Sonarworks with Axe-Fx output?

pepsodent

Member
Has anyone around here tried Sonarworks Reference 4? It works well with my speakers and my headphones but while using my AXE II as a sound card I can only get it to work when I play back recorded audio in my DAW. Seems logical enough, I suppose. I'm just wondering if there's any way at all I could set it up as a plugin and get the sound live from the Axe (you know, while playing!) instead of having to do guesswork while dialing in tones. Any ideas?
 
Good question. I tried the trial version and couldn't get it to work properly with my UAD Apollo Twin, either. Sonarworks referred me to the UAD discussion group to find out why not, but I haven't found out.

What they did say is that I should try using Reference 4 as though it's a plugin in my DAW, and that it should work that way. Is that an option for you?
 
What they did say is that I should try using Reference 4 as though it's a plugin in my DAW, and that it should work that way. Is that an option for you?

Yes, I'm using it as a plugin at the end of my chain in Cubase but it's the same thing - it's only processing the sound in playback and not "live", so to speak. I have no idea.
 
I got the same problem. The sound of the Axe is fed through Sonarworks Reference plug in on the master bus in my DAW, but I really don't listen to it is since I'm muting the tracks in Logic (because otherwise I'll get multiple signals). But I cannot get it to work with the Sonarworks Reference Systemwide in Mac OS.

This makes it very hard to dial in sounds since I'm not dialing the tones to a flatted signal from the Reference. If i'm watching YouTube-videos, listening to Apple Music or whatever, the Sonarworks does work. But it's not working when playing the guitar.

Anybody got any solution on this?

I hook my Axe directly to my Mac via USB. No audio interface in between.
 
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I haven't found a way of getting Sonarworks Reference 4 to work with AxeFx in my studio, however I do use AutoEQ as a workaround. https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq . It's a free collection of EQ curves designed to correct your headphones to be as close to flat as possible - same idea as Reference.

I keep a 10 band GEQ block at the end of my presets and use that to correct my headphones for jamming/tone chasing. Just remember to turn off the corrective EQ when you're recording.
 
Okay, so basically you've chosen your headphones from this page and then just put the values of the EQ into the 10-band EQ in the Axe FX?

Also, the 10 band GEQ doesn't give you the possibility to enter certain frequency values, so do you just go with the stated frequency values set for your phones and add them to the fixed values in the GEQ as it's "close enough"?
 
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I'm using Sony MDR-7506 headphones and AutoEq has a section beneath "Parametric EQs" labeled "Fixed Band EQs" that corresponds to Fractals GEQ "10 Band Var Q" perfectly. I believe those corrective EQ's are also available as IR's that could be loaded if you have a current Fractal product(I'm using an Axe-Fx II).
 
Just a quick thought- could you tone match the EQ curve? Play white noise or a sine sweep like a normal IR and run Sonarworks through the USB, and the TM block should capture the Sonarworks EQ curve. Then you could save it as a cab and run that at the end of the chain, or keep the TM block, or anything you'd like.

Just a quick thought, not sure if it would actually work as I don't have Sonarworks.
 
Just a quick thought- could you tone match the EQ curve? Play white noise or a sine sweep like a normal IR and run Sonarworks through the USB, and the TM block should capture the Sonarworks EQ curve. Then you could save it as a cab and run that at the end of the chain, or keep the TM block, or anything you'd like.

Just a quick thought, not sure if it would actually work as I don't have Sonarworks.

The AutoEQ stuff is also available as IR:s:
https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/Au..._2018/Beyerdynamic DT 1990 (analytic earpads)

File names:
  • Beyerdynamic DT 1990 (analytic earpads) minimum phase 44100Hz.wav
  • Beyerdynamic DT 1990 (analytic earpads) minimum phase 48000Hz.wav
 
Has anyone around here tried Sonarworks Reference 4? It works well with my speakers and my headphones but while using my AXE II as a sound card I can only get it to work when I play back recorded audio in my DAW. Seems logical enough, I suppose. I'm just wondering if there's any way at all I could set it up as a plugin and get the sound live from the Axe (you know, while playing!) instead of having to do guesswork while dialing in tones. Any ideas?
If you watch this video and set up cubase the same way its talked about in the video you can use the sonarworks software as a plugin on a separate monitoring channel and that enables you to use the sonarworks and record with zero latency. I use and it works great. It was a little frustrating to figure out but so worth it.
 
If you watch this video and set up cubase the same way its talked about in the video you can use the sonarworks software as a plugin on a separate monitoring channel and that enables you to use the sonarworks and record with zero latency. I use and it works great. It was a little frustrating to figure out but so worth it.

I tried to apply this to Logic but had absolutely no clue how to do it. But I'd like to!
 
I use cubase so it was easier for me to follow along, and it depends on your interface. I have the focusrite clarett 4 which allows me the extra inputs and outputs internally to route the monitoring channel like he does in the video. I wish I could help more bud
 
Well, at the moment I don't even have an audio interface so need to get that one sorted first ;)
But it sounds sweet the way you and Misha have it routed.
 
I have the full sonarworks software and it makes a huge difference to my studio monitors, but like everyone else it's frustrating that the correction isn't applied on input signals.

So does anybody know how to make an IR of the Sonarworks correction in the DAW? that way I can load the correction IR in an IR loader within my UA Console and have zero latency monitoring of the correction plot. I just don't know how to create an IR in my DAW.
 
Having stumbled across this during my headphone hunting, I feel like I just discovered fire; won't be doing anything tone-related from here on out without calibration. Trialing Sonarworks as well at the moment - like it a lot.
 
You can also check out AutoEQ for correction of your headphones if you use those. Just put download the wav-file IR and place it in an IR-block last in the chain in your Axe.

See: https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/headphone-correction-eq-curves.167884/
I saw the 48k IRs and it would have been awesome to use them but I'm running an FM3 so I have to make due with a single Cab block..
I can still use the FM3 in a DAW though through my Audient ID14 and stick an IR loader there to apply the correction though.
 
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