Bug? Defect?: Strange sounds with some high gain presets

This might be nothing more than an odd quirk, but I thought it was interesting and unusual enough to post. In auditioning some of the presets and tweaking the knobs, I stumbled upon the odd behavior shown in the video below. In this example, I have the Bank 8 Preset 7 (Angle Severe) loaded up. The preset is completely stock. I strike a chord, turn up the Drive knob, then turn it all the way down to 0, and chaos ensues...



It'll keep going like this indefinitely, until I turn the drive up to about 1 or so (although the sweet spot seems variable from one moment to the next). If I then turn it back down to 0 (as I do in the video), the chaotic static, warbling, etc. often start back up again. However, if I turn it up far enough, then it will usually stop even if I then turn it back to 0 (but not always). I should note that, once the choatic noises begin, I can turn the volume on the guitar to 0, or even remove the input cable from the AX8 altogether, and it'll keep on going until I intervene to stop it.

As the plural in the title suggests, this isn't limited to this patch or this amp. For example, preset 4 in the same bank (Dizzy VH4 Ch 4) exhibits the same behavior. I haven't searched any further to see which presets/amps show this behavior.

Any ideas what is going on here? Although this exact scenario is a rare one that is avoided easily enough, I'm left wondering if there is an underlying problem with my AX8. Adding to that concern is that, although I've been very impressed with the clean and low gain tones, I've been fairly underwhelmed by the mid to high gain tones. I wouldn't say they sound "bad" (this particular quirk notwithstanding) -- in fact, some are sounding pretty decent -- but something seems a little "off" with them, and I'm struggling more than I expected to find high gain tones that I'm really excited about (granted, I have no prior Fractal experience, so there is a learning curve to be navigated).

I have tried resetting the system parameters via the global menu, and have reloaded the firmware and presets, but that doesn't seem to have changed anything. I'm curious if anyone can replicate this issue, or have any insights into what might be going on, and whether it is a sign that I need to contact Fractal support.
 
Last edited:
Disclaimer: Never had a Fractal product. Not an electrical engineer, etc.

Does that happen in different locations in your home or maybe at a friend's house? Is there another electrical device that might be throwing out some serious EMFs close by? It reminded me of radio static is why I ask.
 
Thanks for the suggestion. I'll try it in another part of the house tomorrow. But I suspect EMF is not the culprit, as I'd expect EMF noise to get worse as the gain is increased, rather than kicking in only when gain is dropped down to 0. I also don't have comparable noise problems with any other gear (modelers nor tube amps), which I'd expect with EMF.

In playing around a little bit after my initial post, I encountered it on some additional presets. In at least one case I triggered it by simply dialing the gain up and down a few times a few times in relatively short succession (comparable to sweeping a wah pedal up and down 2 or 3 times) without first playing anything as I did in the video I posted above. I also noticed that, once the noise starts, it'll often continue even following a preset change until I take action to stop it as described above. It's very strange.

If anyone who has an AX8 in hand could try replicating this, I would appreciate it. That would give me a good sense of whether there is a problem with mine, or if I this is just something that happens with all AX8's under these specific conditions.
 
Confirmed only on Angle Severe preset. Not every time. Seems to happen more often if you quickly pull the drive knob down. I get it to stop by simply bringing the drive knob back up. No other presets show this behavior of the 8 others in this bank, nor the bank above or below.
 
Back
Top Bottom