i'm saying in practice, at the gigs, etc., the AX8 wasn't designed to have the Out 1 knob all the way up. if it was, it wouldn't have a knob.
the FX8 is designed for Unity Gain, and therefore has no Output Knob at all. so many people come here, see to "turn the knob up all the way" then get to their gigs and clip the mixer because the sound guy runs the mixer like he always does.
instead of having an argument with the sound guy, just use the Out 1 knob as a volume knob like it is.
if you want to run the knobs up all the way, that's fine. but many people - even after watching other people's videos - don't understand why they might want it all the way up, and it causes a lot of trouble. i get tons of DMs, there's lots of threads, and i believe support gets some tickets regarding exactly this.
"AX8 is clipping the mixer and sounds distorted."
where is your Out 1 knob set?
"it's all the way up like it's supposed to be."
it doesn't need to be there, just turn it down
"no someone on the forum said it has to be turned up all the way"
ok, just for a test, let's be silly. try turning it down
"wow that worked!"
this happens all the time. people don't understand what Unity Gain is. most mixers at gigs and audio interfaces when using XLR inputs are not ready for Unity Gain line level signals. so it causes problems. that's why i tell everyone to use the range of the Out 1 knob from 9 o clock to 3 o clock - and it works for everyone so far.
many Fractal users are coming from a guitar-only background. they don't know about mixers, levels, gain staging, etc. and why should they since the gear they used before - real amps - have channel and master volumes and that's it. distortion is GOOD for guitars. you can turn the knobs really anywhere and it won't have the same issues as mixers and regular audio processing.
so instead of dropping an unfamiliar term on them - unity gain - which sounds like something that is a rule of audio ("you must be at unity gain or you'll get sooooooo much noise!!!!"), i teach how to use it like how you'd use a guitar amp: use this range of the knob.
the AX8 output is so forgiving and so low noise. i'll run my AX8 at 9 o clock or less, and there's no noise at all. i think people read things here and think if they use unbalanced cables, or if they run the output at anything less than 100%, this large amount of noise and hum and bad things are just going to happen. people have told me that on support calls.
"i can't turn down the output knob"
why not?
"i read that there will be a ton of noise"
really? let's be silly and just try it as a test.
"ok.... hmm. there's no noise. wait. i thought there would be a ton of noise?!"
paraphrased from memory, but that's what was said with a few different people when i help them. same thing with unbalanced cables. but why would they design a protocol that has noise as loud as the desired signal? why would FAS say to use cables that do that? you know? it's lack of experience and fear of the unknown, and that's fine - we all have to learn at some point at our own pace.
forums and the internet are great. there is a ton of information out there. but the danger is that since it IS "in writing", many people take that as truth, and think that is the only way to go. "i need cables - hmm some guy on a forum said to get the most expensive cables i can find, because anything else causes noise. ok, i'll spend $100 on an instrument cable because i have to." that's just not true at all.
again, want to run the out 1 knob all the way up? that's totally fine. i do that for my setup if i'm running sound because i understand what's happening. but at a gig where someone else is running sound and already has my mixer channel set at 12 o clock gain before i even plug in? i'm starting at 9 o clock. there is NO additional noise. the mic preamp of the mixer isn't messing up my sound. the boogie man isn't going to get me while i play. it sounds great, the gig goes well, no arguments over audio happened, and everyone's happy.
