Do you use amp knobs on your AX8?

Do you use amo control knobs on your AX8?


  • Total voters
    136
Yes, I use the knobs to dial in sound with different cabs, rooms/stages and bands (trio, 4 piece, 5 piece, etc.), and different guitars during sound check. Its great to be able to edit right at my feet!

I do have a few wishes for improvement of usability:

I wish that you could pull up the current value when first turning a knob so that you could know where you are at before making an adjustment. My Eventide Timefactor has a good example of one way to implement this kind of feature.

I wish that when using the A-E buttons you could do the same thing so that you didn't have to change a parameter's value to see what it is set to.

I wish it was possible to make finer adjustments with the knobs. They seem to make big jumps in values even when turning slowly.
 
My 2 cents...
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The plus of amp knobs is the led indicator. If I had to improve the AX8 interface, I will delete ABCDE knobs, make amps knobs fully assegnable and add a dedicate menu navigation button.

I totally agree with this... the navigation hurts my brain!

Fully assignable controller knobs would be the way to go. I would probably want the flexibility to use knobs to tweak these things on a per-patch basis in real-time:
1) B/M/T controls (I'd skip presence and depth - maybe use presence sometimes)
2) Reverb time & mix/level
3) Delay time & mix/level (maybe for two separate delay blocks like a slapback and a longer echo)
4) Tremolo rate and depth (mix)

A cool way to do this, perhaps the most flexible and desirable for me, would be to have a bank of 8 or 16 infinite twist knobs with perimeter LEDs, and these can be configured on a per-patch basis to be tied to a specific parameter of a specific block, OR preferably they can be tied to a controller (where each controller can be tied to multiple parameters). This would let one knob be set up to increase drive while cutting back amp output level, for example.

This would give me the portability of Ax8 for rehearsals/gigging and still keep the flexibility of editing on the fly....

On the other hand, maybe Fractool on an iPad will blow all this stuff away and then the smallest streamline physical box with enough room to hit the right stomp pedal will be the best?
 
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I always use them when not at home! That is the reason they are there. In fact, during gigs I tweak almost everything through the unit itself (no computers).
 
I keep promising myself that I need to do this. I have to sit down and make a patch from scratch a few times just with the unit as I have been caught at rehearsal once or twice needing to change something and not being able to find the bit I need. Having 4 other musos drumming their fingers whilst they wait didn't help ...
 
How many people use these knobs?
I thought i was going to use them, but in reality they are not very practical for me. I do most of my tweaking with AX8Edit. Another issue is : i like to know the value of a parameter before i adjust it, so i could come back to it if i dont like the tweak. Also the sensitivity of the knobs could be adjustable for more predictable results.

Edit: sorry for the typo, it should say AMP control knobs in the poll :)

I generally use the front panel of the AX8 very often. The user interface could be greatly improved if there were more and freely assignable knobs, eg cab low and hi cut, input trim, choice of amps, choice of cabs, one click amp soft reset, whatever...
 
barely touch them, if i do it's the level. The UI is a weak point of the unit. As others have said. I wish the available knobs were assignable like the footswitches are.
 
Also voted 'no' due to the fact that the unit is still relatively new to me and I've not been in a 'live' situation yet. Once I start gigging, I would expect that I would use them more.
 
Had to remind myself they were the other night, im so used to ax8edit. Need to roll off some bass at the gig, oh ya reach down and turn the knob.
 
Even with AX8Edit, I prefer the using the 8 knobs when I'm getting the amp block dialed in : the AX8 is then at waist level , and its so fast and efficient to drop one hand down from the guitar to adjust those 8 knobs by ear, rather than doing it the computer. Sure, at some point, you go to the mouse and keyboard for all the other stuff, but for getting the amp down: I appreciate its tactile and amp like ease of use.

When playing out: Normally, most adjustments are at the guitar with the volume & tone knobs, a different pick or picking position. A little tweak of the presence or bass controls if I decide to use a different guitar is about all. But with those 8 amp controls at the ready; I have every confidence I can quickly make extensive adjustments on the fly from the front panel if needed.
 
They seem a lot easier to use than trying to turn the knobs with a pointer on the editor. My only frustration is that he editor doesn't work very seamlessly with the AX8 if you turn the knobs while using the editor.
 
I pretty much completely forget they exist until I suddenly remember after I've already dug through the screens that I could've just changed it with a knob. Been trying to remember the level knob at least since that's really useful for trying to get the level of a preset right on the fly.

I definitely agree that assigning the knobs either as a local modifier or globally would be useful.
 
i haven't touch the amp knobs :( since i got my ax8!!
i use ax8 edit all the time but i think
there are usefull for quick adjustments when your playing and your not connected to ax8 edit!!!
and i also think that ax8 edit can be more precise than the actual knobs!!!
so i don't mind have them there for a easy dial in!!!!
FAS rules!!!!!!
 
I use the knobs at rehearsal and at live gigs. At home I practice at my desk so I use AX8-Edit instead of bending down to tweak the knobs. Plus I HATE the clunky AX8 nav because of the missing direction arrows and page buttons. AX8 is designed for live so it should be easier and quicker to tweak. UI is the one area where I think competitors have the edge.

I'd like the option of making "Level" a scenes patch level instead of amp level. I have a few piezo patches with no amp.
 
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