About to Throw my AX-8 out the window (Rant)

fragmentsmusic7

fragmentsmusic7

Inspired
I have had the AX-8 for over a year and just can't quite get the sounds that I want for recording. I know the AX-8 is mainly a live tool. But until I'm back on the live gigs, I've been using it for recording and just can't quite get what I need. It's driving me mad because I hear all your amazing tones and mixes, and I'm still stuck at the tone part. Haha.

If it's a super metal tone, I can get those fairly quick and they are pretty good. But I almost never write metal for my material or play it out live. All the other genres are where I am extremely struggling.

Add on the fact that I don't have monitors anymore (Long story short: stolen). So now I'm using headphones which I know makes it more difficult.

I don't know how you all do it. But I'm reaching a point of selling this damn thing and sticking to my Rockerverb. It makes me super sad though because I really want to use this for recording and live.
 
fragmentsmusic7 said:
I have had the AX-8 for over a year and just can't quite get the sounds that I want for recording. I know the AX-8 is mainly a live tool. But until I'm back on the live gigs, I've been using it for recording and just can't quite get what I need. It's driving me mad because I hear all your amazing tones and mixes, and I'm still stuck at the tone part. Haha.

If it's a super metal tone, I can get those fairly quick and they are pretty good. But I almost never write metal for my material or play it out live. All the other genres are where I am extremely struggling.

Add on the fact that I don't have monitors anymore (Long story short: stolen). So now I'm using headphones which I know makes it more difficult.

I don't know how you all do it. But I'm reaching a point of selling this damn thing and sticking to my Rockerverb. It makes me super sad though because I really want to use this for recording and live.
Click to expand...

It might be that it's just not your cup of tea! If the Rockerverb gets you what you need I would say sell the AX8 and an FX8 and maybe a load box for the rockerverb.
 
Sixstring said:
It might be that it's just not your cup of tea! If the Rockerverb gets you what you need I would say sell the AX8 and an FX8 and maybe a load box for the rockerverb.
Click to expand...

You may be right. I'm hoping not though. I love everything about the unit in terms of FX, the simplicity of setup for live shows and everything else. And even making presets is fairly simple. I just can't seem to get quality tones for recording. Which sucks. I can't exactly blast the Rockerverb around here without someone getting pissed and wanting to burn down the house. Haha.
 
I used to have a rockerverb 50 great amp ! loved the tones I got from it. Down side is it was only have of my rig long story short I dove in head first on FAS products and haven't looked back.

I have also learned that presets that are built for live use don't always translate to a recording application so you work load goes up if you are trying to get the same sound live captured in a direct recording.

With the rabbit hole of I/R's and EQ options that FAS products have it can challenge you if your preset building skills are not up to the task.

I still cant figure it all out and I have been using FAS gear for ten + years now so don't feel bad. I gave up on doing recordings I mainly play through my floor monitors.

Speaking of which I have a pair of old M-Audio BX8a monitors that still work but aren't in the greatest shape If you're interested I will let them go super cheap if you need something to push a little air in your room! if your interested send me a PM.
 
Make your own presets for live and studio, you will need monitors though, headphones will not translate well to anything else. Start by building your own rigs from scratch. JBL LSR series are excellent "budget" monitors. For live, you need high SPL monitoring like a PA, to set up your presets. Have you checked out all the Yek FAQs and tutorials?
 
fragmentsmusic7 said:
I have had the AX-8 for over a year and just can't quite get the sounds that I want for recording. I know the AX-8 is mainly a live tool. But until I'm back on the live gigs, I've been using it for recording and just can't quite get what I need. It's driving me mad because I hear all your amazing tones and mixes, and I'm still stuck at the tone part. Haha.

If it's a super metal tone, I can get those fairly quick and they are pretty good. But I almost never write metal for my material or play it out live. All the other genres are where I am extremely struggling.

Add on the fact that I don't have monitors anymore (Long story short: stolen). So now I'm using headphones which I know makes it more difficult.

I don't know how you all do it. But I'm reaching a point of selling this damn thing and sticking to my Rockerverb. It makes me super sad though because I really want to use this for recording and live.
Click to expand...

Hello, you don't say whether you are recording in the studio with your band or at home on your own. If in the studio, then book some time with the engineer to review your presets as they should be able to help you understand what you need to do. Generally the sound we like in isolation has too much bass and not enough high mids & treble to to sit properly in the mix.

If you are mixing at home by yourself then you really do need some decent monitors and use them at volume. But you could try the following with headphones which may help:

1. If you have a isolated recording of your Rockerverb then use this as a template for building your AX8 preset. Listen to the RV and your current preset and see if you can identify what it is that is different. Make use of the graphic EQ in the amp block and the cab high and low pass filters to focus in on frequencies.

2. Use a backing track of a song you know (one without guitar) and build a preset that sits well in the mix. Be careful not to simply make your preset louder, but focus on your preset in the mix not over it. You can then compare that preset with one of your previous presets that did not work and identify how they differ.

Finally - don't give up, the AX8 is a fantastic bit of kit but there are a lot of articles that tell you that a good recording sound can sound c**p on its own and visa versa.
 
If I read this right , you're comparing the sound of your amp to what your hearing thru a set of headphones ?
If you have a decent amplification setup , speakers , and / or headphones , the AX8 is THE best at what it does.
Your problem is most likely due to your headphones and setup.
The factory presets alone , should sound fine enough to gain your respect , if you're listening thru a good setup. No need for building presets and sorting IRs initially.

....or , it might not be right for you.
 
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Notwithstanding what type of guitar and pickups you use if you follow this pattern to create a Marshall amp preset and even run it thru a decent set of headphones you will get a stellar tone. Decent monitors are great when volume is not an issue or to finalize but I rarely have to tweak anything... mix or preset, recorded or live, after using my Senn HD650's headphones.
 
As you indicated, there are plenty of players getting great tones from the AX8. Unless you are right there in a room with them and their rigs, I assume you are listening to their recordings. I agree with other posters here that you are frustrated with the AX8 based on what you are listening to. The AX8 is only as good as what you play through. Comparing headphones to a live amp in the room is really an apples to bananas comparison. Of course it sounds different. Rather than get frustrated at your sound and selling your AX8, why not just save your pennies for a pair of monitors and work on your playing in the meantime? If you sell your AX8, once you get your monitors, you will just be back to wanting an AX8, and likely regret your decision to sell it. Just my $0.02.

There are plenty of presets floating around. Why not find a recorded sound you like, and download the preset. A preset is just a file, and the AX8 is just a computer. It will reproduce the file. Once you load it up, if you play it and it sounds bad through your headphones, it's your headphones, not the AX8. I'm not Perry Mason, but I rest my case.
 
I remember one day watching a very famous guitar player pick up an old vintage LP Junior of mine and smoke it. I'll never forget that lesson about my limitations as a player, not the gear. MHO
 
if you want to nail this down, i would post a link to a sound you really like and are having trouble replicating. post one of your patches as well. ask someone to create a patch from scratch that emulates the tone you're after. if they can post it with a short example of how it sounds, then you can import it and check out how it sounds to you. otherwise we're just all pissing in the wind, really...
 
mwd said:
Notwithstanding what type of guitar and pickups you use if you follow this pattern to create a Marshall amp preset and even run it thru a decent set of headphones you will get a stellar tone. Decent monitors are great when volume is not an issue or to finalize but I rarely have to tweak anything... mix or preset, recorded or live, after using my Senn HD650's headphones.
Click to expand...
That's a great video. Nice job @Burgs!
 
Change to FX8 and get Torpedo Live for your Rokerverb! It will be killer rig for recording!
I'm using my AX8 mainly for the stage, and I record with my Mesa Mark V:25 + AX8 with 4cables connection!
 
vick1000 said:
Make your own presets for live and studio, you will need monitors though, headphones will not translate well to anything else. Start by building your own rigs from scratch. JBL LSR series are excellent "budget" monitors. For live, you need high SPL monitoring like a PA, to set up your presets. Have you checked out all the Yek FAQs and tutorials?
Click to expand...

Thank you for the monitor recommendation.

And I have watched AustinBuddy Tutorials (which were great for making sure that I am using the AX-8 Edit to it's full potential as well as gain staging properly). And I have been going through the Yek FAQs. Which have been helpful for a couple of good live tones, but nothing has translated to recording. Of course, that could be lack of monitors as you said. But even when I had monitors before mine were stolen, I had a really hard time dialing in any tones that worked for what I wanted.
 
2112 said:
The AX8 is only as good as the system you're listening to it on. Monitors make a phenomenal difference compared to headphones.
Click to expand...

My problem is that I still wasn't getting decent recording tones when I had my monitors before they were stolen. I just wasn't getting what I needed out of the AX8. And I understand that it's totally on me.

Oh I love your videos and watch quite a lot of them by the way! You do really great work!
 
ChrisH said:
Hello, you don't say whether you are recording in the studio with your band or at home on your own. If in the studio, then book some time with the engineer to review your presets as they should be able to help you understand what you need to do. Generally the sound we like in isolation has too much bass and not enough high mids & treble to to sit properly in the mix.

If you are mixing at home by yourself then you really do need some decent monitors and use them at volume. But you could try the following with headphones which may help:

1. If you have a isolated recording of your Rockerverb then use this as a template for building your AX8 preset. Listen to the RV and your current preset and see if you can identify what it is that is different. Make use of the graphic EQ in the amp block and the cab high and low pass filters to focus in on frequencies.

2. Use a backing track of a song you know (one without guitar) and build a preset that sits well in the mix. Be careful not to simply make your preset louder, but focus on your preset in the mix not over it. You can then compare that preset with one of your previous presets that did not work and identify how they differ.

Finally - don't give up, the AX8 is a fantastic bit of kit but there are a lot of articles that tell you that a good recording sound can sound c**p on its own and visa versa.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the words of encouragement.

And I'm currently trying to record a DIY punk rock EP. So I figured it would be fairly straight forward to get a couple of guitar tones that would work. Stick to the punk rock amps that are staples. Orange, Mesa, and Marshall. But I just haven't been able to lock in what I want. I typically demo everything at home and take it into a pro studio where we just use amps, including my Rockerverb. But that's for other projects later down the line.

As to point 1: I actually have an "okay" preset of a RV50, and is what I use the most on all my demo's that are just barely passable. I don't have an isolated recording unfortunately, so I have to sometimes play them near each other and piss off some neighbors. Haha.

Point 2: I actually have done this a few times and it seems I can get decent cleans for songs or very mild breakup. But once I get into dirty/heavy gain tones, all hell breaks loose and it sounds really bad.

And I really don't want to give up on the AX8. I know this is totally on me, and not the gear itself.
 
1poorplayer said:
If I read this right , you're comparing the sound of your amp to what your hearing thru a set of headphones ?
If you have a decent amplification setup , speakers , and / or headphones , the AX8 is THE best at what it does.
Your problem is most likely due to your headphones and setup.
The factory presets alone , should sound fine enough to gain your respect , if you're listening thru a good setup. No need for building presets and sorting IRs initially.

....or , it might not be right for you.
Click to expand...

While I don't hate the presets, they don't quite hit what I would like to use. I currently don't have much of a choice in headphones/monitors at the moment from my situation. But even if I take an amp tone from a preset and record it, it doesn't typically fit in songs that I'm trying to do.
 
mwd said:
Notwithstanding what type of guitar and pickups you use if you follow this pattern to create a Marshall amp preset and even run it thru a decent set of headphones you will get a stellar tone. Decent monitors are great when volume is not an issue or to finalize but I rarely have to tweak anything... mix or preset, recorded or live, after using my Senn HD650's headphones.
Click to expand...

Part of the problem may be that my headphones suck. They are getting old and aren't super cheap, but they aren't $300+ headphones either. Either way, monitors I had before they were stolen or these current headphones just are not working for recorded tones. :(
 
Geezerjohn said:
As you indicated, there are plenty of players getting great tones from the AX8. Unless you are right there in a room with them and their rigs, I assume you are listening to their recordings. I agree with other posters here that you are frustrated with the AX8 based on what you are listening to. The AX8 is only as good as what you play through. Comparing headphones to a live amp in the room is really an apples to bananas comparison. Of course it sounds different. Rather than get frustrated at your sound and selling your AX8, why not just save your pennies for a pair of monitors and work on your playing in the meantime? If you sell your AX8, once you get your monitors, you will just be back to wanting an AX8, and likely regret your decision to sell it. Just my $0.02.

There are plenty of presets floating around. Why not find a recorded sound you like, and download the preset. A preset is just a file, and the AX8 is just a computer. It will reproduce the file. Once you load it up, if you play it and it sounds bad through your headphones, it's your headphones, not the AX8. I'm not Perry Mason, but I rest my case.
Click to expand...

When I had monitors before they were stolen, I still wasn't getting tones I was looking for.

And I know that the "Amp in the room" sound is not there with the AX8. That was something I was prepared for when I bought the unit. I haven't been using my Rockerverb recently so I don't make people angry in the neighborhood.
 
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