AX8 First Impressions

Plexi12xxx

Plexi12xxx

Member
Finally got time to play with it - a good 3 hours so far. I am totally stunned - really. And I haven't yet moved from the one patch I got lost in. I think it's Bank 10 Preset 7 - Solo 100 Lead. It's got stereo cabs and the detune pitch shifter that was set right where I would run it +-8 cents panned. Plus wah, flanger, drive, delay, reverb.
Played around with the proximity on the cab and ran through the reverbs - killer. I have not played around with the amp settings yet, but can't wait to get back to it later on. Only listened so far through Headphones - ATH-M40fs. One cannot appreciate the unit without playing it. The feel is spot on - effortless playing. You roll the volume down and it cleans up just like a real amp. Time for a nap so I can get back into it. The Marshall's and Friedman's are waiting.
 
How are you hooking up your headphones?

Edit: I ask because I've gone all in and bought a Mac, new set of DT 770's and a Focusrite Scarlet 2i2 interface. I can't do anything but browse the forum because family is here for the holidays. I'm dying over here. :mad:
 
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Bman said:
How are you hooking up your headphones?

Edit: I ask because I've gone all in and bought a Mac, new set of DT 770's and a Focusrite Scarlet 2i2 interface. I can't do anything but browse the forum because family is here for the holidays. I'm dying over here. :mad:
Click to expand...

any headphone amp will do the trick,in your case i think you can connect headphones to the 2i2 headphone input.
 
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Bman said:
How are you hooking up your headphones?

Edit: I ask because I've gone all in and bought a Mac, new set of DT 770's and a Focusrite Scarlet 2i2 interface. I can't do anything but browse the forum because family is here for the holidays. I'm dying over here. :mad:
Click to expand...

Tell me about it - finally got everyone gone so I could play with my new toy. Anyway, I use the Objective 2 Head Phone amp. You will not find anything like it for the price. I actually built mine - bought the PCB and case from link below, components from Mouser. I enjoy building stuff so this was a no brainer. You can buy the complete amp at the link below. The specs are incredible. Do a search on Google and you can find the guy who designed it with all the related articles and how the O2 came to be. I think I spent around $75 or so. But then I added the ODAC and managed to stuff it in the same case. It is battery powered and very compact and sounds incredible - no color - just perfect amplification - talk about FRFR - this is it for phones. (Read the specs)

https://www.jdslabs.com/products/35/objective2-headphone-amplifier/
 
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Nice little setup. I'll have to run a USB from my Mac to the Scarlett to have power, but I'll also be able to run Ax-Edit. I've had the Ax8 for 3 weeks and have only 3 hours on it.
 
Hi guys,

Today I got my first Fractal product: AX8
But I don't have a power amp yet, so I want to connect the AX8 to my daughter's Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 in order to play the AX8 through my headphones.
Can anyone tell me which AX8 output I should connect tp which 2i2 input?
I'm asking this because I'm no tech specialist and I'm afraid to damage my daughter's gear.
Thanks!
 
Mr. B said:
Hi guys,

Today I got my first Fractal product: AX8
But I don't have a power amp yet, so I want to connect the AX8 to my daughter's Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 in order to play the AX8 through my headphones.
Can anyone tell me which AX8 output I should connect tp which 2i2 input?
I'm asking this because I'm no tech specialist and I'm afraid to damage my daughter's gear.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Bildschirmfoto 2017-12-30 um 20.14.22.png
 
Plexi12xxx said:
I connect the xlr outs to the 1/8" stereo input on the O2 with cables that I made. The xlr's terminate into rca males. Then I have a 1/8" stereo to dual rca male cable. Then connect with male to male connector. That's the red, white, yellow contraption.
Click to expand...
ahh ok!!im thinking to buy that headphones amp.
 
Hi Hubertus,
Thanks for the help, it works!
I used the left 1/4" out and connected it to the Focusrite 2i2 input.
As simple as that.
Great sounds already!
Gonna love this stuff!
 
Mr. B said:
Hi guys,

Today I got my first Fractal product: AX8
But I don't have a power amp yet, so I want to connect the AX8 to my daughter's Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 in order to play the AX8 through my headphones.
Can anyone tell me which AX8 output I should connect tp which 2i2 input?
I'm asking this because I'm no tech specialist and I'm afraid to damage my daughter's gear.
Thanks!
Click to expand...

I have same set up. Run outputs 1 & 2 into the Scarlett 212's inputs 1 & 2. You can use either 1/4" or XLR. Turn both output levels on the AX8 all the way up and the line level's down on the Scarlett. Strum some notes, palm mutes or whatever and bring the line levels up on the Scarlett until they become Red, then back them down a tad so that your loudest note is just under the red or clipping point. Then use the headphone level to adjust volume on your ears.

Also, when you've pulled up a preset to play with, don't be afraid to turn knobs (drive,bass, mid,treb,presence,master,level). I quickly found that some of the factory presets came to life once I started tweaking. You might be surprised to find that dialing down the drive or master will get you a more focused gain tone. It's the same with my tube amps.. I've never owned one that sounded good dimed. I also prefer a drive boost to EQ the roughness out.
 
Bman said:
I have same set up. Run outputs 1 & 2 into the Scarlett 212's inputs 1 & 2. You can use either 1/4" or XLR. Turn both output levels on the AX8 all the way up and the line level's down on the Scarlett. Strum some notes, palm mutes or whatever and bring the line levels up on the Scarlett until they become Red, then back them down a tad so that your loudest note is just under the red or clipping point. Then use the headphone level to adjust volume on your ears.

Also, when you've pulled up a preset to play with, don't be afraid to turn knobs (drive,bass, mid,treb,presence,master,level). I quickly found that some of the factory presets came to life once I started tweaking. You might be surprised to find that dialing down the drive or master will get you a more focused gain tone. It's the same with my tube amps.. I've never owned one that sounded good dimed. I also prefer a drive boost to EQ the roughness out.
Click to expand...
Wow Bman, this helped a lot!
My AX8 fun goes at warpspeed.
Best investment ever!
 
For headphones, I just bought a Y cable with 1/4" mono plugs (for left and right) that convert to a 1/8" stereo Jack and plug the headphones into that.
 
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