Need some help - ringing in the ears after playing... not an FX fault, an ear fault!

L

lauries2

Member
This is not a post about a "fault" with the Axe FX - this is something weird happening with my hearing and I'm hoping I can get the benefit of some experience that others may have had.

I am new to Axe FX. Purchased an Axe FX II XL and MFC about a month ago. I have been playing for decades and have owned over 50 amps during that time (mainly tube) and hundreds of pedals. I've owned PA systems and mixed live sound for years. I have an electrical engineering degree and I used to make pedals as a little garage business... All of which is to establish that I've got some background and experience, not some completely raw newbie. I've used modelers before. But nothing as sophisticated at the FX.

The problem: I'm having trouble with ringing in the ears after using the FX. Even at low volumes. The ringing does not happen when I play normally through my usual go-to amp the Dr Z Maz 18 with an all analogue chain. My ears appear to be more sensitive than I'd like - years ago I had a similar problem with a reissue Fender Vibrolux Reverb - I spent years tinkering with mods to that amp and couldn't get rid of the ice-picks. But that thing what was universally known to be an ice-picky amp.

I am, however, confounded by the fact that all is well with my analogue chain but not with the new digital one.

Thinking it might be my reproduction mechanism, I've tried the following speakers:
- Sony professional grade headphones
- KRK (and several other) studio monitors (FRFR)
- EV FoH mid-highs (ZLX12P)
- The stereo poweramps and speakers in a Roland JC-120
- A pair of Dr Z combos (Stang Ray on one side, Maz 18 on the other)

I've also:
- tweaked the global graphic EQ until my fingers (metaphorically) bled
- added 31-band EQ's into the signal chain
- played with EQ blocks
- played with cabs and cab resonance parameters until I tied myself in knots

And yet every time I play the beast I come out of it with my ears ringing. I'm at the point of such frustration that I'm seriously contemplating selling it, and that would be a tragedy because it is BY FAR the best musical tool I've ever seen.

I can not figure out what is going on.

There are no reports of this on the forum so I'm sure it's not the FX, but it's something specific to my hearing. If anyone has any remotely similar experience I'd love to hear about it, particularly what the fix was!

Thank you very much in advance.

EDIT: I should also mention that through anything approaching FRFR, the sound is very "harsh". No smoothness. It's almost as though there is some global parameter not set/incorrectly set. Yes, I do have cab emulation and power amp emulation enabled! :|
 
Last edited:
Need some help - ringing in the ears after playing... not an FX fault, an ear...

Have you had your hearing checked recently? There is a condition called hyperacusis where a person is very sensitive to sounds at a moderate volume.

I'm about 6 months into the Axe 2, using it DI only and my impression is it is very bright compared to my amps and mic setup.
I end up using hi cut in the cab block and often a PEQ hi block filter after the cab.

Hope you find a solution.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the thoughts. My hearing tests ok (at least it did last year). The harshness is audible to muso friends.

I'll try the suggestions tonight.
 
Last edited:
Yes was going to say hyperacusis. I have this in one ear and it drives me nuts sometimes. I still can't listen to certain iPods or MP3 players... there's some weird aliasing or something that I can't hear, but causes some ringing and mild discomfort.

I don't notice anything with the axe specifically though. But I do calm some of the highs down a bit, like I have to do with most things.

Not much the doc said can be done though. Maybe you can tweak something in your system to give you some relief.
 
Just an observation, not to turn this into a generational bias thread, or digital vs. real thread, but here goes.
I've been noticing for a decade or so a lot of newer rock/pop/metal guitar tones have a LOT more upper mid harshness, or fizz, or whatever you want to call it, than the guitar tones I grew up on.
Possibly a characteristic of trying to fit the guitar into the loud, compressed mixes that seem to be the rule now.
But even bands that don't have a lot of competing instruments or walls of vocals, the guitar tones often have a lot of bright upper mid information.

So if Cliff is trying to sell units to everybody, maybe the feeling is it's easier to darken a bright tone than generate the top end from a dull one. Just a guess.
But then what do I know?

Since getting the Axe II I've been listening to my tube rigs more critically, too. It wasn't always a no-brainer getting tones I (and my clients) loved. Always some tweaking involved, usually before the sessions but sometimes during.
But thru the years I learned how to get around on my gear to satisfy everybody most of the time.

The Axe II is challenging because even though it is intended to capture the entire architecture of the tube amps it models, it, paired with IRs of familiar speakers and mics (even the ones I've captured of my favorite signal chains) doesn't always sound like the originals to me without some work. I'm still working on it and not entirely sure where I stand. It does solve the no-amp DI problem better than any others I've tried, for the amount of space it requires, and the FX are fine, IMO.
 
I get this once in while as well , when I am playing through my rokit KRK 8's. I sometimes forget they are only about 2 feet away from my ears and sometimes I turn them up to loud.
I usually just slide my chair back a bit and I'm ok , but sometimes I forget and I get some ringing.
 
This is a really interesting thread as I had experienced something similar when first using the AxeFx at band rehearsals. After the first few times I used the AxeFx / CLR combo at band rehearsal I had ringing in my ears, which I had very rarely ever had when using my trad amp and cab in the same context. After experimenting a bit, A'ing and B'ing between AxeFX and amp/cab to ensure that the overall perceived volume level was the same (luckily, I have pretty patient bandmates), and that the guitar was sitting at the correct level in the band mix, I came to the conclusion that with FRFR there is way more top end, even with a seemingly well-EQ'd preset.

I use the word "seemingly" on purpose, because I suspect that the problem has been that I've been "Fletcher-Munsoned" and that, to compensate for lacking mids, the overall SPL level when using my CLRs has been higher to maintain a similar perceived volume level. This additional top end wasn't affecting the overall band mix because it wasn't really interfering with anything, but it was making rehearsals fatiguing and leaving me with ringing ears after a long rehearsal session.

I know my situation isn't exactly the same as the OP's (I'm talking about loud band volume only), but my solution has been to go back to my presets and really cut the cab block highs and run amp block mids higher. As a result, I'm running my AxeFX output a little lower and finding the CLRs are less fatiguing. More importantly, I'm no longer suffering from ringing ears.
 
I think this is the right approach, but 6000 hz seems a bit drastic. I think you would probably be fine rolling off everything over 13 khz, maybe higher. Your other amps probably had some harmonic information around there and weren't problematic. Just a thought.

Also, just to check... Are you on any medication that might contribute? I sometimes get a bit of tinnitus when I am on antibiotics. Freaked me out a bit until I made the connection.

Regardless, good luck and please let us know how you go after experimenting.
 
Rook: using the hi-cut in the cab block is much less drastic than the power amp block. with hi cut at 6000 hz there's still room for harmonics far above 6000 hz.
 
Cool, I didn't know that about the cab block. I was thinking in terms of a low pass filter over the whole signal.
 
How much dB the high cut filter slope have and knee starts actually when cut in the cab block, are there infos about it?
 
Last edited:
One thing to keep in mind regarding hyperacusis, misophonia, and tinnitus is that there is often a strong link between them and a sympathetic nervous system and limbic system response. When patients get stressed/anxious etc about their symptoms, it kicks the limbic system into gear, kind of a "fight or flight" response, which in turn worsens the symptoms. Its certainly not the only mechanism at play, but if your finish playing, and you start thinking about the ringing in your ears, looking for it, that can be sort of self-fulfilling as your blood pressure will rise etc, which can worsen the perceived effect.

My $0.02 of free advise, which should be taken with a grain of salt, as I am not a licensed audiologist yet, but rather a 3rd year Doctoral student, who just so happens to have a clinical interest in these various conditions.
 
Appreciate the thoughts! The amazing thing is that the problem only occurs with the digital signal! The old analogue path is fine.

Has to be frequency elements or wave interactions that my tube amps simply don't generate.

I'm still experimenting but it's looking more positive than before. Thanks for the thoughts everyone.
 
if the cab block alone is not effective enough, try a combination of the 'tone' section hi cut of the amp block, and the cab block.

Set cab block hi cut as low as you can without audibly dulling the sound. cleans should still sparkle enough. I set mine at 6000 hz but varies greatly with the IR. Then further refine with the tone section (amp block) hi cut. Start at 20khz and come down until you are satisfied. You shouldn't have to go under 10khz.
 
lauries2 said:
Appreciate the thoughts! The amazing thing is that the problem only occurs with the digital signal! The old analogue path is fine.

Has to be frequency elements or wave interactions that my tube amps simply don't generate.

I'm still experimenting but it's looking more positive than before. Thanks for the thoughts everyone.
Click to expand...

I had a similar thing happen with the Axe even through tube power & guitar cabs. I get hearing fatigue & ringing much sooner at the same levels compared to my Mesa Triaxis rig. (same power amp & cabs) I don't know if it's the extended frequency range or because digital audio waves are jagged & not smooth like analogue. Maybe both. Either way, I wear custom musicians earplugs now. Expensive but your hearing is priceless!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom