Fx8 at gig

A

Andrevv

Member
Hello guys please share your detail experience with fx8 (good or bad) when in live onstage situation with a band. How it sounds?

After 3 weeks tweaking+learning at home and making some presets with my bedroom amp (blackstar ht5r); I finally took it to outdoor gig last night. My main gig amp was fender hotrod deville 410. I was using pre only. The amp both mic'd with sm57 and using Palmer pdi09 from speaker out to the foh.

I was really expecting the good tones come from the unit as it was my first time gigging with fx8. But .. unluckily it didnt cut the mix with a band. It feels separated with another instruments in the mix from monitor box speaker in front of me. It was sounds thin an a bit sterile. I was having a hard times tweaking the effects level from the presets I made at home before.

One of my main preset (M1) blocks are:
CPR > DRV rat > DLY x long/ y short > DRV micro boost > TRM > CHO > RVB

Lead tone:
For lead tone I switch on CPR + DRVrat (all noon) + DLY + DRV micro boost (all noon) + RVB. It was sounds fine at home before. But at the gig last night the tone was become harsh and too loud until the out clip blinking. Also there was a loud feedback kriiiiittt... sound from the monitor box. If I switch off the micro boost then it become too low volume. So I must tweak the level knob on rat and micro boost much lower. I wish there's a balance level of all types in the drive block.

Clean tones:
For clean tones my blocks were: CPR+ DLY + DRV micro boost and sometimes with TRM, CHO and RVB. The clean tones sounds thin an didn't mix well with the band. It didnt have any bite for mute rythm thing. The delay echoes and reverb didn't cut the mix like my old pedals did.

Another concern:
There was a hum trrrrrrrrrrr.... sounds from my monitor along the night. Maybe it came from the lighting system that affecting the fx8. The hum stop when I rolled off the vol guitar knob. So I must always rolling my guitar knob off during the interval between songs.

I really have professional expectations to this unit for a gig level since I am a gigging guitarist for almost 20 years. Not a bedroom guitarist. I want simply a good usable tones out of it in the live gig situation. I wish the fx8 gig safe ready, easy to handle so I can enjoying playing rather than tweaking and worrying about my tones onstage. i expecting this fx8 will sounds better than my old pedalboatds as my main rig as pro level guitarist. I play in a pop band with original songs not a cover band.

So... Any share and tips guys?
 
Thanks for the reply,

Yes I realize I should start tweaking with my fender 410. But.. Yesterday I tried some factory presets from bank A or B and still didn't cut the mix with the band. No kriitts or feedback but there's trrrr hum from the monitor box.
 
If the hum goes away with your guitar volume knob, then it's coming from your pickups, not the FX8. Plug straight into the amp to test. Also might be good to practice a gain staging technique - while setting up your presets, be sure to regularly engage True Bypass to compare your preset level to unity gain.

The core tone is obviously your amp, not the FX8. Make sure your core tone with all blocks bypassed is "cutting through the mix". Levels aside, you can't set a distortion or overdrive on one amp and expect it to behave the same on another amp.

I won't even ask why a cheap speaker cab simulator was being used if you were mic'ing the cab. Also unsure why you were needing guitar in your monitor - the 410 DeVille is LOUD.
 
Thanks man for the tips, will try out at the next gigs. FYI the hum from the pickups never happen before with analog pedals.
 
first thing- don't use the presets. most of them sound terrible to me and didn't work with my setup (a 1x12 redplate blackloop amp). jlynnb1 is correct- there's no way you can tweak at bedroom levels and expect it to react the same way on a gig with a full band at performance levels. you will need to tweak at performance volume WITH the amp that you will be using live. even then, you will probably have to do a fair amount of tweaking (especially general mix levels and EQ on your drive blocks) on the gig in between/during songs since there is no way to replicate playing with a live band when you are alone at home. i've been gigging constantly with the FX8 since the first week it was released at it sounds pretty excellent!
 
The default presets were designed by different folks for their personal amps, guitars, and ears. For example, Mark Day's presets were designed for a Les Paul through a BE100 using 4CM. These presets are provide as examples, and they can make excellent jumping off points. Even if you have the exact same set up as Mark, there is some chance you would want to tweak the presets to your ears.

I would definitely spend time with your Fender, at stage volume.

As for the Hum, it sounds as though you need Humbuster cables. The FX8 is AC powered , consumer electronic equipment. A chassis ground is required. As such, ground loops are possible. The FX8 is designed with Humbuster technology to remove ground hum. Give them a shot.

Sent from my SM-T800 using Tapatalk
 
Andrevv said:
Another concern:
There was a hum trrrrrrrrrrr.... sounds from my monitor along the night. Maybe it came from the lighting system that affecting the fx8. The hum stop when I rolled off the vol guitar knob. So I must always rolling my guitar knob off during the interval between songs.

I really have professional expectations to this unit for a gig level since I am a gigging guitarist for almost 20 years. Not a bedroom guitarist.
Click to expand...

If you roll off the volume knob and the hum goes away that means you are getting hum from the guitar. Common sources of hum are lights, dimmer packs, transformers and other devices that emit strong magnetic fields. I'm surprised in 20 years of gigging that you've never experienced this before. In the 25+ years I gigged it was more common than not. It is precisely the reason that Humbucker pickups were invented.
 
No problem here cutting through and we rehearse WAY too loud. Definitely agree with abandoning the presets and sculpting your own tones. Takes awhile but definitely worth the wait. If you've done all of that and you're still not happy with the sound you're getting...it's time to look at other factors. You never mentioned the guitar you're playing. Regarding the amp, I had a Hot Rod Deville for a very short while several years ago. It was loud but, honestly, I thought the tone was for shit. And OD/Distortion pedals only seems to make things worse. I currently play out with a Twin Reverb reissue. That amp and the FX8 get along just wonderfully.
 
Been using mine for about 2 months. Set up the FX8 based on my pedal setup and did it at stage volume. I use a Twin Reverb Reissue. Back line at a gig last month was a Deville 212 combo and the FX8 sounded fine. For me, doing a A/B with my pedal setup was a great starting point because I knew how it sounds. I have to say the FX8 sounds better to my ears. Keep tweeking, it will get there. The FX8 is an amazing piece of gear.


DT
 
Been gigging mine for nearly 5 months. I have played through 5 amps of mine plus two backline rigs.

Only time I had a bad night with it was through a Princeton reissue. But I don't like the sound of that amp at gig volume period.

Biggest thing I've noticed is that I have to program my tones wetter than I think I need to in order for it to translate.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
So do you guys mic'ing your amp on stage? Any floor monitor box? I assume maybe the fx8 sounds great from my fender deville's speaker amp, but then it become sounds different from the floor monitor which might be contain sounds from vocals and another instruments. Live gig situation is a tricky.
 
Andrevv said:
So do you guys mic'ing your amp on stage? Any floor monitor box? I assume maybe the fx8 sounds great from my fender deville's speaker amp, but then it become sounds different from the floor monitor which might be contain sounds from vocals and another instruments. Live gig situation is a tricky.
Click to expand...

This is no different than using a guitar amp for the past 50 years, right?
 
My latest gig with the FX8 was Saturday in front of 220 people. My rig sounded killer as ever! But that's mainly about the guitar/amp/cab. The FX8 is really just the icing on the cake.

FX8 is just, of course, a box full of FX models. The way I evaluated was to compare, one-to-one, each effect type to my favorite stompboxes of every effect I use. Fractal's models, in every case, are equal or superior for me. I knew that going in, since I have an Axe-Fx too :) The verbs, delays and time based mod fx are way better than anything I ever owned in stompbox form. I still have some very nice drive stomps, and I was slightly iffy about the Fractal ones in comparison.. until G3 update happened. Now the G3 drives are perfect, I only wish there were a few more of them to choose from.

So in terms of sonic capability I have no compromise, only improvement in most cases. Add to that the value of zero-noise routing (compared to physical cables), presets to save multiple routings/settings and just having a whole high end pedalboard in one sturdy box. I love it!
 
You said you have an axe fx too Rob... So what do you think when comparing between axe fx tone (FRFR) and FX8(amp+mic'd) in live situation? Which one is better for you?

I have no doubt the effects in FX8 are very good. I love some of the factory presets like Bloomin verb, Delay heaven, The Abyss etc. I did create some nice presets like gated reverb, pitch arpeggiator, etc at home.. But I haven't had a great result in live situation with the band. I wish it sounds outstanding in live situation better than my old pedalboards.
 
Andrevv said:
You said you have an axe fx too Rob... So what do you think when comparing between axe fx tone (FRFR) and FX8(amp+mic'd) in live situation? Which one is better for you?
Click to expand...

I gigged steady with pedals/amps for many years before my first Axe-Fx (Ultra) in '08. At first I was determined to go FRFR, loved the idea that I could use a different virtual amp\cab for every song if I wanted to. But I struggled to find even one FRFR sound and feel I really liked. Tried several active monitors, rack power amps into passive FR monitors, and approximately one billion IRs. I went full IT nerd on the details and wasn't doing anything 'wrong', but I just couldn't get it to hit my sweet spot. Plus it was too time consuming dialing in presets with IR as a factor, especially with new IRs and firmware updates coming out all the time.

By the time I got the Axe-Fx II I had ditched the cab block and was using real guitar cabs driven by the Axe amp models into a Matrix poweramp. Liked that a lot better live but I kept drifting back to just one or two core amp tones and flavoring them with drives. Just like I always did things on analog. Axe-Fx started to seem like way overkill for how I was using it. Eventually I got the urge to bring out my old amps and pedals, it was fun so I went full retro and did that again for a while. Then I got my FX8 invite and it's working fantastic for me as a pedals replacement. I'm not a super heavy effects user, I'm mostly about the guitar and amp tones, but I rely heavily on the FX8 drives. The G3 drives are sweet.. we need MORE of them! I also use light reverb, delay, comp and often switch in the rotary. Mission pedal for Wah. All thos. effects sound stellar on FX8

I keep the Axe-Fx in the studio, it's the only way I record guitar and bass tracks now. Live, I'm really happy with FX8 into either my Bassman or vintage Kitty Hawk Pro Jr.
 
Hey, I should say.. I realize a LOT has changed with cab sims since I last gave FRFR a serious try (UR IRs, De-Phase control... not to mention Quantum). Perhaps I should give it another try. However, one big argument guys always use is "FRFR is the sound of a miked cab, and that's what your audience hears". Except I'm not playing in stadiums, I'm a weekender playing mostly pubs and small rooms. Yes, my cab is usually miked through the PA to supplement, but the backline sound right from the stage is often most prominent. So a big part of the audience hears guitar from the same source I do.. my cab on stage. The PA is mostly for vocals in a small room. And unless I'm on a really big stage I rarely put guitar into my monitor wedge in front of me.. just vocals. I hear plenty of guitar right from my cab.
 
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