AveryWatts
New Member
Hello All,
I wanted to see if anybody had some insight on an issue I’m experiencing.
I have a setup with two signal chains:
#1: Guitar straight into Axe-Fx III front panel (Input 1) > Output 1
#2: Guitar straight into a real high-gain tube amp > load box (X-load) > Input 2 on Axe-Fx > Output 1
Signal chain #1 is obviously just working within the Axe-Fx. Signal chain #2 is using the Axe-Fx merely as an Impulse Response loader for a real tube amp.
My original intention was to put these two signal chains on a switcher, either a loop selector or an A/B box. This was so I could go back and forth between the two inputs (without unplugging the guitar), comparing tones in the real world versus recreating those tones solely within the Axe-Fx.
I setup two parallel block chains inside the Axe-Fx, on two different rows, both joining only at the output (Output 1). They’re basic and look like this:
#1: Input 1 > Amp block > Cab block > Output 1
#2: Input 2 > Cab block > Output 2
Both signal chains have the same IR’s loaded in their respective cab blocks as well.
I tried doing this setup first with a Voodoo Labs HEX switcher (with #1 on Loop 1 and #2 on Loop 2), then also tried this setup using simply an A/B stompbox (#1 on A, #2 on B). Both of these solutions are true-bypass and made of top-quality components.
This is the issue: When switching to #2, the real tube amp produces a deafening squeal. It doesn’t matter if the guitar volume is up or down, it doesn’t matter if you disable either input block inside the Axe-Fx (Input 1 or 2), and it doesn’t even matter if you switch back to #1 on the switcher (you can still hear the squealing at low levels coming from inside the actual physical amp). Also, it seems like no matter if you’re on loop 1 or 2, the Axe-Fx is always receiving some very small amount of input signal from both Input 1 and Input 2 (even if currently deactivated on the switcher) all the time, as indicated by the front panel input LEDs.
The second you pull the Input 1 cable out of the signal chain (whether it’s currently activated on the switcher or not), suddenly the tube amp (loop 2) is a perfect angel and sounds amazing.
I spent hours diagnosing every aspect of every component involved; cables, tubes, volume levels, switchers, pedals, guitar, etc. This is my conclusion: Input 1 and Input 2 simply cannot be plugged into the same circuit, even if the circuit is bypassed or disabled. For whatever reason, with this setup, they absolutely hate each other. Just for fun, I even used the A/B/Y box to play both #1 and #2 at the same time (Y) and it was a phasey, cacophonous, noisey disaster of a sound.
My question is this: Is there some kind of internal crosstalk between the inputs within the Axe-Fx itself? Is there some kind of I/O setting that I’m missing on the Axe-Fx that could be causing this to happen? If I use them separately, it works perfectly; only when trying to use the switcher do I experience a problem. I would think that the A/B switcher was just leaking signal to both Inputs all the time, but I also tried this on the HEX, which I definitively know is not the case, and got the same result. Input 1 and Input 2 can simply not be even plugged into the same component without causing each other problems.
Just to clarify, this is squealing that I’m experiencing. Outside of that, I’m not getting any humming, buzzing, or anything that would indicate a Grounding issue, 60 cycle hum, phase issue, or otherwise. This is more like an oscillation loop that is occurring only on the real amp from the relationship between Input 1 and Input 2 on the Axe-fx, interacting is some unseen way.
Any advice or insight anyone could provide would be greatly appreciated.
I wanted to see if anybody had some insight on an issue I’m experiencing.
I have a setup with two signal chains:
#1: Guitar straight into Axe-Fx III front panel (Input 1) > Output 1
#2: Guitar straight into a real high-gain tube amp > load box (X-load) > Input 2 on Axe-Fx > Output 1
Signal chain #1 is obviously just working within the Axe-Fx. Signal chain #2 is using the Axe-Fx merely as an Impulse Response loader for a real tube amp.
My original intention was to put these two signal chains on a switcher, either a loop selector or an A/B box. This was so I could go back and forth between the two inputs (without unplugging the guitar), comparing tones in the real world versus recreating those tones solely within the Axe-Fx.
I setup two parallel block chains inside the Axe-Fx, on two different rows, both joining only at the output (Output 1). They’re basic and look like this:
#1: Input 1 > Amp block > Cab block > Output 1
#2: Input 2 > Cab block > Output 2
Both signal chains have the same IR’s loaded in their respective cab blocks as well.
I tried doing this setup first with a Voodoo Labs HEX switcher (with #1 on Loop 1 and #2 on Loop 2), then also tried this setup using simply an A/B stompbox (#1 on A, #2 on B). Both of these solutions are true-bypass and made of top-quality components.
This is the issue: When switching to #2, the real tube amp produces a deafening squeal. It doesn’t matter if the guitar volume is up or down, it doesn’t matter if you disable either input block inside the Axe-Fx (Input 1 or 2), and it doesn’t even matter if you switch back to #1 on the switcher (you can still hear the squealing at low levels coming from inside the actual physical amp). Also, it seems like no matter if you’re on loop 1 or 2, the Axe-Fx is always receiving some very small amount of input signal from both Input 1 and Input 2 (even if currently deactivated on the switcher) all the time, as indicated by the front panel input LEDs.
The second you pull the Input 1 cable out of the signal chain (whether it’s currently activated on the switcher or not), suddenly the tube amp (loop 2) is a perfect angel and sounds amazing.
I spent hours diagnosing every aspect of every component involved; cables, tubes, volume levels, switchers, pedals, guitar, etc. This is my conclusion: Input 1 and Input 2 simply cannot be plugged into the same circuit, even if the circuit is bypassed or disabled. For whatever reason, with this setup, they absolutely hate each other. Just for fun, I even used the A/B/Y box to play both #1 and #2 at the same time (Y) and it was a phasey, cacophonous, noisey disaster of a sound.
My question is this: Is there some kind of internal crosstalk between the inputs within the Axe-Fx itself? Is there some kind of I/O setting that I’m missing on the Axe-Fx that could be causing this to happen? If I use them separately, it works perfectly; only when trying to use the switcher do I experience a problem. I would think that the A/B switcher was just leaking signal to both Inputs all the time, but I also tried this on the HEX, which I definitively know is not the case, and got the same result. Input 1 and Input 2 can simply not be even plugged into the same component without causing each other problems.
Just to clarify, this is squealing that I’m experiencing. Outside of that, I’m not getting any humming, buzzing, or anything that would indicate a Grounding issue, 60 cycle hum, phase issue, or otherwise. This is more like an oscillation loop that is occurring only on the real amp from the relationship between Input 1 and Input 2 on the Axe-fx, interacting is some unseen way.
Any advice or insight anyone could provide would be greatly appreciated.