Axe-Fx For The Recording Musician

Thenewexhibit said:
So, if the DI was recorded mono, you can essentially duplicate that track and turn it into a stereo track, and then it would be at the proper level, right?
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If you know how to send a mono track to a pair of outputs, you don't need to actually do anything where you duplicate tracks like that. This should be pretty easy with any modern DAW software. I described how this works in Reaper when you were asking about it a few months ago:

https://forum.fractalaudio.com/thre...e-the-input-guitar-signal.210605/post-2633064

The clip (I'm calling recorded segments clips, since a track in Reaper can contain clips with various numbers of channels) being mono or redundantly stereo makes no difference. You just have to pick the correct output pair. (If you only selected one output channel, both mono and stereo clips will result in the "6 dB too low" scenario, into a preset where that would occur. That's because Reaper reduces a summed stereo signal to one output channel by 6 dB, eliminating the possibility of clipping as long as the separate L & R channels weren't clipping individually.)
 
GlennO said:
Yes, to get the proper level, it's best to record the DI in stereo. And, yes, if you convert a mono DI track into a stereo track with the DI in both the L and R channels, that would be the same as recording the DI in stereo.
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Got ya! Or, as you mentioned, you could boost the mono DI by 6dB and that would work all the same?
 
Thenewexhibit said:
Got ya! Or, as you mentioned, you could boost the mono DI by 6dB and that would work all the same?
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If you're sending that mono DI to only one output channel, boosting by 6 dB may or may not work the same, depending on what's in the preset. A drive or amp block with input select set to Left or Right would end up getting a signal 6 dB too high, or nothing, depending on whether you're sending to that channel or the opposite channel. So this can be a problem with something like shared stereo effects before two amp blocks (with input selects and balances L/R to maintain the stereo-ness of those effects and the resulting different amp responses/tones).

If the DAW causes a mono track/clip routed to a pair of outputs to be 6 dB lower in level than a stereo track/clip for some reason (I'm not aware of any that work like this) then yeah, you could boost it 6 dB and get the same thing to the grid as when originally playing guitar into the Axe-FX. Otherwise you don't have to adjust anything once you get the mono (or each channel of a redundantly stereo) DI signal reaching the grid.

To put all this into a simple illustration:

gridlr.png
 
GlennO said:
I’m going to humbly disagree with Ricardo here. The reamping tutorial in the post at the top of this thread instructs you to record your DI in stereo, not mono. That’s what I generally recommend.

That’s because AxeFX presets almost always have the amp block set to summed stereo input. While your guitar is a mono instrument, the AxeFX input sends a stereo representation of that mono input into the grid, with the lleft duplicated into the right.

If you simply record a mono DI and send it to the AxeFX when reamping, it won’t sound the same as when you’re playing your guitar because you’re only sending one channel instead of two to the amp block.

The simplest way to solve this problem is to record your DI in stereo. That way the preset will sound the same as your guitar. However, if you really want to record your DI in mono, you can compensate for this issue by boosting the DI by 6dB in your DAW when reamping, or routing the mono DI to two usb channels.
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thanks for the explanation and sorry for my ignorance!
 
Great Great document. Thanks GlennO for taking the time to create it.
I have a question regarding recording the DI track in the same stereo track with my mono guitar signal. Would anyone please elaborate on the track settings on the DAW, what should be the input settings?
 
TGM said:
I have a question regarding recording the DI track in the same stereo track with my mono guitar signal. Would anyone please elaborate on the track settings on the DAW, what should be the input settings?
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With the Axe-FX III or FM9 plus a DAW limited to consecutive track input number pairs, route the processed sound to the Output 2 block in addition to* Output 1, then select Inputs 4 & 5 for the track. For FM3, just select Inputs 2 & 3.

*Or instead of it, if you wanted to reconfigure to monitor from Output 2. There's probably not much of a reason to do that if already monitoring Out 1, except if you needed more analog outputs than 3 & 4 for something else. Also FYI, Copy Out 1 > 2 in the I/O menu only applies to analog outs so that won't work for USB recording; the Output 2 block is required in the grid with the Axe-FX III (and FM9, I'm assuming).

Also some DAWs allow remapping inputs to get what you need as consecutive numbers so maybe look into that too.
 
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Well done! Great resource, and much needed.

Once connectivity is sorted, the AF3 makes a great mixing/production tool. I use all 4 stereo pairs regularly in Reaper, most often as aux busses, with presets saved per project and recalled through midi changes embedded in the tracks. It can do fun, creative things with soundtracks, vocals, drums, bass... yes, and even guitar. I just REALLY wish it had ADAT, because it otherwise occupies 3 stereo analog pairs assuming output 1 is s/pdif.
 
I use Axe FX as a DAW and sometimes send my DI signal to plugins such as Neural DSPs. I simply use input 5 as my channel input, and the signal goes to a modeller plugin. I always feel the level is lower than what the plugin expects. I do a 5-6 db increase in input gain and it sounds much better. Is this because of the same reason you explained in the posts above?
Or does it have to do with the heated discussion about the plugin expecting a certain level of input and each interface needs an input level adjustment accordingly (as described by John here ) ?
 
GlennO said:
I would definitely not use the word "ignorance". This is a complex topic that many people struggle with. Even the Axe-FX user manual has it wrong.
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Pardon my "ignorance", when will the FM3 be available for digital recording on Macs with Apple silicon? No ability to record from S/PDIF or USB. Going on week 6 for me. No I am not enrolled in the Apple Beta Test program and wouldn't update to 15.4.5 until it is actually ready for public use.

The current release of MacOS is 15.4.1. I figure 15.4.5 will be available in July or August.

We've heard brave tales of a fix that "exists" in a vaporware release of firmware. However the public won't see it until FW 10.0 comes out. Someone "coupled" the firmware fix with the needs of FW 10. That is the antithesis of software engineering.

Did Fractal Audio lose another Product Manager? Sure doesn't sound like the FM3 side of the house has one. I'd volunteer but I'm retired.
 
drawn said:
I still can't believe that the 6th generation of a 3k unit is such a struggle to set up for something that has been an easy task for a million outboard devices for the last 50 years. Such a failed design and it almost has an arrogant taste to it, making the Axe-Fx work only on 48khz and making it not work conveniently for a home studio setup (which is what 90% of users have).

Way to go, Fractal Audio........ -_-
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I think you should sell it and move to something else. Also, just because you struggle and have issue with something doesn’t make it an issue for everyone else.
 
Jazzarian said:
Pardon my "ignorance", when will the FM3 be available for digital recording on Macs with Apple silicon? No ability to record from S/PDIF or USB. Going on week 6 for me. No I am not enrolled in the Apple Beta Test program and wouldn't update to 15.4.5 until it is actually ready for public use.

The current release of MacOS is 15.4.1. I figure 15.4.5 will be available in July or August.

We've heard brave tales of a fix that "exists" in a vaporware release of firmware. However the public won't see it until FW 10.0 comes out. Someone "coupled" the firmware fix with the needs of FW 10. That is the antithesis of software engineering.

Did Fractal Audio lose another Product Manager? Sure doesn't sound like the FM3 side of the house has one. I'd volunteer but I'm retired.
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What? Ignore list.
 
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Jazzarian said:
Pardon my "ignorance", when will the FM3 be available for digital recording on Macs with Apple silicon? No ability to record from S/PDIF or USB. Going on week 6 for me. No I am not enrolled in the Apple Beta Test program and wouldn't update to 15.4.5 until it is actually ready for public use.
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It seems that Apple released the fix today in 15.5

Meanwhile, our own independent fix for the issue is coming out as a Release Candidate today or tomorrow.
 
Hello @GlennO,

I sadly read that you're not able to maintain the guide anymore but would it be possible to access the legacy methods that were available on this thread before?

It was great great ressource and I can't find it on the internet anymore!

Cheers!
 
Oh, dang! And after only a bit over 1 year of ownership, I finally wanted to get to reading this... Curse you, procrastination!!!

Of course, I respect your decision not to keep maintaining the guide, whatever the reasons, but just humbly asking: Why take it down completely, instead of just not updating anymore? Maybe somebody else you deem knowledgeable and competent enough would be willing to pick up the gauntlet?

(Usually if one asks a question like that, one should be willing and able to be one of the prospective candidates, but I am, of course, nowhere near a level of experience and knowledge to do that. :( )
 
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Peavey Herman said:
Oh, dang! And after only a bit over 1 year of ownership, I finally wanted to get to reading this... Curse you, procrastination!!!

Of course, I respect your decision not to keep maintaining the guide, whatever the reasons, but just humbly asking: Why take it down completely, instead of just not updating anymore? Maybe somebody else you deem knowledgeable and competent enough would be willing to pick up the gauntlet?

(Usually if one asks a question like that, one should be willing and able to be one of the prospective candidates, but I am, of course, nowhere near a level of experience and knowledge to do that. :( )
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Agree, it would great if there was some way to leave it up, maybe with a simple disclaimer that it's only accurate as of May 25. I haven't been recording, but i almost certainly will be, and it's a great resource I'll be sad to have missed.

Was it downloadable?
If so does anyone have a copy?
 
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