absolutely no agro…
the S/PIDF is rock solid
Are you running the Axe into a USB hub. A LOT of audio gear hates going through a hub, I've tore my hair a few times cause something was causing a crash due to something plugged into a hub and I did not realise.
If so, plug direct.
something interesting I stumbled upon… tone related…
when experimenting with the S/PDIF I discovered that the extreme highs and lows were a little stronger than expected..
so I did a quick reamp with the USB… exactly the same result..
but when I play through the Axe, I'm using output1 jacks into the mixer.. and this way the highs are softer and the lows a little less strong..
thing is.. I play and dial in the tones…
nothing serious, nothing is broke.. so I'm not worried..
it leads me to conclude that my mixer's channel strip preamps are slightly voiced..
solution: a little EQ in the DAW during mix-down and everything is fine..
I use "Aux in" on my Behringer X32 for this exact reason using the 1/4" out1 jacks, saving the XLR to go to my monitors. Preamp's will always color slightly.