Direct vs. Rendered Binaural Capture of Guitar Amplifier: A Comparative Study

Alex, Vanwoert E, Deetz N. Direct vs. Rendered Binaural Capture of Guitar Amplifier: A Comparative Study. In: Express Paper. Audio Engineering Society; 2025. Paper 362. Available from: https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23036

@inproceedings{Alex2025_23036,
  author = {{Alex} and Vanwoert, er and Deetz, Noah},
  title = {{Direct vs. Rendered Binaural Capture of Guitar Amplifier: A Comparative Study}},
  note = {Paper 362},
  year = {2025},
  month = oct,
  publisher = {Audio Engineering Society},
  url = {https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23036}
}

TY  - CPAPER
TI  - Direct vs. Rendered Binaural Capture of Guitar Amplifier: A Comparative Study
AU  - Alex
AU  - Vanwoert, er
AU  - Deetz, Noah
M1  - Paper 362
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/10/14
UR  - https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23036
PB  - Audio Engineering Society
LA  - en
AB  - This paper presents a comparative study between direct binaural recording using the Neumann KU100 dummy head microphone and digitally rendered binaural audio derived from omnidirectional impulse responses captured with an Earthworks M50 measurement microphone. Impulse responses were measured over a hemispherical field surrounding a Fender Twin Reverb amplifier at a fixed radius of two feet, using a structured grid of elevation and azimuth angles. These datasets were integrated into a custom amplifier simulation plugin, enabling interactive spatial playback and A/B comparison between the KU100 and M50 render outputs. Objective analysis compares the frequency responses of both methods against the unprocessed M50 measurement as a baseline, while subjective evaluation is conducted through a blind listening test with professional audio engineers from Bias Studios and American University's Audio Technology department. The results aim to assess the realism and applicability of digitally rendered binaural techniques relative to traditional physical binaural capture for guitar amplifier recording.
ER  -