Category: Studio Diary

Posted on

Studio Diary #39: Why I Use DAW Plugins For Delay And Reverb On My #TweedTone Comparisons

‘Studio Diary’ is an occasional series where I talk about building a home recording setup for hobbyists and enthusiasts like us. I share my personal experiences, and the thinking behind some of the decisions that I’ve made along the way.

This time around, I want to answer a question that nobody has asked me. Why am I using DAW plugins for delay and reverb, instead of my Axe-FX 3?

Read on if you’re interested in my thinking behind this decision. And if you’re not interested, no worries 🙂

Continue reading “Studio Diary #39: Why I Use DAW Plugins For Delay And Reverb On My #TweedTone Comparisons”
Posted on

Studio Diary #38: Dealing With Noise And Solar Power

Regular readers will have noticed that this blog has been very quiet over the last few months. One of the main reasons for this? I’ve been dealing with problematic audio noise which started after we had a solar PV system installed at the house.

What was the problem? And what was the solution? That’s what I’m covering in today’s Studio Diary entry. Grab a drink … this is going to be a long post.

Continue reading “Studio Diary #38: Dealing With Noise And Solar Power”
Posted on

Studio Diary #37: Can I Use The Axe-FX 3 As A Power Amp For My Synergy Rig?

I’ve had a lot of success – and a lot of joy – using my Axe-FX 3 to record guitar pedal audio demos. Heck, it sounds so good, it’s my go-to pedal platform all the time now.

Can I do the same with my Synergy rig? Instead of running my Synergy modules through the SYN-5050 power amp + attenuator, can I run them straight into the Axe-FX 3 instead? Can the Axe-FX 3 add a bit of that power amp tonal magic?

I’m going to experiment, and find out.

Continue reading “Studio Diary #37: Can I Use The Axe-FX 3 As A Power Amp For My Synergy Rig?”
Posted on

Studio Diary #35: Reducing Noise With The Axe-FX III And The 4 Cable Method

When I listen to any demos involving the Axe FX 3 on YouTube, there’s no noise to be heard. But here, at home, and in my own demos that I’ve posted, there’s a background hiss whenever I let notes sustain.

I thought it was because I’m using the Axe FX 3 with my pedalboard, and it is. But it’s not the pedals causing the noise. And, thankfully, it’s incredibly easy to sort out.

Continue reading “Studio Diary #35: Reducing Noise With The Axe-FX III And The 4 Cable Method”
Posted on

Studio Diary #34: Gigrig G2 Goes For A Service

I recently rewired my home studio rack to replace unreliable home-made cables with professionally-made ones that would be noise-free.

Unexpectedly, the rewiring also revealed that I’d been losing some of the treble from my guitar without realising it. While testing all of the different signal paths that I have, I discovered problems with two of the signal chains that I use the most:

  • the signal path through my Gigrig G2 (this blog post)
  • the signal path through my Fryette PS-100 Power Station

In this blog post, I’m going to explain the problem I found, and what I’m doing about it. I’ll also include audio samples, so that you can hear the problem for yourself.

Continue reading “Studio Diary #34: Gigrig G2 Goes For A Service”