First Rehearsal With The AX8.....Advice Please

Davus PG

Inspired
Tonight was my band's first rehearsal in a few months and the first outing for my AX8.

I'd set up several presets at home playing through a headphone mixer set flat as I want to go direct FOH and didn't see the point in setting up patches with my power amp and cab.

I knew full well that my presets would more than likely need adjustment to fit in with the band in a mix and had a few good sounds by the end of the night so a promising start but work to do.

As a quick fix I adjusted the eq on the output but know I need to get my tones as close as I can without resorting to that.

My questions are:

1) I didn't feel as though I had as much presence in the band mix as previously...in isolation it sounded good, but sounded really thin when playing with the other guitarist? Is this just a case of adjusting bass, middle & treble on the amp and high and low cut on the cabs?

2) Effects lost in the mix. This mainly applied to delay. Presumably I need to increase the mix?

3) Scenes not as loud in relation to each other as when played in isolation. As I'm using scene controller 2 to control cab level presumably I raise and lower levels as required with this?

4) We rehearse through a mixer with IEMs. At the end we tried panning the two guitars left and right which definitely cleaned the mix up, but is there any way I can have the output on my AX8 panned for some scenes and centred on others for leads? Or is this something that needs to be done on the mixer?

All in all an encouraging if slightly frustrating start. I was fully expecting it however and accept that's what comes of dialling in tones in any way other than how you intend to use it. I'll be going to our rehearsal space to spend a decent amount of time getting everything set up properly through our PA rather than IEMs but any tips or advice from those of you who've been there and done it would be greatly appreciated.

Apologies if any of my questions are daft!
 
There's definitely a learning curve. Do your research there is plenty of info out there.
As far as scene levels this can be addressed a couple ways; through the use of a scene controller that will adjust the output level in percentages for each scene or by adjusting the mix output level (far right in the signal cgain) for each scene.
 
I recognize the delay getting lost in the mix. Even when using tube-amps and cabs. I also think it ´s sometimes though to share the same speakers with another guitar. Panning is probably a good idea.
I have found that using the same IR for all presets can make things much easier in a live situation. That´s what most guitarplayers do with amps anyway.
 
Regarding panning, you can use a vol/pan block to pan your signal for scenes where you need it. You can also attach a scene controller or a control switch to the balance control of the amp block.
 
We tend to program at home, with an entirely different system than our live rig. I'm lucky enough that I own the PA for our band and when I'm setting tone, I put up the whole system my studio and program at as close to live volume as possible. This tends to deliver tones that also translate well to other PA systems, at least for me. I know not everyone has this luxury, but if possible, try to set up your tones this way. I also monitor exclusively with in ear monitors and don't tend to worry if I'm not thrilled with the monitor tone because I know I like what is going to FOH.
 
Regarding delay and reverb - remember that unless you're using them as an integral effect (think Edge's delays, or a soaring guitar solo...), you don't necessarily want to hear them, as much as feel them in the background. You certainly won't hear them the same as you will when playing alone, when all that verb or delay can sound fantastic by yourself. I'll sometimes lose my effects in the mix too, but then if I turn them off I'll notice that they're *not* there. You don't want them to drown out the rest of the mix, just to be an embellishment behind the sound. Remember also that the room you're playing in will have some ambience as well - you don't want to overdo it.

You can try some eq sculpting w/ your reverb and delays to help them be heard w/out muddying up the mix as well - low cut around 100hz, maybe even up to 300-400 to get rid of all that low rumble and boom, and hi cut around 4k-5k depending on what fits.
 
I noticed you programmed with a headphone amp. Headphones, or IEMs, are like listening through a microscope. You hear everything magnified. If you would put your presets through speakers, even solo, you'd already loose quite a bit of definition and with that, effects level. If the rest of the band joins in, you loose even more. Even on in-ears.

About cutting through, that's all in the mids and upper mids. Best a suitable IR and don't go easy on the mids. Even though scooped is in fashion it's pretty easy to find yourself scooped out of the mix. You might be surprised how much mids there are in many heavy tones.
 
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Thank you for the replies & advice.

I know mids are key from using the FX8 and also that programming through headphones isn't ideal - unfortunately that's the only option I have at home.

My post was possibly a bit hasty having just got in from rehearsal, but you've all suggested some great things to try.

I hadn't even thought about using the volume/pan block for anything other than swells.

I'm also using the same 1 or 2 cabs for every preset for simplicity too.

We've hired a studio for next week so will be able to play at gig volume and hopefully get things dialled in.

Spent most of the day on the AX8 yesterday and learning all the time. Have found the Corncob can go from clean to full tilt and everything in between with scene controllers. I'll be sharing the preset and would appreciate any feedback as I'm sure there may be things I'm doing wrong. Undoubtedly there are many other amp blocks that can do the same but I find that every time I discover a new sound I lose the next 45 minutes just playing through it.
 
Old school here. Take a pad and pencil to rehearsal and make notes with each preset. Makes it MUCH easier to recall what you need to tweak for a better blend with your band. I agree that you should try to get the preset volume as close to rehearsal level as you can, but preset issues can be a lot more than just volume.
 
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