Best way to use The Axe III with Fr/Fr ...

fafakiwi

fafakiwi

Experienced
Hi ,
.... i know , I m sure ... it has been discussed a lot of time , but .. I m still searching for the best way to set the levels either on my Axe III and my monitors to get the best use , best tone ....
Explanation ...
It is advise to set the output knob on the front panel between 12 and 3 o clock for delivering best signal to our monitors ....
I use two XiTone cabs as Fr/Fr since my Axe II , and I m ... in love with them , BUT .... Mick .. from XiTone cabs advise to set the levels of the cabs in the following way :
There s Vu meter mode on the cabs that allows you to set the level of the cab tickling the red , like the input signal in the Axe , you use your loudest patch and strum while the output knob of the Axe is on the maximum and turn the output level of the cab until it almost tickle the red of the cab .....
BUT .... once more 😁, with Mick method my output knob is at 11 o’clock , after I have too much volume for home , my only place playing actually .
So my question is .... which is the best setting ????
The one that Austin Buddy and others advise , output knob between 12 and 3 o’clock ,
Or the setting on the manual user for the cab from Mick ......
I m waiting for all suggestions , advises .... maybe I m wrong in some ways ... I m ready to hear , read what I m missing ....
Thanks :):)
Fafa
 
As long as you are under the 'tickling of the red' you are fine. I've got my Xitone set to 10. I control the volume, or the level of the signal that the Xitone receives at the AxeFx3 output knob......between 9 & 3. As long as you aren't clipping you shouldn't be able to hear any difference with your ears, especially if you are playing at home. Trying to gain stage to a perfect signal is not necessary with the set up you described. It's when you are recording or have an extravagant set up that you need to be more precise. At least that's how I've come to understand it. There's hundreds of threads that explain the virtues of many different ways to approach it. My advice is to crank your Xitones and control the volume at the unit (or foot pedal). I don't hear any hiss whatsoever in my Xitone.
 
Bman said:
As long as you are under the 'tickling of the red' you are fine. I've got my Xitone set to 10. I control the volume, or the level of the signal that the Xitone receives at the AxeFx3 output knob......between 9 & 3. As long as you aren't clipping you shouldn't be able to hear any difference with your ears, especially if you are playing at home. Trying to gain stage to a perfect signal is not necessary with the set up you described. It's when you are recording or have an extravagant set up that you need to be more precise. At least that's how I've come to understand it. There's hundreds of threads that explain the virtues of many different ways to approach it. My advice is to crank your Xitones and control the volume at the unit (or foot pedal). I don't hear any hiss whatsoever in my Xitone.
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Thanks for your hints !!! But with the xitone level at ten you must overload it , Did you try the 6 mode vu meter ...??
 
LoPaN said:
I use a pair of Xitone passive wedges powered by a Matrix GT1000 poweramp, I like to have the output from the Axefx at noon or less and have the Matrix running higher it seems to work better for me.
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My Axe output level is close to 10, 11 o’clock ,
I was wondering if it would be best to decrease the level of the cabs a bit to be able to the Axe to 12 o’clock or more , AB expresses that 3 o’clock is the best !!!!
 
Just do a test, first try low output from the Axfx with higher volume on the Xitone then try the opposite and see which you prefer, there really isn't a wrong way to do it its all down to preference, I prefer my AxeFx lower output and push the Matrix amp more, and then having said what I prefder there really isn't much audible difference. I just think pushing a poweramp more gives a bigger sound.
 
LoPaN said:
Just do a test, first try low output from the Axfx with higher volume on the Xitone then try the opposite and see which you prefer, there really isn't a wrong way to do it its all down to preference, I prefer my AxeFx lower output and push the Matrix amp more, and then having said what I prefder there really isn't much audible difference. I just think pushing a poweramp more gives a bigger sound.
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... will try both , and even intermediate to reach almost 12 / 1 o’clock on the Axe and see .... what my ears prefer
 
LoPaN said:
I use a pair of Xitone passive wedges powered by a Matrix GT1000 poweramp, I like to have the output from the Axefx at noon or less and have the Matrix running higher it seems to work better for me.
Click to expand...
Apparently the Matrix sounds better once you get the level knobs about 1-2 o'clock.

There was a thread some time back where Metallica's techs explained discovering this.

I tried it on my GT800FX and it does seem to have a bit more something... Which doesn't really make sense as the Matrix "volume" knobs are just attenuators.
 
....Thought we had advises of more accurate people with knowledge on that topic ,
Maybe this thread ... is a silly one , it s the French word that came to my mind .... unuseful but I was curious of that as there two different ways and maybe more .... to set output levels on both Axe and cabs .....
Too bad ....
 
fafakiwi said:
....Thought we had advises of more accurate people with knowledge on that topic ,
Maybe this thread ... is a silly one , it s the French word that came to my mind .... unuseful but I was curious of that as there two different ways and maybe more .... to set output levels on both Axe and cabs .....
Too bad ....
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It's not rocket science ;)

Either turn Axe Fx up more and power amp up less, or turn Axe Fx up less and power amp up more.

As long as neither is really low I don't think it makes much difference one way or the other.
 
unix-guy said:
It's not rocket science ;)

Either turn Axe Fx up more and power amp up less, or turn Axe Fx up less and power amp up more.

As long as neither is really low I don't think it makes much difference one way or the other.
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.... You re totally right , Nothing important in that ... just curiosity , improving my knowledge , trying to understand why setting the output level of the Axe is so important ,
Sometimes people found their sound is bad and it is due to basic settings like level , cables or else .
For example Austin Buddy advises to set the output knob totally full on Axe8 and Axe II , and the III close to 3 o’clock , but Mick Farlow from Xitone knows what he says about his cabs ;)
 
for any gear, it is "best" to put the volume as high as possible without clipping to be louder than the noise floor.

i've found all Fractal gear usable in the 9 o clock to 3 o clock range, without any problems.

the issue is if someone barely moves the Out knob from minimum so there's a tiny sound, then boosts the speaker or mixer after it. that is too close to the noise floor.

i've played hundreds - maybe i'm in the thousands by now? - of gigs with fractal gear, and have used the Out knob at 9 o clock on many without any problems or bad sound. i've also used it turned all the way up at other gigs where i had control of the mixer.
 
fafakiwi said:
For example Austin Buddy advises to set the output knob totally full on Axe8 and Axe II , and the III close to 3 o’clock
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I'm pretty sure he recommends that based on the way he levels his presets AND for use with a DAW.

I don't recall him ever saying anything about getting relative to a power amp.

Although he may have mentioned something relative to using CLRs, which have specific gain staging directions.

Also, the numbers on the knobs are relevant to the preset volumes you're using and is different if you're using -10dB or +4dB for the output setting.
 
unix-guy said:
I'm pretty sure he recommends that based on the way he levels his presets AND for use with a DAW.

I don't recall him ever saying anything about getting relative to a power amp.

Although he may have mentioned something relative to using CLRs, which have specific gain staging directions.

Also, the numbers on the knobs are relevant to the preset volumes you're using and is different if you're using -10dB or +4dB for the output setting.
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I m using +4db , I don t remember how he sets the levels of the axe to optimise with his Clr ,
Those settings I was mentioning were about unity gain ... which is something totally unknown for me :) ...
What made me starting this thread is that recommandations of the xitone manual and those from A.Buddy gave different settings on th knobs , and as French , even understanding the words is not always easy ... and the technical aspects also ...!!!!
Thanks anyway
 
fafakiwi said:
I m using +4db , I don t remember how he sets the levels of the axe to optimise with his Clr ,
Those settings I was mentioning were about unity gain ... which is something totally unknown for me :) ...
What made me starting this thread is that recommandations of the xitone manual and those from A.Buddy gave different settings on th knobs , and as French , even understanding the words is not always easy ... and the technical aspects also ...!!!!
Thanks anyway
Click to expand...
Unity gain is not what you feed to a power amp ;)
 
A new revelation to me :) ... thanks to you
So .. you mean that the matrix in the xitone cabs make them consider as a power amp ..?? So no need to search for .. unity gain with them ??
As I don t know what is unity gain and it s use ....
 
fafakiwi said:
A new revelation to me :) ... thanks to you
So .. you mean that the matrix in the xitone cabs make them consider as a power amp ..?? So no need to search for .. unity gain with them ??
As I don t know what is unity gain and it s use ....
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A powered speaker includes a power amp. That's what the "powered" part is ;)

Unity gain means: output level == input level

Primarily you care about this with the effects loop.
 
What ....??? So simple ... :) ;)
More seriously .... and to resume , you just need to use your ears and set output knob on the Axe and on the xitone , set them to taste .... unless you don t overload the signal in the Axe and the one entering the cabs ??
I m interesting in what you made allusion with the Metallica tach and his advises using the matrix amp like I have in my Xitones
Thanks... Merci pour cet échange
 
fafakiwi said:
What ....??? So simple ... :) ;)
More seriously .... and to resume , you just need to use your ears and set output knob on the Axe and on the xitone , set them to taste .... unless you don t overload the signal in the Axe and the one entering the cabs ??
I m interesting in what you made allusion with the Metallica tach and his advises using the matrix amp like I have in my Xitones
Thanks... Merci pour cet échange
Click to expand...
I was referring to Matrix power amps like the GT1000FX... Not the power amp modules in the Xitones. I don't know if they are the same.
 
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