Second Axe-Fx III looped in via SPDIF?

shemihazazel

shemihazazel

Fractal Fanatic
I want to use my secondary Axe-FX III in loop with the primary, with minimal loss in signal quality. I thought SPDIF would be the best way since it's an entirely digital signal. Can anyone confirm if this is possible, and if not, what's the best alternative?
 
Definitely possible, though I'd go with the AES/EBU ports to use XLR cables to connect up instead of RCA. (purely for the physical connection; sound quality will be the same.)

You'll have zero quality loss since there's no A/D conversion involved -- 100% digital from one unit to the other.
 
Another nice thing about the digital hookups is you can route the digital output from your primary unit from Input 1, which will send your dry/raw guitar signal in a lossless manner over to the secondary AxeFx. In this manner you'll have both AxeFx units working in parallel, and can even run "normal" patches on the secondary unit without having to alter the routing (assuming they're using Input/Output 1). Here's how to set it up in the IO menu, Audio tab:
  • Primary: set SPDIF/AES Out Source to INPUT 1
  • Secondary: set Input 1 Source to DIGITAL
You can route the audio back from the secondary to the primary if you want, or you can run them as parallel units and use two sets of outputs; either way will work.
 
jasonmauer said:
Another nice thing about the digital hookups is you can route the digital output from your primary unit from Input 1, which will send your dry/raw guitar signal in a lossless manner over to the secondary AxeFx. In this manner you'll have both AxeFx units working in parallel, and can even run "normal" patches on the secondary unit without having to alter the routing (assuming they're using Input/Output 1). Here's how to set it up in the IO menu, Audio tab:
  • Primary: set SPDIF/AES Out Source to INPUT 1
  • Secondary: set Input 1 Source to DIGITAL
You can route the audio back from the secondary to the primary if you want, or you can run them as parallel units and use two sets of outputs; either way will work.
Click to expand...
Thanks, Jason. I'll give it a shot this afternoon.
 
@jasonmauer So I finally got around to trying this with AES, but it's not working. I set Output2 and Input2 on both units to use digital, and made sure to turn up the Output2 level and AES level on Input Levels on the Setup menu. Im not getting any signal passed through to the second unit. Screenshots of identical settings on both units below. Suggestions?
1620080500071.png

1620080542627.png
 
Do you have an Output 2 block in your grid on the first unit? And an Input 2 block in your grid on the second unit?

Is the second unit set to SPDIF/AES In Word Clock?
 
Need help with the final piece of the puzzle. I've confirmed audio is reaching Input2 on the second unit. and it is hitting Output2 as well. For some reason I haven't been able to figure out, no audio is coming in at Input2 on the first unit. I swapped the XLR cables to confirm that's not the problem. And the Output2 knob on the second unit is turned up.
 
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