2nd amp block

You know that one amp block is a designed limitation given the hardware chosen for the Ax8? With that hardware, there's only power for one amp block. So if you're wishing for more power, you're wishing for different hardware, or possibly a time machine to go back and change the original design (and inevitable price point) of the current Ax8.
 
I still dream of a day when:

1) I can have a great highgain sound AND a great clean sound without audio dropout/glitching making it unusable for me live
2) Can still carry my rig around on my pedal board
3) still have money in my bank account.

...make it so
 
I still dream of a day when:

1) I can have a great highgain sound AND a great clean sound without audio dropout/glitching making it unusable for me live
2) Can still carry my rig around on my pedal board
3) still have money in my bank account.

...make it so

Use your volume knob on the guitar- GREAT high gain sound at 10- GREAT clean sound on 3. Problem solved ! ;-)
 
Use your volume knob on the guitar- GREAT high gain sound at 10- GREAT clean sound on 3. Problem solved ! ;-)


Oh I hadn't thought of that,
or a volume pedal,
or input gain modifiers,
or combinations of filter blocks and amp modifiers per scene...

I have.

I wouldn't be complaining if it was easily achievable.
I see this is your very first message on the board for some reason, so welcome, but try to not be one of the people around here to give other people a hard time for not having only perfect experiences with fractal stuff.


My best scenario right now is that I take a highgain amp I like and put a mod on the input (usually all the way to zero), and then compensate by cranking the master with a mod, or by inserting a filter block after the amp to make it audible again.
I've yet to find a modern highgain amp where this doesn't leave the clean sound either a) there is still some breakup and its not pleasent or smooth, and or b) its completely dead, like old strings being amplified instead of a tube amp sound.
 
Oh I hadn't thought of that,
or a volume pedal,
or input gain modifiers,
or combinations of filter blocks and amp modifiers per scene...

I have.

I wouldn't be complaining if it was easily achievable.
I see this is your very first message on the board for some reason, so welcome, but try to not be one of the people around here to give other people a hard time for not having only perfect experiences with fractal stuff.


My best scenario right now is that I take a highgain amp I like and put a mod on the input (usually all the way to zero), and then compensate by cranking the master with a mod, or by inserting a filter block after the amp to make it audible again.
I've yet to find a modern highgain amp where this doesn't leave the clean sound either a) there is still some breakup and its not pleasent or smooth, and or b) its completely dead, like old strings being amplified instead of a tube amp sound.

I was joking... sorry you didn't pick up on that. No hard time intended at all- I don't like it when people give me crap for not knowing how to make this perfect either. Took me forever to just get it to dial in a usable tone (the Enhancer is a beautiful, beautiful thing) in my studio. Before everything sounded fizzy and like a 90's Digitech- couldn't believe I'd ever get anything useable out of it. Then I reinstalled the firmware (bought it used) and reset everything- Now- it's glorious sounding, might be selling my Friedmans- Mesa's, Marshalls and my Fenders if I can get this to translate to my live sound the way I'm hoping. SOOO much easier to lug around if it works, and consistent- with SOOO much more flexibility. I'm hopeful!

I just couldn't resist- but... honestly, my favorite clean tones are actually gain channels with the volume backed way down on my guitar- think Andy Timmons- The Prayer, The Answer- BUT- if you need ultra clean, crystalline tones like maybe Eric Johnson or such- use the XY function and you can use an entirely different amp and settings in the Y state vs. the X state. Very seemless transition with no lag. You should be able to have the tones carry over (delay's and such) when switching too. You can check it out here- this is a really good video on how easy it is to do- I was doing it wrong before I watched this:



Hope this helps- forgive me if I was offensive.
 
I was joking... sorry you didn't pick up on that. No hard time intended at all- I don't like it when people give me crap for not knowing how to make this perfect either. Took me forever to just get it to dial in a usable tone (the Enhancer is a beautiful, beautiful thing) in my studio. Before everything sounded fizzy and like a 90's Digitech- couldn't believe I'd ever get anything useable out of it. Then I reinstalled the firmware (bought it used) and reset everything- Now- it's glorious sounding, might be selling my Friedmans- Mesa's, Marshalls and my Fenders if I can get this to translate to my live sound the way I'm hoping. SOOO much easier to lug around if it works, and consistent- with SOOO much more flexibility. I'm hopeful!

I just couldn't resist- but... honestly, my favorite clean tones are actually gain channels with the volume backed way down on my guitar- think Andy Timmons- The Prayer, The Answer- BUT- if you need ultra clean, crystalline tones like maybe Eric Johnson or such- use the XY function and you can use an entirely different amp and settings in the Y state vs. the X state. Very seemless transition with no lag. You should be able to have the tones carry over (delay's and such) when switching too. You can check it out here- this is a really good video on how easy it is to do- I was doing it wrong before I watched this:



Hope this helps- forgive me if I was offensive.



Thanks for the reply.
I would love to use amp x/y or presets, but the audio drop out issue, although brief, is too long for the music that I play live.
That would be the perfect solution though if it was faster, or i had 2 amp blocks.

I think my best bet (besides getting an axe-fx, which I'm not going to do), is to just adjust what i want in a clean tone, and accept a dead one or a non-clean one.


I'm interested in what you mean by "seamless transition with no lag" when talking about X/Y. It's very well known that at least with the Ax8, there is a very noticeable lag with any x/y block change... do you have a secret solution?
Share please!
 
Thanks for the reply.
I would love to use amp x/y or presets, but the audio drop out issue, although brief, is too long for the music that I play live.
That would be the perfect solution though if it was faster, or i had 2 amp blocks.

I think my best bet (besides getting an axe-fx, which I'm not going to do), is to just adjust what i want in a clean tone, and accept a dead one or a non-clean one.


I'm interested in what you mean by "seamless transition with no lag" when talking about X/Y. It's very well known that at least with the Ax8, there is a very noticeable lag with any x/y block change... do you have a secret solution?
Share please!

Hmm, not sure where you're getting that "it's very well known with the AX8 there is a very noticeable lag with any x/y block change" - Have you actually tried it? Not trying to be an ass here- but really, I'm using it going from a very heavy Friedman BE to an ultra clean CA3 + Clean and the change back and forth is instantaneous. I know "scene" changes and patches can have a lag- but the x/y back and forth for me is instant. In fact I can play something in X and on the next note change to Y- and back- with zero lag at all. I mean- it's truly instant for me. I just tried it several times- it changes the second I hit the x/y. No lag whatsoever. Everything I've read says the X/Y function is the most seamless- and that's what I'm experiencing. Granted, I didn't even know how to set up an X/Y function until I watched that video. I look at X/Y for changes in the same song- for scenes changes from one song to another- and Patch changes for totally different sounds that are not related- if that makes sense
 
Hmm, not sure where you're getting that "it's very well known with the AX8 there is a very noticeable lag with any x/y block change" - Have you actually tried it? Not trying to be an ass here- but really, I'm using it going from a very heavy Friedman BE to an ultra clean CA3 + Clean and the change back and forth is instantaneous. I know "scene" changes and patches can have a lag- but the x/y back and forth for me is instant. In fact I can play something in X and on the next note change to Y- and back- with zero lag at all. I mean- it's truly instant for me. I just tried it several times- it changes the second I hit the x/y. No lag whatsoever. Everything I've read says the X/Y function is the most seamless- and that's what I'm experiencing. Granted, I didn't even know how to set up an X/Y function until I watched that video. I look at X/Y for changes in the same song- for scenes changes from one song to another- and Patch changes for totally different sounds that are not related- if that makes sense


You must have a special ax8 then...
search around the forum for just a second and you will see many many many posts about how people are seeing the lag with x/y as a dealbreaker and trying to make work around. It's always suggested that for instant switching, nothing should be x/y, not even a delay or lower cpu block.

There is even more than one thread of people measuring the lag in their DAW and posting here for analysis...

And yeah, obviously when I got my ax8 that was the firstt thing I tried, and was disappointed. Since then I have been using more intricate solutions, that as you can tell, are still sub-optimal. Every song that by band plays switches back and forth between clean and highgain on the beat, so thats why so far modifiers have been best for me.
 
I guess I do have a special AX8- 'cause it's instantaneous for me... I"m not trying that through my DAW though, maybe that's the lag?
 
I guess I do have a special AX8- 'cause it's instantaneous for me... I"m not trying that through my DAW though, maybe that's the lag?


Well maybe not. I just re read your post.
Youre saying it's fast if you switch amps within the same scene, but not while changing scenes.?
I am not sure I've ever tried that. I use scenes to turn off my delay for my gain channel and stuff
 
Well maybe not. I just re read your post.
Youre saying it's fast if you switch amps within the same scene, but not while changing scenes.?
I am not sure I've ever tried that. I use scenes to turn off my delay for my gain channel and stuff

Yes, I switch amps (or the same amp with widely different settings in some cases) within the same scene- that's a good point and maybe why it's working for me. I tend to use a single scene because I do have a lag when switching scenes. For me I use the 8 buttons just like I would a real setup/pedalboard. I switch on and off pedals (drive/ delay/ phase/ whatever) with a switch in the same scene- I'm changing amps within the same scene too. I guess the limitation would be I can only really have two "channels" for an amp for any given scene with X/Y- but for what I play that's all I'd ever need. Then if I need a totally different "rig" for a different song thats two entirely different amps then I'm already using- that would be a new patch- at least that's how I use it. X/Y always within the same scene. I need to probably do more with scenes- but it's all pretty new to me still and I do notice a "pop" and lag when I change scenes or presets- so I don't do that within a song. I don't fully understand the scenes yet anyway-

I look at all of it as a HUGE advantage either way- It may be a lag between scenes and presets- but I could never switch out an entire rig on stage either- I've always played with one amp primarily- only occasionally two amps- and the X/Y gets me that within a scene- but I can have full virtual rigs "hauled off stage and replaced" for every song. Wow! Mostly I'm going between a Fender clean to a Marshall overdrive- and for a "third" overdrive channel I use a drive pedal. I'm changing between the BE100 and '59 Bassguy- just like my real rig- I have a SB50 Friedman and a '59 Bassman- the Ax8 is WAY easier to carry then those two rigs-
 
Yes, I switch amps (or the same amp with widely different settings in some cases) within the same scene- that's a good point and maybe why it's working for me. I tend to use a single scene because I do have a lag when switching scenes. For me I use the 8 buttons just like I would a real setup/pedalboard. I switch on and off pedals (drive/ delay/ phase/ whatever) with a switch in the same scene- I'm changing amps within the same scene too. I guess the limitation would be I can only really have two "channels" for an amp for any given scene with X/Y- but for what I play that's all I'd ever need. Then if I need a totally different "rig" for a different song thats two entirely different amps then I'm already using- that would be a new patch- at least that's how I use it. X/Y always within the same scene. I need to probably do more with scenes- but it's all pretty new to me still and I do notice a "pop" and lag when I change scenes or presets- so I don't do that within a song. I don't fully understand the scenes yet anyway-

I look at all of it as a HUGE advantage either way- It may be a lag between scenes and presets- but I could never switch out an entire rig on stage either- I've always played with one amp primarily- only occasionally two amps- and the X/Y gets me that within a scene- but I can have full virtual rigs "hauled off stage and replaced" for every song. Wow! Mostly I'm going between a Fender clean to a Marshall overdrive- and for a "third" overdrive channel I use a drive pedal. I'm changing between the BE100 and '59 Bassguy- just like my real rig- I have a SB50 Friedman and a '59 Bassman- the Ax8 is WAY easier to carry then those two rigs-


Yeah I always play 3 or 4 channel amps, and what I'm missing in the ax8 is the ability to go between channels of the same amp.

I havent tried to do it all in one scene because the idea of hitting amp xy, delay, and verb switches all at once doesn't seem fun.

But when I get home I'll make a new preset and test out the single scene approach.
 
For me, having a second Amp Block will be a must.I don't understand why Fractal don't let the choice to his players if they prefer a second Amp, instead of another Block on the Grid (for example Reverb).
I don't use the Reverb Block, i prefer my Strymon pedal, so i have Cpu enough for a second Amp Block.
Before that, i have had a AXE FX2, but i prefer AX8 for the easier transport .But i played before on 3 amp (a Triptik clean, a Triptik Classic for rock rhythm, and a Tucana 3 for lead).I regret sometimes my Axe FX2 for that.
I hope one day we could have a second Amp Block, really.
 
For me, having a second Amp Block will be a must.I don't understand why Fractal don't let the choice to his players if they prefer a second Amp, instead of another Block on the Grid (for example Reverb).
I don't use the Reverb Block, i prefer my Strymon pedal, so i have Cpu enough for a second Amp Block.
Before that, i have had a AXE FX2, but i prefer AX8 for the easier transport .But i played before on 3 amp (a Triptik clean, a Triptik Classic for rock rhythm, and a Tucana 3 for lead).I regret sometimes my Axe FX2 for that.
I hope one day we could have a second Amp Block, really.
From what I understand, the AX8 has two processors. One is dedicated entirely to amp modeling (and cabs) and the other handles effects. Even IF they allowed two amp blocks there would be no processing power left for effects. Giving up just one effect block isn't going to free up enough horsepower to run a second amp block.
 
So, the solution is to use only the presets for having differents amps. 8 presets instead of 8 scenes under foot ;)
 
I hope one day we could have a second Amp Block, really.

I doubt it - that was not the design goal of the current generation AX8
Maybe in the next version when processors improve and they can fit more powerful CPUs in without the heat issues.
 
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