Everything CLIPS (carvin DC800 to AXE to saffire pro 24)

R

rifflord22

Inspired
I am having severe clipping issues guys and i'm not sure what to do. Any time I've tried to use an amp modeler (ive tried amplitube, podHD, cubase VST racks, and now AXE FX II) i get some kind of digital clipping and distortion tones dont sound right.

My set up is a carvin dc800 with stock pickups, into the front of the axe fx II, which has its L and R of output 1 hooked up to the front of my focusrite saffire pro 24 via two xlr cables. my saffire mix control software is set to 'line mode', and the gain knobs on the front are both turn all the way down. if i change it to instrument mode in the mix control software it's the same thing.

Any of the presets with distortion will clip if i strum or pick hard. a few of the bulb and javier reyes tones i tried to import clipped so badly i had to reach over and turn everything down. i mean like ultra clipped.

oh, i also tried going into the I/O menu on the axe fx II and lowered the 'instr in' knob down to like 13%, this seemed to stop clipping on SOME of the presets but it also sucked the tone out of it.

I dont know if there is some setting in the axe fx that i haven't seen. i was really hoping that spending all this money would get rid of this issue for me completely lol

any ideas?
 
i know to switch cabs on and off in axe edit i've tried a bunch of different combinations trying to fix this

i saw a post on here about levels where the guy said to just turn down the "level" in the amp block. the only thing i see with level on it is at the far right of every amp and cab block. turning these down by like 15 or 20 notches seems to help a lot, but then if i switch to another preset everything clips to the max and i have to go in and crank the level down

its a huge pain in the ass there has got to be something going on here
 
First you have to determine where you are clipping. Is the Axe or the Focusrite clipping? Also, if you have active pickups, check the battery in your guitar. A low battery can sometimes make active pickups sound distorted.
 
Mr. Fender is right. With so many variables, can't really advise on where the issue might be.

I'd say the first step would be to disconnect the AXE from the Saffire, and just run it by itself. That way... you can set up your input levels to your guitar, and set the output levels so that you KNOW everything is right with your guitar and the Axe-FX. Once all of that is set, then go back to hooking up your Saffire Pro and chase down the issue in that thing.

One thing I'd look at though... are you using factory presets? For me, many of them clipped when I got my Axe. I have read (totally unconfirmed... just what I read mind you...) that many of the presets were developed with a single coil guitar. I have a couple of Carvin DC's and mine have active pickups. They are SUPER hot... and I have to adjust for those guitars...so maybe that plays a role here. There are some GLOBAL input and output settings you could use to adjust all of your presets at once too.
 
As already mentioned, setup the Axe-Fx II on its own to rule out faulty setups of other pieces of equipment. Then, turn INSTR IN up/down until the input lights (those green/yellow/red lights on the front panel) only tickle red when you struck really hard. After that, either setup each preset so that the output clipping light (another red light on the front panel) never lights up (e.g. by lowering the level-knob in the AMP-block) or lower the output in the global settings of the Axe-Fx.
 
It is very common for other peoples patches to clip badly because they are all made with different set-ups. I recommend by-passing the Focusrite to start. Connect the Axe-FX via USB. Make sure you're not clipping the input. There are many gain stages but I usually use the amp level (not the MV) or the final level and set my patches so they peak at -12 dBu (in your DAW or waveform editor or whatever). Then go back to the Focusrite and see how they peak.
 
I also use the PRO 24 and it works a treat. It is very important to run the Saffire MixControl utility that comes with it to check that your input gain on the PRO 24 is at the right level, and also that the channel you are coming in is set to the correct preamp level (I think the options are low gain or hi gain for channels 3-4, and line/instrument for channels 1-2).
 
Aah sorry, I misread your post, you have already checked what I suggested. I'd make sure the level meters in the Saffire Mix Control are pretty much halfway (in the software, not on the physical unit because those are misleading).
 
When I use the XLR connection with my FocusRite Liquid 56 I connect the Axe to input 3&4 (stereo) because these inputs have a pad switch and also with the pad on I have to put the gain knob around 11 o'clock. I don't know if your device has the pad button
Try to use a jack connection instead the XLR
 
I have a DC800 too and I tune it to E 8th string ... MY Axe works well with 23.5 % Input gain in I\O so You surly have a problem of gain staging between Axe and Saffire ... Turn down the Axe OUTPUT Knob and check the gain on your SoundCard ... You have to slow down for sure ... If you have a Daw (I'm pretty sure you have ) you can check your Input channel and fine tuning your INputon Saffire ... If saffire have some sort of Mixer built in on PC ...use That ;)
 
Is everything set to 48K? Have you considered going into the Saffire via SPDIF instead of audio cables?
 
Guys thank you for the replies, I am just now getting home to read this stuff. I will go through each of your recommendations and post a reply soon thanks!
 
ok so just GUITAR to AXE, with the I/O Instru In section at 23.5, i am ALMOST getting a good signal to the axe. but no matter how far i lower the level in the amp block on this patch, i get a liiiittle red clipping when i slam on my 8th string (tuned to E like the poster above). I can get this to go away if i lower my volume on the guitar by just a tiny amount. Should i do this from now on or is there another place where i can adjust something to make this stop clipping?


I have my mixcontrol software open right now (its not plugged up to the axe at the moment) i noticed the sample rate is set at 44.1kHz, should i change this to 48kHz to match the axe before i hook them up?
 
one other thing, on the I/O page that you access on the front of the axe fx, there are three knobs. if i adjust any of them it shoudl be the one on the far left correct? INSTR IN is set to 23.5, while input 1 and 2 are at the 12 oclock position
 
I am doing all of this on the BULB rhythm patch since i figured most people here have it. I have the level in the amp block of the patch rolled way back to -21.7db at the moment. this doesnt affect the tone, only the overall volume correct?
 
rifflord22 said:
I am doing all of this on the BULB rhythm patch since i figured most people here have it. I have the level in the amp block of the patch rolled way back to -21.7db at the moment. this doesnt affect the tone, only the overall volume correct?
Click to expand...


correct. the amp level only affects output , not tone like a master volume


most if not all patches made on old firmware are loud as hell on the newer FW's


when I got mine I download a bunch of kosteins high gain showcase presets and I had to bump all of them down to -15 and more
 
You have to find what clips ... Input or Output ? I'm pretty sure is the output ... IIRC Bulb Rythm is really ancient preset ... I do 't think it traslate well on new firmware ...

Btw check the output meters in the green screen on the axe ... I think is under the I/O menu some page to the right ... If you clip ... Then the meter have to reach the full . If is true , You must lower the signal in the effects block ... First the Amp level .

If you have bypassed some block in parallel that have the bypass state on thru change it to Mute Out
 
rifflord22 said:
ok so just GUITAR to AXE, with the I/O Instru In section at 23.5, i am ALMOST getting a good signal to the axe. but no matter how far i lower the level in the amp block on this patch, i get a liiiittle red clipping when i slam on my 8th string (tuned to E like the poster above). I can get this to go away if i lower my volume on the guitar by just a tiny amount. Should i do this from now on or is there another place where i can adjust something to make this stop clipping?
Click to expand...
Which red light? It is ok for the input red lights to appear when you slam the strings really hard (= INSTR IN is set up correctly). However, it is never ok for the output clipping lights to appear. There are situations where you have to lower the level in the AMP-block by a lot (-20 dB is nothing out of the ordinary in some cases).
 
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