Does anyone elses axe II NOT tickle red?

what should the output be? should it be stereo or copy L to r?

i still don't hit the red on left only, should i turn up the output 1 boost/pad to get it to red?
 
Even with the input up to 100% you don't hit red.? As soon I changed to left only I hit red easily.

The red led is only for the Input. I don't see how turning up the output would effect that at all.
 
Trazan said:
Ah yes, the pad is useful! 8) The name "L+R sum" may be a bit misleading though, as there's no "R" input to sum with.
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Yes there is. Input 1 rear has L and R. Left can be Front or Rear. When using Front, you can still use rear Right, and therefore sum L (front) + R.
 
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I didn't read the entire thread, but I find it hard to belive that some can't hit red at all. If I use my strat with a low output singlecoil in the bridge, which is far from the thin strings (009) I can easily hit read if I put the input at about 70%.
 
mgavin said:
what does "signal to noise" even mean"
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You know how when you turn the volume up you hear a hiss, hum, or buzz coming out of your speaker? That's noise, and it's usually too quiet to hear (at least in the mix, and high-gain not withstanding). When you play your guitar and hear it coming out of a speaker, that's the signal. The Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) is simply the ratio between how loud the signal is and how loud the noise is. The SNR is usually (always?) measured in dB, and higher numbers are better.
 
None of my guitars have ever hit the red in the Ultra or II. I have several acoustics along with a Taylor T3/B with thier humbucker pickups and an American Deluxe Strat with SCN pickups. At 100% none of em hit red no matter how hard I strum. They will hit the yellow just before the red.
 
BK-Amps said:
My humbuckers tickle red but my tele with emgs never do.

Did you change the input impedance? This might load them down.
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My Gibson Explorer with Stock 500T "Tickles the red" on 15% input level !
I like the idea of changing the input impedance though, might try that. How does it work on Auto ?
 
I'm not in front of my Axe-Fx II, so I can't give you my exact percentages but my Dean Dime-o-Flame and some of my basses w/ passive pickups hit red with the knob set to 9 o'clock eastern standard time ;) My Epiphone Les Paul Classic 7 String w/ Active EMG 707 and 81-7 and most of my active basses need it lowered almost all the way.
 
Didn't realize there was another AXE so close by. I'm in Bartlett - 10 minutes away.
We could get together for my Matrix GT800FX w/ELECTRO-VOICE ELX112 12” comparison to your Atomic setup if any was interested.
 
So the output should be set to L only when not running stereo? Jeez, I have to pound on my guitar to get red, but I've been running it Sum L+R... I'll have to try that when I get home.

Bolt and Finny, seems that there's a few of us around the western burbs! I'm down in Lombard. If anyone ends up getting together, let me know, I'd love to hear the different setups! For my "loud" rig, I run my axe as a virtual pedalboard into a 64 Bassman. That being said, 90% of my playing these days is direct to the board at church, or into headphones at home.
 
Adman103 said:
So the output should be set to L only when not running stereo? Jeez, I have to pound on my guitar to get red, but I've been running it Sum L+R... I'll have to try that when I get home.
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Output settings shouldn't have anything to do with input levels/LEDs.

Re: which output mode to actually use if running mono, if you've built presets to be mono it almost doesn't matter. (Reverb or rotary will sound slightly different taking one side vs. a sum because they generate a stereo wet signal, so try & decide there.) Different stereo effects can cause issues with one output mode or the other. Inverting 1 channel (a.k.a. "phase reverse" in some blocks) of 2 identical channels will make that sound disappear with L+R sum. Not summing will cause one channel of things like ping-pong delay to be lost if you only take one output channel without summing. Even with stereo effects that sound okay summed, the apparent mix when summed will be lower if your dry sound was centered. So it's best to just monitor in mono and build mono presets if you plan to play in mono.
 
Bakerman said:
Output settings shouldn't have anything to do with input levels/LEDs.

Re: which output mode to actually use if running mono, if you've built presets to be mono it almost doesn't matter. (Reverb or rotary will sound slightly different taking one side vs. a sum because they generate a stereo wet signal, so try & decide there.) Different stereo effects can cause issues with one output mode or the other. Inverting 1 channel (a.k.a. "phase reverse" in some blocks) of 2 identical channels will make that sound disappear with L+R sum. Not summing will cause one channel of things like ping-pong delay to be lost if you only take one output channel without summing. Even with stereo effects that sound okay summed, the apparent mix when summed will be lower if your dry sound was centered. So it's best to just monitor in mono and build mono presets if you plan to play in mono.
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Gotcha! Thanks for the clarification.
 
I dont see how adjusting the Output configuration on the I/O menu can change your INPUT signal, your input is how hot your initial signal is before anything else.

For the record I'm having the same problem, yet my tone is so good!
 
Not So Fast

boltrecords said:
Perhaps that's the problem with mine. Mine definitely has a distinct effect on the sound. It appears to be an effect on the gain but maybe it's something else. But there is an apparent difference at 50 percent compared to 100 percent input level on my unit.
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First, it IS unusual not to be able to hit red at 100% gain even when set to sum L+R.

Second, if you're ACTUALLY experiencing a significant difference in the sound, especially distortion levels, at 50% vs. 100%, and you're not clipping at 100% SOMETHING IS WRONG. The input gain control should not affect the sound other than the signal noise ratio (except at extremely low settings like below 20% or so). I think that would have been the appropriate response from Fractal.

I run sum L+R using the front input and every guitar and bass I own will push red at well below 100%, and there is no change in the sound between 50% and 100% if I first reduce the volume knob on the instrument so that it doesn't clip at 100% input gain. I have to run my input gain around 35 to 40% on my main guitar to keep from hitting red and I have relatively low output humbuckers.

The main issue here is whether there is really a significant difference in the sound or volume of the patch at 50% vs. 100%. If there really is there's a 99% probability you have a defective unit. Either that or the volume of your guitar is EXTREMELY low, but even that shouldn't have an effect as I understand the configuration of the input.

I wouldn't dismiss the possibility something is wrong until you actually plug your guitar into an different unit, or easier yet, just borrow another guitar and see if it hits red and sounds different at 50% vs. 100%. The chance of two guitars having an output so low neither can cause the red LEDs to light is nill.
 
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