Input 3 headroom and LB-2 DI Level

Guitarjon

Fractal Fanatic
I'm getting a Marshall SV20H today which I will be running into my usual setup which is:

-Axe Fx III
-Output 3
-Tube amp (with humbuster cable)
-LB-2 (passive mode)
-Axe Fx III
-Input 3 (for cab modeling and noise gate etc)

The thing is, I'm going to have to turn that Marshall up pretty loud to get sweet tones but the 'DI Level' control on the LB-2 seems to make the sound much more dull when I turn it down. So for that reason I prefer to not have that control under 2 or 3 o'clock. Just so it stays nice and bright. For loud amps what I've been doing is turning down the level on the input 3 block on Axe Edit to compensate for the loudness going into the input and I haven't heard any (audible) clipping so far. The input gain in the I/O menu is also pretty low (somewhere around 10/20%). I'm just wondering how far I can take this? Will there be a point where input 3 starts to distort? Or will turning down the input level in the input block simply act as a 'pad'?

Any help would be appreciated :)
 
Hi Jon,

Input gain in I/O has no impact on the signal level. It just optimizes SNR.

Level in an Input block indeed acts as a pad / boost.

You’re cranking Output 3 on the front panel for unity gain?
 
Hi Jon,

Input gain in I/O has no impact on the signal level. It just optimizes SNR.

Level in an Input block indeed acts as a pad / boost.

You’re cranking Output 3 on the front panel for unity gain?

That's good news! :) Yes output 3 is cranked up all the way!

Thanks yek!
 
I'm getting a Marshall SV20H today which I will be running into my usual setup which is:

-Axe Fx III
-Output 3
-Tube amp (with humbuster cable)
-LB-2 (passive mode)
-Axe Fx III
-Input 3 (for cab modeling and noise gate etc)

The thing is, I'm going to have to turn that Marshall up pretty loud to get sweet tones but the 'DI Level' control on the LB-2 seems to make the sound much more dull when I turn it down. So for that reason I prefer to not have that control under 2 or 3 o'clock. Just so it stays nice and bright. For loud amps what I've been doing is turning down the level on the input 3 block on Axe Edit to compensate for the loudness going into the input and I haven't heard any (audible) clipping so far. The input gain in the I/O menu is also pretty low (somewhere around 10/20%). I'm just wondering how far I can take this? Will there be a point where input 3 starts to distort? Or will turning down the input level in the input block simply act as a 'pad'?

Any help would be appreciated :)
That's pretty much how I do it.
 
Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I was wondering if it's safe to use solid state amps with the LB-2? I'm getting a H&K black spirit soon and I would like to run it through the LB-2. Of course I wouldn't be able to crank the amp all the way but that wouldn't help the sound anyway... I can even set the amp to very low wattage settings.
 
Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I was wondering if it's safe to use solid state amps with the LB-2? I'm getting a H&K black spirit soon and I would like to run it through the LB-2. Of course I wouldn't be able to crank the amp all the way but that wouldn't help the sound anyway... I can even set the amp to very low wattage settings.
not sure what the purpose of a load box on a solid state power amp would be? solid state amps tend to get all their tone from the preamp, so running rom the preamp out (or effects loop send) should get you all the tone in the amp without the hassle of amplifying it and running it through a load box
 
not sure what the purpose of a load box on a solid state power amp would be? solid state amps tend to get all their tone from the preamp, so running rom the preamp out (or effects loop send) should get you all the tone in the amp without the hassle of amplifying it and running it through a load box

Well, I'm interested if there is any tonal difference but the ground/lift switch could also be needed as it's essential for my tube amp setup with the Axe FX III and LB-2. Hopefully running an XLR out of the black spirit would negate the use for such a switch. I'm just figuring out all my options before the amp gets here.

Edit: perhaps there won't be a ground loop if I run the humbuster cable as well as an XLR out from the amp. The loop with my tube amps is really bad without the ground/lift switch on the LB-2 but maybe that's because I'm currently using an unbalanced out from the LB-2 back into the Axe Fx.
 
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Well, I'm interested if there is any tonal difference but the ground/lift switch could also be needed as it's essential for my tube amp setup with the Axe FX III and LB-2. Hopefully running an XLR out of the black spirit would negate the use for such a switch. I'm just figuring out all my options before the amp gets here.
tube amps and solid state amps are completely different beasts.

more importantly, 30 seconds of googling leads me to the realization that the black spirit is a modeling amplifier. why are you looking to use a modeling amp with the axefx?
 
tube amps and solid state amps are completely different beasts.

That's exactly the reason why I'm asking basically....

more importantly, 30 seconds of googling leads me to the realization that the black spirit is a modeling amplifier. why are you looking to use a modeling amp with the axefx?

Why does that matter?
 
why does that matter?

just curious. seems like a lot of effort to insert a new, unproven but of modeling gear into the loop of one of the top amp modelers on the planet. is there something that the black spirit does that you can’t get from the axefx 3?
 
just curious. seems like a lot of effort to insert a new, unproven but of modeling gear into the loop of one of the top amp modelers on the planet. is there something that the black spirit does that you can’t get from the axefx 3?

I work with a lot of different amps (I have a large collection of tube amps) that I use on my YouTube channel. I want and need to be able to use a wide variety of gear for that. I've just never used a solid state amp before with my setup and I'm just trying to figure out how to run it into my setup with a minimal amount of noise and with consistent tonal results when compared to running it with my tube amps (tonal difference between tubes and solid state aside).
 
I work with a lot of different amps (I have a large collection of tube amps) that I use on my YouTube channel. I want and need to be able to use a wide variety of gear for that. I've just never used a solid state amp before with my setup and I'm just trying to figure out how to run it into my setup with a minimal amount of noise and with consistent tonal results when compared to running it with my tube amps (tonal difference between tubes and solid state aside).
k.

it seems that your question is really about how to use the hughes and kettner product, not about how to use a fractal product. perhaps they have forums with people who are more familiar with their products and will be more knowledgable about them than we will be here?
 
k.

it seems that your question is really about how to use the hughes and kettner product, not about how to use a fractal product. perhaps they have forums with people who are more familiar with their products and will be more knowledgable about them than we will be here?

No, not really tbh. My entire rig is built around my Axe Fx so the Fractal stuff has everything to do with it.
 
I just want to get back to my main question without all the other irrelevant stuff:

I'm just curious if it's recommended to use the Fractal LB-2 with solid state amps or not. It doesn't say so in the manual.
 
k.

it seems that your question is really about how to use the hughes and kettner product, not about how to use a fractal product. perhaps they have forums with people who are more familiar with their products and will be more knowledgable about them than we will be here?

The question is about a FAS product, the LB. How about just letting him ask the question?
 
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