Please help me integrate amps and outboard with my AxeFXIII (I’m begging over here)

W

waygorked

Member
This may be a really simple question, as I am undoubtably a simple person, but I am a bit lost on the best way to integrate my tube amps and one new piece of outboard with my AxeFXIII. Here’s my rig:

Pedalboard (mostly drives and fuzz)-> instrument input -> outputs 1+2 -> Duncan PowerStage 700 amp -> stereo Mesa 1x12 cabinets

I also run 2 great tube amps, my Amplified Nation Wonderland Overdrive and my Matchless HC30. Both are in loops, with outputs 3+4 into the amps, each driving a reactive load box, then feeding inputs 3+4. I’m using the tube amps as I would an amp block for a best of both worlds scenario, with Fractal modulation effects before and delays and reverbs after the amps.

Here’s the issue. I just picked up an Eventide H90, and want to incorporate it into my rig as a stereo loop. As near as I can tell I’m already using up all the loop options for my amps. Is there another way to pull this off that I am missing?

Thanks in advance.
 
For a "simple guy" you have a very complicated rig. Looks like you are running out of ins and outs for the H90. I would split\pan the outputs to make room for the Eventide... or if it was me, I would just skip all the pedals, and run the Axe 4 cable into the matchless.
 
waygorked said:
Pedalboard (mostly drives and fuzz)-> instrument input -> outputs 1+2 -> Duncan PowerStage 700 amp -> stereo Mesa 1x12 cabinets
Click to expand...
This doesn’t look right. You should only need OUT 1 OR OUT 2, not both. Send the left and right channels for that output to the PowerStage. See p. 26 for an example. Blend that diagram with the ones for four cable wiring and you should have an OUT left somewhere.
 
Regarding integrating an H90 into the rig: why? Is there something it does that the AFX3 doesn’t? I can’t think of anything, so I’m all ears.
 
The loops are stereo i.e. two independent audio channels. Use loop 3 for both amps, one amp in the left out/in and the other in the right out/in. Set output 3 to stereo:

2023-11-28 07_34_21-FM9-Edit.png

If you only use one amp at a time, pan (balance parameter) the Out3 block 100% left or right depending on which amp you're using. This will send signal only to one amp at a time. You could use a control switch or channels to instantly toggle this parameter with a footswitch.

Again if you only use one amp at a time set In3 to Sum L+R so both the left and right input3 are active at all times and summed to mono. If you use both amps in stereo at the same time then just leave the In3 mode set to Stereo and the Out3 block centered.

2023-11-28 07_27_23-FM9-Edit.png

Use Out4 > In4 in stereo for the H9.

One other thing: with the reactive load boxes you should be able to do an easy apples-to-apples A/B test between the real amps and the Fractal models using the same cab for both. Simply put an amp block before or after the out3>in3 loop, then toggle the amp block and in3 block at the same time to switch between the real amp and the model (use scenes for this). Put a looper before all this and record some dry guitar into it, then play it back into both, one at a time. This ensures the takes are identical and will help you dial in the models to sound very close if not indistinguishable from the real amps. When doing this you'll need a shunt connected between the out3 and in3 blocks so that your signal passes through the out3 and in3 blocks into the amp block:
2023-11-28 08_18_40-FM9-Edit.png
 
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Edit: Oops, some of you are faster than me, but still: 1.) You could share In/Out 3 with the two Amp Heads and determine via Pan to which Amp the Signal is sent.
2.) You only need Out 1 L/R for the Stereo Out, which means In/Out 2 should be free for the H90
3.) You could put the H90 in the Last Position between Axe Out 1 and the Duncan Powerstage and controll Bypass via Midi.
 
strabes said:
The loops are stereo i.e. two independent audio channels. Use loop 3 for both amps, one amp in the left out/in and the other in the right out/in. Set output 3 to stereo:

View attachment 130488

If you only use one amp at a time, pan (balance parameter) the Out3 block 100% left or right depending on which amp you're using. This will send signal only to one amp at a time. You could use a control switch or channels to instantly toggle this parameter with a footswitch.

Again if you only use one amp at a time set In3 to Sum L+R so both the left and right input3 are active at all times and summed to mono. If you use both amps in stereo at the same time then just leave the In3 mode set to Stereo and the Out3 block centered.

View attachment 130486

Use Out4 > In4 in stereo for the H9.

One other thing: with the reactive load boxes you should be able to do an easy apples-to-apples A/B test between the real amps and the Fractal models using the same cab for both. Simply put an amp block before or after the out3>in3 loop, then toggle the amp block and in3 block at the same time to switch between the real amp and the model (use scenes for this). Put a looper before all this and record some dry guitar into it, then play it back into both, one at a time. This ensures the takes are identical and will help you dial in the models to sound very close if not indistinguishable from the real amps. When doing this you'll need a shunt connected between the out3 and in3 blocks so that your signal passes through the out3 and in3 blocks into the amp block:
Click to expand...
 
Thanks everyone for the replies. I was running the loops mono in order to more easily pan and level change the amps while using them as scenes in the same preset. I've been doing that for so long that I forgot they were acutally stereo loops. Again, simple person vs simple question.

strabes said:
One other thing: with the reactive load boxes you should be able to do an easy apples-to-apples A/B test between the real amps and the Fractal models using the same cab for both. Simply put an amp block before or after the out3>in3 loop, then toggle the amp block and in3 block at the same time to switch between the real amp and the model (use scenes for this). Put a looper before all this and record some dry guitar into it, then play it back into both, one at a time. This ensures the takes are identical and will help you dial in the models to sound very close if not indistinguishable from the real amps. When doing this you'll need a shunt connected between the out3 and in3 blocks so that your signal passes through the out3 and in3 blocks into the amp block:
View attachment 130497
Click to expand...
I've done a variation on this a few times. At the risk of rehashing what at this point is a seriously tired argument, I can get the Fractal to sound absurdly close to my HC30 tones, easily to the point where they are essentially indistinguishable when recorded. But they nevertheless feel different, especially for the edge of breakup tones I graditate towards. I still prefer my tube amps by a small margin in this regard. That margin grows smaller with each firmware upgrade.

touch33 said:
Regarding integrating an H90 into the rig: why? Is there something it does that the AFX3 doesn’t? I can’t think of anything, so I’m all ears.
Click to expand...
Honestly, not much, but Eventide has a unique sound that Fractal hasn't quite captured. I've been using Eventide gear since my first H3000 rack in the 80s, I love their sonics. Fractal is certainly not worse, Eventide is just a different color pallete that I missed.
 
If you mute before the amp blocks (e.g. balance Out 3 L/R) you'll be summing any noise from the unused amp when you're just using one amp. To prevent this it might be preferable to use a Vol/Pan block after the In 3 block, Input 3 mode = stereo. Then use different Vol/Pan channels to determine what's heard: Input Select to Left or Right for either amp soloed, Stereo for both, including Pan L and Pan R controls if needed for things like blending preamps or even sending each preamp only to the opposite power amp. Some variations on this could swap the Vol/Pan for one or more other blocks, depending on the exact control you need over which amp is heard and what you're already doing with switches, scenes, etc.
 
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