Axe III for vocals?

chrisjnyc

chrisjnyc

Power User
I am working on some demos, and doing all the guitars and bass with the Axe III, any reason I cant connect a mic and record vocals with the Axe III? I am thinking maybe to add a compressor and reverb blocks, or just straight and add the FX in the mix.
 
I've put vocals through the Axe with just an SM58. Another friend's vocal mic didn't work though because I guess it needed phantom power or something.
 
I say do go ahead and give it a test. If it works well enough for your needs, you're off to the races. If not, you'll know what to do.
 
If it works well for you without a pre, then wonderful. If interested, do a quick search on this site, regarding connecting a Mic, and you’ll see what I referenced. The signal level out of many mics is very low. Have fun either way you go.
 
I do livestreaming with the AXE3, using a guitar and vocal preset using an SM58 mic. It works fine for live stuff and demos. I personally don't use it for recording vocals due to a lack of phantom power and just the general limitations of using a multi-effector rather than plug-ins.
 
I run a mic preamp into Input 2 of the Axe. I use compressor and reverb on the Axe as monitoring FX. A mic needs way more gain than the line ins of the Axe deliver, so I doubt running a mic directly into the Axe will get you a satisfactory sound. Certainly not with a ribbon mic which requires a lot of gain, condenser don't work due to the lack of phantom power anyway, and a lot of the good dynamic mics require a lot of gain, best example is maybe the Shure SM7b which typically asks for 55 to 65dB gain. But with a good mic preamp in between, you can get stellar vocal recordings with the Axe Fx.
 
The Axe can provide (close to) infinite gain in the digital domain, so the question is really (as always), what the noise floor will be. I will try to connect my SM7b tonight
 
AXE-FX III does not provide phantom power.

There are 2 solutions:
  1. use a dynamic microphone
  2. provide phantom power with an external unit and you are able to use a condenser mic which is preferable for high quality vocals IMO
In the signal chain I would consider
  • Compressor
  • TubePreAmp
  • Parametric EQ
  • Reverb
all of them in a parallel to a guitar signal chain, if desired.

This way you will have a fine unit for singer / songwriter and other use.
 
Smittefar said:
Here is my SM7b thru Input 2 on the AxeIII. I apply 44 dB digital gain and I also use the Opto Compressor giving me 8 dB of gain reduction with 5 dB make-up gain.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ynigxfdez1atbch/SM7b in AxeIII.wav?dl=0

I thought I might as well attach the preset, although it's ultra simple
Click to expand...

That sounds better than I would have expected. There is a slight little bit of hiss, but it is hardly more than what you would have had 30 years ago running through a console, an outboard compressor and to tape. My main mic is a Warm Audio WA47 Jr, which is a condenser and requires phantom power, so I cannot use that one directly into the Axe - and apart from that, my analog mic pre (Warm Audio TB12 Tone Beast) sounds just awesome -
but I was actually thinking about getting an SM7b again (had one several years ago) for whenever I want to record e.g. singer / songwriter performing vocals and acoustic guitar at the same time. Could use the Sm7b for the vocals that way and reserve the one channel on the TB12 for the WA47Jr for the acoustic guitar.

Great to know, thanks a lot for sharing this!
 
You're welcome. I love Warm Audio stuff too. I have the WA14, WA87 and the WA12-500 MkII preamp. Great products all around
 
langohr said:
AXE-FX III does not provide phantom power.

There are 2 solutions:
  1. use a dynamic microphone
  2. provide phantom power with an external unit and you are able to use a condenser mic which is preferable for high quality vocals IMO
In the signal chain I would consider
  • Compressor
  • TubePreAmp
  • Parametric EQ
  • Reverb
all of them in a parallel to a guitar signal chain, if desired.

This way you will have a fine unit for singer / songwriter and other use.
Click to expand...
Hi
Could you describe more precisely - what compressor, reverb, etc.
Could you share some sample presets with me?
Thank you very much
 
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