The Power of a Drive Block and Audio Drop Elimination

Danny Danzi

Danny Danzi

Power User
Here's a video I did showing how powerful the drive blocks alone can be in the AX8/XL+. So powerful, an amp isn't always needed. Also, though this is not a fix for the slight audio drop we get, this will totally eliminate it if you can find a sound that works for you. Hope this helps and you guys can get something out of this. :)

@barhrecords as promised to you. :)

 
That really sounded impressive. I loved your playing, kept me from paying attention to what was going on.... I was thinking about the preset. Basically, because you aren't using an amp, you aren't using one of the processors at all? What if you put in a single amp for all the scenes. Some big bottled clean platform? Just left it there, no changes. Pick your genre, double verb, plexi something(what I would use) , HRM, Citrus Bass(don't knock it for guitar), hi-watt, SLO. Since the amp stays the same, it shouldn't affect lag. Plus, you still get the good stuff we are paying for.
I've been playing for over thirty years, and sometimes these issues make me choke. At this point coordinating babysitters seems to be the big one, I've seen it all.... wouldn't change a minute of it though!
 
Ed Rogers said:
That really sounded impressive. I loved your playing, kept me from paying attention to what was going on.... I was thinking about the preset. Basically, because you aren't using an amp, you aren't using one of the processors at all? What if you put in a single amp for all the scenes. Some big bottled clean platform? Just left it there, no changes. Pick your genre, double verb, plexi something(what I would use) , HRM, Citrus Bass(don't knock it for guitar), hi-watt, SLO. Since the amp stays the same, it shouldn't affect lag. Plus, you still get the good stuff we are paying for.
I've been playing for over thirty years, and sometimes these issues make me choke. At this point coordinating babysitters seems to be the big one, I've seen it all.... wouldn't change a minute of it though!
Click to expand...

Thanks! Yeah you could pop an amp in there and leave it. You could also have it bypass or control it with expression pedals or other assignments. The audio gap only happens with presets and in scenes mode when an amp changes from x to y.

I was just trying to see how stripped down I could go without using an amp. The cool thing for me is, I don't even have to disconnect AX8 Edit. But yeah, load up an amp and leave it without doing a change to y on the amp and you should be golden. :)
 
Yep, It can double as a second (pseudo) Amp block for seamless 'Dual Amp' scenes changes like it's big brother....

Another nice video Danny.
 
Danny Danzi said:
Here's a video I did showing how powerful the drive blocks alone can be in the AX8/XL+. So powerful, an amp isn't always needed. Also, though this is not a fix for the slight audio drop we get, this will totally eliminate it if you can find a sound that works for you. Hope this helps and you guys can get something out of this. :)

@barhrecords as promised to you. :)

Click to expand...

So Danny, what are your favourite drives in regards to this setup? I'm gonna have a crack at this tonight.
 
MaJicK said:
So Danny, what are your favourite drives in regards to this setup? I'm gonna have a crack at this tonight.
Click to expand...

You can use just about anything, with the right cab. The Ruckus of course is a good one...the BB, TS 808 MOD and normal, 3 tube, micro, fractal lead....some of the fuzz drives are cool. Done right, they can really come close to our 1970 plexi.

Also, if you can get one of the fuzz drives nice and tight, it's a pretty close representation of that starved plate, tube sound.

You just have to work them a little. They also all walk hand in hand with the compression you use as well as the cab blocks you choose.
 
Danny Danzi said:
You can use just about anything, with the right cab. The Ruckus of course is a good one...the BB, TS 808 MOD and normal, 3 tube, micro, fractal lead....some of the fuzz drives are cool. Done right, they can really come close to our 1970 plexi.

Also, if you can get one of the fuzz drives nice and tight, it's a pretty close representation of that starved plate, tube sound.

You just have to work them a little. They also all walk hand in hand with the compression you use as well as the cab blocks you choose.
Click to expand...
Cool ! thanks Danny
 
Cool video Danny, thanks for posting.

I tried this once in my long quest to play live with more than one amp channel, using a ruckus into a 4x12 for my high gain tone, and it got pretty darn close to a useable tone. Still didn't cut it, so I went back to using an amp block for high gain and making the tone sacrifice for the cleans.

i like your scene set up too, very cool.
 
SoProg said:
Cool video Danny, thanks for posting.

I tried this once in my long quest to play live with more than one amp channel, using a ruckus into a 4x12 for my high gain tone, and it got pretty darn close to a useable tone. Still didn't cut it, so I went back to using an amp block for high gain and making the tone sacrifice for the cleans.

i like your scene set up too, very cool.
Click to expand...

Thanks! Can't you use the high gain amp of your choice and just set a.scene up that kills the amp and the drive block or one that changes the drive block to something less severe? That should give you what you need without any audio drop.

One of the problems is changing to a clean amp, right? What if you use a hybrid of my method here for clean and use your amp of choice for dirty? You should definitely be able to get a clean sound without using an amp block and just a drive block lightly if you need a little edge.

Give that a shot if you haven't already. :)
 
Another great video @Danny Danzi. There's some really useful tips.

I really like cleans with no amp block. Just compressor, chorus, reverb, and maybe the SDD or tape dist drive block. That will give you a very clean clean, but it can sound gorgeous.
 
excellent video! the only downside of not using an amp block is that you loose that quick access to the amp controls on the front panel of the AX8, i'm going to try this set up tonight!!!!

I see your videos aren't listed, how do we watch your Compressor videos?
 
Great idea Danny! I could see where this would help guys switching from clean to crunch.. Just bypass the amp on scene change instead of X/Y the amp.
 
Danny Danzi said:
Thanks! Can't you use the high gain amp of your choice and just set a.scene up that kills the amp and the drive block or one that changes the drive block to something less severe? That should give you what you need without any audio drop.

One of the problems is changing to a clean amp, right? What if you use a hybrid of my method here for clean and use your amp of choice for dirty? You should definitely be able to get a clean sound without using an amp block and just a drive block lightly if you need a little edge.

Give that a shot if you haven't already. :)
Click to expand...


That is what I do currently, I just did a sloppy job of describing it in my previous post.
I'm yet to find a clean that's really good this way, but it's good enough for live performance for me.
 
Nero said:
excellent video! the only downside of not using an amp block is that you loose that quick access to the amp controls on the front panel of the AX8, i'm going to try this set up tonight!!!!

I see your videos aren't listed, how do we watch your Compressor videos?
Click to expand...

I'll post links for you.

Actually, like I mentioned before....you CAN leave an amp block so you can use the controls. You just need to bypass it for switching to clean. I do not believe you get the audio drop in that scenario. I could have sworn I tested that with no issues. Just don't do two amps with X/Y and you should be fine. I'll test this again to let you know for sure....but I'm close to positive one amp block can be used.

Comp video 1:

Comp video 2:

Both show how to use the compressor for adding gain and sustain....the second one shows a slightly different approach.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom