Do most people record direct from USB from the Axe-Fx, or do you use an audio interface between?

Denny99 said:
I recently purchased a $2500 Mac Mini (6 core CPU and 32GB RAM) and it’s killer. Add a decent audio interface and you get around 3k.
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I just priced a new mini. For 2900 (I paid a little over 2k for my computer) I’d have:
A much slower processor. I’m running an i9 at 5ghz full time compared to 3.2 with turboboost)
Zero expandability.
About 5tb less of drive space. Yea the mini will work but it loses in value in comparison. You also don’t have half the ports on it.
 
Generally direct via USB. Sometimes I'll use SPDIF via apollo so I can add some UAD plugins on top of the signal going into the daw, rather than after. Just a tonal option, not necessary
 
Also just to add I currently own:
iPad pro
Mac Pro (2012 last cheese grater)
iMac (2009 still ticking along)
AirPods
AirPod pros and am typing this on my iPhone 11pro.
Im definitely not what you’d call an apple hater. I just think for pro audio you really can’t get a product from them that isn’t killed by PC in terms of value.
 
chris said:
Comparing just price of resulting specs, Mac is usually more expensive, but some value not using Windows that much ;)
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Guilty. I don't do Windows any more.

If Apple moves away from OSX in favor of some iOS flavored nightmare, I guess I will be building PCs again, and looking for some flavor of Linux that will handle the work required. Maybe we'll be lucky and someone will figure out how to make Logic work on Linux, since Linux and UNIX are so similar....
 
Bruce Sokolovic said:
No doubt. Handling the load and having a good amount of headroom are horses of a different color. Spec out a mac with an i9, 10TB of space and 64GB of RAM. Sure you can get aftermarket work arounds to keep the cost down, but still. You’re not touching that anywhere near what it would cost on a Windows platform.
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My question is more oriented toward the question of are there audio programs / hardware that specifically need to be used to make the Axe FX record better than the standard USB interface. Not averse to Mac at all, but those specs seem like massive overkill for a recording rig. I'm in IT - there are huge data warehouses/database servers that don't come close to needing those Mac specs =P My win10 pc is M.2 NVME SSD 2GB, 32GB ram, 2070 Vid card, and an i5 9600k. I spent about $1200 and built it myself.
 
zif5150 said:
My question is more oriented toward the question of are there audio programs / hardware that specifically need to be used to make the Axe FX record better than the standard USB interface. Not averse to Mac at all, but those specs seem like massive overkill for a recording rig. I'm in IT - there are huge data warehouses/database servers that don't come close to needing those Mac specs =P My win10 pc is M.2 NVME SSD 2GB, 32GB ram, 2070 Vid card, and an i5 9600k. I spent about $1200 and built it myself.
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It really all depends what you’re doing, what you want to run and how efficient you work. For instance when I record, I use Superior drummer. I just this morning built a drum kit in it that loads 6gb of ram (I prefer to load into ram than to stream, just seems to work better). That’s one plugin. I’ve had 17 instances of Kontakt with some heavy sample libraries loaded up before. I can definitely dig into some RAM. Plus, I keep my mail client open, maybe my browser. Axe Edit. Emote for my Eventide H9000. Before long I have lots of stuff open and I don’t want to have to think about what I need to convert to audio, what I don’t need open right now etc. I don’t think you really have to worry about software or extra hardware to properly run a fractal as an interface as much as you just have to understand it’s limitations and be ok with that. For instance no Mic pres, limited I/O, sample rate limitations etc.
 
I see no reason to use another interface for guitar unless one absolutely must have a sample rate other than 48k. Recording and reamping with the III's USB is amazing.
 
chris said:
PC or Mac can accomplish the same thing. I think many just enjoy the Mac platform in general.



I think it’s mostly about workflow. If you’re just recording guitar (or use the Axe only) I don’t see a reason to use something other than USB. For others, they have mics, multiple monitors, other gear etc potentially all plugged into an interface/mixer at the same time. To record everything else with that interface, but switch to USB and change your speakers connection from that to the axe just to record guitar may not make sense.
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Yeah, I've got the Axe III, multiple synths, and Vdrums running to a mixer, with the sub busses running to a Focusrite. My monitors are on the mixer mains and all audio routes this way. I have the option of recording the Axe either through the mixer or direct, since the Axe is connected to the computer too.

One of the best reasons for doing it this way is I always have zero latency monitoring of the audio via the mixer when recording.
 
Bruce Sokolovic said:
It really all depends what you’re doing, what you want to run and how efficient you work. For instance when I record, I use Superior drummer. I just this morning built a drum kit in it that loads 6gb of ram (I prefer to load into ram than to stream, just seems to work better). That’s one plugin. I’ve had 17 instances of Kontakt with some heavy sample libraries loaded up before. I can definitely dig into some RAM. Plus, I keep my mail client open, maybe my browser. Axe Edit. Emote for my Eventide H9000. Before long I have lots of stuff open and I don’t want to have to think about what I need to convert to audio, what I don’t need open right now etc. I don’t think you really have to worry about software or extra hardware to properly run a fractal as an interface as much as you just have to understand it’s limitations and be ok with that. For instance no Mic pres, limited I/O, sample rate limitations etc.
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i think this sort of detail is important in a conversation like this. thanks for sharing it.

when the thread is centered around just recording the guitar, and a beginner is asking for advice, if someone chimes in with "i need an i9 and 10 TB of space, etc.", to the beginner, it might seem like you're saying that's the minimum for recording just guitar :D

now that we know what you do, we can see that your computer needs are based around that, and not a result of the original question. i've seen MANY situations where someone asks "what speaker do i need for my fm3" and someone says "i use 4 pairs of different monitors in the $10k range" as an answer to that question, the beginner might think it's impossible to get anything good out of a $200 set of speakers for bedroom playing. this can start a cycle of "you must spend $x to get a "good" sound. not true at all of course as experienced players know. but we need to be careful when describing things to beginners.

we all have different use cases and needs for everything. context goes a long way, especially in a thread where someone asks "how should i record guitar and what computer?" :D
 
chris said:
i think this sort of detail is important in a conversation like this. thanks for sharing it.

when the thread is centered around just recording the guitar, and a beginner is asking for advice, if someone chimes in with "i need an i9 and 10 TB of space, etc.", to the beginner, it might seem like you're saying that's the minimum for recording just guitar :D

now that we know what you do, we can see that your computer needs are based around that, and not a result of the original question. i've seen MANY situations where someone asks "what speaker do i need for my fm3" and someone says "i use 4 pairs of different monitors in the $10k range" as an answer to that question, the beginner might think it's impossible to get anything good out of a $200 set of speakers for bedroom playing. this can start a cycle of "you must spend $x to get a "good" sound. not true at all of course as experienced players know. but we need to be careful when describing things to beginners.

we all have different use cases and needs for everything. context goes a long way, especially in a thread where someone asks "how should i record guitar and what computer?" :D
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I think in these conversations goals are important too. As a beginner does the op even want to record? Just for playback and jamming along to tracks, use the fractal. Does the op want to dabble in recording? Maybe start with the fractal seeing he already has it. Does the op want to record his own full 9 piece band? He’s probably going to want an interface. Does the op who is just starting out see himself film scoring someday? Maybe head toward the gear that’s going to get him there. Truth. We all have different needs.
 
Someone said this already, if just recording guitars with the Axe III, I don't see why USB wouldn't be the quick and easy choice.
I suppose if you are "keeping" your Axe III in a recording setup, then other options may also make sense.

Personally, I do have an Apogee Duet...so that's a viable backup to USB.

The thing is, I don't know about others, yet I NEED TO USE my Axe III outside my home studio regularly, so I tend to simply leave a USB cable plugged in to my Mac Mini. It's always available, so I can just plug in my Axe III when I need to use it to record, easy peasy.
Also, makes it easy to plug in for updates and Axe-Edit.

As always, there's no "right way," simply the way that works best for YOU.
Do what works best for you ;)
 
USB for me, but mainly because I'm too lazy and set up an aggregate device in my iMac. I have a USB hub that my Scarlett Solo plugs into which I use for vocals, so I just switch input devices in Logic when I use it.

My AxeFX outputs run to a Samson mixer which then run into speakers. I only do this because I have a random Yamaha subwoofer that I send an output to via the headphone jack of the mixer. I wouldn't have another way to use to subwoofer any other way.
 
Like many here already, most ways around. Direct USB, SPDIF through a Focusrite Scarlett 6i6, or sometimes straight into one or 2 Scarlett inputs. Depends a lot on how I want to monitor, whether I can remember how to set that up on the Scarlett, and how paranoid I am that day about whether I am getting what I want from digital interfaces. If the Axe FX III had good mic preamps and phantom power I'd consider putting the interface to one side and aiming to use the Axe for everything.

However some days the simplicity of plugging a bass, guitar or microphone into the Scarlett and recording and monitoring dry feels like the thing to do. Compared with the Tascam 144 I started out with many years ago, these feel like first world problems. It all works, and when it doesn't sound amazing, doesn't generally take long to troubleshoot.

Liam
 
Bruce Sokolovic said:
I just priced a new mini. For 2900 (I paid a little over 2k for my computer) I’d have:
A much slower processor. I’m running an i9 at 5ghz full time compared to 3.2 with turboboost)
Zero expandability.
About 5tb less of drive space. Yea the mini will work but it loses in value in comparison. You also don’t have half the ports on it.
Click to expand...

I don’t have as many processing power nor ports, but I have macOS. Which is the only reason I buy Macs.
Same goes for iPhone; there are many other phones with better cameras, more storage, etc. They don’t run iOS and that makes them useless to me 🙂
 
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