Trying to Imagine the New User Experience

Day 8 update:
Just got back from Thursday night band rehearsal. It turns out that I did NOT get the expression pedal configured correctly (or something else is wrong). I did not notice this last night, as I did not play the pedal for very long at that time and I was trying to keep everything quiet.

PROBLEM: the expression pedal *works* to control the volume, but it ALSO works as a wah......sort of......when I press forward on the toe of the pedal, the volume is up but there is lots of treble...also lots of distortion (and not the good kind). It is sort of like a wah from hell, really edgy and distorted and frankly unpleasant, but it is over-laying wah function on the pedal to simultaneously work as a volume pedal as well. I had to give up on the pedal tonight and manage without volume control. I may pick up another pedal to try at Guitar Center tomorrow, but I suspect this is a programming issue and not a pedal issue.

As for the AX8 itself, it seems to be working just fine. The AX8 unit sounded great as soon as I disconnected the expression pedal. And yes, I am using the Fractal TRS cable.

Any ideas?
 
Paultergeist said:
PROBLEM: the volume pedal *works* to control the volume, but it ALSO works as a wah......sort or.......when I press forward on the toe of the pedal, the volume is up but there is lots of treble...also lots of distortion (and not the good kind). It is sort of like a wah from hell, really edgy and distorted and frankly unpleasant, but it is over-laying wah function on the pedal to simultaneously work as a volume pedal as well.

Any ideas?
Click to expand...
You have a Wah block in your preset, and it's configured to use the same expression pedal that you're using for volume.

Delete the Wah block. Or bypass it, and make sure its Auto-Engage function is turned off. If you want to have independent expression control of volume and wah in the same preset, you're going to need two expression pedals. If I were you, I'd assign that boost to a footswitch (in fact, that's exactly what I do :)).


I'm glad your tone sounded great. Kinda figured it'd turn out that way. ;)
 
@Paultergeist a lot of the factory presets have the Wah configured to work with the first expression pedal. This is part of the reason I have my volume expression pedal configured for the fourth expression input. Sorry I didn’t think to mention that before.
 
I am only using two pre-sets at the present time, and I don’t think either of those pre-sets contains a wah.....but I am not 100% certain of that. The “angry volume/wah” pedal effect occurs on either pre-set, so I suspect the problem is global within the AX8 itself.

Weird thing is: this doesn’t JUST sound like a volume pedal and wah pedal function combined; the tone is just terrible with the pedal plugged in. Everything sounds great again as soon as I disconnect the pedal.
 
Rex and Tim and ....what do I call you.....”Messiah?”

Thank you all very much for the replies. I am not yet technically up to deleting blocks within the pre-sets — if that is the issue, but I do think I can re-calibrate the pedal for input #4 (I AM using input #1 right now), so if that’s the problem, it may be an easy fix.

I have to step out for a bit. I will report back later today.

Thank you everyone,
 
Okay, some success, but lacking some clarity on operation -- I don't like the feeling of uncertainty, but I have to push forward.

First, neither of the two pre-set blocks I was using had any "wah" listed amount their Foot-switch block pages. If there are wahs somewhere else in the programming that I cannot see, so be it. I tried simply going back into the configuration and double-checking my settings, and I honestly cannot see any reason why the expression pedal -- plugged into Pedal jack #1 -- should be doing what it is doing. I also noted that, if I kept the power to the AX8 turned "ON" and simply pulled the cable out of Pedal jack #1, the offensive tone remained. I had to power-down and re-start the AX8 to get things back to normal.

I will also say that I think the instructions on this particular issue could be a bit clearer within the User manual, but I'll create my own margin notes eventually if I figure this out. For example, I am supposed to do anything while the "LEARNING" message block is flashing?

Page 89 of the User Manual also states to connect the pedal to either Pedal jack #1 or #2, which kind of begs the question: under what circumstances are Pedal jacks #3 and 4 to be used?

So.....following Tim's helpful insight the sometimes Pedal jack 1 may be aligned to some "wah" effect in the factory pre-sets, I attempted to configure the expression pedal to operate with Pedal jack #2........repeating the same steps as best I could based on the information in the User's manual. This time -- and I am not certain as to why -- the configuration *took* as intended and the expression pedal seems to be working as a global volume pedal aligned with the output of the AX8......just so long as -- importantly -- I use Pedal jack #2 (and DO NOT plug into Pedal jack #1).

Fingers crossed that this level of operation holds in place -- especially for my gig tomorrow. I plan to give the AX8 a real-world test.

Thanks again to everyone for their helpful replies.
 
One more quick question: If I use the "Amp Control Knobs" to make an adjustment to the tone of a pre-set, and then I *save* that pre-set, does the newly pre-set reflect those tone adjustments, or does the unit revert back to factory default values?
 
Paultergeist said:
First, neither of the two pre-set blocks I was using had any "wah" listed amount their Foot-switch block pages. If there are wahs somewhere else in the programming that I cannot see, so be it.
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Remember that the main page only shows what footwitches you have assigned, not what blocks you're using. You need need to go to the grid on the next page to see what blocks you're using. Go there, and you'll see a wah in your preset.

Remember also that an expression pedal is not a footswitch. That's why it doesn't show up on the footswitch page. Your Wah block is set up for Auto-Engage, which mans that it'll engage whenever it sees movement of the expression pedal.
 
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Rex said:
Remember also that an expression pedal is not a footswitch. That's why it doesn't show up on the footswitch page. Your Wah block is set up for Auto-Engage, which mans that it'll engage whenever it sees movement of the expression pedal.
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Ahhhhh......so THAT'S why I am not seeing the "WAH" on the foot switch page! Okay, now that is making sense.
I have only taken one brief entry into the grid thus far......I'll re-visit that soon.
 
Paultergeist said:
Ahhhhh......so THAT'S why I am not seeing the "WAH" on the foot switch page! Okay, now that i smoking sense.
I have only taken one brief entry into the grid thus far......I'll re-visit that soon.
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Make friends with the grid. It shows you what your presets really look like. :)
 
Day 11 update:
Well, I used the AX8 for a gig last night. I wish I could simply say that everything went fantastically, but this band may still be dialing in some of the PA equipment, and there definitely were some sound issues. Regarding the AX8 specifically: the guitar tone I heard coming through the floor monitor seemed pretty gainy — more gainy and gritty (distortion) than I would have expected. I had (3) pre-set arranged in sequence in the same block, with the idea that I would have a pretty easy time finding the right pre-ser at the right time. One of those pre-sets was deliberately chosen to be super clean, and yet THAT pre-set sounded still pretty gritty to my ears from the wedge monitor. I am not sure what is going on, but I have two theories:

It occurs to me that there may still be something going on with that expression pedal and/or how it is configured. It seems weird that one would have to go into the grid for every pre-set which may have a wah within it, simply in order to turn off the wah as to use Pedal jack #1 as a volume pedal. Using Pedal jack #2 seemed to make the wah problem go away and allow the volume function as desired, but maybe there is something else happening there? It is hard to replicate the sound at volume with the whole band, but it definitely sounded like there was an unintentional increase in gain.

The second thought that occurs to me is perhaps I did not configure something correctly regarding my outbound signal. I was plugging directly into the FOH main board, which was then run by a sound man, but I was hearing myself through a wedge monitor on the floor in front of me. I am not entirely sure if the gainy effect was as prominent at the FOH. The sound man said that he boosted my signal at the board, but then again, I was trying to use the guitar volume rolled back a bit to make the signal cleaner. I am wondering if the PA board might have added distortion to th signal?

Functionally, I do feel like the AX8 *worked* as intended and that I had basic control over the (3) pre-sets and associated effects I employed. I am just a bit disappointed that the tone did not match that which I perceived the first time I used it at a band practice. Note that I did not even try to use the volume pedal THAT first time.

Not sure what to try next.
 
What you've been able to accomplish in such a short time with the AX8 is actually impressive. 11 days from receiving it to using it fairly successfully at a gig. For most, the 15 day evaluation period is making sure the tone is there and gaining a basic understanding of the workflow. You should be encouraged that you were able to get to a point where you were able to test the AX8 in a gigging environment within the first 2 weeks.

My personal journey took 3 months before I was ready to use the AX8 exclusively. It was a journey from the FX8 to the AX8 into an amp with modelling to finally going direct. I can tell you with confidence that I've never been more satisfied with the tones I'm getting since jumping all in with it. As I said in another thread, I still have all the amps in my signature but have not even turned one of them on in the last 8 months.

Hang in there, you are on the right track and it sounds like you are pleased with the tones that the AX8 has to offer. Now it's a matter of gaining more confidence and experience with the unit itself. One suggestion would be to take notes of what you experience at venues, listen closely at home and make note of the adjustments that need to be made to get the tone you need live. Some of us have purchased inexpensive laptops to make tweaks on location which has been a huge lifesaver for me a couple of times.

As far as the expression pedal, I use Pedal 2 for my volume control since, as you've noticed, any preset with a wah has the modifier attached to Pedal 1. As potentially annoying as it is, it's not that big of an inconvenience personally given the numerous advantages the AX8 provides.

Again, congrats on getting up to speed so fast and hang in there, it only gets better!
 
Paultergeist said:
One of those pre-sets was deliberately chosen to be super clean, and yet THAT pre-set sounded still pretty gritty to my ears from the wedge monitor.
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If you have a super-clean signal coming out of your AX8, and its coming back gritty in your wedge, then something dirtied up your signal after it left your AX8. It’s odd that your sound guy said he boosted your signal at the board. The AX8 puts out a pretty hot signal. If he boosted it much, that could be the source of the distortion you heard.


Paultergeist said:
It seems weird that one would have to go into the grid for every pre-set which may have a wah within it, simply in order to turn off the wah as to use Pedal jack #1 as a volume pedal.
Click to expand...
The grid is the heart of your preset. It's perfectly natural to go there to make significant changes to your preset.
 
The grid is exactly the place to setup your preset to have a Wah block or not. The grid determines the sound of the preset. We’ve mentioned that several times.
 
I think, 'the grid' is the primary reason to start using AX8edit on the computer. I think, it is quite difficult to get an overview/feel for how a preset works while looking at the grid on the unit (you will have to scroll across the grid to see the whole grid, and it can be a bit difficult to see which blocks are in x- or y-state, etc. In AX8edit, the grid is much easier to understand simply because the visual representation is much better.

I think you've come a long way using the unit without the computer. I think, it is time, to start using AX8edit. It will improve your understanding of how a preset works, and you will quickly become much more proficient at adjusting your own presets.
 
Boosting your signal at the board? I don't think that's a good idea.

If your presets are leveled, there's no need to do that.
 
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