AXE I/O harsh compared to Focusrite 2i2 1st Gen

[masterings]

Hello, it's my first post. I just bought AXE I/O with AT 5 MAX and I'm comparing it with my Focusrite 2i2 1st Gen, I prefer Focusrite but I can't explain why.



On the AXE I/O I tried to modify the z-tone, the JFET, Pure, passive etc but without success. I mainly play Slash presets and on the Focusrite I hear more attack and more Slash like.

My Gear
I'm using a Gibson Les Paul with Alnico Pros II Slash Signature and AXE is making my pickups sound different from Slash's tone, with any z-tone position. My benchmark is my real 100W Marshall head and with Focusrite I'm really close to that sound, on the AXE it feels a bit like "fake" and "artifact".

My setup for both audio cards is ASIO drivers, both 16 bit. Can someone help me to debug this?

Many thanks
Alex from Italy.

[Ryan_IK]

Hey masterings,

Thanks for posting! That experience doesn't sound quite right and we'd be more than happy to help.

When you can, shoot me a PM with an audio example of what you're hearing in comparison and I'll check with the team. I'll take a look to see what I find, but I'll also help get you in touch with the support team for the best help here.

In the meantime, I'll leave the discussion open to any user settings. I know we have quite a lot of AXE I/O users and some might have some specific tips for this kind of sound.

[Ramses2ii]

My setup for both audio cards is ASIO drivers, both 16 bit. Can someone help me to debug this?

Which ASIO drivers are you using? There are AXE I/O's own ASIOs, then FocusRite has it's own. I've also downloaded and tried ASIO4ALL drivers, but I find AXE drivers to work best with AXE and FocusRite with it's own FocusRite.