Why is my recorded tone so bad? It's incredible thru my guitar cab.

Hi everyone. Thanks again for all the input and help, it's greatly appreciated.

So, I picked up a pair of XLR to RCA cables and am running from output 1 into the rear input of my interface as suggested. The signal is definitely more controllable but I have a ways to go still to get a solid overdriven tone. The website and docs all reference being able to "configure" this rear input as this or that, but there's absolutely nothing documented about it though. At this point I'm pretty sure it's just my massive inexperience in recording holding me back. Haven't had much time to experiment this week, but I'll keep y'all updated, I'm determined to post a track I'm proud of here.

Again, thru my amp and cab it's tone heaven, so I'm a super happy camper overall :mrgreen
 
I don't remember having to set any special output parameters; right out of the box the Axe-FX is ready to hook up to an audio interface.

Here is all I remember doing to record using some high-distortion amp presets:

  1. Open box and remove Axe-FX.
  2. Plug Axe-FX into power outlet.
  3. Connect XLR cable from output 1 to input 1 of my audio interface.
  4. Set output 1 level to 50%.
  5. Turn on Axe-FX.
  6. Turn on audio interface.
  7. Launch recording application (Reaper in my case).
  8. Plug guitar into front panel input 1 of Axe-FX.
  9. Adjust input 1 trim pot so that hard strumming "tickles the red".
  10. Dial to preset of choice ("Recto Lead" in my case).
  11. Create new instrument track (set to listen on analog input 1 by default) in Reaper and arm it.
  12. Play (I have direct monitoring enabled through my audio interface).
  13. Adjust audio interface input 1 trim pot so I never go past 0dB on the input meter in Reaper.
  14. Click on RECORD button in Reaper.
  15. Play some more.
  16. Click STOP in Reaper.
Done.

It seems to me that if you have to do anything more than this, then something is either wrong with your Axe-FX or your audio interface. If your audio interface doesn't accept line-level XLR inputs then it is probably time to invest in a more modern audio interface.
 
Hi Cud. So, I'm getting there.

It turns out my original interface was really not designed to accept line level input and couldn't handle the Axe's signal without massively clipping. I picked up an Apogee Duet and have been getting *much* better results. I'm running from the XLR out of the Axe into the Duet. Levels are much more controllable and I'm not clipping at the outputs anymore. Another thing I found was even though I was "tickling the red" on the input I still had a ways to go before actually clipping, so instead of being around 2:00, as suggested for a humbucker equipped guitar (I have a Gibson SG with stock pups), I was able to get a bit more headroom by running the input around 3:00-3:30 and still not clip the input. It's still tricky to balance the output levels of the drive, amp and cab blocks to where it sounds really good in my headphones, but I'm about 85% of the way there now.

I'm sure monitoring through cans has something to do with it, and I don't feel like the tone is all there versus if there was air moving in the room, my guitar just sounds a bit more dead.

Another thing I found is there's a page on the IO or Utilities settings (I forget) that shows all the input and output levels, this helped alot figuring out how far I had to go before clipping.

Lastly, I found the noise gate is cranked pretty high by default for some reason, and this was absolutely killing my sustain and some of my tone. I just turn it all the way off now, noise hasn't been an issue for me so far.

So, all of these things together have made a huge difference for me, as well as just getting more experience recording each time I try.
 
Another thing ,I think u said your running into a mac book pro,I found on mine that if I have the volume (on mac) cranked it affects the clipping on my axe.Running axe into line6 ux2 and usb into mac.
 
If you don't have any interaction between speakers and your guitar it's likely to sound a bit dead... when I record I run my other output through amp/speakers... you need that vibe.
 
Good stuff Kush. I replaced my Audiophile 2496 with a Focusrite Saffire 24 Pro. It's like going from a Squier Strat to a nice American made strat. But it didn't solve all my issues. I just kept at it and last night, had my first "good" night of direct tone. I run from the SPDIF on the Axe to the Saffire and then Firewire to my PC. Last night I threw everything out basically and started from scratch. I opened the manual on one monitor and had Axe edit on the other. Looking at the manual, I went through each parameter in the amp block and based on the description of it, I'd set it for what I'd like. Nothing precise, just broad strokes. So if a control basically tightened up the tone by increasing it, I'd set it high. I ended up with a very nice Mark IV patch. I run output 1 to my carvin amp and cabs. And it actually sounds good both direct and to the cabs. I have cab sims on but when I wanted to A/B with the real cabs, I just bypassed the cab block. Clean stuff always sounded good.

Axe Edit, I believe, does funny stuff sometimes though. Like if I just clicked on a block in the interface, I would sometimes hear a level change. I couldn't repeat it though.

I actually fired up Sonar X1 last night to record some stuff but realized I need to read my Saffire manual a bit more to learn how to use the software mixer first. Anyway, I think I'm making progress.
 
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BTW, what monitors are you using? I have M-Audio BX5a's and my Grado SR-60 headphones sound better with the Axe direct. I'm thinking of upgrading.
 
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