So Far NOT impressed

J

jetspeed

Member
I'm sure it's me, but I'm at the point where I'm seriously considering selling my Axe Fx Ultra. It seems that everything I do on this thing yields a boxy, tinny, tone. Additionally I'm having a lot of trouble getting this thing to work well with my DAW. I use Logic Pro 9 with a PreSonus Firestudio Tube interface and just can't seem to get enough output without distorting the signal. I have a pretty good understanding/experience with signal flow and DAW recording and have adjusted levels on the Firestudio and Logic to rectify the problem but to no avail. The signal out of the Axe is very low and to turn it up means distortion (tried both input and output as well as different combinations between the Axe, Logic and Firestudio). I've tried adjusting levels within different Axe presets to no avail and also tried building a few sounds of my own but again, everything I do has a lifeless sort of tinny sound. I know it's operator error but I'm pretty discouraged and not sure if I'm into hours of tweeking on this thing.

Is there a solution?

Anyone looking to purchase a month old, lightly used, Axe Fx Ultra?

I wish there was someone I could call to help me out with this.

Cheers,

Ken
 
Ken,
How are you connecting the Axe-Fx to the Firestudio? We need all the details... Which output on the Axe-Fx, what type of cable, etc.

The Axe has tons of output level available so something certainly isn't right. Getting this issue fixed will probably get the tone issue fixed too.

Have you listened to the Axe through any other interface/mixing board/headphones?

Thanks,
John
 
jetspeed said:
I'm sure it's me, but I'm at the point where I'm seriously considering selling my Axe Fx Ultra. It seems that everything I do on this thing yields a boxy, tinny, tone. Additionally I'm having a lot of trouble getting this thing to work well with my DAW. I use Logic Pro 9 with a PreSonus Firestudio Tube interface and just can't seem to get enough output without distorting the signal. I have a pretty good understanding/experience with signal flow and DAW recording and have adjusted levels on the Firestudio and Logic to rectify the problem but to no avail. The signal out of the Axe is very low and to turn it up means distortion (tried both input and output as well as different combinations between the Axe, Logic and Firestudio). I've tried adjusting levels within different Axe presets to no avail and also tried building a few sounds of my own but again, everything I do has a lifeless sort of tinny sound. I know it's operator error but I'm pretty discouraged and not sure if I'm into hours of tweeking on this thing.

Is there a solution?

Anyone looking to purchase a month old, lightly used, Axe Fx Ultra?

I wish there was someone I could call to help me out with this.

Cheers,

Ken
Click to expand...

PM'd you with my phone #.
 
jetspeed said:
The signal out of the Axe is very low
Click to expand...
This is indicative of something seriously amiss. The Axe-Fx outputs are anything but "very low." They can produce levels up to +18dBu, enough to drive any power amp or DAW many dB beyond clipping.

Is there a solution?
Click to expand...
Of course. The odds are that the Axe-Fx is not the cause of the problem.

Eliminate variables. Play your Axe-Fx through a power amp/cab setup and see how that sounds. If that is OK, your problem does not lie in the Axe-Fx.
 
JKos said:
Ken,
How are you connecting the Axe-Fx to the Firestudio? We need all the details... Which output on the Axe-Fx, what type of cable, etc.

The Axe has tons of output level available so something certainly isn't right. Getting this issue fixed will probably get the tone issue fixed too.

Have you listened to the Axe through any other interface/mixing board/headphones?

Thanks,
John
Click to expand...


Hi John,
Thanks a lot for your reply. I'm connecting out of the Balanced L and R Output 1 of the Axe Ultra into the Firestudio Tube balanced line inputs using Mogami XLR to 1/4" balanced cable. I have tried different inputs into the Firestudio including pre amped inputs to boost the signal but in doing so add quite a bit of noise because I have to turn it up to get a stronger signal.
 
Hi Everyone,
I want to thank all of you for your replies. I'm taking in all the info and will get back to you with my progress.

Cheers,

Ken
 
I'm recording to Logic as well and the AxeFx is anything but thin sounding or quiet. Some patches do seem to get lower volume for some reason. Have you scrolled through the stock presets to see if their volumes are good? If they're doing the same thing maybe check your global settings as Yek mentioned.
 
acwild said:
I'm recording to Logic as well and the AxeFx is anything but thin sounding or quiet. Some patches do seem to get lower volume for some reason. Have you scrolled through the stock presets to see if their volumes are good? If they're doing the same thing maybe check your global settings as Yek mentioned.
Click to expand...


Since you are also using Logic I'm hoping maybe you can help me with my sound. I'm coming out of the Axe L and R balanced and into my interface (presonus firestudio tube) balanced line in via Mogami XLR to 1/4 inch cable. I'm using 2 tracks panning 1 all the way left and the other all the way right. I have worked out the line levels so that I'm getting pretty good input from the Axe (the output 1 on the Axe is all the way up). The problem I'm having is that just about all of the presets seem very tinny sounding or overly reverberated. I'm aware this may just be the presets and their parameters so I plan on going in and doing some tweaking. I'm also getting a little bit of top end distortion from both my headphones (Audio Technica ATH M50) and Monitors (Yamaha HS 80M) even on totally clean channels. Do I need better headphones and monitors? What are you using? What is your setup?

I appreciate your time and knowledge.

Cheers,

Ken
 
Just wanted to post a huge thank you to Javajunkie. Thanks a ton Sean. I can't say enough for you taking an hour of your time on the phone with me the other day to work out my level problems. Thanks to you I'm starting down the road of happiness with my Axe.

Cheers,

Ken
 
jetspeed said:
acwild said:
I'm recording to Logic as well and the AxeFx is anything but thin sounding or quiet. Some patches do seem to get lower volume for some reason. Have you scrolled through the stock presets to see if their volumes are good? If they're doing the same thing maybe check your global settings as Yek mentioned.
Click to expand...


Since you are also using Logic I'm hoping maybe you can help me with my sound. I'm coming out of the Axe L and R balanced and into my interface (presonus firestudio tube) balanced line in via Mogami XLR to 1/4 inch cable. I'm using 2 tracks panning 1 all the way left and the other all the way right. I have worked out the line levels so that I'm getting pretty good input from the Axe (the output 1 on the Axe is all the way up). The problem I'm having is that just about all of the presets seem very tinny sounding or overly reverberated. I'm aware this may just be the presets and their parameters so I plan on going in and doing some tweaking. I'm also getting a little bit of top end distortion from both my headphones (Audio Technica ATH M50) and Monitors (Yamaha HS 80M) even on totally clean channels. Do I need better headphones and monitors? What are you using? What is your setup?

I appreciate your time and knowledge.

Cheers,

Ken
Click to expand...

Whoops. Hey Ken, I got this message as a pm and replied to it. Sorry I didn't realize that it's in this thread. :oops:
 
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