Using Axe Fx as interface - quick question

5150

5150

Inspired
Hello all -- I'm thinking of simplifying my setup by removing my interface (Presonus audiobox) and just using the Axe as my interface. However, there is one thing that I don't want to lose that this current setup gets me -- the ability to separately and easily control the volume of the modeled guitar sound vs the sounds the computer (Mac) makes directly.

For instance, now, if I'm learning a song, I can use a knob on the interface to balance the sound of the song being played by my computer and the sound of my guitar.

Last time I had the Axe set up as an interface, the only way I could balance the sound of the guitar and the music was to turn down the output volume in the patch, which seemed inelegant and was a touch cumbersome. The front output knob adjusted the overall master volume of everything. Wanted to see if I'm missing something and what others are doing here.

Current setup:

Guitar --> Axe Fx --> Presonus AudioBox --> Monitors
|
|______> USB to Mac
 
This is my experience as well. I just got used to it and it doesn't bother me now because I love the simplicity of it. If the output of my preset is in a good spot regarding the input levels on my DAW then I leave that and just adjust the master fader or the track faders as necessary to get the levels where I want them for tracking guitars. I readjust them all anyway when I gain stage etc.
 
nikk© said:
Hi 5150,

you have the ability to mix this directly in the Axe :

I/O / Audio / USB RETURN LEVEL
Click to expand...


Thanks for the reply! Yes, I'm familiar with that control. I'd like to avoid having to dig through a menu every time I need to balance the level of the guitar vs the song playing through the computer. Ideally, I'd like to just be able to use the "volume" control inside the OS to control the volume level of the computer-generated noises/songs/etc. But that gets disabled when using the Axe as interface.

Anyone else have an easy way of doing this?

Thanks!
 
In spite of thinking the Axe sounds great as an interface this is one of the primary reasons I use 3rd party interfaces. The ability to easily balance live with track via monitoring software and to handle 44.1kHz projects.

The closest, in the black box, solution I have found is keep the USB between -3 and 0 and utilize Axe edit as a monitoring software to easily balance, but not save, the preset.

Kinda' sucks, however, if you don't complete your tracking and have to go back and match levels but you just have to write them down.
 
mwd said:
In spite of thinking the Axe sounds great as an interface this is one of the primary reasons I use 3rd party interfaces. The ability to easily balance live with track via monitoring software and to handle 44.1kHz projects.

The closest, in the black box, solution I have found is keep the USB between -3 and 0 and utilize Axe edit as a monitoring software to easily balance, but not save, the preset.

Kinda' sucks, however, if you don't complete your tracking and have to go back and match levels but you just have to write them down.
Click to expand...


This was my experience when I initially used it as an interface -- I wanted to make sure I didn't miss anything specifically that would solve this for me. Thanks for the input!
 
if this can help, i've just tried it on my Mac (OSX 10.11.3) using Axe FX as sound-card

& QuickTime 7 with a backing track,

and if i have not the control of the "volume control inside the OS",

i have it in Quicktime app, iTunes...
 
Last edited:
Why do you want to remove your interface from your setup? Is it causing problems? If you use Mac os X try making an aggregate sound card using both devices (in the "Audio MIDI Setup" app) then you have the number of ins and outs combined and the best of both worlds... I'm not sure if this is doable on Windows though...
 
For me everything is much simpler to work with having a dedicated interface. The extra cables behind my desk don't bother me. If I wanted I could still disable the interface in windows and run the axe as the interface through USB without tearing down the physical setup. Maybe you can try that and see how you go.
 
I do what JJunkie does and it works great. My old focusrite is collecting dust until I need to mic my drums or do vocals.
I set the Axe as my default audio device for my computer and control all levels through windows, it works great.
 
ralphonz said:
Why do you want to remove your interface from your setup? Is it causing problems? If you use Mac os X try making an aggregate sound card using both devices (in the "Audio MIDI Setup" app) then you have the number of ins and outs combined and the best of both worlds... I'm not sure if this is doable on Windows though...
Click to expand...
Dumb question about this: What if I make an aggregate device and one of the child devices that mak up the aggregate is 'gone'? Say I have an aggregate device and I'm using some tool/DAW pointed at the aggregate device and some of the time the AFX may not be hooked up to the computer (like I my just be using my sound card mic input)? Does that complicate matters for when I just want to fire the project up and not do dsomething which requires tracking guitar through the AFX?
 
I agree with the opinion of keeping a separate interface for the sole reason of being able to balance Axe and DAW much easier.
As soon as I realized the hassle of balancing both signals in the Axe, I never went back.
 
DarthGuitar said:
I do what JJunkie does and it works great. My old focusrite is collecting dust until I need to mic my drums or do vocals.
I set the Axe as my default audio device for my computer and control all levels through windows, it works great.
Click to expand...

haha, I actually meant that I prefer to use the separate interface and not the Axe, but its great that its working well for you in your setup.
 
I've been using the Axe-Fx exclusively as my audio interface for the past 2-3 years, so I can speak from experience.

I usually adjust the volume using the volume slider in iTunes or Logic, but on occasion I simply run Soundflower and use that and the system volume setting to pipe through and off to the Axe. As far as using it as audio interface goes:

The Pros:

- Real good A/D D/A converters with excellent noise floor, dynamic range and stereo imaging
- Low(ish) latency, about 5ms best case and 22ms worst case (In my experience, YMMV, using Mac/Logic X)
- Recording a DI signal works out of the box via input 3/4

The Cons:

- Fixed sample rate at 48Khz (can be a bitch with things like Jammit or eJamming, it simply refuses to work)
- Can't group with another interface running at 44Khz
- Can't adjust volume using a knob between USB audio source and AxeFx patch, must adjust voulme at source or mess with patch gain
- Can't listen to the mix while reamping a DI signal

Get a good USB cable and you won't have any problems with sync or popping and stuff. It is slightly annoying that you have to switch on/off your monitors when you power cycle the Axe due to it's output volume knobs being digital and not trim pots.

Currently I'm running Amp block -> FX Loop, Output 2 into power amp, power amp into cab. Then I mic the cab up via an external FMR RNP preamp and back into input 1 and that goes off to the main AxeFx output. That way I can monitor the mic'd cab through my monitors or headphones, and don't need a second interface to get the mic signal into the Mac.

Why am I micing a cab you might ask. Well, I've made impulse responses of my cab/mic/pre and the sound doesn't even come close to the real deal, it just breathes so much more with the real Mesa cabinet, and the interaction between guitar and cab is also much greater. It fits much better in a mix and responds much better to EQ in post.

Hope it helps :)
 
Fastest way is to just use the volume slider on whatever it is on your computer playing audio, be it iTunes, YouTube, or whatever. Since I use an HDMI monitor I have no control of the Mac's monitor audio. It's just the workaround you'll have to live with, unless you leave the interface in place. You can still run USB audio into a DAW directly from the Fractal and not the interface.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom