(Troubleshooting) Axe-Fx 3 as Audio Interface randomly fails

T

Teun

Member
Hello!

First off, sorry if this is the wrong place to post this. Please let me know if I'm doing anything wrong :)

I've owned my Axe FX 3 for several months, but these last few weeks (3-4 weeks?) I've been having a problem. I use the Axe as my primary audio interface, and sometimes it just... doesn't play back my PC's sound anymore.

Signal chain:
Axe Fx 3 > USB cable > PC (Windows 10 Pro)
Axe Fx 3 > XLR Cable (2x) > Yamaha HS8 studio monitor (2x)

Elaborate description of the problem:
As stated before, I'm using my Axe FX as a primary audio interface for my computer. Reason for this is that I like to play my PC's audio through the same speaker set I use for my guitar playing. Seems common enough, works quite well. Zero complaints.
Do note that I use Output 2 for this - I have my studio monitors hooked to the Output 2 and am copying Output 1 to Output 2 in the IO section. This is because I sometimes like to exclusively play back my PC audio through headphones. Keeps the neighbors and spouse happy.

Sometimes (unsure exactly when, but let's say 2+ times per day, sometimes several times an hour) my PC audio just.. stops coming out of my speakers. The Output lights on my AxeFx will stop blinking. My PC will still recognize the AxeFx as an audio device, and will say it's properly connected. The level lights will appear to light up when I play audio through it - I just won't hear anything.

This will happen both for my speakers (Output 2) and my headphones (Output 1).
As stated previously, this problem has been occurring for several weeks, but at unpredictable times. I'm unable to replicate this on-demand.

Possibly relevant: I've tried connecting my AxeFx to my PC through several USB ports, none seem to have any effect. Pretty sure they're all USB 3.0 slots. I did replace the cable several months ago (wanted a longer one), which has not directly impacted the issue to my knowledge.... but let's be real, there's a decent enough chance the problem is USB cable related.

When this problem occurs, I can see my mechanical keyboard flash. The backlight on it turns off and on immediately. This is why I suspect it is, in some way, related to the USB.

I've updated Windows, all my audio drivers, tested several USB ports (though NOT several cables, as I have only one of these cables).

Fix/workaround:
So far, I've only found one way to (temporarily) solve the problem:
1) Turn off and unplug the Axe Fx
2) Plug back in and restart AxeFx
3) Reboot PC or reinsert axe-to-usb cable.

This fixes the problem for a random amount of time. Usually a few hours, but I've had frustrating evenings where it's necessary every 10 minutes.


Next steps:
I'm hoping someone here can help me find a more definitive solution to my problem. If there's any information I could give to give a better insight into the problem, please let me know. I love this machine, and this feels like such a dumb problem.
I'm mostly wondering if anyone has ever experienced this before, and if so, what the problem was. As mentioned previously, I SUSPECT it might be the USB cable, but have absolutely no definitive evidence for this.

Am I missing something? Has anyone had this before? Does anyone else use their AxeFx3 as a primary audio interface?

Thanks for reading, I hope you have a wonderful day :)

Best regards,
Teun
 
Teun said:
Hello!

First off, sorry if this is the wrong place to post this. Please let me know if I'm doing anything wrong :)

I've owned my Axe FX 3 for several months, but these last few weeks (3-4 weeks?) I've been having a problem. I use the Axe as my primary audio interface, and sometimes it just... doesn't play back my PC's sound anymore.

Signal chain:
Axe Fx 3 > USB cable > PC (Windows 10 Pro)
Axe Fx 3 > XLR Cable (2x) > Yamaha HS8 studio monitor (2x)

Elaborate description of the problem:
As stated before, I'm using my Axe FX as a primary audio interface for my computer. Reason for this is that I like to play my PC's audio through the same speaker set I use for my guitar playing. Seems common enough, works quite well. Zero complaints.
Do note that I use Output 2 for this - I have my studio monitors hooked to the Output 2 and am copying Output 1 to Output 2 in the IO section. This is because I sometimes like to exclusively play back my PC audio through headphones. Keeps the neighbors and spouse happy.

Sometimes (unsure exactly when, but let's say 2+ times per day, sometimes several times an hour) my PC audio just.. stops coming out of my speakers. The Output lights on my AxeFx will stop blinking. My PC will still recognize the AxeFx as an audio device, and will say it's properly connected. The level lights will appear to light up when I play audio through it - I just won't hear anything.

This will happen both for my speakers (Output 2) and my headphones (Output 1).
As stated previously, this problem has been occurring for several weeks, but at unpredictable times. I'm unable to replicate this on-demand.

Possibly relevant: I've tried connecting my AxeFx to my PC through several USB ports, none seem to have any effect. Pretty sure they're all USB 3.0 slots. I did replace the cable several months ago (wanted a longer one), which has not directly impacted the issue to my knowledge.... but let's be real, there's a decent enough chance the problem is USB cable related.

When this problem occurs, I can see my mechanical keyboard flash. The backlight on it turns off and on immediately. This is why I suspect it is, in some way, related to the USB.

I've updated Windows, all my audio drivers, tested several USB ports (though NOT several cables, as I have only one of these cables).

Fix/workaround:
So far, I've only found one way to (temporarily) solve the problem:
1) Turn off and unplug the Axe Fx
2) Plug back in and restart AxeFx
3) Reboot PC or reinsert axe-to-usb cable.

This fixes the problem for a random amount of time. Usually a few hours, but I've had frustrating evenings where it's necessary every 10 minutes.


Next steps:
I'm hoping someone here can help me find a more definitive solution to my problem. If there's any information I could give to give a better insight into the problem, please let me know. I love this machine, and this feels like such a dumb problem.
I'm mostly wondering if anyone has ever experienced this before, and if so, what the problem was. As mentioned previously, I SUSPECT it might be the USB cable, but have absolutely no definitive evidence for this.

Am I missing something? Has anyone had this before? Does anyone else use their AxeFx3 as a primary audio interface?

Thanks for reading, I hope you have a wonderful day :)

Best regards,
Teun
Click to expand...
I have exactly the same problem. At first I thought the origin of the sound loss and freeze of audio apps lies within Windows 10 or a technical / communication fault of the usb port of my laptop. But there is an increasing number of threads on this forum of Mac-users who also encounter this no-usb-sound issue. So it seems it could also be an AF3 soft-/hardware bug too.
@FractalAudio: any idea what could be the problem / solution? It’s occuring more and more frequently, at least once every day! Thx
 
I get this as well. I didn't think too much of it since I usually use my dedicated interface, but once in a while I switch to the axe and get these problems randomly.
 
Hi,

Could it in any way be related to the power settings in windows? I'm doubting it because you say the axe fx output lights are going off (indicating to me that perhaps the Axe fx is actually the problem), however, if your PC is turning of the USB after a period of time, it could be a problem.

Thanks
Pauly
 
pauly said:
Hi,

Could it in any way be related to the power settings in windows? I'm doubting it because you say the axe fx output lights are going off (indicating to me that perhaps the Axe fx is actually the problem), however, if your PC is turning of the USB after a period of time, it could be a problem.

Thanks
Pauly
Click to expand...

Hi Pauly,

Unlikely. I've set all Windows power settings in such a way that Windows cannot turn off USB devices whenever it wants to save power.
However, I will mention that I might have found a fix to my problem. Have had the problem only once in the last.. two weeks? Which is, at the very least, very acceptable.

(Seems like I cannot post links yet. Hopefully y'all know how to work with URLs :) )
/threads/usb-disconnecting.146587/page-6#post-1967048

Please see my post in this thread. tl;dr external microphone had power issues, occasionally acted as a playback device, AxeFx got confused.
 
I do too. several times every day and that is during not more than 1 or 2 tops hours of AF3 (quality) time a day. Several mac-users have the same issue too. I hope FAS experts will take some time to investigate and maybe come with a solution noobs like me understand / are able to execute. I‘m convinced it’s not an AF3 issue but this is a call for support by highly regarded hard- and software professionals. @FractalAudio
 
Same issue here as well.

Simple signal chain utilizing Output 1.
Axe Fx 3 > USB cable > PC (Windows 10 Pro)
Axe Fx 3 > XLR to TRS (2x) > Presonus Eris 4.5 Monitors

I originally thought it may have been conflicting with Equalizer APO and the Peace GUI I have installed but, after disabling and eventually uninstalling those; the issue persists. I have also tried reinstalling the Axe FX driver.

Spotify and YouTube will not play when this happens. I'll be listening to something through the Axe and the next song/video fails to load/play. I believe it's because it can't communicate with the audio device. As soon as I select something other than the Axe it takes off and plays without skipping a beat.

Glad to see I'm in good company :) I was thinking it was just me.
 
One other thing I should add. I've had this happen while using Axe Edit and that connection was fine. Sound from PC stopped but was still able to use Axe Edit as normal.
 
I’m a Mac user and have the same problem. I thought of reporting it but I have a 2008 Mac Pro In desperate need of replacing as lots of programs are past Updating so I was going to wait and see what happens when I eventually do update my system. But it seems it may be an inherent problem. My money is on a USB issue. But I’m sure it will get ironed out at some point. Easily remedied by a reboot.
 
It discussed a couple of times on this forum. The problem exists none know how to fix this. This problem persists both on windows and mac.

General recommendations:
  • Use high-quality USB cables
  • Disable energy saving in OS to prevent USB sleep
  • Don't use USB hubs
  • Use a stable electricity source. Avoid power surges from conditioners, powerful lighting, and other hardware that uses the same power source as the AF3.

Note that there is no 100% fix here. In fact, that is summer now many people using conditioners which work may lead to power surges. In a multi flat building with improper wiring, power surges may be inited by neighborhood's conditioners
 
In my situation all of the above mentioned criteria are met but it has no influence on this issue at all. It occurs no matter what.
As far as I can tell there is some sort of conflicting comms error / clash in the usb 'department' - either hardware related (as not everyone runs into this issue) or soft-/firmware related - which causes a 'freeze' / infinite loop or something like that.
My techical knowledge on this subject is too limited to determine the problem more exact than this so I hope the number of forum members with this same issue grows significantly so FAS will notice and shine their infinite technical light over it and come up with a solution we mere mortals will never see. 🤗
Eventhough I'm convinced it's not a FAS related issue...
 
Same problem here. Difference is that no audio comes out anymore, no matter what I do. And the output signal in the Axe FX doesn't show any information.
 
Any updates on this issue? I don't use the Axe Fx as my main interface so it's not a huge problem but it does happen every so often. I still get the input audio through my monitors but no computer audio.
 
KingOfMemes said:
Any updates on this issue? I don't use the Axe Fx as my main interface so it's not a huge problem but it does happen every so often. I still get the input audio through my monitors but no computer audio.
Click to expand...
For me is 100% when the frigobar turns on or off. So far my solution is to drink my beer or licour warm when recording.

No high wattage devices on the same electrical network. And when it happens. Save your work, close daw, turn off fractal, turn off high demanding device (my frigobar), unplug usb, wait a second, start fractal to full boot, replug your fractal, restart daw and enjoy your warm beer
 
So I am new tot he Fractal family and recently purchased the FM3 and FC6, which are great. I am also looking into getting the AX FX III. I was considering selling my USB audio interfaces, but judging from this thread and other threads I might want keep an audio interface and and run the FA gear through on of them. Makes sense?
 
The only issue I ever have with my III or FM3 is due to the iMac and how macOS seems to handle sleep and disconnects with USB audio interfaces. If ever things are funky, a simple unplug / replug of the USB cable into the iMac seems to fix it. Worse case has been a reboot needed...but that hasn't happened since Big Sur update.
 
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