Axe FX as a delay/reverb processor only w/ tube amp - bypass?

imrecs

Inspired
i love the delays and reverbs in the fractal so much! Occasionally I use a tube amp and in those cases I still want to use the axe fx as an effect processor just for delay and reverb in front of the amp (no fx loop in my amp).

Wondering how the axe fx in line affects my analog tone? What's the best way to connect it in line at the end of my signal chain before hitting the amp? Would keeping it in a true bypass looper when it's off be better than having it in line all the time before the amp?

Most digital pedals I own have analog dry paths; I don't think that's the case for the axe fx however and not sure how the conversion will affect the signal before hitting my amp?
 
Doesn't Keith Urban run his AFX like this?
Pretty sure he was using it only for delay and reverb and one point.

The signal path on the AFX is very, very clean, so you will have no issues at all with it changing your tone.
 
Sure. You can. But IMO, kind of like using a space shuttle to drive to get your groceries. Each their own though.... Possibilities are endless!
 
It's not great. Significant compression and high-end tone loss. It's acceptable, but not great. The FX8 is much better suited for this task. I have both, and I never use my AFX2 for this purpose. Always the FX8. It's much more transparent, sounds and feels just like being plugged into the amp.
 
This is interesting. Has anyone got experience in this area?

It's not great. Significant compression and high-end tone loss. It's acceptable, but not great. The FX8 is much better suited for this task. I have both, and I never use my AFX2 for this purpose. Always the FX8. It's much more transparent, sounds and feels just like being plugged into the amp.
 
This is interesting. Has anyone got experience in this area?


I feel exactly the same. I also bought this unit as a fx processor in front of my tubeamp. Output 2 is better than output 1 but as said, significant compression and high-end tone loss. It don't work for me.
I didn't sell the unit because for small gigs direct to foh it's still the best modeller out there.
 
Personally, I think an A/B blind test would clear up the above. The converters are simply inaudibly good.

It'll work well for your purposes... There's a reason so many pros, from Vai to Urban to countless others, used the Axe-Fx II for that purpose.

But if it's all you want from it, I recommend the FX8, which was designed specifically for that purpose.
 
It's not great. Significant compression and high-end tone loss. It's acceptable, but not great. The FX8 is much better suited for this task. I have both, and I never use my AFX2 for this purpose. Always the FX8. It's much more transparent, sounds and feels just like being plugged into the amp.
What? We have literally thousands of users using the 4-cable method (which applies the Axe both in front AND in the FX loop of the physical amp) and none of them ever reported any issues with loss of signal quality from the guitar.

Are you sure it's the Axe and not the cables that are to blame here?
 
Personally, I think an A/B blind test would clear up the above. The converters are simply inaudibly good.

I have not done a blind test between my AFX2 and FX8, but it would be a pretty quick test. The difference in sound and feel is very obvious. One uses blind tests to eliminate bias, but if anything, I was biased in favor of the AFX2 working! Believe me, I did not want to shell out an additional $1400 for an FX8 in order to have something that would work with my tube amp. I worked with it for weeks, posted questions on here, used every combination of outputs, settings, pads, etc. Questions on here were typically met with the same incredulous responses, but the fact is it simply did not have the transparent sound and immediate response I got from using my pedals. So I used my pedalboard with my tube amp, used my AFX2 for direct to FOH, and eagerly awaited the arrival of the FX8. I got one of the first FX8's shipped, and it was an epiphany. The instant I plugged it in, the superiority over the AFX2 both in the effects loop and in 4CM was obvious. No fiddling around with settings and output pads, it just worked instantly, and it FELT like being plugged into the amp. The "thwack" had returned.

Both are amazing for their intended purpose, and especially with the recent Quantum FW updates to the Axe, it's gotten so great for direct to FOH that I practically never use my tube amp anymore. But when I do, it's with the FX8.
 
It's not great. Significant compression and high-end tone loss. It's acceptable, but not great. The FX8 is much better suited for this task. I have both, and I never use my AFX2 for this purpose. Always the FX8. It's much more transparent, sounds and feels just like being plugged into the amp.
Really? Axefx is the flagship processor. Vai, Petrucci f ex don't seem to have that problem.
 
Are you sure it's the Axe and not the cables that are to blame here?

Not the cables, since the FX8 is very clearly better when using the same cables for both rigs. However, that occurred to me as well; my first response upon hooking up the Axe in the effects loop was "yuck, maybe I've got a bad cable here." I've used Lava ELC cables for everything for many years. I tested the cables both with a multimeter and by plugging them directly from my guitar into the amp to establish that they worked properly and sounded good. Having done that, I used the same cables in the same locations in the signal chain as I was testing the AFX2 against the my pedalboard (and later, the FX8) in order to eliminate the cables as a variable. I then swapped out every cable in the chain with almost-brand-new and tested ELC's and repeated the entire exercise. Then I swapped out every cable with cheap Guitar Center cables and repeated. That sounded worse overall, but same result in terms of tone loss, lack of immediacy, compression, etc.
 
Really? Axefx is the flagship processor. Vai, Petrucci f ex don't seem to have that problem.

Really. John Petrucci is one of my favorite guitar players on earth, I'm glad he's joined the Fractal family and I'm glad this config works for him. It doesn't work for me. I'm not saying it's unusable - as I said earlier, it's acceptable - but for me it was far from optimal.
 
That's cool. Personally I don't use my axe with an amp so I can't speak from real world experience but I must say, it's the first time I've ever heard someone say it's only acceptable. You must have dog ears
 
I'm borrowing an Axe FX II XL+ from a friend while I wait for the AX8. I hooked up to the front of my tube amp and the results were definitely usable. I wasn't using a Humbuster, so the slightest (added) ground hum could be heard if I put my ear up to the speakers.

When I used an A/B switcher to compare the tone against dry tone, there definitely was a slight high-end loss and it wasn't "transparent". But, when I turned around and started randomly switching the A/B, I couldn't differentiate the two (dry vs Axe FX with all shunts set to unity gain) while playing. I guess that shows the power of blind testing.

It's a moot point for me because I use IEMs and now that I've played through the models, I really don't see myself lugging the 90-pound EL84 monster around anymore.
 
@bkd: Can you do a recording of some random notes on your II and the AX8 with presets completely bypassed?

There's something fishy going on. Have you checked your (global) noise gate settings?
 
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