The sound of my Axe fx Ultra has become worse over time.

I

IanEiderbo

New Member
Hi! First post here! Hopefully someone knows something about what has happened to my Axe fx!

The first few days I had my Axe fx it sounded phenomenal and I was so happy with the way it sounded. But when I play it now it sounds nothing like it did back then. The fullness and the tight bottom is gone. It sounds rather thin, not horribly thin but you can really hear the difference from before. I have no idea why this is. I've tried reseting the global options and reinstalling the firmware. I've also flipped every switch I can find and checked the individual presets. I don't think it is my audio interface or my monitors either.

I had this preset I downloaded from the forum by Nolly and it definatly does not sound as good today as it did when I recorded some stuff a while ago. It is really weird and frustrating. I get the feeling that is has something to do with the signal getting weakened somewhere. You know. Kinda buzzy and thin. I don't know really.

If someone has any idea what it could be or has experienced something similar I'd love to know!
 
I'm 99.9% sure that it's not the AXE-Fx.

Something must of changed - either a parameter or something in your enviorment.

What guitars are you playing?

How are you amplifying?
 
A few guesses:
- changed setting on the input knob
- old/bad strings
- bad instrument cable
- problem with the wiring inside the guitar

Have you some other sort of guitar amp to be able to compare?
I seriously doubt it's the Axe-Fx.
 
Sebastian said:
A few guesses:
- changed setting on the input knob
- old/bad strings
- bad instrument cable
- problem with the wiring inside the guitar

Have you some other sort of guitar amp to be able to compare?
I seriously doubt it's the Axe-Fx.
Click to expand...

Plus:
- other cab/IRs?
- use of a stereo effect in a mono setup?
- correct Input Source (Front Analog)?
 
check the simplest stuff first.cords,strings,connectors etc.i go through this type of thing occasionaly.more often than not it's something i'm doing rather than the equipment. ;)
 
Thanks for the tips! I can't say I've solved the problem, though. I've checked all the cables and they are just fine. I'm using new ones that I bought at the same time as the Axe fx. My guitar is a Brian Moore with Bareknuckle Nailbombs in it and fairly new elixir strings. I can't help but to think that this issue has something to do with the axe fx itself. It could be some kind of grounding issue, I don't know.

Anyway, I attached a super short clip to show you what the bass response is like. it's hideous and buzzy. This is the preset that Nolly posted and when I first tested it it sounded HUGE. Now it just sounds like thin crap. Listen for yourselves! :(

Any ideas what this could be?
 

Attachments

  • Bad axe fx.mp3
    176.1 KB · Views: 209
yek said:
How do your other presets sound, basic amp+cab?
Click to expand...

I think I kinda caught the essence of the problem in this clip. Seems like all my presets, even new ones sound like this more or less. It's more evident with a high gain patch like this, although you can hear that something is wrong with any patch. I remember the first day I played through the different sounds of the Axe fx and was blown away. Even when just creating a new patch with just an amp and a cab. Sounded fantastic. Now I can't get it to sound like that anymore. And like I said. Ive reinstalled the same firmware (10.02) made a reset on the global options. Tried changing everything else to. Inputs, outputs, advanced amp settings. Nothing does it.

I don't think there is any problem with the cables either. They're all fairly fresh adn it doesnt sound like that is the problem when I listen to the tones I get. My Behringer Truth monitors sound great when I listen to music so i don't think it's them either. Something could be wrong with the guitar but I seriously doubt it since I tried it with my MMJP7 and it sounded just as bad.

Listen to the character of the buzzy bassflub in that clip. That might hold a clue... hopefully!
 
Doesn't sound like any grounding problem I have ever heard. The first things that popped into my head when I heard the mp3 sample, was either a really bad pickup, improper or mismatched tubes in a power amp, or power amp tubes going bad.

Since nothing else has worked to isolate the problem, I think you are going to have to start a very deliberate process of elimination. I don't know what your signal chain is before and after the Axe-Fx but you have got to prove that nothing in the signal chain is causing the problem before you choose the Axe as the source of the problem. You've got to eliminate things one thing at a time and the includes every single cord. I'd focus on anything that you may have changed or fixed since you have had your Axe.

If you have a completely different fully functional rig, I'd start by testing one thing at a time on that rig.

Are you running direct into "something" else like a board? If so, try a different channel on the board.

P.S. I know that the Axe can withstand a variance of power levels, but I'd check and see if the power is correct too.

Good luck finding the source of the problem!!
 
Mike Snider said:
if you have updated the firmware, you will need to tweak a bit to adjust for the new/modded parameters.
Click to expand...
Have you upgraded the firmware in the Axe-Fx since it last sounded "good?"
 
Nolly's patch was based on a redwirez cab, I would say you may have a different cab sim in that user spot. Worth trying a standard cab not a user cab.
 
Well, I started experiencing this problem without changing anything really. Reinstalling the same version of the firmware was just something I did to try to get all and any settings that could've been off to the original state. Before this I did the reset of global option and it didn't help either.

As for the nolly patch, Like I said, I used it before and it sounded fantastic. It is also a patch which is not using the redwirez sim (s00perbr00tz, check it out). The super bad buzz and bass response is on all patches more or less depending on what sort of tone it is.

What puzzles me s the fact that the patches that used to sound so good just all of a sudden sound horrible!
 
- Have you tried to load the factory banks back into the Axe-Fx?
- Does the problem exist on patches you make from scratch?
- Does the problem exist on all outputs of the Axe-Fx? If possible, also try the digital output

It's just strange that the cause should be there from nothing and inside the Axe-Fx.
Besides the analog I/O section, it's basically a computer; it either works, or not at all, but unlikely somewhere in between.
 
You haven't provided screen shots of your settings/rig.

At least type out your signal chain and settings for all blocks. I'm sure someone here can help you figure out how the sound got mangled.
 
Are you clipping the digital converters in the Axe?
Does the red clip led, on the left (not the Input Level indicator) ever light up?

Sometimes, after a firmware update, the stock presets' levels get all wonky and need to be tweaked because they are too hot.

As someone else has mentioned, you should also do the Update Presets command in the Utility Menu.
 
Apologies for not reading every post in this thread so some duplicates may be below:

1. Ensure Cab sims and Amp sims are On in Global (assuming you are monitoring through FRFR which I believe you are)
2. Ensure you are not overdriving the input on your monitoring amplification
3. Ensure you are not clipping in the Axe itself
4. Ensure you are plugged into the front and I/O indicates as Front Analog
5. Ensure you are not summing up the output if you are running Stereo

I have not listened to the clip, at work right now and cannot. Good luck!
 
I have listened to the clip and to me it sounds like you are sending a too strong signal to your monitors/daw. Have you tried recording with a VERY quiet signal?

Another thing to try, record with the spdif output.
 
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