Anyone plug an acoustic guitar into the Axe-FX Standard/Ultra?

CyberFerret

Power User
Just wondering if anyone has used the Axe-FX Standard or Ultra to plug an acoustic into for either live performance or recording?

Just wondering what presets/amps/cabs/effects work well with an acoustic?

I'd really like to build a patch from scratch that will suit my Maton acoustic, say, in a small club style or open air setting - so I would probably look an minimal delay/reverb modulation to add some ambience to the natural signal.

What amp/effect blocks would have a good starting point?

Thanks!
 
i would also like to know of a good acoustic setup because i have a wedding to play for in a few weeks. with no clue of how to amp my guitar!
 
I have made a preset for my nylon string guitar with build-in pu.system. Starting with Comp. - Tube Pre (the most neutral lowgain pre-amp sim) - Parametric eq.- Chorus(paralel)- Reverb(paralel)

The compression evens out the loud picking dynamics and with the parametric eq. you can dial out the problematic peaks.
 
this ^

i use some graphtech ghost saddles on my electric and and all you need really is a flat amp like the tube pre, or even the fet boost will work. follow that up with a parametric for tweaking and the rest is up to you as far as chorus, delay and reverb is concerned. i also use the acoustic ir blended in parallel to add some body resonance as i'm using an electric. compression before or after the amp is also a good idea.

sim
 
I've been using the axefx as the preamp and routing it through a presonus mixer (use its reverb, which is better to my ears) and out through stereo JBL EON 515s. I have a Maton EBG808 with a bridge piezo and I run it straight into the axefx. My preset is compressor, tube pre, a smidge of graphic eq and that's it. I'll use the mixer's reverb depending on how much sustain I want.

I use the Maton's onboard preamp to control volume, bass & treble. I think the compressor is the default setting for the studio compressor. I may have dropped the threshold a bit. The tube pre settings are drive at 9 o'clock and the eq essentially flat, except for -6 dB at 125 since the onboard guitar eq has all the low end I usually need. I use various channel strip presets on the presonus which also include compression (at times) and eq.

All that being said, it sounds really good just plugged straight into an Atomic Wedge, but I don't have the reverb/compression options that I like.
 
My acoustic signal chain: PEQ-Reverb.

I use the first band of the PEQ to cut ultralow frequencies:
type blocking
freq 30 Hz
The other bands are used to shape the tone of my acoustic.

Reverb settings:
type sm room
pre delay 31.5 ms
lowcut 80 hz
highcut 1400 hz
mix 17 %
input diff 33,5%
diff time 95%
wall diff 95%
echo dens 8
tail delay 120 ms
early level 0 db
reverb level -10 to -20 db (this is my actual reverb mix knob to dial it in from subtile to obvious)

I don't use the tubepre (or any other amp model) because it steals high frequencies. Hope this helps.
 
Ultra
PEQ, delay10- 15ms, smallest amount of reverb
no amp block, no cab

for me, acoustic tone is all about eq.....more removing the frequencies the pickup adds than any kind of boost. In fact, all of the adjustments I have made in the peq are cuts- getting me back to how my guitar sounds.
i also use the MBC from time to time when playing solo, giving priority to sustaining lower frequencies.
 
Ultra
PEQ, delay10- 15ms, smallest amount of reverb
no amp block, no cab
The very short delay is a good idea. Increasing the level of the early reflections of the reverb block does basicly the same but with a different vibe.

for me, acoustic tone is all about eq.....more removing the frequencies the pickup adds than any kind of boost. In fact, all of the adjustments I have made in the peq are cuts- getting me back to how my guitar sounds.
+1
 
Thanks for all the replies everyone! I really appreciate it, and will use your ideas to start experimenting with some patches this week.

Simeon - when you mention 'acoustic IR' - do you mean a 3rd party one, or does the Axe Ultra have an 'acoustic' cab as part of the built in set that I might have missed?
 
Here's a pic of a very basic patch of mine. I use my ultra mainly for Acoustic guitars and i tend to stay away from the any amps and comp. I generally try to keep it simple. The delay you see upfront is a looper (mix35, level +2Db). The cab block is using an Acoustic IR to add just a little air to the sound. I some time use some multi delay for my reverse delay settings for arpeggio sections and that's about it.
 
The very short delay is a good idea. Increasing the level of the early reflections of the reverb block does basicly the same but with a different vibe.


+1

Im going to give the early reflections a tweak...sounds interesting.
BTW- I'm going to blame you if I return to a tweaking frenzy...I've been tweak free for awhile now....but I'm feelin a session coming on.
 
Hi CyberFerret

I would also mention to use the rear input for acoustic guitar. As far as I remember the front input is optimised for electric guitar pu's.( the so called "secret sauce")
Just build a patch with only shunts and compare the front input to the rear input. You will hear the difference.
And as the other posters mentioned a studio compressor at the beginning, may be the preamp as an amp block and a short delay for a start should get you there.
cheers
 
I would also mention to use the rear input for acoustic guitar. As far as I remember the front input is optimised for electric guitar pu's.( the so called "secret sauce")
Just build a patch with only shunts and compare the front input to the rear input. You will hear the difference.
The "secret sauce" is some additional noise reduction. The front input adds some EQ to the signal; a reverse EQ is applied after the analog-to-digital conversion.

The difference you hear between the front and back input is the reverse EQ being applied without the initial EQ (there's no built-in EQ on the rear input). If you configure the Axe-FX for rear input, you will hear no difference in sound (compared to the front input when the Axe-FX is configured for front input).
 
Hey Rex,

ok so this is going off-topic, but if im using an electric guitar with magnetic and piezo pickups, mags to to front input, piezo to rear right input, the piezo signal will be hit with the reverse EQ, right? is there no way to avoid this without appluing an EQ block to the RHS signal chain? I dont think the rear input is meant to be used fordirect input for mag pickups.
 
According to the manual the front input is to be used with acoustic guitars as well.

"Plug your instrument into this Instrument Input Jack, designed specifically for use with electric, acoustic, and bass guitars. Plugging a line-level device into this input may cause clipping of the input amplifier and is not recommended."
 
According to the manual the front input is to be used with acoustic guitars as well.

"Plug your instrument into this Instrument Input Jack, designed specifically for use with electric, acoustic, and bass guitars. Plugging a line-level device into this input may cause clipping of the input amplifier and is not recommended."

yup...
 
According to the manual the front input is to be used with acoustic guitars as well.

"Plug your instrument into this Instrument Input Jack, designed specifically for use with electric, acoustic, and bass guitars. Plugging a line-level device into this input may cause clipping of the input amplifier and is not recommended."

Well I was designed to farm, hunt, be nomadic, and have lots of babies, but that clearly is not my case...
 
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Hey Rex,...if im using an electric guitar with magnetic and piezo pickups, mags to to front input, piezo to rear right input, the piezo signal will be hit with the reverse EQ, right? is there no way to avoid this without appluing an EQ block to the RHS signal chain? I dont think the rear input is meant to be used fordirect input for mag pickups.
You can do that just fine. The trick is to know that the left input has no "secret sauce" applied, ever. Just set the Axe-FX for front input, plug your mag pickups into the front, and plug your piezo pickup into the left rear. Now you've got two separate signals you can play with, and they both have flat EQ at the input.
 
I ended up with / without the tube pre in my Ultra acoustic patches: PEQ -> [tube pre] -> Reverb.

I added it for when I was switching from acoustic to / from electric patches in the same gig to try and get the overall level between the acoustic guitars and electrics in the same ballpark.

Not needed if it is an all acoustic gig.

Richard
 
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