AX8 True Bypass Best Practice

[Marcelo Bessa]

It seems like the AX8 is overloading the input of the amp... I would check the output volumes of the AX8.... First, try lowering the Out 1 knob in the front panel of the AX8, that acts like a Master Volume of the unit... If that does not do the trick, you should try to change the Out 1 output level under the I/O menu... I guess that the default value is +4db, and you should try to change it to -10db to see if that solves the problem...

 

[Troy Kelly]

It seems like the AX8 is overloading the input of the amp... I would check the output volumes of the AX8.... First, try lowering the Out 1 knob in the front panel of the AX8, that acts like a Master Volume of the unit... If that does not do the trick, you should try to change the Out 1 output level under the I/O menu... I guess that the default value is +4db, and you should try to change it to -10db to see if that solves the problem...

I max out the output volume on the AX8, which gives me approx the same volume as plugging straight into the amp. My gigs this past weekend went great. I didn't hear any hum on this particular stage. The AX8 was plugged into a different wall (and potentially a different circuit) than the guitar amp. But no discernible hum, granted it's a loud and packed venue, very large with high ceilings, but I couldn't make out a hum.

I didn't really have time to experiment on stage, it was all business at that point. I left my amp eq settings where I left it from initial A/B comparison at home and the unit sounded great. The band loved it, and the sound guy said it rocked.

This coming weekend one of the venues I will be trying out the amp modeling with no guitar amp, so I'm looking forward to testing that out. I'll get the sound guy to crank my monitor a bit so I have some stage volume. Normally the band does not have any stage monitoring at all with our IEM rig.

I appreciate everyone's feedback. I'm just gonna keep using it and tweak things as I go and look for patterns and reasons why I perceive differences in my amp sound. But the bottom line is, it kicked ass over the weekend, and I love the small profile pedal board and scene capability. I feel like the amp gain dynamics when I adjust my volume are spot on and that's the important thing to me. Definitely sold on it after two shows. I'll update the thread if I learn anything new regarding this subject.

 

[chrisjnyc]

OP, Check the input pad, and your output levels.

I found the AX8 to be a bit noisy in front of my Vox type amp. Add the noise gate to a few patches and see if its better.

 

[Troy Kelly]

OP, Check the input pad, and your output levels.

I found the AX8 to be a bit noisy in front of my Vox type amp. Add the noise gate to a few patches and see if its better.

Right, maybe I shouldn't need that much output if my input isn't being attenuated somehow.
Yeah I was wondering if the class A tubes are particularly sensitive to the AX8. I didn't test it against a class B tube amp yet. Thanks.

 

[Rex]

I max out the output volume on the AX8, which gives me approx the same volume as plugging straight into the amp. My gigs this past weekend went great. I didn't hear any hum on this particular stage. The AX8 was plugged into a different wall (and potentially a different circuit) than the guitar amp. But no discernible hum, granted it's a loud and packed venue, very large with high ceilings, but I couldn't make out a hum.

I didn't really have time to experiment on stage, it was all business at that point. I left my amp eq settings where I left it from initial A/B comparison at home and the unit sounded great. The band loved it, and the sound guy said it rocked.

This coming weekend one of the venues I will be trying out the amp modeling with no guitar amp, so I'm looking forward to testing that out. I'll get the sound guy to crank my monitor a bit so I have some stage volume. Normally the band does not have any stage monitoring at all with our IEM rig.

I appreciate everyone's feedback. I'm just gonna keep using it and tweak things as I go and look for patterns and reasons why I perceive differences in my amp sound. But the bottom line is, it kicked ass over the weekend, and I love the small profile pedal board and scene capability. I feel like the amp gain dynamics when I adjust my volume are spot on and that's the important thing to me. Definitely sold on it after two shows. I'll update the thread if I learn anything new regarding this subject.

So no more bass disappearing and treble “off the charts?”

I’m glad it killed at the gig. Always a good experience to have.

 

[Troy Kelly]

So no more bass disappearing and treble “off the charts?”

I’m glad it killed at the gig. Always a good experience to have.

Well, like I said above, I left my "new" eq settings on the amp to adjust for the tone changes that came with AX8.
So went out of the gate with additional bass and decreased treble, and it sounded good.