Axe-Fx 3 Sounds Different When Recorded

[Bruce Sokolovic]

I'm a bit of the odd man out in the sense that I learnt playing guitar with the miced up cab sound and didn't get my first tube amp till I was in my 30s. Was quite a big Kemper fanboy till I got tired of having to rely on other people to try and come up with "the sound I have in my head".

Still haven't copped that sound, but it's a lot more fun programming the Axe FX than it is just flipping through profiles on the Kemper.

On your suggest though, I do run my Axe through a Fryette PS-2 and into a real cab quite often when I feel like moving a bit of air. Sounds great.

My main problem is that the sounds I get in my room don't translate well on other sources. It's quite common, I guess, unless you have a really good room or are used to a room enough that you can dial in everything despite the problems with the room.




Ain't that the truth. I just would hate the fact being "that guy" who's playing out of tune or with a bad tone and not noticing at all while everyone is giving you the stank face.




Depends on what software I'm using. When I'm recording with Logic, I have normalisation on. When I use Cubase or Luna, I have it turned off.

Yes it’s a common problem. The solution for me was the Slate VSX headphones. If sounds in your room don’t translate outside of the room and you can’t fix the room, then you have to remove the room. I think you said you have another headphone system at your disposal. That should work, too. Other than that, good luck!

 

[∞Fractals]

I would never expect my axefx3 to sound like what’s coming from of the room unless I mic the cab/room … even then that would be likely far too woofy for the recording.

If I want to know what’s getting printed, I put on my best headphones and monitor axefx directly.

 

[nightlight]

Yes it’s a common problem. The solution for me was the Slate VSX headphones. If sounds in your room don’t translate outside of the room and you can’t fix the room, then you have to remove the room. I think you said you have another headphone system at your disposal. That should work, too. Other than that, good luck!

Here's hoping. Perhaps worth trying out a demo of the Slate system.

I would never expect my axefx3 to sound like what’s coming from of the room unless I mic the cab/room … even then that would be likely far too woofy for the recording.

If I want to know what’s getting printed, I put on my best headphones and monitor axefx directly.

I haven't tried connecting direct to the Axefx, but I imagine with my consumer headphones, there would be a whole lot of colouration going on, which would make the recorded output even more different than when trying to set the tone using monitors.

 

[Ocnor]

Here's an example of a dual track recording that sounded really good on the monitors, but fell apart upon bouncing.

Guitar sounds too gritty in the mids, low end is all over the place, I think the treble is fine, but in the end, the track sounds digital in the wrong way.



In contrast, play it over a real guitar cabinet and it sounds excellent. Or maybe my ears need testing again, it is really vexatious.

I can hear a couple of problems. The bass is way too woofy. Try using a parametric EQ and roll off about 5db at 150hz. The other problem is frequency stacking because you are double tracking the exact same sound. Try tracking a different amp on either the left or right using a slightly duller tone than the first amp.

 

[nightlight]

I can hear a couple of problems. The bass is way too woofy. Try using a parametric EQ and roll off about 5db at 150hz. The other problem is frequency stacking because you are double tracking the exact same sound. Try tracking a different amp on either the left or right using a slightly duller tone than the first amp.

Yeah, the bass is indeed too woofy - a result of having to hike it up to be able to hear it, which is strange given that my monitors are on a part of Isoacoustic stands close to my desk and also close to a wall. One would imagine there was too much bass, but instead, it's barely there.

I did not know about frequency stacking, thanks for the tip. That actually makes a lot of sense, I really should avoid dual tracking with the same amp sound. Thanks so much.

 

[Bruce Sokolovic]

Yeah, the bass is indeed too woofy - a result of having to hike it up to be able to hear it, which is strange given that my monitors are on a part of Isoacoustic stands close to my desk and also close to a wall. One would imagine there was too much bass, but instead, it's barely there.

I did not know about frequency stacking, thanks for the tip. That actually makes a lot of sense, I really should avoid dual tracking with the same amp sound. Thanks so much.

I dual track all the time with the same amp/settings. I pan left-right and never run into this problem.

 

[∞Fractals]

I dual track all the time with the same amp/settings. I pan left-right and never run into this problem.

I often do three takes; L, R, (wetter) and Center (drier) for final print. Sounds great except the playing lol

 

[Bruce Sokolovic]

I got often do three takes; L, R, (wetter) and Center (drier) for final print. Sounds great except the playing lol

View attachment 123727

I guess it all depends how prominent you want to feature the guitar part. Sometimes I’ll just do one part if that’s what the mix calls for. Often 2 parts. I don’t think I’ve done more than that in a long time though. I do bus stuff out all over the place too, so if it needs anything else I’ll send it.

 

[∞Fractals]

I guess it all depends how prominent you want to feature the guitar part. Sometimes I’ll just do one part if that’s what the mix calls for. Often 2 parts. I don’t think I’ve done more than that in a long time though. I do bus stuff out all over the place too, so if it needs anything else I’ll send it.

Completely agree, Bruce

 

[nightlight]

I dual track all the time with the same amp/settings. I pan left-right and never run into this problem.

I ran into some kind of weird phasing issue in the last two recordings I did using the Axe. It was specifically when I recorded the left output for the left channel and the right output for the right channel (naturally by double tracking). If you listen to it, there's some kind of weird phasing going on that I couldn't dial out even after using a Little Labs phase correction plugin.



Not sure what's going on, but it's driving me nuts.

I often do three takes; L, R, (wetter) and Center (drier) for final print. Sounds great except the playing lol

View attachment 123727

That's an awesome setup. So much screen real estate. And a laptop just for the forums?

I guess it all depends how prominent you want to feature the guitar part. Sometimes I’ll just do one part if that’s what the mix calls for. Often 2 parts. I don’t think I’ve done more than that in a long time though. I do bus stuff out all over the place too, so if it needs anything else I’ll send it.

I usually just double track as well. But it seems like my recordings are getting worse over time instead of better. Not sure why. Perhaps my ears have gone bad due to high volumes with amps. I remember this one incident I had this Triple Rec and cab next to my ear and played it too loud. My ears were ringing for days afterward. Amp was gone shortly afterward, it had no place in a home studio. But the damage was done.

 

[∞Fractals]

That's an awesome setup. So much screen real estate. And a laptop just for the forums?

Usually AxeEdit sits there in lieu of a forum lol … laptop drives Logic mostly.

Fun as can be …

 

[Bruce Sokolovic]

I ran into some kind of weird phasing issue in the last two recordings I did using the Axe. It was specifically when I recorded the left output for the left channel and the right output for the right channel (naturally by double tracking). If you listen to it, there's some kind of weird phasing going on that I couldn't dial out even after using a Little Labs phase correction plugin.



Not sure what's going on, but it's driving me nuts.



That's an awesome setup. So much screen real estate. And a laptop just for the forums?




I usually just double track as well. But it seems like my recordings are getting worse over time instead of better. Not sure why. Perhaps my ears have gone bad due to high volumes with amps. I remember this one incident I had this Triple Rec and cab next to my ear and played it too loud. My ears were ringing for days afterward. Amp was gone shortly afterward, it had no place in a home studio. But the damage was done.

Things get stale, ideas get stale, you have no perspective working alone……all problems I have. Best solution?
Walk away for a little while. Listen to music. Take a few lessons online. Come back fresh.

 

[nightlight]

Things get stale, ideas get stale, you have no perspective working alone……all problems I have. Best solution?
Walk away for a little while. Listen to music. Take a few lessons online. Come back fresh.

Sound advice!