Tracking With the Axe-Fx III

diezel013

diezel013

Inspired
Hello... Just got my Axe FX III in June. While I've been gigging with it (it's been great), I'm just starting to explore all of it's potential for recording.

I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations when using the unit to record... When using as an interface I like to record with inputs 1+2 & 5+6 for both the processed and D.I. track, but in the process of recording I thought of a couple of questions...

Last night I recorded a bunch of tracks with the Axe as the interface, and accidentally forgot that project that has a 44.1khz sample rate (I'm aware the unit uses 48 for the sample rate)... It actually worked no problems... but of course when I realized that and changed the project to 48khz everything pitch shifted and got wacky. I've been using 44.1khz for several years so, it brought up the question, if I'm trying to use the Axe FX on an old project would I be better off just using the processed signal through xlr/interface?

I've been trying to make it a habit to start all my new projects with a 48khz sample rate, but I'm still working with a bunch of old 44.1khz files. Also... I've found the enhancer to work really well as the sole guitar player in a live band, but when recording I was thinking if I'd be better off without it... Does anyone have any thoughts? I would LOVE to hear any general recommendations or suggestions that you have towards recording with the unit.

Thank you so much!!!
 
Of you've got old sessions at 44.1 a standalone interface is going to be the easiest way to deal with that.

For rock and metal double tracking rhythm guitars almost always sounds bigger and better than something like an enhancer, but it all comes down to what you like the sound of best.
 
No problem here using the Axe Fx3 via USB as my interface, with Logic Pro recording at 44.1KHz. Sounds great - so either I'm not hearing any subtle difference between non-matching sample rates, OR the sampling rate inside the AxeFx3 doesn't affect the sound that is digitally transmitted by USB to the computer. Someone with more knowledge than I have, regarding whether or not it's necessary to match the AxeFx 48KHz to a computer DAW at 44.1KHz, may like to chip in here.

Of course, if it's Logic Pro X converting on the fly, it does a bloody good job - I can't hear any difference in the guitar sounds, even when soloed, let alone in a mix.
 
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Thanks so much for your reply Leon... I reckon I'll just bypass the enhancer for tracking, unless maybe it's a solo and it just has more presence. Love your channel btw :)

Hey Doc... Nice to know that someone else also had a smooth experience recording in 44.1khz with the Axe FX as the interface... Even though I'll probably be better off using 48khz going forward, as you stated, I'd be interested to know if there's actually any problem to use it in a 44.1khz project. Thanks for chiming in Doc!!!
 
diezel013 said:
Thanks so much for your reply Leon... I reckon I'll just bypass the enhancer for tracking, unless maybe it's a solo and it just has more presence. Love your channel btw :)

Hey Doc... Nice to know that someone else also had a smooth experience recording in 44.1khz with the Axe FX as the interface... Even though I'll probably be better off using 48khz going forward, as you stated, I'd be interested to know if there's actually any problem to use it in a 44.1khz project. Thanks for chiming in Doc!!!
Click to expand...

I could be doing it all wrong - in theory - but I go by the motto "If it sounds good, leave the farkin' thing alone". I've been working in studios for decades, and although the Axe Fx3 is relatively recent (went through Helix - still have it - Pods, etc earlier), I sometimes find myself overthinking things. If it works, and if it sounds good - it's a take! And I love Logic Pro X.... ;)

Sheesh, just think if in the early days of the Beatles, Zep, Kinks, the Who, etc etc they all overthought things. Those were the days of getting a fuzz tone by putting a razor blade cut in the speaker cone. I doubt the difference between digital sampling rates would even be audible even if there were such a thing back then.
 
Doc Rock said:
No problem here using the Axe Fx3 via USB as my interface, with Logic Pro recording at 44.1KHz. Sounds great - so either I'm not hearing any subtle difference between non-matching sample rates, OR the sampling rate inside the AxeFx3 doesn't affect the sound that is digitally transmitted by USB to the computer. Someone with more knowledge than I have, regarding whether or not it's necessary to match the AxeFx 48KHz to a computer DAW at 44.1KHz, may like to chip in here.

Of course, if it's Logic Pro X converting on the fly, it does a bloody good job - I can't hear any difference in the guitar sounds, even when soloed, let alone in a mix.
Click to expand...
If it's working then you can set it to whatever you like. The USB Audio Class 2.0 spec says the OS should resample the data. Apple is better than Windows for this. Windows doesn't even have an Audio Class 2.0 driver (still). I haven't tried using a different sample rate on Windows 10 yet to see if it works.

So if it's working for you then the OS or Logic is resampling on-the-fly as it should and you're all set.
 
diezel013 said:
Hello... Just got my Axe FX III in June. While I've been gigging with it (it's been great), I'm just starting to explore all of it's potential for recording.

I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations when using the unit to record... When using as an interface I like to record with inputs 1+2 & 5+6 for both the processed and D.I. track, but in the process of recording I thought of a couple of questions...

Last night I recorded a bunch of tracks with the Axe as the interface, and accidentally forgot that project that has a 44.1khz sample rate (I'm aware the unit uses 48 for the sample rate)... It actually worked no problems... but of course when I realized that and changed the project to 48khz everything pitch shifted and got wacky. I've been using 44.1khz for several years so, it brought up the question, if I'm trying to use the Axe FX on an old project would I be better off just using the processed signal through xlr/interface?

I've been trying to make it a habit to start all my new projects with a 48khz sample rate, but I'm still working with a bunch of old 44.1khz files. Also... I've found the enhancer to work really well as the sole guitar player in a live band, but when recording I was thinking if I'd be better off without it... Does anyone have any thoughts? I would LOVE to hear any general recommendations or suggestions that you have towards recording with the unit.

Thank you so much!!!
Click to expand...

Almost any DAW will handle the mixed sample rates fine, so you should be able to use your old projects without trouble. However, if you have a choice, you'll get the best recording fidelity if your projects have their sample rate set to 48.
 
FractalAudio said:
If it's working then you can set it to whatever you like. The USB Audio Class 2.0 spec says the OS should resample the data. Apple is better than Windows for this. Windows doesn't even have an Audio Class 2.0 driver (still). I haven't tried using a different sample rate on Windows 10 yet to see if it works.

So if it's working for you then the OS or Logic is resampling on-the-fly as it should and you're all set.
Click to expand...

Thanks for chiming in Cliff - much appreciated.

I'm on Mac (hence Logic Pro X) so presumably, going on your info there, the OS and/or Logic is resampling on the fly. So matching the rates would have no discernible effect. All I know is that it sounds bloody good...! :)
 
GlennO said:
Almost any DAW will handle the mixed sample rates fine, so you should be able to use your old projects without trouble. However, if you have a choice, you'll get the best recording fidelity if your projects have their sample rate set to 48.
Click to expand...

Wouldn't that be redundant though, if you're recording for CD Red Book Standard, at 16-bit and 44.1KHz? You'd still need to down-sample at the end of the process anyway. If the USB route is resampling on the fly (and doing a good job), then having the project in the DAW at 44.1KHz would simply mean that the Axe Fx3 stream, coming in via USB, would be perfectly matched to it at that stage (on a Mac) anyway.

Again, I come back to my mantra - don't overthink it, and if it sounds good, it's a take. :)
 
FractalAudio said:
If it's working then you can set it to whatever you like. The USB Audio Class 2.0 spec says the OS should resample the data. Apple is better than Windows for this. Windows doesn't even have an Audio Class 2.0 driver (still). I haven't tried using a different sample rate on Windows 10 yet to see if it works.
Click to expand...

Windows 10 does now (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/audio/usb-2-0-audio-drivers) but it does not support implicit feedback endpoints :grimacing:
 
Doc Rock said:
Wouldn't that be redundant though, if you're recording for CD Red Book Standard, at 16-bit and 44.1KHz? You'd still need to down-sample at the end of the process anyway. If the USB route is resampling on the fly (and doing a good job), then having the project in the DAW at 44.1KHz would simply mean that the Axe Fx3 stream, coming in via USB, would be perfectly matched to it at that stage (on a Mac) anyway.

Again, I come back to my mantra - don't overthink it, and if it sounds good, it's a take. :)
Click to expand...

If the end result will be 44.1, it's still better to use a 48 project when recording with the AxeFX. The non-realtime SRC you do at the end of the project to convert to 44.1 will be always be better than the on-the-fly conversion that would be done during recording. There is no such thing as a "perfect match" in the scenario you're describing :).

Bottom line: if you have a choice for the the project sample rate when recording with the AxeFX, use 48.
 
Many DAWs will do realtime conversions for you but it comes at a CPU cost. You'll likely get better performance using 48 kHz projects as it eliminates the resampling overhead.

For older 44.1 kHz projects, many DAWs have the capability to convert the project and usually can resample all of the associated track files as well.
 
FractalAudio said:
If it's working then you can set it to whatever you like. The USB Audio Class 2.0 spec says the OS should resample the data. Apple is better than Windows for this. Windows doesn't even have an Audio Class 2.0 driver (still). I haven't tried using a different sample rate on Windows 10 yet to see if it works.

So if it's working for you then the OS or Logic is resampling on-the-fly as it should and you're all set.
Click to expand...

Thank you Fractal team!!! Appreciate the response and all the awesome work that you do!!!

Thanks to all the others for chiming in!!! Cheers!
 
Just remember that all (non-integer) sample rate conversion causes un-musical distortion. It is almost inaudible, if you are just converting your final track, but if you have several tracks in your project that have been unnecesarily converted, it might build up - especially, if you end up converting the same track back and forth (for whatever reason)

Take a look at this video - and remember that real-time SRC are rarely the highest quality


Here are comparisons of many different SRC algorithms https://src.infinitewave.ca/
 
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