From AXE FX II to AX8... after a week I've to say

Albion

Albion

Inspired
AX8 is perfect for me... My main use il Live.
Portability is perfect... switching system is nice... the tone is incredible.
But I 've to say... without global block it's a nightmare to manage my new setup.
My mistake... in every post about differences I did not notice this big problem.

I don't know how it's possibile to manage different presets with the same amp and tweak every single preset every time you make some improvement in the amp tone or when there is a software update.
The big big (too big) problem is with amp block
In a live setup you use a few amps (unless you want to cause some serious problem to the tone guy) and maybe just one or two cabs (for the same problem)
In a live setup you need to use different patches according to the song and the effects you need...
You MUST use global blocks at least in a live environment.
If you have to do some tweaking according to the frfr system or to the acoustic of the place where you are playing you need global amp block to do it in a moment!
If you don't use global blocks in a live setup... according to me it's a nightmare unless you are playing ACDC covers (so you need just one patch) and if you play ACDC maybe you don't really need a Fractal product that is crucial for complex setup!
Then you need at least a global volume block.
Global volume block in every solo patch is vital to modify on the fly all your solo volume according to the sensitivity of the frfr system and the sound guy.
For effects I don't really use global blocks even if it could be nice... but for Amp, Volume and maybe Cabs we really need it.
I know this has been discussed... but I want to give my two cents to the people that is thinking to go to the AX8 from Axe FX II.
And I hope Fractal Audio will find a solution to this problem because they have been doing miracles till now... and we need a new miracle today...
Luca
 
I have only had the AX8, so I can't compare it against other Fractal units with global blocks. It does sound like a great feature, and if you are used to using them in your workflow I can see how it could be a huge issue. You can have global EQ, and Global volume control, but no global control for most blocks.

About the closest you can get currently is to save the amp changes to a saved block and recall it into all the presets that use that amp, but that would be very time consuming live, and I'm not sure how practical it would be without running the software editor.
 
Unfortunately this has come up a lot. It's probably the biggest thing people miss the II and AX8. They've also said numerous times that its not possible to implement Global blocks on the AX8. You're definitely not alone.
 
You can copy amp blocks for instance from one preset to another. I haven't done it in while but I'm 99% sure I have and I did on the front panel vs ax8-edit. Not as slick as global blocks but will save you from going into every parameter when you want to leverage your improvements.
 
Molekiller said:
You can copy amp blocks for instance from one preset to another. I haven't done it in while but I'm 99% sure I have and I did on the front panel vs ax8-edit. Not as slick as global blocks but will save you from going into every parameter when you want to leverage your improvements.
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Thank you, I know I can but you understand that if you have to make some tweaking on the fly when you are Live you have to pay attention because if you copy the wrong amp in a patch is a mass! :) immagine to put a Friedman HBE in a clean ambient patch :)
 
FractalAudio said:
I'm going to ask the engineers about the possibility of adding global blocks but having them limited to only the amp block.
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Thank you sir!


.....and two mono fx loop block!

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Global blocks is the #1 feature I miss on my ii. For little gigs it doesn't matter to much but on big ones where it was a must. I have to carry a netbook at all times because I have no quick way to make lots of changes. FX recall is a cool feature but it only works in preset more when I don't use. I use bottom row scenes top row IA and I step up or down through presets. I know this would not happen but if fractal made an AX8 MKii and it cost a bit more and all it did would be to add global blocks I would have to buy it.


A cool thing would be if they had let's say 3-5 global blocks that each can be assigned to any block (not 3-5 scenes per block but total global blocks that would be anything) I could have say 2 of them for amps, one for cabs one for delay and one for drive
 
Fractal Audio is the best company in the world.
I think you should also think about a Kind of global volume boost for solos and maybe a global cab block.
These are the 3 blocks you always have to tweak in big gigs!
 
Smittefar said:
Having never tried global blocks, I don't miss them. You have a global EQ, and can use global settings for the wet effects. I don't understand why that is not enough for room/venue tuning?
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Some adjustments, like turning on/off the Bright Switch, are handled elegantly with global amp blocks.
 
Smittefar said:
Having never tried global blocks, I don't miss them. You have a global EQ, and can use global settings for the wet effects. I don't understand why that is not enough for room/venue tuning?
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I'm talking mainly of amp tweaking at a gig but also in case of software update... or simply when you try to get a better sounding patch... if you use the same amp in a lot of patches it's a mass to go through all of them to do the same fix...
Global eq usually is not a good solution... in complex setup it's a good idea to use a lot of global blocks... according to my experience...
Then I also use a global volume block in every patch to go to solo... I've noticed that every time I go in a gig the sound guy ask me to modify the volume boost for my solo patches... using a global block is a good idea 'cause you can modify solo volume in 10 seconds
I don't use volume pedal for solo boost because you have to change patch and press volume pedal and then to go back release volume pedal and change patch again... I usually set up a scene to change every thing I need to change for solo and I add a volume global block to boost volume of 3 to 6 db depending on sound guy and mixer.
I also use the same cab in every patch otherwise the sound guy get crazy (and with AXE FX II it was a global cab)
I don't like to go through 50 patches when I want to test new cabs... or live when a particular cab doesn't sound good in a venue....
So if we could have a solution for that it would be great.
Luca
 
This thread has me questioning my sanity. I have both a II and AXE-8. With the AXE-8, I recently set up two boosts in all my patches: 1) an EQ boost that lifts mid-range slightly and 2) a Null filter boost. I used an option in AX8 Edit to make those blocks global (you get there by clicking in the entry field). When I needed to turn the filter down from around +5 to around +2, I am pretty sure the change was global. When I flattened and lowered the EQ boost, I visually checked if the change was global and it was. I just played it at rehearsal on Sunday and the lower boosts worked much better on all the patches. But I see Cliff weighed in above, so I must be nuts.
 
addedc said:
This thread has me questioning my sanity. I have both a II and AXE-8. With the AXE-8, I recently set up two boosts in all my patches: 1) an EQ boost that lifts mid-range slightly and 2) a Null filter boost. I used an option in AX8 Edit to make those blocks global (you get there by clicking in the entry field). When I needed to turn the filter down from around +5 to around +2, I am pretty sure the change was global. When I flattened and lowered the EQ boost, I visually checked if the change was global and it was. I just played it at rehearsal on Sunday and the lower boosts worked much better on all the patches. But I see Cliff weighed in above, so I must be nuts.
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This is very interesting, can you double check it?

II user here, but I'm kind of curious about this :)
 
Smittefar said:
Having never tried global blocks, I don't miss them. You have a global EQ, and can use global settings for the wet effects. I don't understand why that is not enough for room/venue tuning?
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I think it comes down to the simple fact that everyone's workflow is a little different. I've never really used global amp blocks because I don't use many patches to begin with and they're not typically the same amp. But I totally see the value if you work a different way.
 
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