Newbie in need of recording AX8 help

D

Dudley

New Member
Just taking my first tentative steps in to the world of very basic home recording using my trusty AX8 and could do with some info and support. I've done a lot of searching on this forum, and others, but find myself getting more and more confused the more I read as everything is new terminology or knowledge to me.

At the moment I just connect my AX8 directly to two Yamaha HS7’s for playing on my own, but I’ve recently picked up a 2020 MacBook Air and want to record some basic songs (just a few tracks of guitars/bass and programming in midi drums, though eventually down the line I wouldn't mind adding keyboards also) and jam along to Guitar Pro files.

I’m looking at the FocusRite Scarlett Solo or 2i2, but open to suggestions on other inexpensive audio interfaces. Not sure on what DAW I'll be using yet... I've got access to GarageBand in the interim while I try to work out what I'll be using longer term.

My questions are:
  1. How do I go about connecting the AX8, HS7’s, MBA and interface together? What cables do I need? I'm aiming to get playback of programmed drums in ezdrummer or Superior Drummer etc. and live guitars through the monitors as I'm recording and then also just jam along, using the AX8, to Guitar Pro files played from the laptop through the monitors.
  2. Initial thoughts are to record separate tracks of high gain rhythm guitar hard left and right (my limited knowledge and what I've read has led me to believe that a mono signal is better for this as a hard-panned stereo guitar loses something) and cleans and leads in stereo for using reverb/delay/chorus etc. Is either the Solo or 2i2 better suited for this? Will it require additional or different cable routing to achieve this, or is it just a case of changing something in the DAW when I switch from rhythm to lead/clean? I understand that the 2i2 has more inputs, but what I'm unsure of is if that is just for recording 2 guitars or guitar + vocals at once etc. or if it has some other impact relevant to me?
  3. Are there any issues with the 2 aforementioned FocusRite products used in conjunction with macOS Monterey and USB C? Am I better served going for something with S/PDIF to achieve what I'm after?
Sorry for what must seem to be very basic questions to some of the knowledgeable people in here, I just really want to avoid making mistakes when it comes to purchases and would like to get up and running with minimal fuss.
 
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1. USB from MBA to Interface. Interface outputs to HS7's. XLR from AX8 to Interface Inputs.
2. Multi tracking is the norm, how you decide to pan them is up to what you want to hear in the mix. Stereo guitars don't necessarily lose anything but if they seem to be missing something, you can add a third dry track centered and mix with the stereo tracks to get the desired sound.
3. Fosusrite makes some affordable interfaces but I personally would choose something like the Steinberg UR22 or Audient ID4, something with better mic preamps. The Audient is available with USB C connection. Spending the extra $80 is well worth it.
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/iD4mk2--audient-id4-mkii-usb-c-audio-interface
 
Dudley said:
I’m looking at the FocusRite Scarlett Solo or 2i2, but open to suggestions on other inexpensive audio interfaces. Not sure on what DAW I'll be using yet... I've got access to GarageBand in the interim while I try to work out what I'll be using longer term.
Click to expand...
If you want to record a stereo guitar track, get the 2i2. It seems like that's a feature you're looking for, so that's what I would recommend.

As far as DAW, it all comes down to personal preference. I use Reaper and love it.

Dudley said:
How do I go about connecting the AX8, HS7’s, MBA and interface together? What cables do I need? I'm aiming to get playback of programmed drums in ezdrummer or Superior Drummer etc. and live guitars through the monitors as I'm recording and then also just jam along, using the AX8, to Guitar Pro files played from the laptop through the monitors.
Click to expand...
You would connect the 2i2 to your Macbook with a USB cable.

Use two XLR cables to connect Output1 L&R from the AX8 to the front inputs on the 2i2. Make sure 'instrument' and 'air' are disengaged.

Use balanced (trs) cables to connect the outputs of your 2i2 to the inputs on your HS7's.

You will have to make the 2i2 your default audio interface in system preferences > sound, as well as in your DAW of choice. Keep in mind that you will need to have a way to listen back to the inputs of the 2i2 inside your computer. I do this by leaving a session open in my DAW, with inputs 1&2 armed.

Dudley said:
  1. Are there any issues with the 2 aforementioned FocusRite products used in conjunction with macOS Monterey and USB C? Am I better served going for something with S/PDIF to achieve what I'm after?
Click to expand...
Five seconds of googling tells me that the 2i2 and solo should both work fine on Monterey. YMMV. In my opinion, the sonic difference between using digital and analog outs on the AX8 is negligible, but keep in mind if you use the SPDIF outs you are locked to a 48k sample rate. This may be a pain in the ass for you, so to keep it simple, you should just use the analog outputs.

Feel free to send me a DM if you have any other questions. Good luck!
 
For me the latency when using S/PDIF is a lot lower than going the analog route into the interface. Using S/PDIF I don't even need direct monitoring. YMMV, though.
 
So, newbie here also. Just got the 2i2 and am hooked into my Mac. No sound. There’s evidence that sound is going from the AX8 to the 2i2 because the gain knob flashes when I play. Anyone else run into this, and am I just doing something wrong. I have the sound preferences set correctly on the Mac. TYIA
 
Dudley said:
Just taking my first tentative steps in to the world of very basic home recording using my trusty AX8 and could do with some info and support. I've done a lot of searching on this forum, and others, but find myself getting more and more confused the more I read as everything is new terminology or knowledge to me.

At the moment I just connect my AX8 directly to two Yamaha HS7’s for playing on my own, but I’ve recently picked up a 2020 MacBook Air and want to record some basic songs (just a few tracks of guitars/bass and programming in midi drums, though eventually down the line I wouldn't mind adding keyboards also) and jam along to Guitar Pro files.

I’m looking at the FocusRite Scarlett Solo or 2i2, but open to suggestions on other inexpensive audio interfaces. Not sure on what DAW I'll be using yet... I've got access to GarageBand in the interim while I try to work out what I'll be using longer term.

My questions are:
  1. How do I go about connecting the AX8, HS7’s, MBA and interface together? What cables do I need? I'm aiming to get playback of programmed drums in ezdrummer or Superior Drummer etc. and live guitars through the monitors as I'm recording and then also just jam along, using the AX8, to Guitar Pro files played from the laptop through the monitors.
  2. Initial thoughts are to record separate tracks of high gain rhythm guitar hard left and right (my limited knowledge and what I've read has led me to believe that a mono signal is better for this as a hard-panned stereo guitar loses something) and cleans and leads in stereo for using reverb/delay/chorus etc. Is either the Solo or 2i2 better suited for this? Will it require additional or different cable routing to achieve this, or is it just a case of changing something in the DAW when I switch from rhythm to lead/clean? I understand that the 2i2 has more inputs, but what I'm unsure of is if that is just for recording 2 guitars or guitar + vocals at once etc. or if it has some other impact relevant to me?
  3. Are there any issues with the 2 aforementioned FocusRite products used in conjunction with macOS Monterey and USB C? Am I better served going for something with S/PDIF to achieve what I'm after?
Sorry for what must seem to be very basic questions to some of the knowledgeable people in here, I just really want to avoid making mistakes when it comes to purchases and would like to get up and running with minimal fuss.
Click to expand...

I use an AX8 and a Scarlett Focusrite 2i2.. I connect my AX8 output 1 xlr into scarlett 2i2 xlr input. I connect both L and R. From there it goes into my DAW (I use Ableton) and I record direct. It's really simple.

Lately I invested in Redsound high quality frfr speakers and I'm pondering how it would sound to capture the entire room with an frfr special mic placed in the room between my speakers compared to recording direct from the AX8.
 
Since you're going stereo you probably want at least two mics, I'd say (without any personal experience capturing room sound)
 
ChristThePhone said:
Since you're going stereo you probably want at least two mics, I'd say (without any personal experience capturing room sound)
Click to expand...

This guys got one frfr mic placed in front of the active speaker and one in the center of the two RS Elis 8's. I don't know what mic he's using but I'd like to pick one of those up!

The recording turned out super well especially since he's recording off FRFR speakers which most people say not to do.

I find recording direct can still sound harsh compared to the warm sound of my Elis 8's which is why I'd like to test capturing the entire room with frfr mics and compare!

 
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dsouza said:
This guys got one frfr mic placed in front of the active speaker and one in the center of the two RS Elis 8's. I don't know what mic he's using but I'd like to pick one of those up!

The recording turned out super well especially since he's recording off FRFR speakers which most people say not to do.

I find recording direct can still sound harsh compared to the warm sound of my Elis 8's which is why I'd like to test capturing the entire room with frfr mics and compare!

Click to expand...


I don’t believe a FRFR mic exists. The purpose of this video you share is to demonstrate what the speakers sound like.

As already discussed in another thread you participated in: there is no point (at least I do see the point) in recording from your FRFR speakers.

The sound coming from your FRFR is the emulated sound of a mic in front of a guitar cabinet. What would be the purpose to capture that again with a mic?

I be there are people out here who can help you on improving your direct recording.
Guess trying out a bunch of different IR’s may be a good starting point?
 
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Jeronimo said:
I don’t believe a FRFR mic exists. The purpose of this video you share is to demonstrate what the speakers sound like.

As already discussed in another thread you participated in: there is no point (at least I do see the point) in recording from your FRFR speakers.

The sound coming from your FRFR is the emulated sound of a mic in front of a guitar cabinet. What would be the purpose to capture that again with a mic?

I be there are people out here who can help you on improving your direct recording.
Guess trying out a bunch of different IR’s may be a good starting point?
Click to expand...

Yes I was pondering this exact thought this morning. I had a terrible time getting a good mic sound off my Headrush speakers. In the room they were ok but on audio they sounded terrible.

Another problem is the mic will pick up everything. That means in my small studio my feet clicking the AX8 switches in between scenes. With direct recording this doesn't happen.

If you notice in the video I posted the guys Elis 8's are very far away with the mics near them and he and his FM3 are far away so the sound of the switches on the fm3 being clicked are not being picked up. I don't have that luxury in a small to med size footprint studio.

I will stick to direct recording. Plus it saves me a lot of extra money on new mics.

The sound I get out of the direct recording is almost peak sounds. Most of my presets are custom and based off genius level brains creating them. Yet there is still room for configuring them to my personal taste.

It's either the direct recording sounds harsh or the FAS in general can sound harsh compared to an amp because it's digital. Adding some reverb and delay to the IR can solve that problem. But I'd rather not mess with my custom presets. I'll just record a lot of tracks and pick the tracks to perform that sound the best.

Cheers
D
 
I usually record the dry amp sound and add reverb and delays later on in the DAW. Recorded sounds do need different EQing and FX levels to sit well in the mix.
 
ChristThePhone said:
just ask @Marco Fanton which mics he was using. he probably recorded at a higher volume too to get well above the noise floor
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Hey guys, that it is only a demo to try to describe the sound of Elis.8 :)
I used very cheap condenser microphones.
I never thought someone who is interested to register an FRFR cabinet! It is definitively nonsense!!!
 
I think Marco’s message may be getting misinterpreted because of the language barrier between Italian and English.

Could someone who speaks both languages fluently interpret what he is actually trying to say?

I have a hard time believing someone who did a demo on the Redsound Elis 8’s would be knocking frfr cabs.
 
I think the point he was trying to make was that there's no point in micing FRFR cabinets as they're supposed to replicate the exact sound of what's coming from the AX8, ideally without coloring it. That's different to guitar cabs that do color the sound and which is why you want to shoot an IR loaded into the cab block to replicate their sound with FRFR cabinets.
 
dsouza said:
This guys got one frfr mic placed in front of the active speaker and one in the center of the two RS Elis 8's. I don't know what mic he's using but I'd like to pick one of those up!

The recording turned out super well especially since he's recording off FRFR speakers which most people say not to do.

I find recording direct can still sound harsh compared to the warm sound of my Elis 8's which is why I'd like to test capturing the entire room with frfr mics and compare!

Click to expand...

From what I see and per his notes in the video the condenser mics (do not actually see any mic directly on any FRFR) are only for ambient/room sound. I don't think @Marco Fanton is only using the mics to record. Probably also going from FM3 into the DAW.

Could be wrong...
 
Habuman said:
From what I see and per his notes in the video the condenser mics (do not actually see any mic directly on any FRFR) are only for ambient/room sound. I don't think @Marco Fanton is only using the mics to record. Probably also going from FM3 into the DAW.

Could be wrong...
Click to expand...

I'd say he's using the FM3 as audio interface to playback the backing tracks through his Elis monitors. He's probably recording the entire mix through the mics in stereo and he can't be playing quietly as he's using natural feedback.

Edit : I don't see him using headphones so the backing tracks are most likely coming through the Elis. Having a second sound source in the room (another pair of monitors) recorded though the two mics would create a phasing problem the same way as mixing the backing track in the DAW with what's coming in through the mics.
 
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dsouza said:
I think Marco’s message may be getting misinterpreted because of the language barrier between Italian and English.

Could someone who speaks both languages fluently interpret what he is actually trying to say?

I have a hard time believing someone who did a demo on the Redsound Elis 8’s would be knocking frfr cabs.
Click to expand...

This is the sentence that may have confused you:
Marco Fanton said:
I never thought someone who is interested to register an FRFR cabinet! It is definitively nonsense!!!
Click to expand...

Now this is how I read this:

“I never thought someone would be interested in recording from an FRFR cabinet! It is definitely nonsense!!!”

So Marco just confirmed what others (including me) already told you.

(I am not a native English or Italian speaker but I work for a US company where English is the mail language and I have multiple Italian co-workers so I think I can “translate”)
 
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