Ambient Swells, how to do on Axe Fx II?

M

maybeshewill

Member
Hey guys, so I've come from a large pedalboard, where obviously volume swells were easily done with my Ernie Ball VP Junior. How do I go about using this with the Axe Fx 2? I did plug it in to "pedal 1" at the back, set the inputs, but when I play it is just SUPER quiet. Way more quiet then what the patch sounded without it.

Anyone had luck with ambient swells, in the vein of hammock/sigur ros etc with the Axe Fx 2 and how did you go about it?

Thanks!
 
Either use a Vol block, attach the pedal to the Vol parameterand use Level to set the desired volume.

Or use a Vol block, attach the Vol parameter to Envelope and adjust the Envelope settings, for automatic swells ("Boss Slow Gear" emulation).
 
yek said:
Either use a Vol block, attach the pedal to the Vol parameter and use Level to set the desired volume.

Or use a Vol block, attach the Vol parameter to Envelope and adjust the Envelope settings, for automatic swells ("Boss Slow Gear" emulation).
Click to expand...

I have tried the first method you mentioned, and like I said I just get a volume in which I can't really hear unless I put my ear up to my speaker. Which "Level" are you suggesting I turn to increase volume? I can't turn up "Volume" in the Volume/Pan Page 1 as it is just sitting 100% of the time at around 8:30, and when I try to turn it up it just flashes.
 
You need to connect the pedal using a stereo (TRS) cable.
Set type to Continuous and calibrate (I/O menu > Pedal).
Then assign one the Externals to Pedal (I/O menu).
In the Vol block, goto Volume, enter the Modifier menu and set Source to the selected External.
Use default modifier values.
Exit the Modifier menu and max the Volume parameter.
Save the preset.
 
Thanks for running me through Yek, but that's exactly what I've done. The only thing I can't do (it won't let me) is maximise the volume in the Volume/Pan 1 Page 1 menu. I maxed out the flashing arm on the dial, but the constant sits at around 8:30 even when I'm not touching the guitar, is this normal? Not sure what's going on.. because I did follow your steps exactly.

Also, just to make sure I've got the basics right, the TRS instrument cable should be plugged into the Output of the pedal correct? 99.5% sure that's correct but just making sure.
 
maybeshewill said:
The only thing I can't do (it won't let me) is maximise the volume in the Volume/Pan 1 Page 1 menu. I maxed out the flashing arm on the dial, but the constant sits at around 8:30 even when I'm not touching the guitar, is this normal?.
Click to expand...

But the numeric value goes up to 10 when manually adjusting?

The Vol block is active in the preset, isn't it? (When muting make sure Bypass mode is set to Thru; it defaults to Mute)

Also, just to make sure I've got the basics right, the TRS instrument cable should be plugged into the Output of the pedal correct? 99.5% sure that's correct but just making sure.
Click to expand...

Ah, there it is. It needs to go into In and Out. You need a splitter cable: 1 stereo plug into two mono jacks (In and Out).
 
Welcome to the Ernie Ball VP Club.....lol....i rattled my brain for about a week trying to figure out what was going on, and right before I opened to mod it....I caught it
 
using a volume pedal as an expression pedal can be a bit hit and miss, because a volume pedal doesn't follow a linear curve like an expression pedal does. you're almost better off just running the volume pedal in between your guitar and the input of the axe fx. if you want to use it as an expression pedal go here - Easy Expression Converter | dbinstrumentamp.com

sim
 
volume swells

i use my ernie ball vol pedal as expression into my mfc and have attached the control to the input volume of the axe. That allows me to have volume control
on every patch without having to insert vol block in each preset. I ran my volume first in "the real world" and do alot of volume swells and never had an issue...
the only thing I would normally do different is place compressor before volume, but I am ok with not doing that in my axe setup because it sounds
fine and I don't have to program for each patch. jmho!
 
simeon said:
using a volume pedal as an expression pedal can be a bit hit and miss, because a volume pedal doesn't follow a linear curve like an expression pedal does. you're almost better off just running the volume pedal in between your guitar and the input of the axe fx. if you want to use it as an expression pedal go here - Easy Expression Converter | dbinstrumentamp.com

sim
Click to expand...

Hey Sim, I'm assuming you're using this. Have you tried using the modifer curve parameters to accomplish the same goal? Does this work better?

Thanks
 
No, it can't be done with curves

edit - more info - yes, i've been using the easy converter and it works very well. there's a little switch inside the vp junior which changes the curve of the pedal. it's essential to get this switched right. a minute or so experimenting will let you know where it should be. without the converter, the track of the pedal is so off (see the vid on the easy converter page) that even using modifier curves can't correct for it.

the irony is, you're converting a volume pedal to an expression pedal, so you can emulate a volume pedal, but the price of the converter is less than a new pedal and you can choose what parameter to map to it. the best way to emulate volume swells is to map the pedal to a volume block and choose the first of the three log curves. if you place the block before your amp, then it behaves like the volume on your guitar, winding up gain as well as volume as you swell. if you put the block behind the amp, then gain remains constant as you increase volume. it's worth experimenting to see which you prefer.

sim
 
Last edited:
I've had at least some success two ways, 1) using a gate with slow attack and medium ratio, and 2) using a volume block, controlled by an envelope with a slow attack.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom