Some advice needed please (lengthy!)

IronWeso

New Member
Hello, My name is John and this is my first post here. I will try to encompass all of my questions into one forum. I answered some of my questions by spending hours lurking in the forums but I still have a few left and am looking for some good tips from folks that know a lot more about the Axe FX 2 than I!

First, I love the Axe 2. It made me sell 2 tube amps. I have been running the Mark 2 with a Matrix GT1000 and Xitone 1x12 for over a year now and it's the best purchase I've made (thanks Frank). It really gets into my genres of play very well. One day I'll be playing Maiden, the next ZZ Top, then Pink Floyd and then Halloween. I really love having the exact amps used on those records with the absolute correct effects. I'm kind of a tone junkie.

I bought the Axe 2 used and it had a lot of nice presets in it that I tweaked. Some folks shared presets with me and some cabs too. I've been lucky with my small circle of fellow Axe 2 players. My first question may not be an Axe question, Why does the direct in cut out after about a minute and a half? Ok here's what I'm talking about: When I use my MacBook Pro with the Axe 2 and iTunes (with the Matrix and Xitone) and play along to a song, the audio out from my MacBook goes mute after about a minute and a half. This just started happening. I used to be able to play along to songs for hours. (Really sharpened my playing) But now, it just goes mute. I don't think its a connection issue, the Axe Edit isn't disrupted but each USB out on my MacBook does the same thing. I say mute and not pause, which is key here. If it paused, there would be a disruption. But the song continues to play, without any sound. If I unplug the USB cable, the sound comes out of the MacBook speakers. If I plug back in, it comes out of the XiTone, but again, after about 90 seconds it goes mute. Any advice here is appreciated.

Next up is cab vs Xitone. My band has a few outdoor gigs upcoming (BBQs/picnics) and I don't like using just the Xitone as my sound (not enough power, I also direct into our PA, but our PA isn't enough either for outdoor type shows). I want to use my 4x12 (1960a gt75s x v30s) and have had less than desirable results with it so far.
Power amp modeling is on, cab modeling is bypassed. I went ahead and messed with the Low Res Freq and Low Res Q in the Speaker section as explained in the Wiki as well. A few questions here (it wasn't 100% clear) - Also, I used someone else's preset here and tweaked it to an Iron Maiden sound (more modern, like Book of Souls) - 3 scenes. So if I stole your preset somehow, my apologies!
1.) Do I change the low res q to 5 in the speaker section?
2.) Do I need to adjust the low resonance or just the low res freq?
3.) If I have cab sim bypassed, does having a cab block in this chain make any difference?
Here's what it sounds like through the Xitone:



Are there any other tips folks could offer with cutting down the tone loss from FRFR to 4x12?
Does anyone have any really nice sounding presets they could share that are made for a Marshall style cab? At least that way I could study some of the different settings. I have a pretty good ear, but I really don't know a ton about a lot of the different knobs in here. I got the basics down and beyond but there's probably something I'm missing since I am not close to the FRFR sound yet.
I would like to double all my goto live presets (10) and have them usable with the 4x12 for these type of gigs.

Thanks in advance for any advice!
 

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Don't have time to answer all your questions, but I will say that if your PA system lacks power for an outdoor gig, which happens with any amplification once you get outside, amazing how like 75% of the sound just disappears lol, that running a 4x12 cab isn't really going to help matters. Its going to be really loud and beamy for some folks on the lawn, and others are going to hardly hear you. Not to mention that if your PA is already lacking its going to be even harder to try to balance whatever your running through it.

If you've already got patches dialed in that sound good through your PA and your Xitone wedge, then most of the hard work is done. You've really just got to scale up your sound reinforcement to carry better in the open air venues.
 
I used to be able to play along to songs for hours. (Really sharpened my playing) But now, it just goes mute. I don't think its a connection issue, the Axe Edit isn't disrupted but each USB out on my MacBook does the same thing. I say mute and not pause, which is key here. If it paused, there would be a disruption. But the song continues to play, without any sound. If I unplug the USB cable, the sound comes out of the MacBook speakers. If I plug back in, it comes out of the XiTone, but again, after about 90 seconds it goes mute. Any advice here is appreciated.
Screen Shot 2017-06-26 at 4.04.11 PM.png

if you hold the OPTION key while clicking on the VOLUME icon on the top of your Mac screen, you'll see what output device is currently selected. when you are playing music and then it mutes, do this and see if it changed to some other device.
 
Have you considered renting a larger PA for the event? Around me you can rent a pair of 1000 watt Yorkville tops for $65 for the weekend. If you enjoy your sound already, why change it? You can always factor the extra cost into your rates.
 
Are you driving the 4 x 12 with a power amp? If so which one. For your amp and Marshall cab, try turning on cab modeling in the AXE, choose a cab similar to your real cab, go into the cab settings and adjust the eq to 100 to 110hz on the low side and 5000 to 6000khz on the high side. You will probably have to turn your low cut on and bass settings to 2.5 or lower in the amp block. Adjust everything else to taste. I am very stubborn and want to use my 4 x 12 cab on stage. I read a lot and listened to every knowledgeable user's advice. In the end I got a perfect real sounding guitar tone, going through my Mesa 2 Fifty amp and 4 x 12 cab. Some would say I broke all the rules, while others will say there are no rules.
And as stated, if the PA is too small for the venue, nothing will really help the final mix. I heard a band his weekend that are great. They played an outdoor gig with their club size pa and it wasn't very good.
 
Thanks for all the advice so far. I don't need a ton more volume for the gigs, just a little, renting or upgrading the PA is a nice suggestion BUT I've got the 4x12 and really want to use it - I like the volume being pushed behind me too.
It's not really a venue. A BBQ to be exact but at some venues we play it would be better to have the 4x12 than the 1x12
 
Are you driving the 4 x 12 with a power amp? If so which one. For your amp and Marshall cab, try turning on cab modeling in the AXE, choose a cab similar to your real cab, go into the cab settings and adjust the eq to 100 to 110hz on the low side and 5000 to 6000khz on the high side. You will probably have to turn your low cut on and bass settings to 2.5 or lower in the amp block. Adjust everything else to taste. I am very stubborn and want to use my 4 x 12 cab on stage. I read a lot and listened to every knowledgeable user's advice. In the end I got a perfect real sounding guitar tone, going through my Mesa 2 Fifty amp and 4 x 12 cab. Some would say I broke all the rules, while others will say there are no rules.
And as stated, if the PA is too small for the venue, nothing will really help the final mix. I heard a band his weekend that are great. They played an outdoor gig with their club size pa and it wasn't very good.

I'll try this too. Matrix 1000 - indeed, there are no rules. It's all to taste.
 
I tried the recommendation with keeping cab sims on and it didn't get me any closer than what I was doing before. I'm hopeful someone can maybe download my preset and tweak it or upload one of theirs so I can peak at it.
Chris, of course now I can't get the audio issue to repeat itself...
 
I make the axe fx sound good thru a 4 x 12 all the time, the key is to tweak your patch at the volume you'll be using it, as volume goes up you my find the lows and highs sometimes get too drastic. Also with real cabs I find it helpful to turn the depth down to zero and maybe add a little bit more bass knob so that it's tighter, also find out what the low res is for your particular cab and use that. Finally for a little smoother tone, I find it helps to set the input trim between 1.5-2.5 and turn motor drive up a little. Fills in just a bit and makes it easier to play. Of course this is all subjective and the next person could very easily say not to do anything I just said. Lol.
 
As previously noted, your 4 x 12 will "beam" badly and only a few will hear a piercing guitar sound while anyone else (most folks) go hardly hear a thing in the muffled mix.

Upgrade the PA imo.

And for the record, I am a "real" cabinet user.
 
Another thing I noticed is the fx sound "flat" - not as nice sounding either. I've tried a lot of these suggestions and still am not close
 
What does a "flat" effect sound like?
Yea good question haha, lousy description. It's almost as like they are less prominent. Not as clear. It may just be the entirety of the preset as a whole. Just another aspect I noticed
 
Yea good question haha, lousy description. It's almost as like they are less prominent. Not as clear. It may just be the entirety of the preset as a whole. Just another aspect I noticed
If the effects are less prominent and the whole preset sounds more flat and lifeless, you're probably playing with less volume. Turn it up! :)
 
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