GlennO
Axe-Master
I'm officially beyond confused
Your 0dB looks clipped, but 6dB looks good, so set it to 6dB.
I'm officially beyond confused
0db is obviously clipped flat. I think 6db might have a tiny bit at the very extreme tops/bottoms of the biggest waves, but I definitely think 12db looks perfectly fine. 12db with an input block setting of 0db should be enough headroom to not have clipping from the input.Your 0dB looks clipped, but 6dB looks good, so set it to 6dB.
Yes. Use Output 2 with it set to Unity Gain mode.The OUT 1 block boosts the signal about 18 dB since that is a line level output. Going directly from the IN 1 block to the OUT 1 block is NOT unity gain.
Looks like 12 dB is the right setting for you. There's no clipping there and you'll get a little better signal to noise ratio compared to 18dB.
Keep playing dynamics in mind though. You should test by picking the hardest you would normally pick. No need to pound on the strings unless you normally play that hard.
Ideally you want to set the pad as low as possible (smaller number) without clipping the input.
Yep, visually that looks "bad", but I'm also really bad at hearing things with my eyes.
I decided to go with 0dB pad for now, seemingly against the logic of signal quality.What I mean is that it's entirely possible that a bit of intentional clipping might actually sound better depending on the context, amp model, style of music, etc.
This looks like a lot of fantastic information and something I am going to work through tonight to see if some of my fizzy sounds can be cured. Thank you for sharing.Things I did about fizziness:
1: (I have an Axe FX III Mk II not an FM3 but I assume this is the same) go into setup, down to I/O, hit enter, then under Input 1/instrument turn that up or down until the meter “tickles the red”, you don’t want it solid red and you don’t want it TOO low, but first thing is to get the input level right.
2: Starting backwards, on the amp block in Axe Edit under Dynamics at the bottom change “Master Bias Excursion to 0% (it’s normally 100%).
3: Output EQ section, for the sake of testing this out make sure it’s all 0’d out on everything for the moment
4: Power Supply Change “Power Type” to “DC” (and you may want to turn the Variac to 60%, I do)
5: Power Tubes + CF Turn Plate Super. Diodes to “On” (it will be set to “Off” most of the time). You can also play around with the Power Tube Type to suit your taste, like you may like some different types of 6L6’s and EL34’s.
6: Preamp: To begin with make sure your input boost is “Off” (much as it is tempting to turn it on and rip, if you turn this off you will immediately hear a great deal of hiss dissipate) and generally you want to make sure the Saturation Switch is set to “Off (though SOMETIMES I leave it on but set it to 2.000 for the level) and I usually set the Preamp Tube Type to 12AX7A Syl and then if it’s a distorted high gain shreddy sound turn the “Tube Hardness” down to 0.00, if it is a Clean tone turn the Tube Hardness up to 10.00
7: I try to make sure the Amp block level is set to the default of -12.0 dB and that the preset volume (on Mac Command-L and it is the “level” at the bottom) is set to -15.0 dB then dial in to taste, sometimes you have to turn the preset volume up or down to be a good default volume with relation to the other presets, and sometimes you have to change the Amp Level with relation to the different scenes (if you have different amps in different scenes under different letter channels (A/B/C/D) as you don’t want to switch from say a quiet clean scene to the next scene that is a nuclear loud high gain tone amp scene.
8: Also someone gave me an example of a gate block I put in front of basically every high gain amp model, it’s always in front of everything so it goes Input > Gate > Everything else. The type is Classic Gate, Threshold: -40.00 dB, Attenuation -60.0 dB, Attack Time: 3.18 ms, Hold Time: 100.0ms, Release Time: 100.0 ms, Gain: -60.0 dB, Level: 0.0 dB, Balance: 0.0, Bypass Mode: Thru, Sidechain Source: Block L+R, Low Cut: 10.00 Hz, High Cut: 20000 Hz
Often when ever there is still fizziness I try starting over with that amp block at all default settings and try more gently tweaking them listening carefully for anything I do that introduces a bunch of fizziness. For me I found it was not one thing but a combination of a bunch of things that caused it but those things above helped it greatly.
Good luck and your mileage may vary.
I would think it would be better to use the 12 dB setting to get a clean input, and then use a compressor block first to properly compress the signal.I decided to go with 0dB pad for now, seemingly against the logic of signal quality.
It is just so much easier to play legato this way, it's like it was already pre-leveled without sounding like there is compressor pedal in the chain, and with the light touch it's not even touching red in a single coil mode. And with EoB amps, legato stuff just plays itself, no effort.
I would definitely change the pad to 12/18dB if I need to record, but for casual playing for fun 0dB is just... better. Feels better, smoother, easier to play. Maybe it's just hearing with the eyes, cause in blind test I couldn't guess always, tbh ) But in most cases I felt like 0dB is less dynamic and notes have more power and punch, and 18dB seem to have more clarity and separation. It has more pronounced effect on low E, notes are wobbly with 0dB and have a "synth" sound to them.
But I'm really interested to see what Abasi's will show when we get the clipping warning in FM3. Looking at charts above, I wouldn't be surprised to see it on the screen 100% of time even with 18dB pad.
UPD. Tested again - nope, can't reliably spot a difference in a blind test
you need to increase the amp level, so the DAW can get signal between -12db to -6db . cmiiwI rerecorded the riff I played on the FM3 direct into a DAW. Here is the result:
https://on.soundcloud.com/73Gt2
Its a bit quiet, so you may have to turn up the volume of your phone/speakers to hear it (sorry about that).
The first time through is with a 0dB pad, output block level at 0, and amp block level at ~ -12dB. The second time through is with an 18dB pad, output and amp block at -18dB. I cannot hear much difference, but I thought i'd share it anyway
Thank you, and you're very welcome, I hope it works for you!This looks like a lot of fantastic information and something I am going to work through tonight to see if some of my fizzy sounds can be cured. Thank you for sharing.
Yep, the first thing that I did, it's the lowest I was able to get them.Chromatizm, push your fishman lower into the body of the guitar, away from the strings