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Post subject: USB out Questions
Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 7:02 pm
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So, I'm the very pleased new owner of a seafoam green Super Champ X2 and I have a few questions about recording through the USB..

I downloaded Reaper and everything works, I can turn down the amps volume completely and the sound comes through allowing me to record silently in the garage on my laptop with Fuse running in the background, which absolutely rocks, but I want to make sure I understand how it works. Does the signal going out of the USB run the same path as it does when not plugged in through the USB, as in, does the signal still run through the preamp and/or power tubes? The tones I'm getting while in the DAW aren't nearly as ear pleasing as what I get with the volume turned up (which, with a tung-sol and some JJ's, are quite so). I didn't expect it to be dead on, and I'm sure that it requires extensive fiddling to get a good sound, and this is my first experience with any type of guitar USB interface, I just want to make sure I'm not running the tubes for no reason. Don't get me wrong, I love the amp either way, but if the USB out is just running through the dsp modeling, I'll probably get a different USB interface for recording and just use the FUSE for tweaking the amp settings (which is very cool ... A gain 2 on the supersonic? Fun).

Any input would be greatly appreciated!


Last edited by FakeGuitarchitect on Sun Jul 20, 2014 8:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: Recording Questions
Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 7:41 pm
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I never do direct recording via USB using any amp or modeler. For an amp I stick a SM57 at the rim of the speaker about 1" from the grill cloth, For a modeler I use the audio outs into my sound card. I record at bedroom levels and here is a link to my SCX2 recorded like I said above. First half is clean channel the second is overdrive (13 model super sonic) all at very low volumes. I shot it in in one take and did no editing as this is a demo of how the amp sounds for my buddies on a forum or two, I recorded it dry, and added the Waves IR1 Reverb in the recording application Sonar Producer 8.5.3

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_so ... D=12104751

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Post subject: Re: Recording Questions
Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2014 9:46 am
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Thanks for the reply. I totally get that going this route isn't going to be the most ideal way to record, I guess I should clarify what I'm trying to find out. Being a "hobbyist" type, I was thrilled to find out that the X2 sends a signal out through the USB that can be picked up in DAW software. After reading some of the posts on here about having difficulty getting that to work, I was quite pleased that I got it working with very minimal effort. Having this, albeit somewhat gimmicky, ability allowed me to do something really fun for me at my level, which is download and run a backing track as one track and be either recording a second track or arming it to record and just using it as a "monitor" to play along with the backing. I dig this, because i can do it all outputting into headphones from my laptop and having the amp turned completely silent. Again, i understand that this probably isn't going to yield the best quality sounds, but hey, it works and its fun for ME.

What I would like clarified, is whether the signal coming out of the USB runs thru both or either the preamp or power tubes.... Because if they aren't, I'm sure I could find a different way to interface with my laptop and save the tubes for when I'm actually playing out of the amp.

Your point isn't lost on me though, I may look into getting a Mic and getting setup to do it that way.

Thanks again, and if anyone can address my question about the USB out signal path, I would greatly appreciate it.


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Post subject: Re: Recording Questions
Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2014 5:19 pm
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Download the SCX2 manual and the Fender Fuze software and Fuze manual from Fender if you haven't done so already. Those will help you a bit, because in the Fuze software there are adjustments for the direct out.

If you can turn the amp up a small bit that may help, read the manuals. You can adjust the output of the direct outs in Fuze, and that may help you improve the sound.

Also you can do a lot once the stuff is recorded with EQ's and other plug ins.

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Post subject: Re: USB out Questions
Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2014 8:14 am
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Goodness people.... The USB out signal... DOES IT RUN THRU THE TUBES!?!? I appreciate the input but I really would like an answer.


Last edited by FakeGuitarchitect on Mon Aug 11, 2014 5:30 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: USB out Questions
Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2014 3:19 pm
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Hi FakeGuitarchitect, welcome to the forum.

I am not an expert, but here is my understanding of amps in general. The signal level the preamp sends to the power amp is controlled by the gain. The volume controls how much the power amp then amplifies the signal it received from the preamp, and the power amp sends this amplified signal to the speaker.

With the volume up on the SCX2, you can hear the amp normally while using the USB output (I do it all the time), so there must be current flowing in both the preamp and the power amp. With the volume all the way down, I would expect that you still have current flowing in the preamp, but very little in the power amp, since you are not actually using the power amp to amplify the signal to drive the speaker. Sound logical?

Fender TSL surfs this forum now and then. They will probably give you a definitive answer sometime in the near future. Until then, I hope this helped somewhat.

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Post subject: Re: USB out Questions
Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2014 5:16 pm
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Hi FakeGuitarchitect,

Thanks for your inquiry. The USB signal that comes from your Fender® Super Champ™ X2 amp passes through the same signal chain as the signal that is fed to the internal (or cabinet) speaker. There are a couple of differences of course, due to the fact that the audio signal coming directly out of the speaker will be a specific "tone", and the signal that is routed to the digital USB output is a more direct signal path (no physical speaker reproduction).

With that said, you may want to check out the different cabinet simulations that are available in the Advanced Amp panel in the Fender® FUSE™ software. And please let us know if we can assist further.

Best Regards,

Alan

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