Migrating from Axe FX II to AX8, first impressions, notes, and questions

[jtaylor14]

I received my unit on Tuesday last week, unboxed it, started messing with it, playing, sounded exactly like my Axe II as expected. I then fumbled a bit switching presets, scenes, etc, figured it would be wise to read the manual. After reading the manual it became much more clear how the F switches work, controlling presets, scenes, etc. It's a different methodology compared to the Axe II, but a welcome one. I think this will be a good fit going forward. I think whether you have owned an AxeFX before or not, read the manual at least to get a handle on the F switches.

I've been porting all my patches from my AxeFX II (Mark I) to the AX8 this weekend (finally got time after the Christmas madness with 3 little ones at home). I exported all my patches as block libraries per Scott's thread, then re-created on the AX8. Being that the AX8 doesn't have as much horsepower as the II, I found it forced me to do some spring cleaning of my patches (removed effect blocks that were turned off but hardly ever got used). A few things I noticed:

Amps
All amps come over with all settings intact as far as I can tell, except level. Every amp was at -12db. On the AxeFX II, I had leveled all my presets with the VU meter, and even though I re-adjusted the level in the amp block in the AX8 to match, I still had to re-level on the AX8 using the VU meter again. Not a huge deal, just not sure why they wouldn't be identical between units.

Reverb
A wee bit CPU intensive . I found that I had to bring in the Reverb first, adjust it to reduce the CPU, then bring in the rest of my blocks. Otherwise I was getting the message pop-up stating that I couldn't add it. So, when building patches, do the Reverb first and work off that. If you find you need more effect blocks but get the pop-up warning, adjust the Reverb to reduce the CPU and hopefully you can get everything you need. I think I had this problem with maybe 4 or 5 patches out of about 30, so it wasn't a huge deal. And even the 'downgraded' reverb still sounds great.

Synth
I have a few patches where I use a synth to mimic some cover tunes (Cars - Just What I Needed, Floyd - Run Like Hell, etc.). I'm not sure where it broke down, but Synths didn't come over very nicely and I had to spend time with each. I grabbed these Synths a while ago from other members on the forum, so I didn't really tweak much (if anything). So, they worked with Quantum 1.05 with Axe II, in AX8, not without tweaking, and not a 100% match either. Anyone care to try and help or steer me on what to adjust? I'm trying to upload the Axe II syx files, but it keeps giving me an error. I guess I need help with that too. Clue me in and I'll upload a couple of the synth patches from my Axe II.

Loving this new floor unit. My first gig is this coming weekend and I'm looking forward to not having to lug my 40lb.+ rack.

 

[chris]

Amps
All amps come over with all settings intact as far as I can tell, except level. Every amp was at -12db. On the AxeFX II, I had leveled all my presets with the VU meter, and even though I re-adjusted the level in the amp block in the AX8 to match, I still had to re-level on the AX8 using the VU meter again. Not a huge deal, just not sure why they wouldn't be identical between units.

the range of Amp Block Level on the Axe-Fx II is -80 to +20db
the range of Amp Block Level on the AX8 is "Off" (.1 less than -72.9) to +12db

they aren't exactly the same so the Amp block was designed to import as -12dB as a safety/default value.

Reverb
A wee bit CPU intensive . I found that I had to bring in the Reverb first, adjust it to reduce the CPU, then bring in the rest of my blocks. Otherwise I was getting the message pop-up stating that I couldn't add it. So, when building patches, do the Reverb first and work off that. If you find you need more effect blocks but get the pop-up warning, adjust the Reverb to reduce the CPU and hopefully you can get everything you need. I think I had this problem with maybe 4 or 5 patches out of about 30, so it wasn't a huge deal. And even the 'downgraded' reverb still sounds great.

yes, the manual does state add high CPU blocks first (though you wouldn't know about that until you use the unit anyway*). i personally wish the Reverb block loaded at Normal quality vs. High. though i do understand why it loads at High. that said, Normal quality sounds GREAT and i would call it high quality and the "High" quality i'd call AMAZEBALLS quality or something similar


*i JUST finished going through all Blocks and Types in the AX8 to calculate the CPU usage of every block. i'll be posting that chart soon on my site and link it here in the forum.

regarding reverb since it was mentioned, majority of the Reverb types use 38.8 or 36.9 CPU at High quality. switching to Normal quality reduces all Reverb types by 8.0 CPU (except Spring types which are around 16% at High or Normal).

 

[jtaylor14]

Thanks for the feedback Chris!
Any idea what I'm doing wrong trying to upload my synth .syx file from my Axe II, or what is different when importing those blocks?

 

[PRSfreak4]

Reverb
A wee bit CPU intensive . I found that I had to bring in the Reverb first, adjust it to reduce the CPU, then bring in the rest of my blocks. Otherwise I was getting the message pop-up stating that I couldn't add it. So, when building patches, do the Reverb first and work off that. If you find you need more effect blocks but get the pop-up warning, adjust the Reverb to reduce the CPU and hopefully you can get everything you need. I think I had this problem with maybe 4 or 5 patches out of about 30, so it wasn't a huge deal. And even the 'downgraded' reverb still sounds great.

So I don't want to hijack the thread, but I also didn't want to start a whole new discussion on this necessarily:

Chris or Jtaylor - should it be possible to have the following blocks in a single AX8 preset: VOL/PAN | DRIVE | MLTY-DLY | CHORUS | REVERB | DLY blocks? I ran into an overload when attempting to add a Delay block at the end of an ambient chain. So... It doesn't give 100% what I need yet, but was wondering if you guys could try that for me?? Thanks!

 

[atquinn]

So I don't want to hijack the thread, but I also didn't want to start a whole new discussion on this necessarily:

Chris or Jtaylor - should it be possible to have the following blocks in a single AX8 preset: VOL/PAN | DRIVE | MLTY-DLY | CHORUS | REVERB | DLY blocks? I ran into an overload when attempting to add a Delay block at the end of an ambient chain. So... It doesn't give 100% what I need yet, but was wondering if you guys could try that for me?? Thanks!

It greatly depends on the particular settings you are using for each block. The amount of cpu the reverb block in particular uses can vary tremendously depending on the settings. Also, my testing shows the amp block settings also have an affect.
-
Austin

 

[jtaylor14]

So I don't want to hijack the thread, but I also didn't want to start a whole new discussion on this necessarily:

Chris or Jtaylor - should it be possible to have the following blocks in a single AX8 preset: VOL/PAN | DRIVE | MLTY-DLY | CHORUS | REVERB | DLY blocks? I ran into an overload when attempting to add a Delay block at the end of an ambient chain. So... It doesn't give 100% what I need yet, but was wondering if you guys could try that for me?? Thanks!

Sorry for the delay, holidays/work have been keeping me away from the AX8. I just started with a blank patch, added each of the blocks you listed above without any issue. The default blocks that got populated had the CPU at 69%. The blocks were: Vol/Pan, Drive (Rat Dist), MultiDly (Quad-Tap), Chorus (Digital Mono), Reverb (Medium Room), and Delay (Digital Mono). If I change the Chorus to 8-voice stereo it brings the CPU to 77%, but still ok.

I noticed you had no amp/cab though, so not sure if I fully built what you were looking for.

 

[PRSfreak4]

Sorry for the delay, holidays/work have been keeping me away from the AX8. I just started with a blank patch, added each of the blocks you listed above without any issue. The default blocks that got populated had the CPU at 69%. The blocks were: Vol/Pan, Drive (Rat Dist), MultiDly (Quad-Tap), Chorus (Digital Mono), Reverb (Medium Room), and Delay (Digital Mono). If I change the Chorus to 8-voice stereo it brings the CPU to 77%, but still ok.

I appreciate the follow-up. I found that I could as well if I set the CAB block to just stereo not Ultra-Res. That UR block was consuming too much CPU for those effects to work in parallel. And sorry, I was making the assumption that AMP > CAB was assumed in the signal chain you know... ass-u-ming

 

[jtaylor14]

I appreciate the follow-up. I found that I could as well if I set the CAB block to just stereo not Ultra-Res. That UR block was consuming too much CPU for those effects to work in parallel. And sorry, I was making the assumption that AMP > CAB was assumed in the signal chain you know... ass-u-ming

Yes, but, I'm pretty sure the Amps have a dedicated processor, so that shouldn't affect the chain. A stereo ultrares cab draws about 12% (See Chris's CPU chart on AxeTutorials), so should still be fine.

 

[atquinn]

Yes, but, I'm pretty sure the Amps have a dedicated processor, so that shouldn't affect the chain. A stereo ultrares cab draws about 12% (See Chris's CPU chart on AxeTutorials), so should still be fine.

Amps do affect the chain somewhat. I made a preset where it would hit the CPU limit when I switched from the X amp to the Y amp. So it's probably not much, but it definitely has a effect.
-
Austin