How to import an Impulse response into AX-8?

lefty69

lefty69

Member
Hi, I've only had the Ax-8 for a few days now. Still struggling a bit as I am not satisfied with the tone yet.
Can anybody tell me how I can import an existing Matchless Impulse response into the AX-8?

Many thanks
 
Use Tools/Manage Cabs from the AX8-Edit menu to load them. When that window is open, just drag & drop them from an explorer window into an open slot in the "Manage Cabs" window. Make sure to hit "Save" at the bottom right of the window. It has to be a ".syx" format file, not a ".ir" or a ".wav" file.
 
Jens Christian Mayer said:
Hi, I've only had the Ax-8 for a few days now. Still struggling a bit as I am not satisfied with the tone yet.
Can anybody tell me how I can import an existing Matchless Impulse response into the AX-8?

Many thanks
Click to expand...
what are you connecting the AX8 to? what speakers?
 
just curious - why do you think importing a Matchless IR is going to fix your sound? - there are tons of factory IR's to be auditioned.
As Chris says it would help if you were to be a bit more specific on your issue and monitoring if you want decent help/advice
 
So far i have only connected to my M-Audio BX 8 Studio Monitors via Apogee Ensemble Audio Interface. Live I'll go direct and into Yamaha activ monitors, a system that has been working fine with my Zoom G3X for years.

The Matchless IR was recommended by a friend. I' m looking for smooth lead tones and jazzy tones. Most presets or patches I found so far are very hi gain.

Thanks for the help with the IR
 
I assume you managed to get the IR loaded with the help of guitarno - take a look at some of Brett Kingman's AXEFX videos on youtube - he covers some cleaner amps
 
Jens Christian Mayer said:
So far i have only connected to my M-Audio BX 8 Studio Monitors via Apogee Ensemble Audio Interface. Live I'll go direct and into Yamaha activ monitors, a system that has been working fine with my Zoom G3X for years.

The Matchless IR was recommended by a friend. I' m looking for smooth lead tones and jazzy tones. Most presets or patches I found so far are very hi gain.

Thanks for the help with the IR
Click to expand...

I have found plenty of presets I think work in the ballpark you are talking about. Of course, I edit them all for guitars and taste. But some , even from the get go are nice. I am one of the "minority" here (although 7+ years here) who uses mostly "tweaked" presets. some are tweaked a little and some extreme tweaking. But almost always on the 1st page of axe edit and the speaker page mostly. For me that works great. And the Cabs of course are a biggie.

I cannot comment on the zoom you have, I have no experience with zoom in the last decade. but I can honestly say, either you are very used to (and that's OK) the sound you get from the zoom or something is, well, not right..as in setup or something
. Wish I could help more than saying the sound is there...big time.. But it is. Ex. Maybe mellow the ej clean tweaked doesn't help? Or a any of the vibro presets - Shiver Clean? Have you tried the Wreckers or Dumbles for smooth leads? or the Marshall 1959SLP?
 
Hi Stratman68 and thanks for your comment.Do you have any sounds to show me or to share?

I've tried the EJ clean, I've tried Larry Mitchells Life Pad,I've seen Brett Kingman's Marshall Plexi videos,
I've used Strat, Tele and Vigier and still find most sounds are muddy like if somebody has put a blanket on his amp. Adding high end does not help, the effects do not cut through or have so many parameters that make it complicated to tweak.Just adjusting a delay the way i'm used to is difficult. Ex:You select the 2290mod delay and there is no delay at all right after selecting it compared to the other delays.
For very small manipulations I need to go to the manual or post a question here which makes the whole process very time consuming.

Or if you are just using the board without Axe Edit, adjusting effect levels takes time..get into the right menu etc..find. the right button combination etc..
I've found a nice triple chorus, the crunch sounds are ok, the Vox AC30 top boost etc..

I do not doubt that great sounds can be achieved with this unit, after all, I bought it having seen all the demos and many of my favorite players and friends play Axe-FX and I Know there is a learning curve.Maybe its just not for me.
As a reference, here are some of my sounds with the Zoom.

Again, I am not saying its not possible to achieve those with the AX-8,but i am not sure if I'll have the patience.
 
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Hello Jens
First, nice playing. The sound is Ok. But if you cannot get those sounds just with some presets than something else is wrong. I won't try to compare the 2 units because IMHO there is no comparison. That doesn't mean your sounds in the video didn't sound OK. With the exception of the first 3 sounds, I did find them kind of thin and digital. That does not mean bad. I am no expert here. the blanket question has come up a lot here. In fact. try putting the word blanket in the search box while in the ax8 forum. I came up with quite a few hits doing that just now. I have 3 browsers :) I really think you should give it a chance. There is NO need to dig deep to get good sounds. For the amp, the knobs on the ax8 are plenty to start. With regard to delays. I know what that is I think...the mix on the delays are usually set very low. Like 13%..20%. Sounds like you are used to more. Try turning up the Mix knob on the right and nothing else. That goes for most fx blocks when using defaults. Of course, some are high already. But you'll see that. 2 forum guys uploaded a bunch of FX blocks. They are for the axefx but work fine in the ax8. Search Simeon and fx blocks. He posted a bunch of delays, pitch, synths, etc. Also, there are some killer U2 presets on the forum. Full and thick. For presets that are axefx specific get the Fractool. Great tool to have for conversion, Auditioning, etc. It's free but donations are always nice if you use it...No it's not mine.
 
Hello Stratman68 and thanks for your advice!
I just got the AX-8 Monday, so I will give it another week. However, yesterday was the first time I had to shut it off and return to my Zoom.(out of frustration) I cant find any patches from Simeon, the links are just pointing to his website.Concerning the "blanket" issue I've only found postings talkiing about going into an amp.. I have downloaded U2 presets (I actually play in a U2 tribute band) but then again here they dont sound right. Far from "full and thick"and the delays dont come out right..I'll try your advice with the delay level settings. I dont Know..I'm usually quite good with dialing in a good tone with all sorts of gear but here I feel like a total loser..I dont have the time to spend hundreds of hours its gotta be easy, because in the end I just wanna play music.It somehow reminds me of the Strymon Timeline. Awesome delay but handlingwise it was just not for me. Still hanging in there ;-)
 
Not sure you need to spend 100's of hours on this - if you watch any tuition videos you can dial a great sound in minutes. But maybe its just not for you.
By the way I thought your Zoom stuff sounded real nice :)
 
lefty69 said:
Hello Stratman68 and thanks for your advice!
I just got the AX-8 Monday, so I will give it another week. However, yesterday was the first time I had to shut it off and return to my Zoom.(out of frustration) I cant find any patches from Simeon, the links are just pointing to his website.Concerning the "blanket" issue I've only found postings talkiing about going into an amp.. I have downloaded U2 presets (I actually play in a U2 tribute band) but then again here they dont sound right. Far from "full and thick"and the delays dont come out right..I'll try your advice with the delay level settings. I dont Know..I'm usually quite good with dialing in a good tone with all sorts of gear but here I feel like a total loser..I dont have the time to spend hundreds of hours its gotta be easy, because in the end I just wanna play music.It somehow reminds me of the Strymon Timeline. Awesome delay but handlingwise it was just not for me. Still hanging in there ;-)
Click to expand...

Ok then something is seriously wrong with your ax8 setup or configuration. OR, like I said you are just use to the sounds of the zoom and that's OK. but, I have to say, there is no comparison. Like Lexman said, maybe it's not for you which is perfectly fine. Wish you luck. There is no 100's of hours, but hey, it's not for everyone. Like your guitar also btw
 
Thanks Stratman68 and lexman! I have to say that people here are very nice and helpful and I appreciate that! I'll give the unit a few more shots over the next week.Hopefully it will click! I was so hoping on this to be the perfect All-In-1 solution. I dont think there's anything wrong with the configuration.I wish Mike Britt could make some patches for AX-8.Love his stuff.
 
Hey I just noticed something..went back to the manual..sofar i have only used the 1/4 outputs..It looks like I should rather use the xlr outs to go into my apogee or direct...will try that out tomorrow...
 
Hey Lefty,
Curious...Did you ever try what I suggested about just turning up the mix % of the delay and other fx you use? Later and glad your giving it a bit longer. I know you would be thrilled once you figured out what was missing...for you I mean.

Can I ask which BX8's you have? The studiophile BX8 or the higher end BX8's?

I am just wondering if you set the eq's on the back of your BX8's for your ZOOM? Maybe you adjusted the bass eq and hi end for the zoom. The ax8 really should have the eq's flat in most studio monitors, to start anyway.
Also, I have a Yamaha DXR10. You said you have Yamaha active monitors . Have you tried the Ax8 thru the Yamahas?
 
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I really like the funky envelope filter, you got.

I cannot help thinking, it must something in your setup. Especially, when you write that you don't hear any delays with the 2290. The 2290 has the right side delay phase reversed, so if your sound is summed to mono somewhere, the delays from the two sides cancel eachother. As a test, try just using the left output of the Ax8 and go to a single input channel on the interface.

Another thing, you could try (it sounds like, you have already tried it a little) is to follow along with @Burgs as he builds this patch. If the sound you are hearing from youtube is vastly different from what you get playing a strat, something is wrong somewhere.

 
Ok.. I noticed the delays are always set low..thanks for the hint. Turning levels up helps. However still no delay coming out of the 2290delay with mod..which is the delay i would use the most. I checked using only left or right 1/4 output alone as suggested and I get signal on both individually and together .All other delays work just the 2290 does not.. I'm in the middle of preparing sth for tuesday as I wont be able to use the ax8 for that I wont have too much time to continue tweaking the unit until wednesday.
I really dont like the reverb on most patches except for maybe triple chorus. Something thats driving me nuts is (and yes I know RTFM..) but how can you easily adjust effect levels without Ax-edit- The unit says turn nav and press enter? If at least I can quickly edit delay or reverb levels on the unit..as for smooth lead tones still not happy..With the work I have I just cant afford to show up with a tone thats not 100% right.
 
lefty69 said:
Ok.. I noticed the delays are always set low..thanks for the hint. Turning levels up helps. However still no delay coming out of the 2290delay with mod..which is the delay i would use the most. I checked using only left or right 1/4 output alone as suggested and I get signal on both individually and together .All other delays work just the 2290 does not.
Click to expand...
you probably are summing to mono at some point and are getting a phase cancel. change the Phase in the Delay block so Left and Right match. the 2290 is a Stereo Delay and sounds the way it does due to this Phase reverse on 1 side.
 
Sorry I forget to answer my monitors are M-Audio BX8a, nothing fancy..Stage monitor is Yamaha M60s. Old but good..I'm not going to change any of them..
 
@chris thanks but where exactly i the delay block can i change the phase pls? i cant see any option in AXE edit and no I'm not summing to mono I use INPUT 1 and 2 on the Apogee Ensemble coming from Out 1 and 2 on AX8,,
 
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