BLOWN away by the FX8 mkii....X's Journey

Ok......I hate to admit when I thought I understood something......&.....well.......didn't at all! :(

BUT..........

I think this will say a lot about the quality & low noise floor of the FX8.

Noise Gate: I've been using the "Input" only noise gate...........& using setting that were recommended here on the forum. I don't have a noisy amp or noisy guitars at all, but do use a lot of high gain. I've never had crazy bad feedback or extra noise, but there was some white noise always present when on channel #3 (aka The Red) of my Mesa Boogie TC-50 amp.

After a little more in-depth reading I found-out that the extra noise was coming AFTER the "Input" noise gate. The input gate only takes care on noise from the guitar & input, anything coming from Drive pedals or amps pre-amp are not being gated gated or limited.

An actual noise gate "Block" is/was needed as the 1st block in my "Post" chain. This is SO SIMPLE that it makes me laugh that I didn't get it at first.

I didn't need it in a really bad way & was always impressed by the low noise floor of my rig & set-up. Now it's just crazy good & whisper quiet on the High Gain settings.

Since I use individual song based presets w/ my FX8, I keep them stripped-down to just what I need per song. This left me an extra block space in almost every preset. I had to change the PRE/POST from 3/5 to 2/6 on most of my presets & the rest is history. :cool:

I'm NOT a Smart Mann & please learn for my mistakes!!!!!!!! :eek:

Peace! X-Mann

PS - While I have uploaded 3 or 4 of my FX8 Cover Band presets, I do plan to release the entire song based set. I play in 2-bands & have around 60-different presets that work well with the Friedman Runt 50, Carvin Legacy-3 & the Mesa Boogie TC-50 amp. All set-up for the 4CM in mono..........I'll start this on Sunday when I'm recovering from my Fri/Sat gigs! :rolleyes:
 
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Very cool. It's cool learning new stuff isn't it! I kinda shelved the FX8 for a bit to mess with my traditional pedalboard (GigRig G2-based so not really all THAT traditional, lol), but I'm likely going back to my FX8 here soon now that I've got some stuff worked out in terms of what I'm trying to accomplish.

I did finally try the 6L6s in the TC-50 and I like it even better than before. And I love what an OD in front and an EQ in the loop does with channels 2 and 3. What a sweet amp. It hasn't completely cured my amp GAS as I'm still eyeing the Peavey Invective, but we'll see. :)
 
Deadpool_25 said:
Very cool. It's cool learning new stuff isn't it! I kinda shelved the FX8 for a bit to mess with my traditional pedalboard (GigRig G2-based so not really all THAT traditional, lol), but I'm likely going back to my FX8 here soon now that I've got some stuff worked out in terms of what I'm trying to accomplish.

I did finally try the 6L6s in the TC-50 and I like it even better than before. And I love what an OD in front and an EQ in the loop does with channels 2 and 3. What a sweet amp. It hasn't completely cured my amp GAS as I'm still eyeing the Peavey Invective, but we'll see. :)
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Way cool DP!!!!! \m/

The FX8 has been a MIND BLOWING product for me in terms of sound, flexibility & instant amp channel switching.

I'm a HUGE fan of EL34 tubes & based on my Pop/Rock cover bands, I get all the gain I need & probably more then I should at times. :D

I LOVE the TS808 into an EL34 based amp & what it does to the front end. I do use the RC Booster thru the clean channel a lot as well as the BB Preamp & AC Booster..........I have a series of tunes where I just use the clean channel & one or 2 of these Drive pedals for a different flavor of tone. I'll try to capture that this weekend on songs like "What ya need" by INXS & the RC on "Take me Down" by The Pretty Reckless. ;)

I'm ALWAYS working on my FX & presets..........& save them off, try some new things & then a/b them.

Are the 6L6 tubes giving you a more Recto sound/feel/tone?

Thanks for checking in & I sometimes feel that I post all this stuff just so that I can go back in a few months & read where my head was at.......:p

Peace! X-Mann
 
Cool. Great seeing all of these different ideas for using the FX8 with the TC50, which is my weapon of choice as well. I picked up a Suhr Eclipse and a Suhr Rufus to go with my setup... not because the drives are lacking, but because I could trigger them off the relays and get a few different shades of gain and free up a block for other things. I use the Eclipse for two different levels of gain with different EQ settings and the Rufus in the fat mode to push an already dirty channel into chewy, fuzzy goodness.

Last night I came up with my best hi-gain fuzz tone to date. It uses the Rufus first in the chain, in fat mode with the gain low, going into my lowest gain Eclipse channel, and then into the blue channel of the TC50. Tons of gain on tap and that Rufus adds the big, woolly fuzz and the Eclipse tames it just enough to fit into the mix without the bottom end getting too cluttered and muddy. It's just a little different than what I get going with the Rufus alone into that channel, but I liked it. Really surprised me how well it worked. And when I roll off the volume knob on the guitar it thins out just a bit like a proper fuzz sound should.
 
Yeah the TS808 does magical things to a bunch of different amps. I remember seeing a blues guy, Carvin Jones, and he was using a Vibroverb with a TS808 and a TS9 and man, what a blues tone! And then you see tons of metal guys using them to tighten up their bottom ends (hard to say that without laughing). I'm using the Horizon Precision Drive right now and that's TS-based, but on the TC-50's LO channel I ended up having to dial back the highs a LOT. And I dialed back the brightness on the PD too...AND a bit on the MXR EQ I have in the loop! I only play at home and some of those highs were getting almost painful lol. I plan on trying the Maxon 808 this evening to see if it's a little tamer in the high end (though I really like the gate on the PD). All that is with the intention of knowing better what to do on the FX8. :D

The 6L6s definitely give me more of a Recto feel. Also more of a Fender clean on channel 1...but not how I expected. I expected maybe the normal mode would be more Fenderish, but as it turns out it's the Ch 1/Drive mode that seems in Fender territory. A nice warm clean with the gain dialed to around noon. It's just on the very edge of break up. You only notice a little grit when really digging in on a neck pickup (Strat or LP). It's a bit more apparent on the bridge pickup. Anyway, it's awesome.

Also, I still totally dig the crunch tone of the LO channel. So Fenderish cleans on channel 1, Awesome crunch on channel 2, and great high gain on channel 3. This suits me well because, as a learning guitarist with varied taste in music, it allows me to cover a lot of ground. I'm sure it can do about anything well.

How do you do things for channel switching? I mean I'm sure you're using MIDI, but do you have presets for songs and then switch scenes within those presets during the song? And then have each scene change channels as needed?
 
Genghis said:
Cool. Great seeing all of these different ideas for using the FX8 with the TC50, which is my weapon of choice as well. I picked up a Suhr Eclipse and a Suhr Rufus to go with my setup... not because the drives are lacking, but because I could trigger them off the relays and get a few different shades of gain and free up a block for other things. I use the Eclipse for two different levels of gain with different EQ settings and the Rufus in the fat mode to push an already dirty channel into chewy, fuzzy goodness.

Last night I came up with my best hi-gain fuzz tone to date. It uses the Rufus first in the chain, in fat mode with the gain low, going into my lowest gain Eclipse channel, and then into the blue channel of the TC50. Tons of gain on tap and that Rufus adds the big, woolly fuzz and the Eclipse tames it just enough to fit into the mix without the bottom end getting too cluttered and muddy. It's just a little different than what I get going with the Rufus alone into that channel, but I liked it. Really surprised me how well it worked. And when I roll off the volume knob on the guitar it thins out just a bit like a proper fuzz sound should.
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Yo G(enghis),

This is VERY COOL & I'm glad that I'm not the only one that ga ga for the TC-50! your new pedals sound way cool & I've thought about doing something very similar to what you are doing, but I'm getting all the tones I need with the TC & the FX8. I have a small pedal board too & don't want to add more stuff onto it. lol

I don't have a good Fuzz tone yet either. Hmmmmmm........

Are you in a cover band with your rig? Got any pictures on your rig? Ever been in the cockpit of an airplane? :p

Great stuff & thanks for chiming in brother!!!!!

Peace! X
 
Deadpool_25 said:
How do you do things for channel switching? I mean I'm sure you're using MIDI, but do you have presets for songs and then switch scenes within those presets during the song? And then have each scene change channels as needed?
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I do this!!!!!!! :cool:
https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/xs-fx8-cover-band-presets.124828/#post-1489542

I do everything as a song based preset & with scenes. I never use more then 4-scenes & usually 2 to 3 w/ pedal #4 being a "Filter" block for a boost. I use around 1db (X) on non-lead scenes & 3.85db (Y) on my lead scenes.

EVERYTHING is doe left to right as far as to what happens in then actual song. i do this for less confusion while playing live. I do use the tap tempo, but set each song to it's recorded BPM & add that into the label of each preset for ref. This way I can see/hear if we are playing this faster/slower then the original.........& can let the drummer know if it was WAY OFF later. :eek:

Once you dial in your 1st 10-songs or so......you seem to copy a preset that's close & then add in or change what you need.

This works for me........& I'm very happy with it.

X

Note: I've already changed these exact presets that were downloaded to the Axe-Change. I never had the noise gate(s) set correct or even ON in this case. I don't use the Carvin Legacy-3 as my giging amp at this time (it's ny back-up to my back-up). :rolleyes:o_O
 
Cool. I can't get to the videos at work, but so you have a MIDI message that goes out per scene to switch channels on the TC-50?
 
X-Mann said:
Yo G(enghis),

This is VERY COOL & I'm glad that I'm not the only one that ga ga for the TC-50! your new pedals sound way cool & I've thought about doing something very similar to what you are doing, but I'm getting all the tones I need with the TC & the FX8. I have a small pedal board too & don't want to add more stuff onto it. lol

I don't have a good Fuzz tone yet either. Hmmmmmm........

Are you in a cover band with your rig? Got any pictures on your rig? Ever been in the cockpit of an airplane? :p

Great stuff & thanks for chiming in brother!!!!!

Peace! X
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Lol, gotta love Airplane references. I didn't intend to indulge in any additional pedals and it does make the setup a little more complicated. I mostly record at home, but I'm gearing up and hoping to get into some kind of a band again as well.

I really like the flexibility that the Suhr pedals have as I can switch those in and out via the relays from the FX8 and use MIDI to switch the channels and everything else on the TC50.

The Eclipse is an outstanding drive/distortion, and I even took it as my only pedal with me when I went over to jam with a guy who had an amp set up I could use. I told him to give me a clean channel and I set up one channel for very lightly scooped hi gain rhythm and the other for thicker mids hi-gain lead. Worked well for that. Works even better as a versatile drive with the TC50.

Rufus is nice, but it is a bit noisy, as most fuzzes tend to be. It really took me a while to figure out the best settings to get the tones I was looking for without all of the noise. Gain up hi into a clean channel sounds OK, but is noisy. Gain a little lower into the blue channel works OK and sounds a little better, but can still be noisy unless you are careful with the gain. What really surprised me though was the settings last night with the gain at around 8 o'clock or so, adding the girth and hair before the Eclipse and then into the blue channel. Tons of thick gain and sustain without all of the noise.

I also have a Wilson Wah, and that I'm using over the FX8 wah mostly to get it into the signal chain in the right order. Strangely it works best with the Rufus first, the Wah second and then the Eclipse. Sounds really strange before the Fuzz, but really sounds great after it.

On the pics, well, I'll have to clean up the arrangement a bit and try to post something at some point. I don't have the pedals mounted on the board, just the FX 8 on an old Pedaltrain with a power supply mounted underneath it. I really need to get that all sorted and set up right, then maybe take some pics.
 
Deadpool_25 said:
Cool. I can't get to the videos at work, but so you have a MIDI message that goes out per scene to switch channels on the TC-50?
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You can "Train" your Mesa Boogie TC50 to send a Midi "PC" (Program change) to any number that you want & save it on the back of the amp w/ the little toggle.

You do this by going to the "Config" page in any one of your FX8 presets 1st, then set them one at a time based on each amp channel. You set the amp to say the clean channel & turn the solo boost on/off & the same with the reverb. Then with the FX8 set to the scene that you want to save, you select PC # that will always control that channel. I use 1, 2 & 3 for my PC numbers & make that match the amp, but you don't have to.


Once all 3-channels have been set & saved, you don't have to do it again midi wise.

Here's a pic of the "Config" page....
84BD6C7E-1A99-47C5-8EA3-D45E64B562E2_zpscu81j5yl.jpg


It took a few tries to understand & set this up, but once you get one channel set, the rest go very fast.

Peace! Tim

Note: I'm really NOT a technical guy & shouldn't give out advice to ANYONE. Please read the manual & or.....ask a Pro like Mark Day or Matt. ;) But.....if my mistakes make you think or learn something......then #awesome
 
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Haha. Yeah man. Thanks Tim. I had actually done that before. I had my FX8 set to send some MIDI PC. I *think* it was tied to a scene but can't remember (it was only a few weeks ago...damn I must be getting old! :( ). The FX8 sent that PC when I switched to that scene, the amp changed settings, I set the settings to what I actually wanted, then hit the "store" toggle on the back of the TC-50. It worked like a charm.

I was more just wondering if that's how YOU did it lol :)

Since I'm playing only at home and am not doing covers (I really need to learn some actual songs as opposed to a few random riffs!) I may set my presets to general categories: basic clean, classic rock, blues, hard rock, , 80's rock, metal, etc. I dunno...something along those lines.

Damn, now I'm all worked up about the FX8. I'll probably get it hooked back up tonight. ;)
 
Hey FX8rs......

I hope you all have a stellar 4th of July!

I've been working w/ a very cool app on my iPhone called the "Anytune Pro+" & it's changing the way I figure out & learn songs.

It can slow down & loop an entire song or section without changing the pitch....

I spent about 35-minutes yesterday trying to figure out the song "Seventeen" by Winger because I always loved that tune as a kid. I didn't have the skill to play it or to try to figure it out.

Here's the FX8 w/ some phaser, chorus, Drive (TS808) & a small amount of delay.......


With a little more time in, I'll smooth this out & get it perfect too!

The amp is a Mesa Boogie TC-50 & the guitar is my Kiesel Greg Howe 24-feet bolt....\m/

Peace! X
 
Ok.....I took another listen & fixed a few mistakes on my figuring out of the song "Seventeen" by Winger. I had a few things off & Just didn't have it under my fingers yet so to speak.

Here's take #2 w/ the original in the background to help my tempo out.....



I also added a compressor pedal too & changed the delay mix as well....

X
 
Ok......"Ring Modulation".

What is it & how does it work?

I'm starting to learn the song "Cherub Rock" & trying to dial in a lead preset on my FX8.

I've got some drive, Flange, delay, reverb & now....Ring Modulation.


I've read that's what was used on this cool Pumpkins tune.

Anyone know about this tune, it's FX....& or Ring Modulation?

Thanks! X
 
Hey guys.....

I just had another great live gig & can't emagine ever playing a gig without the FX8. It works so well w/ my gear & amp....& just sounds stellar.

Here's a solo w/ the "Clyde" wah & the 2290 delay..... #priceless


Here's the solo for "Lola Montez" by Vol Beat...


& some cool Ring Modulation on the Cherub Rock solo...


Long live the Fractal FX8, what an amazing piece of technology!!!

X

Here's a pic of the rig I used at this gig...
Photo%20Jul%2014%2C%208%2017%2013%20PM.jpg
 
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Ah right on. I am having some adventures in rig building now myself. I'm not a gigging musician; just a bedroom player. But rig building is like crack! My latest couple of projects are working on a pedalboard, and working on single/dual amp rig options.

The two amps used will be the TC-50 head with a Mesa Vertical 2X12, and that Peavey Invective head with a custom vertical 2x12 (the Invective stuff isn't here yet). In order to run these amps with the FX8-based board (including some external pedals) I spent some time drawing wiring diagrams for different options.

1) Single amp (either one) with FX8 in 4CM (this would be a simple-ish grab and go rig if I ever play out)
2) Both amps in stereo, using only 1 preamp and slaving the other amp's power section; stereo effects hitting both amps (decent option, but I think I'd prefer option 3 so I get the benefit of both preamp flavors)
3) Both amps in stereo, using both preamps, stereo wet effects hitting both amps
4) Both amps in stereo, using both preamps, stereo wet effects hitting only one amp (W/D rig)
5) Running a full W/D/W rig

Right now, I'm leaning towards options 3 and 4 because I think I can wire it up for option 3, then use the internal I/O management to basically mute the wet effects on one side. So I could possibly have scenes where I am in true stereo and scences where I use W/D. Sounds like a pretty cool idea but I'm not sure how I'd pull it off yet. Likely using some post-mixer balance parameter or using a Vol/Pan (though I'd like to avoid that so as not to waste a block on it.

Anyway, forgive my rambling on your thread, but you seem to like to discuss the FX8 and all its awesomeness and not many others seem too active in this forum. LOL
 
Deadpool_25 said:
Ah right on. I am having some adventures in rig building now myself. I'm not a gigging musician; just a bedroom player. But rig building is like crack! My latest couple of projects are working on a pedalboard, and working on single/dual amp rig options.

The two amps used will be the TC-50 head with a Mesa Vertical 2X12, and that Peavey Invective head with a custom vertical 2x12 (the Invective stuff isn't here yet). In order to run these amps with the FX8-based board (including some external pedals) I spent some time drawing wiring diagrams for different options.

1) Single amp (either one) with FX8 in 4CM (this would be a simple-ish grab and go rig if I ever play out)
2) Both amps in stereo, using only 1 preamp and slaving the other amp's power section; stereo effects hitting both amps (decent option, but I think I'd prefer option 3 so I get the benefit of both preamp flavors)
3) Both amps in stereo, using both preamps, stereo wet effects hitting both amps
4) Both amps in stereo, using both preamps, stereo wet effects hitting only one amp (W/D rig)
5) Running a full W/D/W rig

Right now, I'm leaning towards options 3 and 4 because I think I can wire it up for option 3, then use the internal I/O management to basically mute the wet effects on one side. So I could possibly have scenes where I am in true stereo and scences where I use W/D. Sounds like a pretty cool idea but I'm not sure how I'd pull it off yet. Likely using some post-mixer balance parameter or using a Vol/Pan (though I'd like to avoid that so as not to waste a block on it.

Anyway, forgive my rambling on your thread, but you seem to like to discuss the FX8 and all its awesomeness and not many others seem too active in this forum. LOL
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Yes, a lot of cool options & it's fun to experiment.

My rig is built for live cover band use & weekend warrior type stuff. The FX8 is the heart of my system & I'm still VERY happy w/ it. It fixes SO many problems that a traditional pedal board has & the FX quality is 2nd to none.

I saw your original thread on your new board & thought it looked cool & just forgot to comment.

Yes, this section of the board is much slower then some of the others.

I've done a full stereo rig live before & while fun at 1st, it's only really heard by you on stage. Most PA systems are mono & while you can pan hard left & right, it's not really needed.

I wish you luck w/ your new rig & adventure too!

X
 
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