Yamaha HS80M and AXEII query... Help a brother out please.

FantomasXD

Inspired
Hey guys, i don't want to sound stupid but i have searched a lot for a answer for this.

I plugged the out put 1 and 2 of the AXE into the intputs of a left and right speaker.

I am plugged into the unbalanced outputs of the AXE and i'm using guitar type cables (phono i think)

There is some pretty serious crackling coming from the monitors even when not playing the guitar.

Should i be plugged into the balanced outputs or does this sound like something completely different?

Also, my AXE will clip when playing a groove in EZdrummer through the AXE, then through the monitors!


Thanks in advance for any help. I just got these monitors today and this is kind of a buzz kill.
Cheers
 
You should connect the speakers to one output only (out1:L+R), plug your guitar into the instr. input, set input to left only and adjust your input correctly (touch the red lights).
After that, set your HS80M at about half way volume-wise and then start raising your out1 level on the axe. If you put the axe's level too high, you might clip the input of your monitors, so if you hear any kind of distortion (which does not come from inside the axe because of internal clipping in the sound chain - check axe's clip lights for that ), back off the axe's level a bit and if you need more volume, raise a bit the volume from the speakers till you get the dbs you need.
Btw, the "best" way to connect to the speakers, would be with a balanced (mic) set of cables. If you can afford a set, it wouldn't hurt to try it out.
 
For the crackling, make sure you are not overloading the cpu and if that doesn't work,check your cables . Also try to disconnect the usb cable and see if that helps.
You should finally make sure your guitar and/or your power outlets don't have any grounding issues.
 
You should connect the speakers to one output only (out1:L+R), plug your guitar into the instr. input, set input to left only and adjust your input correctly (touch the red lights).
After that, set your HS80M at about half way volume-wise and then start raising your out1 level on the axe. If you put the axe's level too high, you might clip the input of your monitors, so if you hear any kind of distortion (which does not come from inside the axe because of internal clipping in the sound chain - check axe's clip lights for that ), back off the axe's level a bit and if you need more volume, raise a bit the volume from the speakers till you get the dbs you need.
Btw, the "best" way to connect to the speakers, would be with a balanced (mic) set of cables. If you can afford a set, it wouldn't hurt to try it out.

Thanks alot for your reply. in regards to the cables... do i need a cable connector to plug them both into the same output of the axe or do you mean change this through i I/O on the face of the axe. I will buy some of the balanced cables eventually... when i get these do i only plug into one output of the axe of both?

i'm so confused here... i just assumed it would be.... 1 cable from the input of monitor to ouput L of axe + 1 cable from the input of monitor to output R of axe.
 
So basically what im trying to say is... The outputs of the axe fx seem really noisy. i only get the hissing and electrical noise from the monitors when i plug into that.
i plugged guitar straight into monitor to test and it was dead silent. does this mean buy balanced cables or have i got the connection wrong. thanks
 
Yes, that's how you should connect it. Your Axe has 2 sets of unbalanced/balanced outputs: out1(L+R) and out2(L+R).
You can choose one of them and send your L and R cables to your L and R speakers accordingly.
If you have balanced cables, use the balanced output instead of the unbalanced.
Inside the axe, the "default" output is out1 (for non-digital output), but you can also send your signal to out2 via the fx loop block (the fx loop sends the signal to out2). Instances where that would be usefull, would be if for example you would like to have your sound coming out of the axe and going both at your monitors and at a power amp/cab combo. You would just have to place your fx loop block in the sound chain before the cab block, so that you can send your signal to out2 without the cab emulation (since this output would be connected to power amp and real cab).
 
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Have you connected your axe and monitors to the same power outlet? If not, try to do that and see if that helps. It could be a ground loop problem.
The axe (normally) is dead silent and clean.
 
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yeah they are all plugged onto the same board. i just checked it again, its real weird the hissing only comes when i plug into the output of the axe fx. i wonder why that connection is noisy through the monitors
 
What pickups do you have? SCs? Maybe you get some hum from the pickups (especially if you are close to a pc/monitor/dimmers etc)?
On my axe all the outs seem to work as they should...
As a final solution, try lifting the ground switch to see what happens...
 
i just plugged my headphones into the output of the axe and there was zero noise at all. just the guitar signal. why does this sound only come through the monitors. shitty cables or because its unbalanced? this is strange to me
 
If you have other cables try them out, you never know... If the cables are more than 2-3m long you should go with balanced cables anyway, cause in general, unbalanced cables are prone to noise from other electrical equipment.
Also, check your manual, as IIRC, the axe II supports a humbuster technology/connection to use with unbalanced cables, but since I don't use unbalanced cables, I haven't had the need for that, so I'm afraid I can't help you with that one...
 
alright cool ill try that out. just one more thing man, should the output level on the front of the axe be maxed out and then do the monitor volume level to suit or the other way around? thanks alot mate!
 
No, I wouldn't recommend it... The axe can give a pretty hot signal and can easily clip the input of most amps when maxed. I'd say, set your monitors to about halfway and then start raising your out1 knob till you get the volume you need (it might be less than halfway on the axe or even less, don't worry). If you see that the volume is too low and if you turn the axe's volume higher clips your speakers' inputs (distortion), then back off the axe's out1 volume a bit and raise your speaker's volume till you get the desired dbs.
Don't mention it, we are all here to help each other if we can...
 
I have my axe fx II pretty close to my computer, and when I hooked it up to my krk monitors using unbalanced cables I got a "ground buzz / noise"
so I unplugged it after ten seconds reconnected using balanced cables and never heard anything after that. So I assume that the unbalanced cables
did get som interference from all the computer stuff going on in the proximity.

So balanced cables are the way to go in my case

just my 2 cents ..

welcome to the forum, and remember there is no such thing as stupid questions, only stupid answers!

:)
 
I have my axe fx II pretty close to my computer, and when I hooked it up to my krk monitors using unbalanced cables I got a "ground buzz / noise"
so I unplugged it after ten seconds reconnected using balanced cables and never heard anything after that. So I assume that the unbalanced cables
did get som interference from all the computer stuff going on in the proximity.

So balanced cables are the way to go in my case

just my 2 cents ..

welcome to the forum, and remember there is no such thing as stupid questions, only stupid answers!

:)

Cheers for the input. I think it wouldn't hurt to give these cables a go also! i'll try and pick some up tomorrow. That seems to sound kind of like whats happening with me. I'ts an electrical type buzzing noise.
 
No, I wouldn't recommend it... The axe can give a pretty hot signal and can easily clip the input of most amps when maxed. I'd say, set your monitors to about halfway and then start raising your out1 knob till you get the volume you need (it might be less than halfway on the axe or even less, don't worry). If you see that the volume is too low and if you turn the axe's volume higher clips your speakers' inputs (distortion), then back off the axe's out1 volume a bit and raise your speaker's volume till you get the desired dbs.
Don't mention it, we are all here to help each other if we can...

I will do this! i don't want to blow up my brand new monitors! Cheers again sir.
 
Use XLR cables between Axe and the speakers. I do this with the same setup. No problems. Set the speakers to 50 % volume. If that ain`t enough volum, up the volum a till you`re satisfied.

Try not to use the cheapest cables either. Often more noise.
 
I do wonder if the crackling and noise he's hearing is just the regular amp sim noise?

Try putting a gate somewhere early in the patch you're trying out. But also follow the advice of the above posters.
 
I do wonder if the crackling and noise he's hearing is just the regular amp sim noise?

Try putting a gate somewhere early in the patch you're trying out. But also follow the advice of the above posters.

Not likely, as I thought he said it sounds fine with headphones plugged in. I agree with others that it has to be the cables. I use my Axe II with HS-80's via balanced XLR cables and never experienced this issue.
 
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