Why use a stand alone interface?

jetdriver1775 said:
I know the FM3 will function as a usb recording interface. What are the advantages of having a stand alone interface?

Also, what’s a good recommendation for say... $200 or less?
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The biggest issue I have found is that with the axe\fm3 as your interface you are always passing the guitar signal at the output1 blocks level. If you want to hear a lot less guitar and more of the DAW, you would need to crank up the DAW tracks, or drop your overall level of the recorded volume. If you are plugged into an interface you can lower the guitar volume from the DAW, while still keeping it up in the mix. Comes in handy if you cant crank it up at home.
 
chrisjnyc said:
The biggest issue I have found is that with the axe\fm3 as your interface you are always passing the guitar signal at the output1 blocks level. If you want to hear a lot less guitar and more of the DAW, you would need to crank up the DAW tracks, or drop your overall level of the recorded volume. If you are plugged into an interface you can lower the guitar volume from the DAW, while still keeping it up in the mix. Comes in handy if you cant crank it up at home.
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The Setup > I/O > USB page gives you independent control of the USB level.
 
jetdriver1775 said:
I know the FM3 will function as a usb recording interface. What are the advantages of having a stand alone interface?

Also, what’s a good recommendation for say... $200 or less?
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Simply because electric guitar is just one instrument that I need to track. I also need inputs for vocals, acoustic guitars, and sometimes percussion. And getting a mic signal into the Axe or the FM3 is more trouble than it's usually worth. And also, the important point: I had an audio interface long before I had an FM3/AxeFX.

Focusrite is great, and oddly enough.. the Behringer Uphoria line is actually quite good. Not sure how that happened, but there it is.
 
Akeron said:
Has anybody ever noticed differences in "quality" between a recording made with the internal audio interface of the FM3 or Axe-Fx III via USB and the external audio interface via S/PDIF and\or USB?
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No. Never, since the Axe-FX Standard. And there is no logical explanation for any difference. Your perception or other factors (like listening volume) may be deceiving you
 
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RedHat_Ibanez said:
Hey Piing,
Yes i did notice the difference between the sound i hear from the phones jack and the recorded sound through the Axe USB.

I am really very picky when it comes to guitar tone, so i can easily notice any small difference.

The axe fx ii is a great unit but it lacks the recording quality.

So i use additional VST 's in the same recording signal chain for enhancing the guitar sound quality and fir a better surrounding.
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what was the difference?
 
RedHat_Ibanez said:
The sound recorded is muddy and saturated and not as clear as the live sound from the phones jack.

I dont know what is the issue but mainly i guess the issue is in the Axe USB interface signal converter (from analog to digital).

I had an 11rack before on the same setup as the Axe Fx and DAW and also guitar, and it sounded very clear and professional.

Maybe the sound rate 48hz of the axe fx is not good as the 44hz of 11ack.
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i have to disagree with this. using the USB to record, i get the exact same sound playing it live and then recording it.

not sure what you mean "from analog to digital." the only analog thing is the guitar entering the axe, from there, everything is digital to the DAW.

if that's what you're experiencing, then that's what's happening. i'm not saying you're wrong or anything. but USB is a digital signal, so what happens digitally in the Axe is what goes to the DAW. there's nothing about the USB connection that would make it less clear on its own.

a common issue is that using headphones, you hear the sound of the guitar going through the headphone cable, as it is physically touching it, or even your body. also hearing the actual guitar itself - the high end sound of the guitar acoustically. many tend to hear that and dial the tone with less highs, when they're actually hearing the highs from the guitar itself.

if something is going wrong, that's an explanation. but the USB signal itself is no different than what is passed on to the DAW. i think majority of Axe users could echo that experience.

i'd explore your signal path to make sure nothing in the DAW or other areas is reducing high end. the USB signal itself wouldn't do that.
 
chris said:
a common issue is that using headphones, you hear the sound of the guitar going through the headphone cable, as it is physically touching it, or even your body. also hearing the actual guitar itself - the high end sound of the guitar acoustically. many tend to hear that and dial the tone with less highs, when they're actually hearing the highs from the guitar itself.
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This. I've seen it dozens of times. "Why does my recorded tone sound more dull than my regular tone?" Because you're listening at low to moderate volume, and when you listen to yourself play, you're hearing the jangly acoustic sound of your guitar mixed in with your electric tone. Take away that jangle, and it's going to sound different.
 
Rex said:
This. I've seen it dozens of times. "Why does my recorded tone sound more dull than my regular tone?" Because you're listening at low to moderate volume, and when you listen to yourself play, you're hearing the jangly acoustic sound of your guitar mixed in with your electric tone. Take away that jangle, and it's going to sound different.
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At what volume should I record to hear the same sound? Do you use a sound level meter?
 
Akeron said:
At what volume should I record to hear the same sound? Do you use a sound level meter?
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it’s very simple. Just be sure you either can’t hear the strings on your guitar, or learn what it sounds like so you can tell the difference.

I think the one saying USB doesn’t sound the same is a one-off experience making it seem more complicated than it may be. I believe what he’s saying, but the issue isn’t the USB capabilities of the Axe. If that was the case, every customer would be saying the same thing constantly.
 
The reason for me to look for an interface is, that the FM3 doesn't send the USB audio signal from the Imac to output 2 of the FM3. Output 2 should copy output 1, but doesn't.
 
RedHat_Ibanez said:
Believe me, the sound i record using the Axe is not clear and not exactly as the one i hear directly in my phones.
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You are probably doing something wrong. I use my Axe-FX III to record on a DAW and it sounds great when recorded through USB, SPDIF, or analog XLR output.
 
RedHat_Ibanez said:
Not really, my setup is very straight forward, Axe Fx II direct usb connection to the DAW.

As i said i used another units with the same setup , but i didnt find this recording clarity issue.

The Axe Fx II is a great unit tho, it helped me much in developing my skills and musical knowledge.
This better.
But now it is the time for recording, so i bought again the 11rack and will use it as my main interface as i did before the Axe Fx II.
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Post a couple of clips showing the difference, so we can understand this better.
 
Somethings off with your setup or gear mate.

There is / should be no difference between headphones out, usb out, direct out, or digital out.
 
RedHat_Ibanez said:
It cant be done to do a clip which compare between the headset direct sound and the DAW recorded sound,
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If you monitor with a power amp and speaker, you can mic that and record it.

How do you monitor playback?
 
RedHat_Ibanez said:
...i use same big monitors headphones for 8 years now, they are isolated, so no acoustic sound coming from my guitar directly to my ears...
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I don’t know what big monitors headphones are, but no headphone truly isolates you from surrounding sound. Your guitar’s acoustic sound is still getting to your ears. Turn the volume all the way down, play a few locks, and note what you hear.
 
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