AX8 with Eventide H9 Strymon BigSky

GiorgioGiardina

New Member
Hi all, I need your help and I would like to ask you a question.

I just took the AX8 and I am very happy with the purchase but unfortunately some 'heavy presets', built on the FX2 AXE, fail to run full for the CPU issue.
I am also the lucky owner of a Eventide h9 and a Strymon BIG SKY.

My idea is to put the h9 in the effects loop of the AX8 just after the CAB and the BIG SKY directly into the output of the AX8 thus controlling all the reverbs from the Strymon and using the same as output to the mixer.

Do you think this can work?
 
Only drawback is you lose output 2. I usually run output 2 as my stage monitoring, but if you are not doing that i guess that is fine.
 
I thought I'd put the Bigsky apart to be able to use the H9 (in the loop) in any position in the AX8 effects chain and STRYMON only as the last effect
If you don’t need Output 2, this will work fine...I’ve used a similar setup with an H9 in the loop and mains out to an FX8.....it was glorious.
 
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No, just the unbalanced output 1 stereo 1/4” outs go into FX8 and then out to mixer from FX8

Perhaps I have not been clear, my wiring scheme would be this

Guitar -- > IN -->AX8 (effects and amp chain) --> AX8 send (L R) --> Eventide H9 --> Return (L R --> AX8 OUT L and R unbalanced --> INPUT BIGSKY L and R --> OUTPUT BIGSKY Left and Right --> PA

:)
Thanks
 
Not because of CPU but rather reverb management I turned off all the verbs in my Ultra and tried the Big Sky in the loop. Sounded like crap. Then I came out of the Ultra stereo outs to Big Sky in then out to PA.

I'll put it this way. I also have an XL and an AX8 but I still use the Ultra/Big Sky for live.

The sound is pristine.
 
I'm using an H9 in the loop set as a parallel path and effects only on the H9 (I hear differences in tone when running exclusively through the H9), all post cab block but before the AX8's delays, reverb and looper. My main issue is checking the volume going into the H9 because its at instrument level, while the AX8 is capable of sending a very hot line level. So I cut the Output 2 volume pretty far back (11:00), but then need to boost the level of the returned signal to match my "dry signal." In some cases, I know I'm adding volume to my dry sound (such as pitch shifting effects), so I might move to using scene controllers to balance the levels between the two paths.

There are some effects I like better in the H9 (really anything that's pretty out), while I prefer the AX8 effects for more conservative effects (tape delays, reverbs).

Are you using DI's to go from the Bluesky to house? You could theoretically run left out of the AX8 into one device, right out into the other, and then use some small and simple line mixer to get it back into the AX8. You could then still use the XLRs to house and 1/4" to your monitoring. Random idea...

joe
 
Currently and to off-load some DSP processing from the AX8 I use a H9 in Pre/Post configuration - for Reverb, Delay and Modulation effects. This works great however...with this setup I need to add a D.I. Box at the end of my signal chain to allow H9 delays and reverbs to be used after the AX8 amp models or H9 Chorus, Wah and Overdrive effects to be placed in front of the AX8 amp models. I'd prefer to use the H9 in the AX8 Effects Loop and then place the H9 effects where I'd like in the AX8s signal chain, to avoid using an additional D.I. Box with my setup. However, I am struggling with the input/output levels between the AX8 and H9 in this setup...any help with this would be greatly appreciated! I know it works as I've seen Larry Mitchell use the very same setup with excellent results. Thank you.
 
I was also wondering what are the main differences between putting your H9 or Big Sky in the FX Loop (stereo) vs just adding it in the pedal 1-4 jacks. Im about to hook up my Big Sky and was wondering which route is the best.
 
I am struggling with the input/output levels between the AX8 and H9 in this setup

In my experience the H9 can be picky about the input levels. It is meant for instrument level so you will always need to be careful to not give it too hot a signal. For that reason, I will normally just put it before the AX8, but I'm sure with careful preset setup and testing you could use the FX Loop. You may need to see set the H9 input and output levels.
 
I am struggling with the input/output levels between the AX8 and H9 in this setup

I struggled with this too. My Out 2 (FX Send) Knob is at roughly 11:00. I Found this to be a good spot that can tolerate any effects buildup and will not clip the input. To compensate, in Axe Edit I adjusted the Level (mixer) on the FX Loop Block by giving it a 13dB boost. I run the all my chain in series and so far so good. The big sky is such a great device and it saves a ton of CPU!
 
In my experience the H9 can be picky about the input levels. It is meant for instrument level so you will always need to be careful to not give it too hot a signal. For that reason, I will normally just put it before the AX8, but I'm sure with careful preset setup and testing you could use the FX Loop. You may need to see set the H9 input and output levels.
Thank you!
 
I used an H9 max (in the loop) with my AX8 when I first started using the latter. In the end I found I didn't need the H9 all that much. As much as I like the H9.

Did any of you do anything in particular with the extra CPU availability on the AX8 when using an H9 and/or a BIg Sky to handle certain other CPU intensive tasks? Just curious. I felt like I was under utilizing one device or the other most of the time. One of the main reasons I stopped using my H9 was I seemed to be able to get all I needed from a few AX8 presets. My needs are probably on the simpler side of what is possible, but my main presets use about 13 or 14 blocks typically. Each preset can cover a lot of ground.

For setting up good I/O levels w H9, I do remember using the H9 app for dialing that in. It didn't give me a lot of trouble, but that may have had to do with my AX8 presets at the time.
 
I used an H9 max (in the loop) with my AX8 when I first started using the latter. In the end I found I didn't need the H9 all that much. As much as I like the H9.

Did any of you do anything in particular with the extra CPU availability on the AX8 when using an H9 and/or a BIg Sky to handle certain other CPU intensive tasks? Just curious. I felt like I was under utilizing one device or the other most of the time. One of the main reasons I stopped using my H9 was I seemed to be able to get all I needed from a few AX8 presets. My needs are probably on the simpler side of what is possible, but my main presets use about 13 or 14 blocks typically. Each preset can cover a lot of ground.

For setting up good I/O levels w H9, I do remember using the H9 app for dialing that in. It didn't give me a lot of trouble, but that may have had to do with my AX8 presets at the time.
Thank you, that helps!
 
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