First couple of gigs with the Axe Fx Xl under the belt.. My impressions

Countryside

Countryside

Member
We finished our second run of gigs with the AXE FX XL and MFC 101 MKIII last night, here are my observations. My impressions are largely positive. The unit is well made and preformed flawless for hours on end. Being a traditional guitar to amp guy making the leap to a 'computer processor' was nerve wrecking to say the least. Venues are going more and more 'no back line' so I had to make the leap. The patches I had programmed sounded great through both IEM and the house system. (I'm relying on the crew to tell me how the house sounds.) With this band I play mostly Country so I use only three or four patches, each having five scenes. Everything worked flawless for the one hour soundcheck and the three hour gig.

My only issue was the leveling of patches. When I programmed the unit I used both my ears and a sound meter to help set levels. The Axe FX ran direct into the board, which was a PreSonus Live board. While programming the unit everything was level through my FRFR Monitor and the meter readings were all in the ballpark, but one patch sounded quite a bit lower during the gigs. I'd love to see a Firmware update making an easier way to ensure the output level is the same across the board. All that being said, I love the Axe FX and HIGHLY recommend it to working musicians. I say working musicians because its rather expensive not to have it making money for you. I'd like to thank the forum members and Fractal support staff who've helped me with my questions during the learning curve.

Cheers,

AXE XL.jpg
 
Welcome to the wonderful world of tone. You can do a lot on setting up prior to gigs, and I balance mine the same way you did your. But I also found there are always adjustments to be made once you get going with the band. As a long time Presonus user I can tell you the Presonus preamps do well with the Axe Fx output. Look forward to years of good tones and consistent sound. Your sound man will come to love it!
 
Nice wrap. I had the same issue. The difference with my patches, was that even though the levels were equal. The eq settings were slightly different. What was happening was the bass/drums were cancelling out certain frequencies resulting in what i perceived as a volume drop in certain patches.
 
Countryside said:
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When I first looked at this pic, I thought that the carpet (?) pattern was wiring on the stage.. and had an appropriate "ugh" moment LOL

Leveling presets is a challenge, and there are many different ways to do that. I set mine based on the clean tone being loudest, then adjust the others around that initially using db metering. I then tweak at practice (close to gig volumes) as the EQ and effect settings on a preset can cause perceived volume differences (FM effect) even tho' the main output levels are close.
 
Congratulations on the first couple of gigs with the Axe Fx 2 :)

I use the Orban Loudness Meter (ORBAN Loudness Meter) as discussed here: http://forum.fractalaudio.com/axe-f...eset-leveling-using-waves-loudness-meter.html. It makes a big difference with something that measures perceived loudness like the Orban Loudness Meter does compared to just a VU meter, and it’s free. To get myself plenty of headroom I dial in my presets to be at -20dB on the BS.1770 short term reader, and -17dB for lead scenes/presets. This has proven to be very accurate and it’s rare that I have to make further adjustments at volume, and when I do I use the +-1dB function (Preset level - Axe-Fx II Wiki) on two external switches.
 
I have used a combination of vu meters, "ears", and soundman advice to dial in even volumes all around. I have come pretty close so far. I use one preset to compare against and then tweak from there. As close as I've come, I still find that I need to do small adjustments on the fly. I use two expression pedals. One is used to control dely, wha, and misc other parameters, but the second is primarily a volume pedal used to boost or tweak the preset volume. I agree, however, that a tool to "auto-level" presets would be very handy.
 
From the Wiki:

There's a very convenient way to adjust the preset level on the fly (without manual editing): Volume Increment and Volume Decrement. These commands (their MIDI CCs are in the I/O menu) let you adjust the preset level in small steps while playing and the adjustments are saved automatically!

To make this work, assign these commands to switches on your foot controller. The MFC-101's current firmware has dedicated commands for this purpose.

Be aware that Vol Inc and Vol Dec only affect the signal through Output 1, not Output 2 (unless Copy Out 1 to Out 2 is enabled in I/O and the preset doesn't contain a FXL block). Also, they work per scene.
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Preset level - Axe-Fx II Wiki
 
+1 on a tool to either auto level presets or at least identify which are out of a set range. As far as the AXE being mainly for working musicians, I think it's pretty much great for any guitar player. Here in Hawaii, I can have my AXE for about the price of one round of golf per week for 44 weeks. That's a bargain and a lot less frustration.
 
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