Help with live setting

SRVYJM

SRVYJM

Member
I'm having a struggle here- I've taken my AX8 out live several times and I'm fairly consistently disappointed- I've purchased XiTone FRFR amps to use with it- as well as a Tech21 Power Engine- but whenever I play live everything sounds fairly artificial- plus I can never get the Output dialed in. I have a great rehearsal space to dial in live tones- but I always LOVE the way my tone sounds at home- the AX8 is my preferred piece of gear for that- but I want to LOVE it just as much live.

My biggest problem is the "hifi" sound that seems to be present all the time - adjusting the numerous outputs. There seems to be so many "outputs" on this thing- from the amp output- to the final output box on the Ax8-Edit to the actual Output on the unit (Out1)- not even including the Level and Master controls too. I'm assuming these things:

1. Out1- is the main volume output of the total unit
2. Master- is the Master Volume of the amp block (?) and adjusts the overall simulated amp volume-
3. Level- is the Volume of the amp block if there was no Master volume on the original modeled amp
4. Output (ax8-Edit) and last screen on page views of the unit- is the overall "master volume" of the entire block chain?


The Hi-fi thing seems to be related to delay and reverb maybe- but when playing live there is a bit of a overriding high pitch/ presence that I can't seem to dial out without just cutting highs and then getting lost in the mix.

So, where do you all that use these live typically set everything? I know I need to set my volumes at live volume (so at the studio)- but what about which one is really the key to tone that sounds great and cuts through?

My live tone is never adequate as far as cutting through a mix- I'm always finding it sounds thin and weak compared to other guitar players in the band that cut through so nicely with just a clean tube amp. Again- I want to use this as my primary amp/ solution live and at home because it's just so versatile and the tones I get at home are AWESOME- they clean up with the volume on my guitar better then my real tube amps with pedals do and are more musical- how do I translate that into a band/live setting.

Any and all pointers help here- I want to sell all my other gear and master this beast. If it works as well as it does for Tyler Grund's awesome tones (gamedojo) and he's moved entirely over to it instead of his old awesome tube amps- then I know it can work for me too- I'm just inept it seems at dialing it in live.
 
SRVYJM said:
I'm assuming these things:
1. Out1- is the main volume output of the total unit
2. Master- is the Master Volume of the amp block (?) and adjusts the overall simulated amp volume-
3. Level- is the Volume of the amp block if there was no Master volume on the original modeled amp
4. Output (ax8-Edit) and last screen on page views of the unit- is the overall "master volume" of the entire block chain?
Click to expand...
1. Yes
2. No
Bildschirmfoto 2017-12-20 um 19.55.01.png
3. Level controls the volume of any block
4. Yes
 
Yes, read the above several times to get it to sink in. You want to set the master to get the best tone and feel for the amp model, the use the level in the amp block in conjunction with the vu meter in the utilities menu. You want to be close to the zero on the vu which leaves a bit of headroom for boosted patches.

As far as sitting in the mix, try to find a similar cab ir but with more mid range. If it sounds fat by yourself it's probably too scooped. Use hi and low cut in the cab block, this helps a lot, try 100-150/5k-10k.

I recommend don't use any reverb live. Maybe it's okay on clean but it just puts you too far back in the mix. Use delay for leads instead. You can eq the delay repeats in the dly block to remove some highs if needed.
 
Is the "Master" on the AX8 itself the same "Master" that's in AX8-Edit's Amp block then? If I change one (AX8 itself) I don't see a corresponding change in AX8-Edit- actually I just answered it myself- that actually does update when I change it on the pedalboard in Ax8 Edit- I just had to wait for the "communications" message to clear and refresh. So they're the same. I guess I have to play around with all the switches and dials to watch if they correspond.
 
Tahoebrian5 said:
I recommend don't use any reverb live. Maybe it's okay on clean but it just puts you too far back in the mix. Use delay for leads instead. You can eq the delay repeats in the dly block to remove some highs if needed.
Click to expand...

Interesting to read. I tend to have some small amount of reverb in almost all of my live patches. Usually 2 voices to minimize CPU burn, and usually 1-2 sec in length. Without it, it sounds too dry in my IEMs.

Different strokes :)

That said, I'm totally off OP's intent here... I don't think he is in an IEM setup. In that case... I might not use reverb either and just let the room do it's thing. But MV is a great thing to understand. Might consider finding some patches that are used by others, or the factory patches, and see if they cut through better than your current patch. Even if it's not the exact sound you are after, it will help you know deep down the AX8 will do what you want. Then reverse engineer from there to improve your own.
 
Well yes, iems or headphones need some reverb or room ambiance for sure. In a room with a full band cranked up though reverb will push your sound back in the mix. Every time I see a band with a player using reverb I think it sounds weird. It could probably work well in some situations though.. No rules here just generalizations and I'm no guru just an old dude with mediocre sound
 
I've always used at least a little reverb live. It can get definitely weird and lost in the context of the band if the mix is set too high though. All depends on what the goal is. Simply adding effects because they may sound cool alone can work against you. I'm a big proponent of determining the purpose of an effect in the chain then deciding if it's necessary or not.
 
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