ok Fractal Guys.. seriously now.. front input vs rear input.. which is better?!

I find the difference to be subtle with some guitars. Humbuckers tend to have less audible change front to rear. Same for my acoustic guitars with builtin active preamps.

My Strat and Melody Maker do better with the front input.
 
It's been mentioned before, but for the sake of this thread, my understanding is, if you're using a wireless unit, it's basically acting as a buffer, which negates the effect of the 'special sauce' software the front input employs. This input is expecting to 'see' a guitar pickup, not a buffer. Therefore, there would be little or no difference in using the front or rear inputs.

I just got a wireless unit (Shure GLXD14) and I've tried both inputs. Can't hear a significant difference between the two, so that seems (to me) to confirm the above.
 
kgk said:
I have a stupid question: Let's say that you have a rack with a wireless and an Axe FX. It is totally natural to wire the rear output of the wireless to the rear input of the Axe FX. But how the heck can one reach the front in a situation like that?!
Click to expand...

I use plastic washers that are about 1/8" thick in between the back of the rack ears and the rack rails. This gives me enough room to run a thinner cable like Canare GS-4 through the gap. Pics here: http://forum.fractalaudio.com/threa...axe-and-keeping-front-free.55448/#post-701433
 
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Assuming your wireless unit is only half-rack, and is mounted on a rack tray (Like I have my GLXD) then there is a large gap, and the cable can go easily to the front (or rear) input of the Axe without any trouble. A good way to decide for yourself the preferred method.
 
I can hear the difference. When using the rear, there is just a very low level bit of noise. It's low... not terrible, not obnoxious, not unusable... but it's there. Probably when playing loud with distortion, not a big deal. It' really no different than any amp or signal processor I've used.
BUT... the front input is pretty magical. It IS extremely quiet and clear. More so than any other piece of gear I've ever owned or used.
To me it reduces some of my gating needs a tiny bit. It compares to a high end audio interface unit. Clean, quiet, clear.

So, I route my wireless unit through an empty D hole in my connection interface panel into the front input.
 
I was under the impression that the front input is hi-z and optimized for instrument input, whereas to rear inputs are line-level. Mind you, this is my understanding from my Ultra days...things might have changed with the II. When I had my Ultra, I notice that the front input was a little hotter than the rears, which would totally make sense given what I knew then.
 
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