mcl
Member
Hi everyone,
I write to you from Italy as the owner of a fractal axe fx XL II + since one week , and i am here to ask for your help.
The first thing i want to say is that the effects and amp emulation on this machine is stunning: i tried several emulators before coming to fractal and none of them was in the same ballpark, except for the helix native plugin which is pretty good but still one step below the fractal, at least IMHO.
So...I am absolutely in love with the sound you can get out of the fractal, but there is one thing that is affecting my recordings right now, and it is background noise. I made quite intensive research on the forum (and the web itself) before opening this new thread and found some useful information about how to:
- setting input level to have the best noise/signal ratio
- use noise gates (in the input section or between amp and cab)
- setting block levels to avoid internal and external clipping
I did all of the above but my problem is still there (input set around 30%).
I also read and understood the difference between hum/ground loop and interference captured by the guitar.
All this introduction just to say: i already made some test and research. Unfortunately, they did not succeed. That's why i am opening this thread.
THE SCENARIO: SILENT RECORDING
GUITAR >> CABLE >> AXE FX FRONT INPUT >> AXE FX HEADPHONES OUT
Guitars used:
- hamer studio usa made (mahogany body and neck, SD JB + 59)
- ibanez artstar 1000 (semi hollow with two humbuckers, one of them can be split)
- yamaha SG 1000 (yamaha humbuckers, one of them can be split, mahogany body and neck)
THE PROBLEM
Simple as that: background noise.
The noise i am talking bout is made of two different components:
1) the "basic" noise, which is there even when the guitar cable is unplugged from the AXE FX 2
2) the additional noise, which is added to the basic noise as soon as i plug in the guitar cable into the input jack
NOISE 2: According to what i read, the additional noise (2) is due to the guitar capturing interferences.
This noise changes with the guitar settings: splitting the humbucker to single coil greatly increases that. It is also depending on the guitar position and orientation inside the room.
I know that in order to solve this problem, i should check the guitar electronic components.
I also found that changing the input impedence from 1 MOHM to 1 MOHM + CAP helps in reducing the noise with the yamaha guitar. This is probably because the pickups in this guitar are set pretty high in terms of height and have a pretty high output.
I know that this noise, is not depending on the AXE FX 2, so i am not asking questions here on how to avoid this. I could live with it if it's the only noise i hear when recording.
NOISE 1: this is the noise i want to reduce, or set to zero. This noise is coming out of the earphone as soon as i open a preset and add an amp block. It is clearly audible if you set the noise gate to 0. If you set the gate to 99.9, it is reduced, If you set it to 50%, it disappears.
I am not talking only about high gain amps with insane amout of gain or saturation.
The noise is there even if i add a bassman 59 amp block (std settings).
The noise is concentrated in the high frequencies: in fact, it greatly increases if you crank the presence of the amp, or if you add some pedal in front of it (like, for example, the treble boost).
I made some test recording using the attached preset, with the plexi amp on, and none of the pedals active.
I the repeated the test adding the treble boost pedal, and the noise significantly increased.
If your are playing a continuous riff, you barely hear the noise, except for some "staccato".
But if you lower the guitar volume, to create a mid-to low gain sound, and try to play some gentle chords or arpeggios, the noise becomes unbearable and makes the recording useless.
So what i now need to understand is:
- if the noise i am having is standard and unavoidable on the axe fx 2, and all the other people using the same preset are experiencing the same noise level. It would be the worst case for me, meaning the problem could not be solved.
- if the noise is only on my machine. This means i have specific problem that i need to solve. It might be due to some faulty component OR to the electric circuit in my house powering the unit creating hum / ground loops. I live in a condo so i cannot change the general electric circuit. I am not using any power conditioner at the moment >> the axe fx is directly connected to the wall plug. i tried different plugs but the noise is the same.
If using a power conditioner (mostly because of its noise filters) is what could solve this issue, i could spend around 100 eur for a furman M10XE, a samson PB10 or an ADAM HALL AHPCS10.
Thanks in advance to all you for reading this and providing hints or help.
I am really interested in knowing if you can hear the same noise i hear using the attached preset, activating:
- plexi amp
- treble boost
NOTE: Unfortunately as a new forum member i cannot post the links to the dropbox folder with the audio files i recorded. I need to reach 10 posts before i can post them. I tried to attach the MP3 but the file size is too large (3 mb).
EDIT: please find below the files recorded using the axe fx 2 through USB.
file 1: no guitar cable plugged in, only axe fx 2 noise
from o to 24 second: noise with a blank preset
from 24 to 34: noise with the plexi block "on"
from 34 to 44: noise with the plexi block "on" and treble boost "on"
file2: guitar plugged in, plexi block on some chords to demonstrate how much the noise is audible when the note decays
file3: same as 2, but with the treble boost on
cheers
I write to you from Italy as the owner of a fractal axe fx XL II + since one week , and i am here to ask for your help.
The first thing i want to say is that the effects and amp emulation on this machine is stunning: i tried several emulators before coming to fractal and none of them was in the same ballpark, except for the helix native plugin which is pretty good but still one step below the fractal, at least IMHO.
So...I am absolutely in love with the sound you can get out of the fractal, but there is one thing that is affecting my recordings right now, and it is background noise. I made quite intensive research on the forum (and the web itself) before opening this new thread and found some useful information about how to:
- setting input level to have the best noise/signal ratio
- use noise gates (in the input section or between amp and cab)
- setting block levels to avoid internal and external clipping
I did all of the above but my problem is still there (input set around 30%).
I also read and understood the difference between hum/ground loop and interference captured by the guitar.
All this introduction just to say: i already made some test and research. Unfortunately, they did not succeed. That's why i am opening this thread.
THE SCENARIO: SILENT RECORDING
GUITAR >> CABLE >> AXE FX FRONT INPUT >> AXE FX HEADPHONES OUT
Guitars used:
- hamer studio usa made (mahogany body and neck, SD JB + 59)
- ibanez artstar 1000 (semi hollow with two humbuckers, one of them can be split)
- yamaha SG 1000 (yamaha humbuckers, one of them can be split, mahogany body and neck)
THE PROBLEM
Simple as that: background noise.
The noise i am talking bout is made of two different components:
1) the "basic" noise, which is there even when the guitar cable is unplugged from the AXE FX 2
2) the additional noise, which is added to the basic noise as soon as i plug in the guitar cable into the input jack
NOISE 2: According to what i read, the additional noise (2) is due to the guitar capturing interferences.
This noise changes with the guitar settings: splitting the humbucker to single coil greatly increases that. It is also depending on the guitar position and orientation inside the room.
I know that in order to solve this problem, i should check the guitar electronic components.
I also found that changing the input impedence from 1 MOHM to 1 MOHM + CAP helps in reducing the noise with the yamaha guitar. This is probably because the pickups in this guitar are set pretty high in terms of height and have a pretty high output.
I know that this noise, is not depending on the AXE FX 2, so i am not asking questions here on how to avoid this. I could live with it if it's the only noise i hear when recording.
NOISE 1: this is the noise i want to reduce, or set to zero. This noise is coming out of the earphone as soon as i open a preset and add an amp block. It is clearly audible if you set the noise gate to 0. If you set the gate to 99.9, it is reduced, If you set it to 50%, it disappears.
I am not talking only about high gain amps with insane amout of gain or saturation.
The noise is there even if i add a bassman 59 amp block (std settings).
The noise is concentrated in the high frequencies: in fact, it greatly increases if you crank the presence of the amp, or if you add some pedal in front of it (like, for example, the treble boost).
I made some test recording using the attached preset, with the plexi amp on, and none of the pedals active.
I the repeated the test adding the treble boost pedal, and the noise significantly increased.
If your are playing a continuous riff, you barely hear the noise, except for some "staccato".
But if you lower the guitar volume, to create a mid-to low gain sound, and try to play some gentle chords or arpeggios, the noise becomes unbearable and makes the recording useless.
So what i now need to understand is:
- if the noise i am having is standard and unavoidable on the axe fx 2, and all the other people using the same preset are experiencing the same noise level. It would be the worst case for me, meaning the problem could not be solved.
- if the noise is only on my machine. This means i have specific problem that i need to solve. It might be due to some faulty component OR to the electric circuit in my house powering the unit creating hum / ground loops. I live in a condo so i cannot change the general electric circuit. I am not using any power conditioner at the moment >> the axe fx is directly connected to the wall plug. i tried different plugs but the noise is the same.
If using a power conditioner (mostly because of its noise filters) is what could solve this issue, i could spend around 100 eur for a furman M10XE, a samson PB10 or an ADAM HALL AHPCS10.
Thanks in advance to all you for reading this and providing hints or help.
I am really interested in knowing if you can hear the same noise i hear using the attached preset, activating:
- plexi amp
- treble boost
NOTE: Unfortunately as a new forum member i cannot post the links to the dropbox folder with the audio files i recorded. I need to reach 10 posts before i can post them. I tried to attach the MP3 but the file size is too large (3 mb).
EDIT: please find below the files recorded using the axe fx 2 through USB.
file 1: no guitar cable plugged in, only axe fx 2 noise
from o to 24 second: noise with a blank preset
from 24 to 34: noise with the plexi block "on"
from 34 to 44: noise with the plexi block "on" and treble boost "on"
file2: guitar plugged in, plexi block on some chords to demonstrate how much the noise is audible when the note decays
file3: same as 2, but with the treble boost on
cheers
Last edited:
