Can you run bass guitar or even voice through the Axe Fx?

L

LegatoMan

Member
Hey guys!

I recently acquired the Axe Fx, and am very happy with it all. Very complicated and involved Amp Settings- it will take a while for me to truly understand how everything works!

My question is; can you use the Axe Fx for bass guitar as well? My worry is that the bass guitars output levels have much lower frequencies and are possibly much louder than a normal guitar. I'd be afraid to "damage" the input, in such a way that the electric guitar would never sound the same afterwards. Could this happen?

Also, it would be awesome to feed my vocals through the Axe Fx, just to see how all those crazy effects work on it. (Can you imagine the Crystal Echoes on voice?? :shock: ) My same question applies here. Would I damage the Axe Fx by feeding a microphone signal of my voice into the input, which is potentially a lot louder than a normal guitar signal?

I'm kind of scared to try it, because I would kill myself for making the guitar sounds not work any more. Can some one prove to me that bass or vocals wouldn't damage the Axe Fx in any way?

Thanks a lot. :)
 
Re: Can you run bass guitar or even voice through the Axe Fx

There are 2 bass amps and cabs in Axe already so there's no reason why not to play bass through it.
People also use it for vocals, all you need is XLR to 1/4" cable,
just bare in mind that there is no phantom 48v on Axe.
 
Re: Can you run bass guitar or even voice through the Axe Fx

Thanks for the prompt reply!

I see that there are a couple of bass cabinets and amps, but for example in the Wiki manual it says about the Bassman: "a low-to-medium gain sound great for blues. Based on a classic bass amplifier with four 10” speakers, it didn’t work so well for bass but guitar players quickly discovered it made a great blues amp. Try a treble booster in front for screaming blues work a la Albert Collins or Albert King"

So maybe these bass amps are just added because they sound good with an electric guitar, an not because you're supposed to plug a bass guitar into the input jack. What puts me off is that there is NO mention in the manual about using a bass guitar.
 
Re: Can you run bass guitar or even voice through the Axe Fx

Bass is perfectly fine. The reason people don't run bass guitars through guitar amplifiers is that it can blow a guitar speaker, which are not build for those low frequencies. Within the digital domain of the Axe-FX, you can do pretty much whatever you want. Hell, some people have gotten some pretty incredible results for bass by combining bass cab and guitar cab sims on their bass tone.

The only issue with running vocals through it is the lack of phantom power on the Axe, and if you are like me and prefer to use powered condensers for vocals, then you will need to run the microphone into a preamp first, and then into one of the rear inputs on the Axe. Other than that, it works well as a piece of studio outboard gear.
 
Re: Can you run bass guitar or even voice through the Axe Fx

The Axe is excellent for bass. I have vastly improved the two bass patches I had posted previously and I will be uploading them soon. One is a bright patch for a brighter tone and slap and the other is a mellow tone. I'm not sure when I'll upload them, but I'll try to do it soon. I'm still putting the finishing touches on the EQ for the mellow patch right now, but it's close.
 
Re: Can you run bass guitar or even voice through the Axe Fx

[quote="LegatoMan"

So maybe these bass amps are just added because they sound good with an electric guitar, an not because you're supposed to plug a bass guitar into the input jack. What puts me off is that there is NO mention in the manual about using a bass guitar.[/quote]

There's "SV Bass" sim which is actually Ampeg SVT,
if that's not for bass then I don't know what is. :)

But yeah, it would be nice to have few more bass amp sims in the unit
just for the sake of balance, remember that AxeFx is mainly aimed for guitarists.
 
Re: Can you run bass guitar or even voice through the Axe Fx

DLM, cool that you as a bass player have found the Axe Fx to be useful! Have you also used standard electric guitar through the Axe Fx AFTER using the bass?

soggybomb said:
Bass is perfectly fine. The reason people don't run bass guitars through guitar amplifiers is that it can blow a guitar speaker, which are not build for those low frequencies. Within the digital domain of the Axe-FX, you can do pretty much whatever you want. Hell, some people have gotten some pretty incredible results for bass by combining bass cab and guitar cab sims on their bass tone.
Click to expand...

I don't know much about audio signals; but I do know that the input signal is analog first of all, and needs to be converted into digital to be processed in the Axe Fx. I'd agree with you that once you're in the digital realm, it all becomes numbers and so there's no worry about "blowing out" anything. However, what if the analog/digital converter in the input gets blown out? What if it's only made to convert the frequencies that an electric guitar produces? Of course, it might work for bass, but then maybe the electric guitar sound will become muddy or something? :?

I'm sorry guys, I really want to believe you, but I need to make absolutely sure. Call me the Axe Fx-hypochondriac if you want :mrgreen:
 
Re: Can you run bass guitar or even voice through the Axe Fx

LegatoMan said:
However, what if the analog/digital converter in the input gets blown out?
Click to expand...
It won't, and it can't.

What if it's only made to convert the frequencies that an electric guitar produces?
Click to expand...
Even if that were true (it isn't), playing a bass through it wouldn't cause damage.

I'm sorry guys, I really want to believe you, but I need to make absolutely sure.
Click to expand...
Be sure. There is no possibility of the signal from a bass damaging your Axe-Fx.
 
Re: Can you run bass guitar or even voice through the Axe Fx

Good grief. I run an ACTIVE bass into the front of the Axe Fx, with its bass EQ fully BOOSTED, with no problem whatsoever. The output goes through powered nearfield monitors and a 300 watt subwoofer (which I usually don't bother to turn on). I've even plugged my guitar into the Axe AFTER using my bass, without turning it off and flushing out any of the bass frequencies that are still dripping out of it. In fact, I sometimes forget to switch patches, so I'll play a few notes of guitar into a bass patch, or bass into a guitar patch. I mix and match "guitar" and "bass" amps and cabs with total impunity, and I don't even mind that none of the effects blocks in the Axe are made for bass. None of my guitars has gotten muddy or lost its ability to play frequencies above middle C or developed an inferiority complex about its masculinity. None of this matters in the slightest. And by the way, black cats are not unlucky, your horoscope is crap, and homeopathy does not work. Now get back under your bridge.
 
Re: Can you run bass guitar or even voice through the Axe Fx

I play bass and guitar both through the Axe. I'm not sure where you got the idea that it would be an issue, but it's not. End of story. Don't want to believe it, don't buy an Axe. I'm not really sure what else to tell you. I run both my active and passive basses through the Axe as well as active and passive guitars. In fact, I've used both bass and guitar in all of my guitar processors over the years. Not a single one has had any problems whatsoever. So unless you're plugging your 9 volt connector on your guitar into a wall socket or something, you really have nothing to worry about.
 
Re: Can you run bass guitar or even voice through the Axe Fx

chase said:
And by the way, black cats are not unlucky, your horoscope is crap, and homeopathy does not work. Now get back under your bridge.
Click to expand...

Very funny!

It's great that you guys use bass guitar and have good results, but since it's not mentioned ANYWHERE in the manual that you could plug in a bass guitar or a microphone, I just wanted to hear a technical reason that it's safe. Something like: "the analog/digital converter cannot be damaged, because all it does is detect the electric impulses coming from the guitar, and sends those out in digital numbers. The electric voltage coming from a bass guitar or a microphone is not enough to burn out anything, because they can hold amplitudes up to <insert missing information>."

Don't bother to reply, I know that it's safe now.
 
Re: Can you run bass guitar or even voice through the Axe Fx

The analog/digital converter cannot be damaged, because all it does is detect the electric impulses coming from the guitar, and sends those out in digital numbers. The electric voltage coming from a bass guitar or a microphone is not enough to burn out anything, because they can hold amplitudes up to 1.21 gigawatts.
 
Re: Can you run bass guitar or even voice through the Axe Fx

Im a bass player and i use the axe a lot. Works great. But! Cliff...the tuner..come on.
 
Re: Can you run bass guitar or even voice through the Axe Fx

i run a moog voyager through the axe sometimes, if those bass frequencies don't hurt it none will.
 
Re: Can you run bass guitar or even voice through the Axe Fx

Is there any video demo of Axe fx, used as effects only from a mic preamp? loved to hear those crystal echoes ;D
 
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