Another Power Amp and Cabinet Question

old_n_salty

old_n_salty

New Member
I have been working on my AX8 for like 2-3 months now, spending tons of time trying my hardest to copy my pedalboard setup and match our record tones and sounds with this piece of equipment. I was getting really excited. I finally swap out my oversized pedalboard for the AX8 at rehearsal a few nights ago and get the response I have been dreading from band members. Long story short, I know I'm not running the "best" sounding application for a digital modeler/effects unit, a Marshall JCM800 50 Watt 2-channel head with a Marshall 4x12 cabinet and do not have my presets tweaked as best as possible. It's been a difficult journey. I don't want to give up on the AX8 regardless of the guys' responses. Shows so far have been at smaller sized venues leading to the sound/sound guy being our biggest enemy. With that being said I feel like a FOH setup is out of the question until we are playing good sized venues with solid sound/sound guys. Would it be advantageous if I spend the cash and go with a Matrix power amp and passive 2x12 cabinet or even just the AX8 with an active cabinet like a Mission Gemini 2x12 or Matrix 2x12? Will I find a better translation in sound with that type of amp/cabinet setup compared to what I have now? Thanks!
 
Haha...You are correct. I got so lost in all my words I forgot to address it. It's mainly my amp and cabinet tones. I can get a clean sound close to what I want. Drives, crunch, fuzz and higher gain tones are my downfall.
 
Not to be snarky here, but I can't even figure out what you are trying to do from your posts. I am going to guess that you are saying you perviously used a Marshall 50W into a 4x12 cabinet, mic'ed into the main house mixer; and now you are trying to go direct from the AX8 to the house mixer? And if that is the case, how are you hearing yourself?

And I have no idea what a "downfall" sounds like. So not much here to go on to help you. We will need a lot more specific information.

Could you start at the beginning and describe your total system previous to the AX8, and then your total system as you are trying to use now, and then what you ultimately want your system to be. Then describe what you are using in your presets (e.g. amp model, cab etc.).
 
My apologies. I was all over the place. I hope I can straighten things out.
Previous Setup = Marshall JCM800 head with 4x12 cabinet and pedalboard
Currently/Trying to Run = Marshall JCM800 head with 4x12 cabinet and AX8
I cannot seem to get decent tones once I leave the "clean" realm. So in other words my crunch and hi-gain sounds are what I am having problems with. I am trying different amp sims and drive blocks but no avail. My main question was, if I was to change my setup from a tube amp and 4x12 cabinet setup to say a solid state power amp (like Matrix), passive 2x12 cabinet and AX8 or even an active 2x12 cabinet (like Mission Gemini) and the AX8, will I see a noticeable difference in sound/tone? Current preset on a clean tone would involve the double verb normal, no cab sim, GEQ and other effects (delay, reverb). Sounds great to me. Hi-gain presets would include Citrus RV50 with Citrus 4x12 cab sim, GEQ and any involved effects. I feel like I cannot get the right combination of higher gain amp and cab sims to sound good. I'm sure this is all user error. I hope this makes more sense.
 
Okay, I am going to make assumptions in the interest of time that may or may not be true. It sounds like you are creating this scenario: You are crafting a tone out of the AX8 that is essentially the sound of a guitar preamp and power amp, then you are sending this into a guitar preamp, power amp, and cab and expecting it to sound good? The proper way to do this is to run out of the AX8 and into the power amp section of your Marshall (i.e. effects return jack on the back of the Marshall) so that you are bypassing the Marshall's preamp. You can't expect to run a guitar preamp and power amp into another guitar preamp and power amp and expect it to sound good. In addition you will always have to mic up your real cab if running this way. It will be extremely difficult to send a direct line to the PA from your AX8 and make it sound like your cab on stage sounds. But I am out of my element here and will let others chime in who run this way.
 
I just ran it through my amp effects return of my Splawn Super sport mini Head and it sounds fantastic. I just turn the cab sims off on the preset and the different amps sound great.
 
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