FXLoop for Big Sky...

DaveO

DaveO

Fractal Fanatic
So just got around to adding BigSky to my Ax8 on the FXLoop and at first I did not get a signal from the FXLoop however i only needed to get on my hands and knees and turn the FX send knob on the AX8... after that Im like this really isn't sounding that lush as I thought it would so thought I'd ping the community on recommendations for a stereo verb at the end of my block chain.. its dual 1/4" out and return from the ax8 and Big Sky... and my final mix is a stereo mixer via XLR w/Head Ph.. Any input in this config will be appreciated.
Cheers DaveO
 
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Especially with the latest beta build, the multi delay can give you some impressive BigSky cloud type reverbs. Even without the beta, I use a combination of multi delay, chorus, and reverb to do the job. It led me to sell off my Strymon pedals. No longer needed.
 
DaveO said:
So just got around to adding BigSky to my Ax8 on the FXLoop and at first I did not get a signal from the FXLoop however i only needed to get on my hands and knees and turn the FX send knob on the AX8... after that Im like this really isn't sounding that lush as I thought it would so thought I'd ping the community on recommendations for a stereo verb at the end of my block chain.. its dual 1/4" out and return from the ax8 and Big Sky... and my final mix is a stereo mixer via XLR w/Head Ph.. Any input in this config will be appreciated.
Cheers DaveO
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Check the MIX knob on the Reverb. Make sure it is 100%. You are running the FX Loop in a parallel block, right?
 
Rex said:
I'm partial to the 'verb built into the AX8. Very partial. :)
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Thats great Rex, I'm really very happy for you that your partial to it.. though your response is not very helpful to my quarry, if the AX8 didn't run out of CPU so quickly I might be as partial to it as you...
Cheers Dave,
 
geetarplayer said:
Check the MIX knob on the Reverb. Make sure it is 100%. You are running the FX Loop in a parallel block, right?
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Thanks for your response geetarplayer i'm not understanding the series and parallel completely for the FXloop right now so guess I need to bone up on the manual it would appear, I do appreciate your response as it points me in the direction I need to go, I had assumed that running two 1/4" cables out from the AX8 info my BigSky & 2 back into the AX8 would work fine but its not that simple I guess.
 
I run my BigSky in series at the end of the chain and it sounds amazing and saves tons of CPU. Make sure cab emulation on the BS is off.
 
DaveO said:
Thats great Rex, I'm really very happy for you that your partial to it.. though your response is not very helpful to my quarry, if the AX8 didn't run out of CPU so quickly I might be as partial to it as you...
Cheers Dave,
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Harsh. But thanks for adding clarity to your question. This is the first time you mentioned a CPU issue.

You said the Big Sky wasn't as lush as you expected. Does it sound less lush then it does with other rigs? If so, we should address that first.
 
DaveO said:
Thats great Rex, I'm really very happy for you that your partial to it.. though your response is not very helpful to my quarry, if the AX8 didn't run out of CPU so quickly I might be as partial to it as you...
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Given that your post contained no mention of introducing the Big Sky to save on CPU, this is a bit rich.
 
DaveO - are you summing to mono at any point? If so the Strymon is going to have some phase cancellation of its stereo effects. If you aren't running a stereo rug just go 1 in and 1 out of the big sky to the AX8.

And since you don't seem to mind direct feedback seeing how you have it I would suggest you rtfm and you also misspelled query. ;)

All kidding aside there are several pros here willing to help. Be as thorough explaining your signal chain, post a preset and even a YouTube video of your process and one of them is likely to give you some great ideas on how to solve the issue.
 
Jammer77 said:
I run my BigSky in series at the end of the chain and it sounds amazing and saves tons of CPU. Make sure cab emulation on the BS is off.
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Jammer... I appreciate your response so thanks, Im running stereo out (2x 1/4") from the FX send and BS and back but only 1 connection is working (connection 2) I messed with level 1 3 & 4 on loop but none do anything, I can mix BS and get a blend of clean and echo but its sounds flat... (mono) Ive tried adding a second input shunt on line 1 (3&4) mixing effect on 2 and clean on 1 and it sounds flat. Just looking for that stereo sound from the BS that I get using my two Marshals.. any help from the community would be appreciated but please don't tell me how wonderful the AX8 Verb is as Im not brain dead...


0ax8-fxloop.png
 
DaveO said:
Jammer... I appreciate your response so thanks, Im running stereo out (2x 1/4") from the FX send and BS and back but only 1 connection is working (connection 2) I messed with level 1 3 & 4 on loop but none do anything, I can mix BS and get a blend of clean and echo but its sounds flat... (mono) Ive tried adding a second input shunt on line 1 (3&4) mixing effect on 2 and clean on 1 and it sounds flat. Just looking for that stereo sound from the BS that I get using my two Marshals.. any help from the community would be appreciated but please don't tell me how wonderful the AX8 Verb is as Im not brain dead...


0View attachment 39587
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You have to set input 2 mode to stereo in the global settings, by default it's set to "left only".

Levels and pans 1-4 are for mixing the rows of the grid going into the fx loop block, in this case it's fed only by row 2 so only level 2 and pan 2 will work.
 
DLC86 said:
You have to set input 2 mode to stereo in the global settings, by default it's set to "left only".

Levels and pans 1-4 are for mixing the rows of the grid going into the fx loop block, in this case it's fed only by row 2 so only level 2 and pan 2 will work.
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Thanks DLC86 that was the setting I needed, really, really appreciate you taking the time to respond for this....
 
DLC86 said:
You have to set input 2 mode to stereo in the global settings, by default it's set to "left only".

Levels and pans 1-4 are for mixing the rows of the grid going into the fx loop block, in this case it's fed only by row 2 so only level 2 and pan 2 will work.
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Hey so for the sake of the thread and my thanks for u Mr. Italia! DLC86.. (mom was borne in Florence BTW) Im posting my ambient guitar noodle of the final product using a big Sky and the effects loop thanks to the FA community for helping me...!!!!
 
Nice!

I sold my Big Sky a couple years ago, and bought an H9 Max. I'm having a hard time getting similar sounds out of the AX8. The advantage of having the BS or H9 is that you have factory presets that are great, with which you can base your sounds off of. It's like starting from scratch with the AX8, and it's very time consuming, so far.
 
Bones43x said:
Nice!

I sold my Big Sky a couple years ago, and bought an H9 Max. I'm having a hard time getting similar sounds out of the AX8. The advantage of having the BS or H9 is that you have factory presets that are great, with which you can base your sounds off of. It's like starting from scratch with the AX8, and it's very time consuming, so far.
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I don't know about the H9 but for me the global stereo settings did the trick, after that just adjust the output levels for 1 & 2 to max and it sounds great you might try checking the forum I believe I saw a few posts on this topic... & yes the AX8 is time consuming, I've been watching some of the patch building videos and its really helped me + there are many useful patches that user community is sharing...
 
DaveO said:
Hey so for the sake of the thread and my thanks for u Mr. Italia! DLC86.. (mom was borne in Florence BTW) Im posting my ambient guitar noodle of the final product using a big Sky and the effects loop thanks to the FA community for helping me...!!!!
Click to expand...

I would maybe turn turn down the volume that goes into the BS a bit more. You can hear a bit of crackling, not sure if this is clipping.
The BS doesn't handle the full line level of the AX8. after the fx loop yoi cam turn the volume up again. I did this with my BS, no cracks you want to hear live.
 
Isembolt said:
I would maybe turn turn down the volume that goes into the BS a bit more. You can hear a bit of crackling, not sure if this is clipping.
The BS doesn't handle the full line level of the AX8. after the fx loop yoi cam turn the volume up again. I did this with my BS, no cracks you want to hear live.
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Thanks for the feedback Isembolt, when I recorded it was late, wife was screaming (name of the wave file) it could also be the USB mix from my ZED 10FX into my iMac too i'll pay better attention next time, bottom line is that I'm extremely happy with the sound quality of the FX Send and return and that AX8 is playing very nicely with other devices...
 
How do you all connect FoH plus stage monitor if you have Big Sky (or anything) in FX Loop? On Ax8, I have to choose either FX out to Big Sky or the stage monitor but not both in stereo? No point in having the Big Sky if I have to go dual mono to get one sent back into Axe8 for the FoH, and other directly to the stage monitor. And Big Sky only has a single stereo out. Only way I can see is putting Big Sky first in signal chain (not really an option) or adding a personal mixer in-line with Out1 to split my send to FoH and my stage monitor, thus leaving the FX-loop free for Big Sky. Is there a better way?

Edit: Looks like the simplest and clean high quality solution I have researched is a passive DI box to split the signal, and a stereo volume knob to sit inline on the monitor side. Then just crank the output1 on Ax8, use the stereo volume knob to set monitor in the desired range on demand during performance, and FoH relies on a pad from the DI box, and can still feed the stage snake with an XLR setup.
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/JDIStereo
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/ATTY

$400 plus cables/connectors/board mess on top of the cost of Big Sky... man that is an extra $850+ and board kludge just to get an extra 30% CPU on Ax8! Yuck. Am I over-thinking this or have I waded through this in a reasonable way?

The hillbilly way would be a couple of Y-cables and crawl around to back of the powered monitor to set levels in between songs... any risk of equipment damage or sound problems doing it this way?
 
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I went with the cheapest solution with my Bigsky. After the Bigsky I used a simple Y-splitter cable. From there one goes back the the ax8 and one goes to the poweramp. Works perfect for me live and it costs only 10 bucks something
 
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