How far into the red......

N

neale dunham

Experienced
So I've returned from tonights gig and found myself wanting for more volume from my rig.

Playing in a 5 piece band as the lead guitarist my rhythm sounds seemed loud enough on stage but my solo's definitely weren't cutting through.

So I turned up my power amp (bearing in mind I am using a Fryette Powerstation 60 watt with 2 Mesa 1x12 cabinets not FRFR). Then I turned up the Volumes on the front of the Axe Fx 3.

Still not loud enough.

The only option I think I have from here is to turn up my outputs internally? I have set my amp block and output levels within the Axe as per the manual with the meters just tickling the red when I play hard.

Question is.... how far can I turn up the amp block and output into the red?

I could obviously do without digitally clipping my sound if that's what going to happen, and I presume it is?

I am aware that most guys probably don't run the axe in this type of situation but does anyone run their levels hot internally, and know how far to push it safely within reason?

Many thanks.
 
The axe outputs a generous amount of level. It’s too much for many setups.

You should not output into red.

If there’s not enough volume, your amplification isn't putting out enough, or there are stray EQs (too much low end maybe) making the meters appear correct (and bogging down the speaker).

are you using out 3 or 4?
 
You shouldn't have to push the Axe into the red. I used to run my AFX2/AX8 into either a Mesa 50:50 or a Matrix, and then into a 1x12 V30 cab. It was plenty loud ;-)

Not familiar w/ the Powerstation, but isn't it an amp attenuator or reactive load? I think it's supposed to be connected to another (regular) amplifier to actually give you the volume you want.
 
The power station manual says it outputs 50 watts to your speakers. That’s not really a lot of power.

Also if rhythm was fine but leads weren’t, it could be the EQ of your lead tones. Add Mids.
 
like Chris said 50 watts isn’t a lot, especially if that’s spec’d in mono.
2 things you could do.
50 watts can be enough power at a 4 ohm cab load, but not 8, definitely not 16ohms. If you’re not using your cabs in stereo, you could wire them in parallel to “ half” the load resistance, and double the power.
if the power amp supports bridging you could enable it (sums the two channels) and wire in parallel and have a massive boost in power.
 
Playing in a 5 piece can sometimes be a real shit fight.
How loud is everyone else playing? If one person plays too loud, everybody else reacts in a chain reaction and you can end up fighting for aural space. Get a good low level overall mix and get everyone on the same page & incrementally turn up.

If you've got a good mix and you aren't cutting it, then as others have suggested you may need more power....but you should never need to drive your signal into the red just to be heard.....with any piece of pre-amp equipment.
 
DLC86 said:
Go to setup-> I/O and check that output level is set to +4 dBu instead of -10 dBV
Click to expand...

This

You have your axe output already maxed you say....that's a LOT of output and you aren't clipping the power amp, this is most likely your culprit

Also as Joe suggested, use the low cuts!
Also don't be afraid to crank the mids or you'll get buried in the mix
 
FractalAudio said:
60W is plenty. Make sure your output is set to +4 dBu.
Click to expand...
In what circumstance should the output be set at -10 dBu? Occasionally I'll run the AXE or other modelers into a tube or SS guitar amp's return and have always used -10. I think years ago someone at Mesa suggested -10 that so I just stuck with it. Is this maybe a RTFM moment and I need to look at the specs for whichever piece of gear I want to run the AXE into to see what the FX return can take?
 
MJ Slaughter said:
In what circumstance should the output be set at -10 dBu? Occasionally I'll run the AXE or other modelers into a tube or SS guitar amp's return and have always used -10. I think years ago someone at Mesa suggested -10 that so I just stuck with it. Is this maybe a RTFM moment and I need to look at the specs for whichever piece of gear I want to run the AXE into to see what the FX return can take?
Click to expand...
-10 is typically home audio. Most/all pro gear puts out and expects +4.
 
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I have a Power Station and it’s very very loud.

Follow the advice above. Also, use its Line In port and make sure you’ve set up the PS correctly.
 
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MJ Slaughter said:
In what circumstance should the output be set at -10 dBu? Occasionally I'll run the AXE or other modelers into a tube or SS guitar amp's return and have always used -10. I think years ago someone at Mesa suggested -10 that so I just stuck with it. Is this maybe a RTFM moment and I need to look at the specs for whichever piece of gear I want to run the AXE into to see what the FX return can take?
Click to expand...
I use it going direct to FOH and have configured my home setup to use it. Live, a sound engineer typically expects a mic level signal from you so setting to -10 dBV provides more than enough signal for them to work with and prevents any surprises giving them too much signal. This will keep you on speaking terms with the engineer. There's no difference in tone, it's strictly a volume adjustment.
 
Dave Merrill said:
-10 is typically home audio. Most/all pro gear puts out and expects +4.
Click to expand...
Correcting myself so as not to confuse matters, that's true for line level signals, which is what is relevant here. But as has been mentioned, FOH expects mic level. Depending on the console and any pads they may have, they may be able to cope with +4, but you should probably ask, or just give them -10.
 
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