Axe Fx II Sound Quality Loss When Recording Via USB ???

Hey guys, thanks a lot for all the replies btw. It's a good feeling to be surrounded by a helpful and interested community.
 
FractalAudio said:
You're probably not maintaining stereo. Collapsing to mono will always make things sound "2Difying".
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I'm not sure how I'd be collapsing it :/ I'm recording stereo with the default track settings and two waveforms show up. In the Axe Fx itself, I also have the cabs panned to the center. Tried 0db pan law in Cubase settings too.

I also noticed that when I record stereo with stereo Delays, although the recording does sound stereo, it sounds a bit less wide... Not mono, but a bit. I'm mainly ussing the 2209 to test this. If it were coming out mono, I think it would be very obvious since I find that that specific delay suffers greatly in mono.

At any rate, what you're saying might be true, but I'm not sure how I would have arrived to that specific issue :/
 
Hello guys,
im a totally noob in recording issues and with my new axe fx 2 too...:(

Im experimenting similar problem with pro tools mp9 and m audio fast track c400 interface. Not the same, because my castrated version of protool (mp9) only accept the c 400 as a interface, therefore i cant record via usb with that DAW and axe fx 2 as the audio interface..

when i record my guitar using the axe fx 2 plug in into the fast track 400 with balanced, unbalanced or spdfi cables, i experimented a noticeable lost of sound quality.... basically the great dynamics of the axe fx where gone....

any other suggest to solve that problem? Maybe the fast track c 400 is a poor audio interface that harms the sound quality of the Axe Fx 2??

i'll appreciate all your kind suggest

Regards.
 
Listening to your clip, it's in mono.
If what you're hearing going in is stereo, there's a big difference right there.
 
slinky005 said:
Listening to your clip, it's in mono.
If what you're hearing going in is stereo, there's a big difference right there.
Click to expand...

In the Axe Fx, I have everything panned to the center (cabs, plus there are no additional FX after the cab block), so it's gonna sound mono. I recorded it to a stereo track in Cubase because that's what I hear through the monitors... Even setting the cabs to mono, the output of the Axe Fx II is stereo to my monitors.. So basically, I set it up to record in such a way (stereo track) to mimic exactly what's going on with the Axe Fx II if that makes sense. I have not yet forced the Axe Fx it itself to be mono, so I believe this setup would be the most accurate... Stereo out via USB to a stereo track... even if the cabs are panned to the center.

Usually, I actually record mono and double track panning L/R.
 
Nothing55 said:
i have the same issue so I just went back the the scarlet 2i2 imputs and its ok now...but I was going mono...I'll try stereo and see if that helps..
Click to expand...

Interesting. Something must be afoot.

I see a lot of guys still use another audio interface to record despite having an Axe fx II with USB, but I thought that was mainly to work in different sampling rates to suit their preferences/whatever their projects were set to or something.

Whatever the case, there must be a reason/solution to all of this. Of course, it could all be user error.
 
Andrew Male said:
I always put it down to a psychoacoustic effect, when you're playing it sounds different.
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Rotaholic said:
Biggest mistake people make is string noise, when your recording at home and it's fairly quiet you will hear the strings add to your mix, sometimes even the body of the guitar will resonate against your chest. To check for this try recording with monitors cranked and see if it sounds the same on playback.
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The psycho-acoustic effect may actually be the issue I am experiencing... I just had my girl go into another room with the door shut and strum a few open strums ending with palm mutes... I listened to her play live and the played back the 64wav source files through VLC at 100% volume and it sounded 99.9% close if not identical. The things is... she can't play at all, so it's very difficult to gauge the dynamics.

At any rate, I'll have to do this again with a better player to see if there is any difference.

Now about the volume.... I've tried it pretty cranked and I still perhaps experience this effect. I really don't know how much louder i can stand it lol. My head already feels lopsided from my left ear starting to fall apart.

Furthermore, if this psycho-acoustic effect is indeed what is going on, other issue I mentioned about the monitoring through Cubase and it sounding half like ass might be because of the minimal additional latency from monitoring that way, where the vibration of the guitar against my body is just so slightly out of sync with the monitored sound causing a sensation similar to phasing.

Anyhoo, I will still try to test through the Fast Track at the same and higher sample rates when I have a bit of time because at least one person said they had better results that way..
Nothing55 said:
i have the same issue so I just went back the the scarlet 2i2 imputs and its ok now...but I was going mono...I'll try stereo and see if that helps..
Click to expand...
 
cn7 said:
In the Axe Fx, I have everything panned to the center (cabs, plus there are no additional FX after the cab block), so it's gonna sound mono. I recorded it to a stereo track in Cubase because that's what I hear through the monitors... Even setting the cabs to mono, the output of the Axe Fx II is stereo to my monitors.. So basically, I set it up to record in such a way (stereo track) to mimic exactly what's going on with the Axe Fx II if that makes sense. I have not yet forced the Axe Fx it itself to be mono, so I believe this setup would be the most accurate... Stereo out via USB to a stereo track... even if the cabs are panned to the center.

Usually, I actually record mono and double track panning L/R.
Click to expand...

If everything is panned center and you record to a stereo track, its still going to the same as recording a mono track but thats not your issue anyway....
One thing to try is to send / upload another test but just direct guitar , no amps cabs or effects plus your patch.
If i reamp it in Cubase and send it back to you maybe it could shed some light.
Convoluted but worth a try if you're up for it.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
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hello guys. I have same issue. I use cubase for recording. I have axe fx II. I record in stereo track on cubase. But when I record it Ioses its brightness. It drives me nuts. any tip? thanks
 
omersenler said:
hello guys. I have same issue. I use cubase for recording. I have axe fx II. I record in stereo track on cubase. But when I record it Ioses its brightness. It drives me nuts. any tip? thanks
Click to expand...
The “brightness” that you hear is the acoustic sound of your guitar. When you play back a recording of that guitar, you’re no longer playing the guitar, so its acoustic sound is no longer part of what you hear.
 
Rex said:
The “brightness” that you hear is the acoustic sound of your guitar. When you play back a recording of that guitar, you’re no longer playing the guitar, so its acoustic sound is no longer part of what you hear.
Click to expand...
Yes, i wonderful if it would work good to mic the acoustic sound and mix it with usb output
 
Thanks for replies guys but I am sure its not about “acoustic”. It sounds like 64 kpbs MP3 file or 240p video sound. I used to have an audio interface and I was recording with axe fx via spdif and it was not like this. The problem must be something else. :/
 
I use Audacity but can only record the clean sound without the effects from the axe fx 2+. Does anyone know how to record it with the effects?
I have connected my Axe FX through USB directly into my laptop. My guitar is in the front instrument input.
 
Dynamic1022 said:
I use Audacity but can only record the clean sound without the effects from the axe fx 2+. Does anyone know how to record it with the effects?
I have connected my Axe FX through USB directly into my laptop. My guitar is in the front instrument input.
Click to expand...

Configure Audicity to use USB channels 1/2 instead of 3/4.
 
I’m almost afraid to say this, but…

your master stereo tracks – if they’re independent – should be panned hard left and hard right; if they’re centered, that’s where everything is turning to mono.

Sorry if this is obvious, but you never know. Good luck.
 
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