Do you run your Axe-FX II in stereo when performing live?

lscottk

lscottk

Experienced
I just joined the AXE FX family. I've been out of bands for several years due to raising a family and having a full time job. I'm just getting back into playing. The last band I was in I had a Line 6 Vetta II 2 x 12 combo amp that ran in stereo. I got some decent tone out of it, but was never really satisfied so I sold it a couple of years ago. While waiting to buy my AXE II I bought two QSC K12 speakers. I've been to a couple of jams and an audition or two and I'm finding that 2 K12's take up a lot space. They are also way loud. I'm thinking that 2 K12's are overkill for the kinds of gigs that I plan on doing (small to mid-size bars, weddings, etcetera). However, I like having stereo even though live for the kinds of gigs I'm going to do I don't think it is really necessary. I'm curious if what other folks around here think. Do you think that a single K12 (or something similar) works for you or would you do what ever it takes to keep a stereo rig?

I'll also mention that another reason I'm thinking of selling is so that I have the bucks to buy a MFC-101, though I have a work around midi controller that will get me buy until I can raise the cash to buy an MFC without selling my K12.

What do you guys think?

Thanks,
Scott
 
A single K12 is loud enough. I used mine in a loud rockband.

I also think that stereo is of no importance for most gigs.
 
yek said:
A single K12 is loud enough. I used mine in a loud rockband.

I also think that stereo is of no importance for most gigs.
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Thanks Yek. I rented a practice room at a local studio yesterday and a friend and I jammed for a couple of hours. I had 2 K12's setup and both were on 1/4 volume. Granted it was a fairly small practice space (15' x 15'), but there were 20' fool ceilings so it was a lot of air to fill. Even at 1/4 volume my ears were still ringing. I'm thinking that half volume would have made our ears bleed.

My Axe FX II sounded really, really great. I just got it last Friday so I'm still figuring out how to program my patches. But just scrolling through the presets produced such great sounds. I have been using a Pod HD500 and the Axe II amp emulations are so much better than my Pod HD500 that to my ears there is absolutely no comparison between the two. $2200 is a lot of money for me, but in this case I am so happy with my purchase.
 
I dont think stereo has a place live ONSTAGE. Sure go stereo to the desk, because the spread from the FOH PA will make it work - but on stage it just lost. The only way IMO is if you put one speaker on each side of the stage, which inevitably will mean you as a guitarist are normally hearing mono anyway as youll be standing near on of them.
 
Playing live in stereo. probably isn't neccessary in a live situation, but we are fortunate to have a digital FOH/Stage mixingconsole (Digico SD8), so we aren't limited on available channels.
Also want to mention, AFAIK for keyboard-players this seems very obvious (our 2 keyboard players always use stereo and they have 5 keys -> 11 channels (yes 11 :)). So I figured if it's obvious for them, then why not for me?
Another thing is that we have stereo sound in our inears, which do make a difference
 
Running stereo on stage for my own enjoyment only when using cabs. Through IEM I think stereo is a must. I always send a stereo feed to FOH. If the soundguy only wants to use one of them, his loss. :p
 
I actually think stereo is a bad idea in a live situation. The only exceptions are venues that guarantee listeners will hear both sides at nearly exactly the same volume and more importantly, at the same distance. Anything less causes the closest speaker to sound significantly louder than the other, more due to the faster sound arrival than the volume difference. This guarantees that the sound heard is nothing like what you intended. Sadly, speaking from experience. :)
 
If playing with another guitar player (mono)
Venue as stated above, there is nothing like being in the audience and having one half of a ping pong delay dominating because you are standing on the side. (Mono/stereo depending on environment)
Basement, backyard something were the band is tight together and the PA (stereo) if it’s a trio (guitar bass drums) again if it is another guitar player back to mono.
Keyboard player, really depends have to try both ways.

Mono wins most of the time!
 
I run stereo here and in the studio; I run mono when I play live 99% of the time. I'll run stereo if I can, just does not happen often in my world.
 
Stereo behind me for mojo, mono to the foh for everyone else. Stereo effects like Chorus are a nightmare foh. Someone in the crowd is going to catch only the detuned signal and you're going to sound horrible. The A2 makes sending both a mono and strereo signal simultaneously a breeze.
 
compared to mono, stereo patches sound much nicer.. they have extra everything...

I run my rig in stereo behind me

the sound man mic's both cabs and pans them wide through the FoH..

sounds big and fat and wide where I'm stoof...
and the crowd get the same effect from the PA..
 
Everything mono. I run two mono cabs on stage. Sometimes two FRFR, somtimes a guitar cab and an FRFR monitor. It gives a nice sense of spread and space for me without the common stereo issues. Send one mono signal to FOH.
 
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If you want a muddy FOH mix, lack of punch, go ahead and run stereo.

If you want clarity and definition, run mono. Everyone in my band runs mono including the keyboards. We also run everything dry when playing indoors. We always have great sound.

Let the room be your friend and add a little of what is missing.

In my experience, stereo and too much reverb will kill a live mix. The stereo "feel" should come from the sum of all instruments and the room.

Btw, you might get a really weird stare by the sound guy if you tell him your going in stereo!!! Kind of the same stare you were given when you said you were going direct without an amp...
 
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count_chocolat said:
If you want a muddy FOH mix, lack of punch, go ahead and run stereo.

If you want clarity and definition, run mono. Everyone in my band runs mono including the keyboards. We also run everything dry when playing indoors. We always have great sound.

Let the room be your friend and add a little of what is missing.

In my experience, stereo and too much reverb will kill a live mix. The stereo "feel" should come from the sum of all instruments and the room.

Btw, you might get a really weird stare by the sound guy if you tell him your going in stereo!!! Kind of the same stare you were given when you said you were going direct without an amp...
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I'm a sound guy, as well as a guitarist. I would run stereo in IEMs and stereo in the mains, but not with wacky ping-pong echoes, just chorusing, etc. i.e. FX that aren't killed completely by being on one side. As a sound guy, I will happily run a stereo or mono input. I don't necessarily have to pan everything hard left and right. I often pan toms, cymbals, etc., but narrow the spread somewhat, depending on the room and the audience position. If live amps are on stage I may even pan a guitar (with live amp) slightly to the other side, so people sitting on the far side get a better balance. If there were tow guitar players, I might "cross pan" them slightly to achieve a better balance for the audience. Also, If I was a guitar player in the band and there was another guitar player, I might favor going mono in the IEM mix, putting my guitar in one place and the other guitar somewhere else in the stereo field to get clear separation as to who was playing what. A keyboard player in one of the bands I work with place himself in the center of the mix and places the other instruments off to each side, so he has a distinct spacial sense of who is playing what in his head.
 
For small to medium venues where either guitar cabs are not mic'd or still constitute a significant portion of the guitar sound that the audience hears, the placement of the guitar cabinets matters. If you have two guitarists, normally one will be on each side of the stage. Yes, position will matter; the guitarist that you are closest to will be a bit louder relative to if you were standing in the middle. If you are using the Axe as the only guitarist in the band, I would see nothing wrong with running stereo (not necessarily hard-panned) with different amp/cab/eq settings on each side to duplicate the "two guitarists" effect of two complementary blended sounds coming from different locations. Does anyone here do so?
 
I consider stereo mode with a very slight panning closer to dual mono, or mono, than a true stereo field. Again, most systems are run mono for live applications and there are very good reasons for this.
 
I run stereo in studio and when recording, but live I run a mono signal 'cause unfortunately there's no so much venues that offer a true stereo PA...
 
There 2 kinds of "running in stereo" (I'm also a sound guy BTW).
1 -sending a stereo feed to FOH (which I do from my Axe) and
2 -running stereo (or 2) guitar cabs on stage.

My $0.02
#1 - sending a stereo feed to FOH does not mean the sound guy will pan you hard L/R for true stereo. Maybe they can't ?? Many leave both channels centered - basically dual-mono for lack of a better description - 'cus the PA is mono. This gives FOH all kinds of control over your mix - both good and bad - tho' I prefer to take the high road and assume that most sound guys TRY to do the best they can for the bands on stage. My PA system is a stereo config, but it runs in mono because stereo effect (by definition) is lost on 75% of your audience who are not in the "zone" (that sweet spot between the 2 speaker stacks and FOH console). My advice is to NOT use panning effects of any kind for live use. Audience experience is horrendous and it is completely lost on a mono system.

#2 - Whether you have your guitar mic'ed to a PA, or are running back line stereo cabs on stage (unless one is on one side of the stage and the other on the far side, and both are angled correctly) the effect is basically lost on your listeners. You might believe it brings warmth and "spread", but anyone in the audience outside of the "sweet spot" (inside that where the sound of the 2 cabs converge) will not get the effect. Depending on the effect type in use, this can be an unpleasant experience for your listeners, but fine for you on the stage.

That said, when you get a sound guy coming on stage and only mic'ing up one cab or looking amazed when you tell then you want to go "stereo" direct.. it's because they are used to running mono. There's no point in putting a mic on 2 cabs when you have a mono PA! :)
 
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