That sucked

SRVYJM

SRVYJM

Member
So, went to my rehearsals last night and took the AX8 instead of my regular amp ('59 Bassman) and the sound was just absolutely glorious... plugged straight into the PA and was so inspired by the tones it- was crazy good. I used the Friedman BE with a touch of delay- just such a good tone.

THEN afterwards went over to my local blues jam and plugged straight into their PA. HOLY CRAP did it sound bad- no monitors (I wasn't using monitors at the rehearsal either though) and all I could get was a really thin- crappy sound like my guitar was plugged into an AM radio. Now I get it, I'm sure with some work I might have been able to tweak a great tone out of it with some time- but that was soooooo disappointing after getting such great tone out of one PA- to go into a different PA and lose everything.

Learned my lesson- the AX8 is amazing- but I'll have to have time to tweak no matter where I'm playing- NOT a quick 5 song blues jam solution- I'll be lugging the Bassman beast around to jams- that's for certain.
 
Means the PA was set wrong. The AX8 tone didn't change. That's the beauty of using it... always sounds the same. Sorry to hear you had that experience though!
 
Yeah, you really have to kinda be able to set your own mixer settings in a situation like that, especially if you have no trust or faith in whoever is running sound. I set all my tones at live volume using the PA that our band typically uses for the bulk of our gigs. We played a large venue last weekend with a hefty sound system and my tone was amazing. The week before, we were in a bar that has its own system (a tiny all in one amp and 8 channel mixer) and tone was still good just setting the channel eq flat. You may have been a victim of a global eq setting or just a bad PA. If your tone was good at rehearsal while playing at gig volume through the PA, I'd say trust that the AX8 is good to go and don't change your tone to match that cruddy PA.
 
FractalAudio said:
I would never bring a direct solution to a blues jam. Too many unknowns.
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Yep, that's my take-away. AX8 is stunning- but only if I can control everything. I think the PA was bad- crappy little unit with no faders, just dials- most likely set very poorly and I didn't have any time to dial in anything. I actually suspect I was turned way, way down, so I had to keep turning up the AX8 just to hear

- but at a jam- you have to be able to get up and go- no tweak time other then "turn it on" so- it's most likely not going to ever by my blues jam solution. I can take my Bassman to any room and get the same tone every time- which is IMHO amazing tone- but it's a heavy beast and requires a pedalboard etc. I was really looking forward to crushing the room with the tone I had at rehearsals- it was amazing- instead- I was crushed!

If it was my own gig and I had sound check time- sure- AX8 all the way- I don't thing anything was wrong with it- but in a jam- no go. That was embarrassing. Kind of "ha ha- look at the guy with the fancy modeler/pedal" yuck! Would have been really cool if the tone I had at rehearsals came out of it at the jam- respect!
 
SRVYJM said:
Yep, that's my take-away. AX8 is stunning- but only if I can control everything. I think the PA was bad- crappy little unit with no faders, just dials- most likely set very poorly and I didn't have any time to dial in anything. I actually suspect I was turned way, way down, so I had to keep turning up the AX8 just to hear

- but at a jam- you have to be able to get up and go- no tweak time other then "turn it on" so- it's most likely not going to ever by my blues jam solution. I can take my Bassman to any room and get the same tone every time- which is IMHO amazing tone- but it's a heavy beast and requires a pedalboard etc. I was really looking forward to crushing the room with the tone I had at rehearsals- it was amazing- instead- I was crushed!

If it was my own gig and I had sound check time- sure- AX8 all the way- I don't thing anything was wrong with it- but in a jam- no go. That was embarrassing. Kind of "ha ha- look at the guy with the fancy modeler/pedal" yuck! Would have been really cool if the tone I had at rehearsals came out of it at the jam- respect!
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Did you use the XLR outputs? Many times those crappy little mixers like that only support mic-level inputs. So if you put a line-level signal in it clips the snot out of the channel.
 
FractalAudio said:
Did you use the XLR outputs? Many times those crappy little mixers like that only support mic-level inputs. So if you put a line-level signal in it clips the snot out of the channel.
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Yeah- XLR out. Again, I think it was just such a poor PA (the vocals were weak and low too) that it ruined the tone, but the takeaway is the same- AX8 needs a quality output and if I'm not bringing my own (like at a jam) it's not worth the risk. I'm bummed, because the tone was so inspiring at the rehearsal, but if I want to use it I'll have to get a FRFR cabinet to lug along too and treat it like an amp. At a jam the PA's are almost always just for vocals and the occasional harp player that didn't bring an amp (argh- harp through the PA direct, another pet peeve of mine) and I've only had amps mic'd up one time ever at a blues jam- so it's what I bring!
 
chris said:
just bring a powered speaker - consistent ax8 tone always.
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Yep, but I'll have to figure out what powered speaker sounds best direct- at rehearsals I'm always plugging into a board first so... although that's a good point- if I love the tone just make sure I find a powered speaker that works- QSC K10 or something. Those are beasts too though. Maybe a CLR or Friedman FRFR-
 
Another takeaway that this showed is that having a monitor/sound source behind me, like a traditional amp, is a must. I couldn't hear myself AT ALL until I stepped up in front of the PA speaker- taking a powered speaker along to set up behind me is a good idea anyway- even if I still go direct FOH with the AX8. I really didn't like not hearing what I was playing. That was weird. I actually had to step in front and to the side of one of the PA speakers to finish the set just to hear myself.
 
It's sorta like just bringing your head to a show that supplies cabs, and only 1 of the speakers on the 4x12 actually works. Not much to do there either.
 
SRVYJM said:
Another takeaway that this showed is that having a monitor/sound source behind me, like a traditional amp, is a must. I couldn't hear myself AT ALL until I stepped up in front of the PA speaker- taking a powered speaker along to set up behind me is a good idea anyway- even if I still go direct FOH with the AX8. I really didn't like not hearing what I was playing. That was weird. I actually had to step in front and to the side of one of the PA speakers to finish the set just to hear myself.
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Absolutely. Speakers are meant to be heard from the front :) "no monitor" situations are always weird.
 
chris said:
It's sorta like just bringing your head to a show that supplies cabs, and only 1 of the speakers on the 4x12 actually works. Not much to do there either.
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No doubt- I guess it's the same reason I bring my own amp to a jam too- never want to rely on anyone else's taste- there's almost always an amp /backline available- but never anything I'd play/buy on my own so I always bring my own amp/guitar/pedalboard so I get MY tone, not someone else. It's really no different for the AX8 as far as that goes.

Here I was thinking that I could just show up with the AX8 and a guitar anywhere and get great, consistent tone- again, the takeaway is it's not the Ax8 that was the problem, it was me and my experience with it. It needs it's own cabinet just like a amp head does. Time to research the best powered speaker solution that's light and portable but sounds great. My experience with powered speakers is they weight more then my amps! Rats- there goes the light weight solutions!

Any more progress on the Tech 21 Power Engine with mods I read about on here? That thread seemed to die down before the AX8 was even designed, but I liked the idea! Their products are awesome, reliable and still look like amps! I'm liking that idea instead of setting up with a powered PA speaker at a jam! Ha! I'm going to be the laughing stock of my area with this!
 
I use a Yamaha DXR12 but I recommend a DXR10 because they sound just as good but are smaller, weigh less than 40lbs and can get nice and loud. Am I too loud enough yet!?

I use an Axe-Fx II, so I have to connect my MIDI Foot Controller but I'm able to have everything hooked up and ready to jam and rock out with my instrument out in less than 5 minutes haha. You just have to make sure all your cables are wrapped correctly. I can't remember what it's called but there's a way to wrap a cable where you wrapped it one way and then kind of twist it and wrap it the other way so you can just grab one end of the cable and drop the other end on the floor and it perfectly unravels and doesn't tangle. I also label all the cable plugs and input and output jacks, so I can quickly connect everything without thinking. I always have a flashlight too.

It's great being able to jam with "your" tone and fx. Most of our guitar heroes use their signature rigs when they jam and I think it gives me more confidence playing when I do too. With Quantum 7 I really noticed my FRFR rig come alive.
 
A quick fix might jut be to mic up your FRFR monitor! Then the sound guy can deal with it using familiar ways. I'm still working up the nerve to gig with mine. Im not off my Splawn yet.
 
Title got me too....

A bad mix out front is a bad mix. I mean , it could have been from your personal channel on the mixer , it could have been from a bad main EQ mix or speaker mix ( which sounds like more the case since other things didn't sound good in the mix of the PA. ) ,
Coming from an arsenal of pricey tube amps , and 30 years of buying them , this box is the best thing I've spent money on since it all began. I'm a year and a half into being a FAS "fanboy" ( hate that term) , and I'm loving it. Congrats on your owning one too.
From what you were doing in this particular instance , I would say -bring a powered speaker and your AX8. If you like to change it up once in a while , sure , bring your amp. But , I love the effects I get with my AX8 too much to give it up for any jam , gig ,recording session , etc.

AND - the support here on this forum is second to none. I don't know if you realize this , but the main developer of this amazing unit answered you personally twice in a single thread. Good luck finding that anywhere.
Enjoy !
 
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