One of the advantages of digital i/o is that it simplifies gain staging. For your output, simply adjust your preset output to the desired level (usually around -10 dB FS) with the amp block level parameter and you're done.
The channels of your aggregate are assigned in the order the devices are added in the audio midi app. At the top of the audio midi app audio window it will show you exactly which channel goes with which device. In this example, the Axe-FX is shown in gray and is input channels 1-8. My audio device is in blue and is channels 9-18. You can name the channels in Logic to make this clear without having to refer to the audio midi app.
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I know I have to sound like a broken record, but there is one piece of the puzzle I'm not getting, and I think it has to do with how my Axe Fx signal is being recorded. The short answer, I think, is that it's being recorded via USB from the Axe Fx when I choose inputs 1 and/or 2, which seems to be the easiest and smartest way to do things. Anyway...
My Audio MIDI setup looks just like yours for the Axe-Fx, as you'd expect. It's also the first device on my list, just like yours. Then my Audient is listed next with all its inputs and outputs.
My Axe Fx inputs from Axe Fx Output 1 are on inputs 1 and 2. Then my Audient Analog Inputs are inputs 9 and 10.
To test things out, I recorded two audio tracks from inputs 1 and 2. I then did the same thing using inputs 9 and 10. I wanted to see what differences there were, if any. I am just making sure I understand what controls/knobs (virtual or real ones) affect the recording level and results, depending on which inputs I use.
Like you keep telling me, the main thing to be aware of is the preset output level (now that I type that, I realize I've been adjusting the
amp output level...which I thought is what you said way back in the thread). That's the primary thing I go to to make sure I have a good signal level based on the channel input meters in Logic.
When I am recording inputs 1 and 2, I can turn the Audient analog 1 and 2 physical inputs all the way down, and it does affect what I'm hearing through my monitors. But it does not appear to affect the recording level. The only things that affect my recording level are the output level settings of the amp and/or the overall preset (by adjusting the "Out 1" block) level, both of which I do in Axe Edit. Turning up the Audient analog 1 and 2 physical inputs does quickly overload and distort those two channels as I monitor them on the meters in my ID software. I guess the best thing to do is leave them all the way down?
If I record inputs 9 and 10, then adjusting the Audient analog ins and outs does affect the recording level. I also record my click track in the process, which, of course, I do not want. And I'd also like to know why the click is being recorded.
So, when I am recording inputs 1 and 2, I am recording the digital signal that is being sent via USB from the Axe Fx to my Mac? If so, then why does Audio/MIDI Setup call inputs 1 and 2 Axe Fx Output 1 L and R (both of which are connected physically to my interface)--or is that exactly what is also being sent via USB digitally to my Mac, while the analog signal is also being sent to my Audient? This is the source of my confusion.
I am even looking at the recording guide now. There is communication via USB between the computer and the Axe Fx, and also between the computer and the audio interface. Then there are analog connections from the Axe Fx to the interface as well. I have all of those things set up correctly, as far as I can tell.