devices · Axe-Fx III · learn · 05 of 08 · 6 min

plugging it into things

Every jack, what it is for, and the Humbuster cable that fixes hum before you reach for a DI box.

the one thing

Guitar into Input 1. Into a real amp, use a Humbuster cable (TRS at the Fractal end, TS at the amp) to cancel ground hum.

the jacks

Click any jack to see what it does and what to watch for.

inputs and outputs

ANALOG INPUTSANALOG OUTPUTSIN 1 INSTIN 2 LIN 2 RIN 3IN 4OUT 1 XLR1/4″OUT 2OUT 3PEDALFASLINK IIMIDIAESS/PDIFUSBAC IN

Axe-Fx III · rear panel · schematic, drawn from Fractal Audio’s panel diagram

INPUT 1 · Instrument

TS, 1/4" (unbalanced)

rear panel

Your guitar or bass. This is the input with Fractal's Secret Sauce front end.

Worth knowing
Inputs 2, 3 and 4 are line level. A guitar makes a sound in them, but not the right one. Put it in Input 1.

humbuster

Fractal wire their quarter-inch outputs so that a special cable (TRS at their end, TS at the amp) cancels ground-loop hum. An ordinary guitar cable works, without the hum canceling.

If a real-amp rig hums, this is the first thing to try, before a ground lift and long before a DI box.

real amps, each read from its schematic, ready for your Axe-Fx III.

presets for your Axe-Fx III →