Using AX8 live first time - Advice?
I have a couple of shows coming up that I will be playing rock guitar live, and I have a Marshall preset on my AX8 with a riff, solo and clean scene set up. is there anything I should know before I get to the venue and work with the sound guy about my unit and setting it up?
Posted Apr 24, 2021, 1:09 PM UTC
25
Yes. If possible, make sure you tweak your presets through speakers that are similar to the House set-up, something like decent loud studio monitors, or at least an FRFR type set-up. Also, tweak them at a reasonable volume. I kind of learned this the hard way. I do quite a bit of recording, and tweaked presets to sound good at reasonably low recording levels. The same presets that sounded great recorded sounded very boomy and crappy running into a powerful PA system. It had more to do with EQ settings, but I think it is because a big, powerful system really pushes frequencies that dont get pushed while recording or playing back.
Also, think through your songs and preset/switching order. Make sure you know what footswitch to press at what time, and even rehearse those changes well in advance so it becomes second-nature. (yes, also learned this the hard way!)
Yes, it's easy to get a good tone at low volume. When it's cranked up it's very different.
set your presets at the volume you will use live. even maybe a tad bit louder. when you increase volume, high end may increase as well. definitely try and use your gigging speakers. keeping in mind of course that every room is different. especially when it comes to reverberation. i usually just use delay and zero reverb live since most rooms have natural reverb or can be added from the mixer. also having a sound check is paramount to a great gig sound. make sure your venue gives you ample time for you to tweak. once dialed in for that venue, save that preset for that venue. makes it easier to tweak with repeat venues. low and high pass is very helpful as well.