Evaluation Questions

[LMO]

Hi all, I'm new to the board. I've been trying to learn about the Axe FX far in advance of a possible purchase, and have read through the manual and spent a few days browsing and searching the forum here. I've also downloaded the beta software and played with it quite a bit. I have some questions that are probably not new but that I've been unable to dig out of the forum so far.

The manual talks about defeating the cab sim and amp sim when driving a combo amp, but makes it sound like there is still a preamp in the chain. Is it possible to use the Axe FX just for the effects?

Is it possible to put a compressor in the chain such that the wet and dry outputs stay in phase?

If I use an Axe FX as the effects box with my amp, and as the effects plus amp etc. when going direct to a PA, the Axe FX becomes the one piece of gear that absolutely must work every time. OTOH, the cost is such that it would be hard to afford a backup unit. Is the Axe FX robust enough to count on it always working?

TIA, LMO

 

[HailHalford]

Hi all, I'm new to the board. I've been trying to learn about the Axe FX far in advance of a possible purchase, and have read through the manual and spent a few days browsing and searching the forum here. I've also downloaded the beta software and played with it quite a bit. I have some questions that are probably not new but that I've been unable to dig out of the forum so far.

The manual talks about defeating the cab sim and amp sim when driving a combo amp, but makes it sound like there is still a preamp in the chain. Is it possible to use the Axe FX just for the effects?

You can make a signal chain with no preamp, just effects.

Is it possible to put a compressor in the chain such that the wet and dry outputs stay in phase?

Yes. If necessary, a filter block can be used to reverse the phase of any signal fed to it.

If I use an Axe FX as the effects box with my amp, and as the effects plus amp etc. when going direct to a PA, the Axe FX becomes the one piece of gear that absolutely must work every time. OTOH, the cost is such that it would be hard to afford a backup unit. Is the Axe FX robust enough to count on it always working?

Many users can attest to the reliability and durability of the AxeFX. Having said that, playing live without a backup for any piece of gear is a risk, however small.

TIA, LMO

You're welcome!

 

[funkle]

If I use an Axe FX as the effects box with my amp, and as the effects plus amp etc. when going direct to a PA, the Axe FX becomes the one piece of gear that absolutely must work every time. OTOH, the cost is such that it would be hard to afford a backup unit. Is the Axe FX robust enough to count on it always working?
TIA, LMO

Most of the issues I've seen people have are when updating the firmware - occasional fried EPROMs (which seems to be an easy fix once the new one is delivered). And sometimes your patches will change, or require reworking with new firmware. Just don't update if you have a gig coming up.

 

[LMO]

Yes. If necessary, a filter block can be used to reverse the phase of any signal fed to it.

Does a filter block always invert the signal (I don't see any parameter that would allow you to set this)? The enhancer appears to give very flexible control over phase shifts, but I don't know if it can be used in this fashion.

What I'm interested in is the inherent delay in a particular effect block and whether there is a way to delay the dry signal by the same amount. Is the signal at the effects mixer for the compressor still in phase?

 

[Bakerman]

Filter can't reverse phase. Enhancer can but you'd want its delay ability instead (width control = 0 to 20 ms delay on left channel) to match a delayed signal. Flanger can also be used for that. Compressor introduces no delay if look-ahead is 0. Dry signal passed via compressor mix % is always delayed by look-ahead value. So, the only time you might need to manually set delay compensation is for something in parallel to a compressor with look-ahead enabled.

 

[HailHalford]

Did I say Filter? I meant Enhancer!

Thanks Bakerman.

 

[LMO]

Are the amp sims created using only the parameters visible to the user, or is there more going on?

 

[Mike Snider]

Are the amp sims created using only the parameters visible to the user, or is there more going on?

There is more going on. There are many adjustable parameters in the amp block as you can see in the editor...but there is more mojo going on behind the scenes we cant access.

FWIW- going on 3 years without a backup (i know, i know never gig without backup...but im just tellin it like it is)

 

[LMO]

The amp sim is interesting, as my amp is not included and it is unlikely it ever will be. The question is whether I can get close enough with the user accessible parameters, which I won't know unless I buy one. There are two main differences from the closest model: a cathodyne phase splitter instead of a long-tailed pair, and a different voltage regulator. Of the two, I suspect it is the difference in phase splitters that will be the issue, as I don't see any way to adjust crossover distortion.

FWIW- going on 3 years without a backup (i know, i know never gig without backup...but im just tellin it like it is)

So that means the Axe-Fx has been out at least that long. Is the general buzz that it will be a while before a new model is released?

With my current rig I go through a compressor (Tone Press) and overdrive (Zendrive), then through a volume pedal, then to chorus/delay/reverb and the amp. Am I correct that I can still use my volume pedal in this way with the Axe-Fx?

 

[LMO]

Earlier I asked about using my volume pedal inserted between two FX blocks, and I understand that would be done via the effects loop. Thinking about sending one signal to my amp and another to the board, I figure I shouldn't use output2 for the loop, right?

That led me to thinking about using my volume pedal as an expression pedal, and I had questions about how the pseudo-log taper would interact with the midi controller. That led me to looking at the expression pedal settings on Axe-Edit, where I find that everything is configurable: Start/Mid/End/Off Value/Slope/Scale...etc. Damn, I have got to get me one of these things.

 

[Jay Mitchell]

There are two main differences from the closest model: a cathodyne phase splitter instead of a long-tailed pair, and a different voltage regulator.

You have a tube amp with a regulated B+? What amp would that be?

Of the two, I suspect it is the difference in phase splitters that will be the issue, as I don't see any way to adjust crossover distortion.

Power tube bias.

 

[LMO]

The amp is a copy of Albert Talley's 1954 Bassman, which is the 5D6 circuit using dual 5Y3 rectifier tubes. The 5F6 circuit is more well known (59 Bassman) because there were very few of the 5D6 units made before switching to the 5D6A design.

 

[LMO]

I haven't found much discussion here about what people are using for FRFR systems. I have a PA system already, so I'm wondering if some of that equipment might be usable; for example I could use one or a pair of Yorkville NX550P powered speakers, or for something a little more compact I have RCF ART310A powered speakers as well.

When using the PA I run the speakers from a dbx Driverack 260 speaker processor, which among other things is set up to effectively give the speakers a dead flat frequency response (the speakers are pretty good to start with).

Any thoughts?

 

[TimmyM]

I haven't found much discussion here about what people are using for FRFR systems. I have a PA system already, so I'm wondering if some of that equipment might be usable; for example I could use one or a pair of Yorkville NX550P powered speakers, or for something a little more compact I have RCF ART310A powered speakers as well.

When using the PA I run the speakers from a dbx Driverack 260 speaker processor, which among other things is set up to effectively give the speakers a dead flat frequency response (the speakers are pretty good to start with).

Any thoughts?

You're set to go!

I had to go out and buy PA speakers. Now I use Atomics for personal foldback and send a feed to the PA via the Atomics.

Good PA by the way.

TimmyM

 

[electronpirate]

I haven't found much discussion here about what people are using for FRFR systems.

Check the AMPS and CABS section. Lots of options there.

The amp is a copy of Albert Talley's 1954 Bassman, which is the 5D6 circuit using dual 5Y3 rectifier tubes. The 5F6 circuit is more well known (59 Bassman) because there were very few of the 5D6 units made before switching to the 5D6A design.

If you know this much about amps and amp internals, then get one. You'll be a kid in the candy store.

Ron

 

[LMO]

I was surprised when I looked at the tuner, and found it is hard-coded to EADGBE, albeit with a selectable calibration frequency (+/- 10 Hz) and offsets (+/- 12.7 cents). This seems quite limiting--why not let me define how many strings there are and how each string is tuned? I then saw a post where Fractal Audio wrote that intentionally tuning sharp or flat would interfere with pitch tracking.

Is pitch tracking dependent on standard six-string guitar tuning?

Is pitch tracking also dependent on the using equal temperament?

Given that I play a non-pedal steel guitar with two eight-string necks which are tuned differently--and neither use straight equal temperament--how much of the Ultra is not usable?

 

[Bakerman]

I was surprised when I looked at the tuner, and found it is hard-coded to EADGBE, albeit with a selectable calibration frequency (+/- 10 Hz) and offsets (+/- 12.7 cents). This seems quite limiting--why not let me define how many strings there are and how each string is tuned? I then saw a post where Fractal Audio wrote that intentionally tuning sharp or flat would interfere with pitch tracking.

It's probably not the ideal tuner if you want something with programmable offsets for all your strings but it will display any note between G1-E6. 1 pixel = 1 cent so you can still tune with offsets by watching the dot. (Keeping track beyond 10-15 cents would get tricky though.)

Is pitch tracking dependent on standard six-string guitar tuning?

Is pitch tracking also dependent on the using equal temperament?

No, and not really. With the harmonizer if you play a note sharp/flat of ET the harmony will be sharp/flat of ET, and with smooth tracking it can be double the number of cents off from ET as your note is in some cases. For example, playing 10 cents sharp of E or B with a C major +3rd setting would produce harmony notes 20 cents sharp of G or D. (A more likely scenario like playing ~14 cents flat of E over a C chord would just make a 3rd harmony that's ~14 cents flat of G.) If possible you might want to play a bit closer to ET when using the harmonizer.

Given that I play a non-pedal steel guitar with two eight-string necks which are tuned differently--and neither use straight equal temperament--how much of the Ultra is not usable?

If there are separate outputs for each neck you'd probably want to know the global pitch detector (for tuner & pitch modifier use) only responds to the left input 1 channel. If you need separate processing for each neck and that's an issue, there's a workaround with the right routing and an extra cable. Pitch blocks can use local tracking so harmonizer functions are still usable with any input.

 

[LMO]

Thanks for the reply. Only one neck is on at a time, so that is purely a tuner issue. Looks like I'll want to continue using my ST-200 for tuning.