First Rehearsal With FX8. A few Issues

Paulg2uk

Power User
Hey guys,

So I had my first rehearsal with the FX8 tonight. I have a few issues maybe you all can help and suggest some remedies. Sound wise the the FX8 sounds awesome the drive sounds just sound spot on. I had to tweak the level of the TS808 in one scene as it was a little soft. Once turned up though it was no problem. That brings me to my first issue.

How do you guys set your main levels? Are you altering the output mixer or boosting inside the preset blocks themselves? It just felt like the entire FX8 output level needed to be raised just slighty.

I have one preset with 2 scenes in. One is a clean chorus sound and then I switch to chan 2 on my amp with a delay block and then a filter block which is boosting to 6db for a solo. Although the filter block was boosting and at the end of the chain going into the fx loop of my amp it just seemed like it struggling eve though it was at 6db. An ideas? Should I boost the delay block? or boost the scene level instead of using a filter block?

Another issue I had this evening was on the same preset I have a pitch block which is set to whammy and a modifier assigned to my expression pedal. The modifier is set to auto engage medium speed. I did have it working via FX8 edit but I must of touched something as it now takes a 2-3 seconds before it engages. Its like a delayed response.

Any suggestions or help would be great.

Thanks guys

Paul
 
The FX-8 is designed to be "Unity Gain". If you need more volume then you should do that at the amp.
 
How do you guys set your main levels? Are you altering the output mixer or boosting inside the preset blocks themselves?
Either one. It depends on what you're trying to achieve—just like with real pedals.

For a reference, you can switch the FX8 into True Bypass to hear what your amp level would be with no effects at all.


I have one preset with 2 scenes in. One is a clean chorus sound and then I switch to chan 2 on my amp with a delay block and then a filter block which is boosting to 6db for a solo. Although the filter block was boosting and at the end of the chain going into the fx loop of my amp it just seemed like it struggling eve though it was at 6db.
Either turn up channel 2 on your amp, or...raise the Filter block's level by more than 6 dB. :)


Another issue I had this evening was on the same preset I have a pitch block which is set to whammy and a modifier assigned to my expression pedal. The modifier is set to auto engage medium speed. I did have it working via FX8 edit but I must of touched something as it now takes a 2-3 seconds before it engages. Its like a delayed response.
You're sweeping your pedal slower than "medium speed."
 
Thanks guys and thanks Cliff, I did turn up the amp to compensate. Its just on that one preset even though the filter is set to 6db, on another preset its set the same level but seems to be louder more what I'm looking for. I think I'll go thru each block and see what's going on. 6db should be enough though shouldn't it for a solo boost?

The expression pedal is acting weird if I bring my toe down nothing happens if I bring it up it goes down one octave and the if I do the same again it changes back to the original signal no whammy. Its like the whammy is only working when I bring the expression pedal to the toe up position.

Any ideas?
 
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Its just on that one preset even though the filter is set to 6db, on another preset its set the same level but seems to be louder more what I'm looking for. I think I'll go thru each block and see what's going on. 6db should be enough though shouldn't it for a solo boost?
6 dB is plenty for a solo boost, provided whatever comes before it is running at nominal levels. It sounds like something upstream has a low level.


The expression pedal is acting weird if I bring my toe down nothing happens if I bring it up it goes down one octave and the if I do the same again it changes back to the original signal no whammy. Its like the whammy is only working when I bring the expression pedal to the toe up position.
Sounds like you may have some values reversed in the modifier.
 
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Its just on that one preset even though the filter is set to 6db, on another preset its set the same level but seems to be louder more what I'm looking for. I think I'll go thru each block and see what's going on. 6db should be enough though shouldn't it for a solo boost?
6 dB is plenty for a solo boost, provided whatever comes before it is running at nominal levels. It sounds like something upstream has a low level.

Sounds like you may have some values reversed in the modifier.

Got it I didn't have the expression pedal set to continuous its working now. Just one more thing though. If I change scenes my expression pedal has to be set to toe up so the whammy doesn't engage, If I forget to set my expression pedal to toe up is there a way i can save the expression pedal state without touching the expression pedal? And the when I engage it it will work as normal.
 
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Paul

You seem to have resolved most of your issues, but you could always use (assuming you have a tube amp) something like the Xotic EP Booster just before you go into the amp. It's a great little pedal and gives a real kick for solos if you need it.
 
I used to run a suhr ISO boost into my fx loop of my boogie and that always boosted the level pretty well. But if it's a scene that has a lot going on I wanna just hit one switch and have the preset changed and boosted for a solo I'm right by saying 6db should be plenty though aren't I? I guess every amp and fx system is different. Maybe I'll try and boost to 7db and see how that goes.


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From axe wiki:

Controllers and modifiers: PC RST parameter (PC RESET)

This parameter determines if a modified parameter will be reset to its stored value upon receiving a Program Change message, or will stay at its current value.
Cliff: "The new value must be 5% different than the previous value, otherwise whatever value the pedal is at, will immediately override the "PC RST" value. The idea is that the parameter is set to a value when you recall the patch. You then have to move your pedal a bit (5%) to regain control of the parameter. This is done for two reasons:
Many MIDI controllers send the state of their expression pedals along with the PC message. If the behavior weren't as described, the stored parameter value wouldn't stick.
Many MIDI controllers have "noisy" expression pedals where the value tends to bounce around a little. This prevents the stored value from being lost."


I have been using this to have a preset load with a certain delay feedback and then modify it from there with the pedal. But if I load the preset and my expression pedal is toe down it doesn't start oscillating.


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Cliff, guitar player love to boost their amp with pedal. When you design the AX8, keep it in mind. :)

Yes, we are aware of that. I'm talking about "linear" effects, those typically used in the effects loop (which is the OP's situation). The FX-8 and AX-8 allow you to boost just as the Axe-Fx allows you to boost.

The paradigm for the FX-8 is that if you put the typical effects in the "Post" section then the level out of the Post section is the same as the level in. Therefore your effects loop is running at unity gain and the volume won't change if you bypass all the effects.
 
That sounds like it could be the case. I'll have to go through them again and find out what's going on.


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