A couple of minor issues

Tom

Tom

Inspired
I just got my Axe-FX a few hours ago, and have been messing with it since then. I have mixed feelings about it so far, but I'm sure most of that will change when I get the hang of using it properly. Anyway, I've already noticed a couple of things that I can't immediately chalk up to it being new to me. The Axe-FX output is noisy. With my POD, I could plug it into the Carvin power amp and turn the amp all the way up, and as long as I wasn't actively making noise on the guitar, the Carvin was dead silent. The Axe-FX makes a constant buzzing/humming noise. It's not so loud that it makes it unusable, but when the guitar isn't playing, I can hear it at low levels. It's not a gating/gain issue. A blank patch with nothing but shunts still produces the same noise. The noise is there when the Axe-FX is off, too. I tried the ground lift switch in both positions, but it makes no difference. Hopefully this is just something stupid that I've done that can easily be fixed, but I can't think of anything.

Also, the value dial sometimes jumps around a bit. When I'm scrolling forward, it either gets hung up and jumps back and forth between two adjacent values or jumps back a few values so I have to scroll through them again (and this isn't just reaching the end and looping back to the first value). This one can be dealt with, but it is a minor annoyance.

Are these issues normal?
 
If there is no hum when the axe is off then the axe isn't the issue here. It will be a power (likely grounding) issue with your poweramp/house power.

The shuttle does take some adjusting to get used to but I've grown to prefer its characteristics over some of the other gear I use. Track fast and it FLIES through things, track slow and it moves slower, bump it and it gives you a nice jump (mainly annoyed when naming patches which is only really an annoyance cause i'm CONSTANTLY making new patches :) )
 
Well if you get noise when the AxeFx is off, . . then the noise is coming from somewhere else, no?

There is no separate edit mode, so when you edit you are doing so as the cpu is churning away trying to process audio. In a complicated patch, sometimes the cpu load gets a bit heavy and the value knob may seem to jump around a bit (it's a lower priority than processing the audio). Turn more slowly and this "effect" will go away. Edit a less intensive patch and this "effect" will go away.

You realize that there is a fan inside the AxeFx, maybe that's what you are hearing. If so the "fan noise" is unrealed to and does not affect the audio output.

Good Luck finding that noise when the AxeFx is off . .

cheers
 
I don't know where else the noise could be coming from, though, unless the patch cable is actually producing it, which I doubt. Currently, the Axe-FX is plugged straight into the Carvin. :(

Fan noise is unrelated to what comes out of the speakers and wouldn't be affected by the volume on the power amp.
 
Also, the value dial sometimes jumps around a bit. When I'm scrolling forward, it either gets hung up and jumps back and forth between two adjacent values or jumps back a few values so I have to scroll through them again (and this isn't just reaching the end and looping back to the first value). This one can be dealt with, but it is a minor annoyance.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately normal.

Are you using balanced or unbalanced cables?
 
When I adjust the output volume knob, I can also hear that through the speakers. It sounds like a typical scratchy pot, so that can probably be fixed.

I'm using unbalanced 1/4" cables.
 
Tom said:
When I adjust the output volume knob, I can also hear that through the speakers. It sounds like a typical scratchy pot, so that can probably be fixed.

I'm using unbalanced 1/4" cables.
Click to expand...

Ground lift doesn't work on unbalanced connections.
 
javajunkie said:
Ground lift doesn't work on unbalanced connections.
Click to expand...

Good to know. I switched it out for an XLR. There's still a little bit of noise, but it's a lot less than there was before.
 
javajunkie said:
Tom said:
javajunkie said:
Ground lift doesn't work on unbalanced connections.
Click to expand...

Good to know. I switched it out for an XLR. There's still a little bit of noise, but it's a lot less than there was before.
Click to expand...

It should be dead quiet.
Click to expand...

If the noise is reduced but not eliminated by a change in output cables - then I'd be looking for a source of RF interference, . . any electrical device strong enough to generate a magnetic field in that general area.
 
javajunkie said:
Also, the value dial sometimes jumps around a bit. When I'm scrolling forward, it either gets hung up and jumps back and forth between two adjacent values or jumps back a few values so I have to scroll through them again (and this isn't just reaching the end and looping back to the first value). This one can be dealt with, but it is a minor annoyance.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately normal.
Click to expand...
After almost a year with my Ultra I'm still not used to the wheel behaviour :shock: . Still hopeing that maybe one day Cliff will incorporate the up/down/left/right buttons a bit more to make scrollwheel use redundant ;) ...
 
Are you using a good power supply with RF filtering like a Furman or the like? If not try it and see if it helps.
 
Tom said:
I just got my Axe-FX a few hours ago, and have been messing with it since then. I have mixed feelings about it so far, but I'm sure most of that will change when I get the hang of using it properly. Anyway, I've already noticed a couple of things that I can't immediately chalk up to it being new to me. The Axe-FX output is noisy. With my POD, I could plug it into the Carvin power amp and turn the amp all the way up, and as long as I wasn't actively making noise on the guitar, the Carvin was dead silent. The Axe-FX makes a constant buzzing/humming noise. It's not so loud that it makes it unusable, but when the guitar isn't playing, I can hear it at low levels. It's not a gating/gain issue. A blank patch with nothing but shunts still produces the same noise. The noise is there when the Axe-FX is off, too. I tried the ground lift switch in both positions, but it makes no difference. Hopefully this is just something stupid that I've done that can easily be fixed, but I can't think of anything.

Also, the value dial sometimes jumps around a bit. When I'm scrolling forward, it either gets hung up and jumps back and forth between two adjacent values or jumps back a few values so I have to scroll through them again (and this isn't just reaching the end and looping back to the first value). This one can be dealt with, but it is a minor annoyance.

Are these issues normal?
Click to expand...

You have a problem with noise, and it aint the Axe-FX. Run it down.

Yup, the scrolling is *sort* of an issue. Cliff has responded that there's a priority level on the Axe that places scrolling very low. This means it won't affect tone...ever. Gonna have to live with that one. Realistically, do you need to roll from preset 4 to preset 127 in the middle of a song? It's a 'pick your battle' story.

Ron
 
electronpirate said:
Tom said:
I just got my Axe-FX a few hours ago, and have been messing with it since then. I have mixed feelings about it so far, but I'm sure most of that will change when I get the hang of using it properly. Anyway, I've already noticed a couple of things that I can't immediately chalk up to it being new to me. The Axe-FX output is noisy. With my POD, I could plug it into the Carvin power amp and turn the amp all the way up, and as long as I wasn't actively making noise on the guitar, the Carvin was dead silent. The Axe-FX makes a constant buzzing/humming noise. It's not so loud that it makes it unusable, but when the guitar isn't playing, I can hear it at low levels. It's not a gating/gain issue. A blank patch with nothing but shunts still produces the same noise. The noise is there when the Axe-FX is off, too. I tried the ground lift switch in both positions, but it makes no difference. Hopefully this is just something stupid that I've done that can easily be fixed, but I can't think of anything.

Also, the value dial sometimes jumps around a bit. When I'm scrolling forward, it either gets hung up and jumps back and forth between two adjacent values or jumps back a few values so I have to scroll through them again (and this isn't just reaching the end and looping back to the first value). This one can be dealt with, but it is a minor annoyance.

Are these issues normal?
Click to expand...

You have a problem with noise, and it aint the Axe-FX. Run it down.

Yup, the scrolling is *sort* of an issue. Cliff has responded that there's a priority level on the Axe that places scrolling very low. This means it won't affect tone...ever. Gonna have to live with that one. Realistically, do you need to roll from preset 4 to preset 127 in the middle of a song? It's a 'pick your battle' story.

Ron
Click to expand...

Priority level only is an issue when cpu use is high. The skipping thing is different, he actually changed that in the micocontroller on the newer models and it is better than it used to be.
 
Hi there,

when you say that the Axe is off do you mean switched off on the front panel or unplugged completely? Just thinking it could be transformer induced hum if the poweramp and axe or on top of each other and the axe still has mains power going into it.... Also could be and earth loop, are the Axe and poweramp in a single rack or do their chassis touch at all in your current setup? If so then try moving them apart. I had a ground loop setup in some old gear as both units were mounted on the same rack rails, got round this by purchasing some of these...

http://www.thomann.de/gb/adam_hall_humfrees_5635.htm

Spence
 
geetarman said:
Are you using a good power supply with RF filtering like a Furman or the like? If not try it and see if it helps.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've got a Furman PL-Plus C, which is one of the nicer ones.

xpenno said:
Hi there,

when you say that the Axe is off do you mean switched off on the front panel or unplugged completely? Just thinking it could be transformer induced hum if the poweramp and axe or on top of each other and the axe still has mains power going into it.... Also could be and earth loop, are the Axe and poweramp in a single rack or do their chassis touch at all in your current setup? If so then try moving them apart. I had a ground loop setup in some old gear as both units were mounted on the same rack rails, got round this by purchasing some of these...

http://www.thomann.de/gb/adam_hall_humfrees_5635.htm

Spence
Click to expand...

I just meant switched off from the front. The Axe-FX is right above the Carvin. I didn't think about a ground loop happening from them touching like that, but I guess it makes sense. When I switched the cable out for an XLR, the only one that was available was an old crappy one that's a lot longer than I need, so I'm thinking the small bit of noise left may be the cable picking up some interference. I'll have to switch that out for a good cable, and if the noise is still there, I'll look into those Humfree things. They look pretty handy.
 
Tom said:
geetarman said:
Are you using a good power supply with RF filtering like a Furman or the like? If not try it and see if it helps.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've got a Furman PL-Plus C, which is one of the nicer ones.

xpenno said:
Hi there,

when you say that the Axe is off do you mean switched off on the front panel or unplugged completely? Just thinking it could be transformer induced hum if the poweramp and axe or on top of each other and the axe still has mains power going into it.... Also could be and earth loop, are the Axe and poweramp in a single rack or do their chassis touch at all in your current setup? If so then try moving them apart. I had a ground loop setup in some old gear as both units were mounted on the same rack rails, got round this by purchasing some of these...

http://www.thomann.de/gb/adam_hall_humfrees_5635.htm

Spence
Click to expand...


I just meant switched off from the front. The Axe-FX is right above the Carvin. I didn't think about a ground loop happening from them touching like that, but I guess it makes sense. When I switched the cable out for an XLR, the only one that was available was an old crappy one that's a lot longer than I need, so I'm thinking the small bit of noise left may be the cable picking up some interference. I'll have to switch that out for a good cable, and if the noise is still there, I'll look into those Humfree things. They look pretty handy.
Click to expand...


If you get a cable to close to a transformer, you can get some interference as well.
 
I'm using an older Mackie power amp with my Axe FX (big transformer winding right on top), and I have it seperated from my power amp by close to one foot, with a rack drawer between them. My rig is stone cold quiet.

I tried racking the FX right on top of the power amp at first, but ran into the same noise issues - too much EM interference. Put some space between your power amp and FX and see what it does.
 
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