improved upon. But I like the results I am hearing. The tones I get range from Instant AC/DC, to even some higher gain tones like Avenged Sevenfold. You can clean it up a bit and get some nice tones, particularly when using single coil guitars. My 12 string Danelectro shines!

So far, I played the IR-D direct and also through the effects send of the IR-D into my Marshall JVM205 Effects Return. Both sound fantastic. I would love to consider another power amp option in the future so I can downsize my guitar rig for when I actually do a gig. I think this will work great if you want a portable pedal rig as the direct out does a fine job.

I do not hear any extra noise. When you use this as it is intended to be used, I do not hear any additional noise other than what you would expect from a normal tube amplifier. My only gripe I would give it if I were being picky, is the knob placement and perhaps the knobs themselves are a little too close together where you could accidentally move another one while adjusting a setting. It is not a deal breaker for me, and I seen that somebody else has replaced some of the knobs for the tone stack which is doable. I may do something similar.

Overall, 4.5 out of 5 stars only because that small inconvenience which doesn't bother me as much at all. I have a full review video on YouTube on my channel if you search my channel "AntmanFelix" if you want to see that. I'll provide my Telecaster clip I had too here where I have a delay on it as well.

No matter what axe you use..tele,strat,paul..its gonna need a SD-1 in front of it because its very boomy even if ya turn the bass way down and the "thump" down in the software in my opinion..after that it sounds and feels great!
Add a Strymon Volante into the effects loop and it gets real nice :)

Just what the doctor ordered for going direct. A JTM45 on steroids X2.

You will not need anything else! What an organic rich tone machine! I have my IR-D set up on channel one, and mimic'd on channel two with a bit more gain. Playing through a pair of iK MTMs and Mackie 824s. The harmonic richness and feel of this unit is right down my blues-rock alley. I'm playing this until my fingers are sore, and regret putting the guitar down after 2-3 hours. Do yourself a favor and just get one of these.

I have SO many of these little "amp in a box" pedals, and they are all pretty good. All of them come close to sounding like some certain amp, and most of them have some sort of speaker emulation. The problem has been that they all do too much. Now, this little guy CAN do a whole lot - especially using the software - but I love how it's basically just a two channel amp that sits on the pedalboard. I have pedals that do all the effects (and the effects loop is awesome on this thing), so I don't need those built in, but having the two channels and the boost on this pedal DOES take care of the gain stages - therefore I don't need those pedals anymore. The tubes seem to give it a "squish" that I like, and the IR's that come with it sound great. I'm not a "high gain" guy, but thing has plenty of gain available for what I like, and for "clean" sounds, this pedal gives me what I'm looking for. I use it with a Walrus DI box, going into a stage snake that goes directly into the PA, and it works great.

It's a B+ for me but that's just one dude's opinion. I'm getting the best results using it as a preamp and routing to a power amp and speaker cab. Also helps routing through the power amp section of a Fryette Power Station which brings it to life, even when using only the PS line out. Using the IR-D direct out lessens the dynamics that you get with an amp and speaker. I like the tone of the IR's but hear some high end harshness when recording with them and get better results bypassing and adding later via a DAW program. Also, having 12 identical knobs jammed together makes it easy to grab the wrong one so I replaced the tone knobs and can now find them by feel. I'm keeping mine, but it definitely took a few weeks to find out how it works best.

This unit does it all. From lush clean tones to rippin leads!! It's touch sensitive to your playing like no other. I've had all the line 6 modelers, tried fractal audio, owned acs1, etc. None of these beat this unit! For the price I think this unit is a steal. Don't think this unit is just for dirt tones because it can do low gain and mid gain tones! I definitely recommend this pedal for anyone looking for a slient option for the house or for live gigs

I've been eyeing a Dirty Shirley for months, but I spend a lot of time practicing and recording at home. So a great direct sound is very important to me. I bought this unit the same week it was released and I could not be happier.
First, it absolutely NAILS the classic crunch tones. It's flexibility and features are all secondary to this. The sound is amazing whether you're running in to the DAW or effects of an amp.
Second, two identically voiced channels with multiple gain structures and and bright switch gives you a TwinSister at your feet. Then add a boost with volume and gain controlled separately for each channel and you've got everything you need.
I'm going to work with this setup for a while, see if I really NEED overdrives [ofc I will].
Third, my UA Lion and Ruby are up for sale. The IR-D sounds better for all my purposes and has a smoother top end than I've achieved with the UA pedals. Incredible pedals, too. Keeping the Dream, Starlight, and Golden.
Finally, yesterday's band practice was amazing. Ran this in to the effects loop of my Mesa Mark V in to Mesa 1x12 widebody cabinet. Freaking Nailed it. THE SOUND and FEEL that I've wanted from my rig for a long time.