AX8 input level problem

Hurdy Gurdy Man

Hurdy Gurdy Man

New Member
Hi there,

I have problems setting up the AX8 with my Hurdy gurdy (for those who don't know that instrument, it's something like a mechanical violin with a wheel ;-)). The gurdy has a piezo pickup system (similar to a violin bridge pickup) that played very well with other effect processors like the Boss GT-10. The output level is way lower than an e-guitar pickup though. Even if I set the AX8 to 0 dB input pad (in the I/O setup) there is no LED flashing on the AX8 input meter (the lowest green LED at most if I play very hard). If I don't use any AMP Simulation, I have to gain my mixer or audio interface so much that lots of noise is coming up as well.

My questions:
- Is the AX8 even suitable for lower input levels than guitar pickups? Or is there any hidden option to adjust the AX8 to lower input level?
- Might the FX8 be a better option for lower input level?
- Any experiences with other instruments and the AX8 (such like violin etc.)

Thanks for any help and have a happy New Year! Stephan
 
Does your mixer have an effects or aux send? Maybe you could use the mixer to bring up your level before the AX8? Just a thought? Then if that works to your satisfaction you could try some sort of preamp?
 
Remember that you can bring the level way up using the mixer in the output section of the ax8 grid. Might get less noise that way.
 
You may have to add a filter block or something similiar in the preset to gain the volume up even more. I do this with my acoustic presets that don't have an amp.
 
First make sure you are setting the Output 1 level on the top panel all the way up. That at least gives you unity gain with a grid of all shunts.

If you aren't going to use the Amp Block for at least the Tube Preamp, you'll probably want to bump the level way up in the preset somewhere. You can either use the level on the Input/Gate block or the Main level on the Output block. Otherwise, you'll have to use lots of gain from your mixer or interface, which won't be as clean. If you use the Tube Preamp, you can use that as your main source of gain.

Don't worry about the input LED not lighting up. The fact that your loudest is at least getting into green is a sign that it's working. One of my guitars has a low output P100s and they sound great, but the neck pickup doesn't light up the LEDs very often.
 
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+1 on the tubepreamp, im using this and also splitting the signal up in parallel,running 1 line direct,and another into a acoustic cab sim, blending these, gives me more gain to :)
 
Wow, thank you so much for your fast and numerous answers! I'll try to get more output via the several ways you described and I'll also try the tube preamp. So I can turn down the gain at the mixer / interface and the noise should be reduced, right? Good to hear that it shouldn't be a problem that almost no LED is flashing! Thanks for the support and have a Happy New Year, Stephan
 
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