Audio interface, how important to tone?

smegolas

Inspired
i have an old apogee duet, which was good for its time, but I’m wondering about upgrading to a claret or something...will it have a positive effect on my fractal tone?

I’m having trouble getting The same killer tones for my Ax8 that I hear on YouTube. Wondering if he interface is the weak link.
 
No, your interface is not the problem (not at that level). Preamps may have a slight impact: I have an Audient ID14, but I cannot hear much difference when using it through digital input, which has no preamp at all.
The first thing you should check is volume, most probably the tones at youtube are maxed out in a DAW with a maximizer, or has a plug in, etc. If not, you need more tweaking on your AX8, its not easy getting a killer tone right away.
 
No, your interface is not the problem (not at that level). Preamps may have a slight impact: I have an Audient ID14, but I cannot hear much difference when using it through digital input, which has no preamp at all.
The first thing you should check is volume, most probably the tones at youtube are maxed out in a DAW with a maximizer, or has a plug in, etc. If not, you need more tweaking on your AX8, its not easy getting a killer tone right away.
What kind of adapter do you have going from your spdif to ID14?
 
If you are using SPDIF the audio interface has zero influence since it is just reading a digital signal.

Using the regular inputs can have some preamp influence but it is very minor and shouldn’t be too noticeable at all.

Are you happy with your tones before recording? Are you testing with an FRFR, monitors or headphones?
 
According to AX8 manual, when using the digital out the sound quaiiy would not be as good as when usign an analog out (XLR, Line). I don't know how they come up with this statement as it implies a dual conversion (analog/digital/analog) instead of analog/digital.
 
Mic pre's add their own timbre and color; running direct in digital negates any chance of that. However, if you like the tonal color/timbre of your mic pre it can be another tool. Chasing YouTube tones is a fool's game though - too many variables outside of just the AX8 - your guitar, your hands, your pick, your attack, etc are all factors.
 
According to AX8 manual, when using the digital out the sound quaiiy would not be as good as when usign an analog out (XLR, Line). I don't know how they come up with this statement as it implies a dual conversion (analog/digital/analog) instead of analog/digital.

Where in the manual did you read that ?
 
Unless it’s a microphone preamp which imparts a certain and desirable tonal coloration, the line level inputs on most interfaces are pretty indistinguishable across the board. Most brands use the same internal parts as well.

Simply isn’t the reason for someone on YouTube sounding different than you do even if your playing the same patch.

I’ve got the same microphone Freddy Mercury used and I sure don’t sound like him when I sing.
 
The less your signal goes through the better, so keeping digital until final conversion to analog speakers is usually good practice.

The converters in your audio interface, and the quality of the clocking in that interface matter a lot. It's definitely a part of why the Axe-Fx sounds so good.

I recently upgraded the digital part my audio interface, including the software for clocking. Just that made a significant difference in clarity across the board. I'm sure improving both converters and clocking would make a difference in your tone.
 
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I recently upgraded the digital part my audio interface, including the software for clocking. Just that made a significant difference in clarity across the board. I'm sure improving both converters and clocking would make a difference in your tone.

Please forgive my ignorance, could you elaborate on what you mean by 'clocking' ? I could understand that software would make a difference when used for MIDI time code which has no effect on sound quality, but the clock used for digital signal processing is hardware generated so how would software make a difference here ?
 
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