Question about the drives in the FX8

B

Big Kurka

Member
Hi everyone. I'm looking to buy a effects unit and the fx8 looks it might be a perfect unit for all my needs but I have some questions about the drives in the fx8. I've been reading on different forums about the fx8 and I've read some post about the drives not performing like the real pedals. I will admit that the person who was complaining about the drives seemed seemed like a pedal snob.
So how do you guys like the drive pedals in the fx8?
How realistic do they sound/work with a tube amp?
Is it time consuming to get a good drive tone? I'm not a tweaker and don't want have to spend an hour to try and get a good drive tone.
Thanks in advance.
 
I’ve been using a boss gt10 for the past several years for some basic effects and clean boost drives. I normally have a good amount of drive going with my amp. I have no experience with fractal stuff but I do know it’s 1000 times better than what I’ve been using. As for actual pedals I have a little big muff pi and the new EH op amp big muff pi.
 
Hi, I also upgraded from a GT10. The drives may take a little effort to dial in but well worth the time spent as they sound very organic. Everything is there from clean boost, to shred and you can use up to four different drives / settings per patch. I'm sure you will be able to replicate your pedals too.
 
Thanks Wolfgangman. Yeah everything I keep reading is very positive. I know there will be a learning curve (Hopefully only for a very short period). I’m not worried about replicating pedal, I just want to be able to pick a drive, make a couple of quick adjustment and play. I was watching some videos about the drives and all there parameter that can be tweaked and it kinda scared me away.
How do all the different drives sound? Do they sound different or do they sound similar with just more or less gain to them. Sorry for all the questions but if I buy this unit it will be the most expensive piece of equipment I own. Thanks again
 
Check out Yek's guide to drives PDF, there is a ton of great information in there.

https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/yeks-guides-the-master-list.127513/

The drives all sound pretty different to me, although I usually get/prefer my drive from my TC50. I do enjoy the fuzzes and pedals for a little clean boost/grit (Timmy, etc.). Like the amp models in the AxeFx/AX8 you don't have to go deep in all of the parameters unless you want too. Just the Drive/Tone/Level is good enough for me 95% of the time. It is fun messing with the Bias and other parameters that wouldn't be on the actual pedal sometimes too.

On a side note with the FX8-Edit software it so easy to program everything. The flexibility and customizability for how you want your switches/MIDI/Pre/Post setup is really intuitive and easy to figure out.
 
Big Kurka said:
Thanks Wolfgangman. Yeah everything I keep reading is very positive. I know there will be a learning curve (Hopefully only for a very short period). I’m not worried about replicating pedal, I just want to be able to pick a drive, make a couple of quick adjustment and play. I was watching some videos about the drives and all there parameter that can be tweaked and it kinda scared me away.
How do all the different drives sound? Do they sound different or do they sound similar with just more or less gain to them. Sorry for all the questions but if I buy this unit it will be the most expensive piece of equipment I own. Thanks again
Click to expand...

You can edit really deeply with a computer but also it is easy to quickly dial in the basics for each pedal on the unit itself (i.e. gain / tone / level). I think the drives are quite varied, and certainly have my favorites. A couple of new ones have been added since I purchased mine a couple of years ago, and it's like getting a new Christmas present each time. FX8's are expensive, but you get what you pay for.
 
Thanks waxcalifornia and Wolfgangman for the insight. I plan on reading Yek’s guide soon. I got say the more I read about the fx8 the more I want it.
Thanks again
Big Kurka
 
I don't use the drives so i can't comment on that .I will say that the FX8 is some of the best money I've spent gear wise . I can only imagine that the drives are as good as the everything else in there
 
Big Kurka said:
Hi everyone. I'm looking to buy a effects unit and the fx8 looks it might be a perfect unit for all my needs but I have some questions about the drives in the fx8. I've been reading on different forums about the fx8 and I've read some post about the drives not performing like the real pedals. I will admit that the person who was complaining about the drives seemed seemed like a pedal snob.
So how do you guys like the drive pedals in the fx8?
How realistic do they sound/work with a tube amp?
Is it time consuming to get a good drive tone? I'm not a tweaker and don't want have to spend an hour to try and get a good drive tone.
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
I was an overdrive pedal junkie and very particular about what I expected from them. At the height of my obsession, I used 4-5 overdrive/distortion pedals into a Dr. Z Carmen Ghia to get the different gain structures and tones I wanted. Bought the FX8 and kept 3 of my OD pedals on my board. After the firmware update that had a major update to the drive block, it went down to one. After becoming familiar with all the parameters in the block, I now use the FX8's drives exclusively.

One caveat though, if you're going to sit down and compare X pedal to X model in the FX8, you may be a bit disappointed. My 'real' Xotic BB was noticeably different than the BB Pre model. The amount of gain on tap and it's structure was different. Instead of giving up, I found another drive model that had the gain structure I wanted and tweaked the eq to get the exact tone I was used to from my BB.

Bottom line, while the drives are modelled after specific pedals, they are their own thing. I don't use fuzz so I can't speak to them but there is not an overdrive or distortion pedal I've wanted to replicate that I haven't been able to create with the FX8 drive block.
 
Love 'em. When I first got my FX8, I assumed there was no way the drives could replace my pedals. For years I'd swapped out pedals and finally was perfectly happy with a Timmy, a Wampler Sovereign, an Xotic SL Drive, and an Emma Stinkbug. Figuring I'd keep my pedals and use the FX8 for effects only, I rigged up the pedals in MIDI controllable loops with an RJM Mini Effects Gizmo that was controlled by the FX8 so I could switch pedals with one stomp. I ran all this into a Bogner Shiva head.

Cool rig, but I needn't have bothered. It took some tweaking and the firmware updates helped a lot, but eventually the FX8's drives replaced my pedals completely and I haven't used them in a couple years. Probably need to sell them, actually. IMO the sonic quality of these drives is on par with physical pedals.

As has previously been stated, don't be surprised if the modeled version of the pedal doesn't sound exactly like your real pedal. You may need to use a different pedal model to get the desired result, but it's in there.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom