Getting Started with MFC-Edit

bwanagary

bwanagary

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What to do after you install it ...

"Read The Manual", while good advice, isn't something people want to do before trying the program to see if its even worth reading the manual in the first place :) So I'm creating this page for most of us ...

Here's my suggestion, assuming that you are learning the editor as well as the MFC-101:


  1. Dump a file from your MFC-101 to the computer using Fractal Bot (See Fractal Bot manual)
  2. MAKE A COPY OF THE FILE IN A SAFE PLACE :)
  3. Transmit the file immediately back to the MFC-101 to make sure that the bi-directional communication between the computer and MFC-101 is flawless. If you have any problems with sending the sysex dump back to the MFC-101 you must resolve them before going any further. Once that is working reliably ...
  4. Launch MFC-Edit and open the file you dumped
  5. Go to the SONGS tab first and add about six songs - enter only the first Preset of each song
  6. Go to the SETS tab and choose the songs in a particular order for a "Set"
  7. Rename the Set by double-clicking the column header - you can enter up to 7 characters
  8. Save the file or Save As to save it to a different name
  9. Transmit the file back to the MFC-101 using Fractal Bot
  10. Make sure that your SONGS and SETS exist on the MFC-101 by pressing the Edit->Setup->Page-Right (#7) switches on your MFC-101. Pressing the UP and DOWN switches should scroll through your sets and you should see the Set Name that you entered. If you don't, recheck each step.
​
Assuming that is all good, I would then use the Axe-Edit program (not MFC-Edit) to export your Axe-Fx Presets to a text file using ​Tools->Export As Text->Presets, then from the MFC-Edit (not Axe-Edit) File menu select Import Axe-Fx Presets and import the file you just exported from Axe-Edit. This will aid you greatly configuring your MFC-101 because it will display the actual Axe-Fx Preset names that your MFC-101 settings are pointing to.

If your MFC-101 is not connected to your computer, or you just want to poke around MFC-Edit without hooking up the MFC-101, MFC-Edit comes with "stock" sysex files in the MFC-101/dumps folder (in your Home folder), that you can load up and mess with to learn the program.

REMEMBER - MFC-Edit contains both it's own and the MFC-101 Owner's Manuals accessible from the Help menu, and there are always helpful "Nuggets" available almost everywhere by right-clicking the mouse on the screen part you're interested in.
Those are the basics. As you learn more about the equipment you can use more and more powerful features of the editor. You can also ask questions on the Forum - lots of really smart people on there.
 
Last edited:
Hi
I´m having problem with this:

3 Transmit the file immediately back to the MFC-101 to make sure that the bi-directional communication between the computer and MFC-101 is flawless. If you have any problems with send the sysex dump back to the MFC-101 you must resolve them before going any further. Once that is working reliably ...

Any suggestions to get it working ?
FW´s update and backing up the MFC works fine.
But when trying to send a file back to the MFC it stops at "loading preset 1"

/Anders
 
Anders_J said:
Hi
I´m having problem with this:

3 Transmit the file immediately back to the MFC-101 to make sure that the bi-directional communication between the computer and MFC-101 is flawless. If you have any problems with send the sysex dump back to the MFC-101 you must resolve them before going any further. Once that is working reliably ...

Any suggestions to get it working ?
FW´s update and backing up the MFC works fine.
But when trying to send a file back to the MFC it stops at "loading preset 1"

/Anders
Click to expand...

That's because your file didn't transmit correctly. Fractal Bot won't complain if bytes get lost. That is the very reason I have these steps as the recommended process for getting started. Until you have a good capture (proved by successfully transmitting to the MFC-101) there's not much else you can do with a sysex. Do you have the MAC or Windows version of MFC-Edit? if you have the Windows version you can try to capture the file from the MFC-101 directly with MFC-Edit (from the Tools menu). That feature isn't released for MAC yet. If you have a MAC, try the SLOW DUMP instead of the regular dump.

Failing that, open a support ticket. You'll need to solve your transmission problems before you can go any further.
 
Thanks for doing this man! Very helpful!:encouragement:

Is there a way to know whether the dump file is bad before trying to resend it back to the MFC?
 
mrstrat said:
Thanks for doing this man! Very helpful!:encouragement:

Is there a way to know whether the dump file is bad before trying to resend it back to the MFC?
Click to expand...

Yes. Try to load it into MFC-Edit. You'll get a nasty popup message if the file is invalid and some diagnostics in the Error List off the EXTRAS page. If you don't have MFC-Edit there are some free sysex dump validation utilities at ejoz software. I've never used them but I know of them, so I'm not sure how they work or what they'll do for you. This is their web site: ejozsoftware
 
I purchased MFC Edit yesterday and am also struggling with step 3.

I've got the MFC 101 MK 3 connected to my AXE FX 2 XL via FasLink. I've also got a 5 Pin Midi Cable running from the MFC Midi Out to the AXE FX 2 XL Midi In.

I'm then running USB Out from the AXE FX 2 XL into my Macbook Pro.

AXE FX drivers have been installed on the MacBook Pro. I'll also add that I use AXE Edit all the time - no problems. I also use Fractal Bot with no problem when updating the AXE FX (and have also managed to update the MFC with the latest firmware).

So....

In Fractal Bot I select the RECEIVE Tab and select MFC 101 MK3 and AXE FX 2 Midi OUT. I click BEGIN. Arm the MFC to start the DUMP, click BEGIN and then start sending. I receive a file no problem at all. NOTE: If I were to open that file in MFC Edit, it would tell me it's broke so I'm assuming the problem has already happened.

Anyway, I then select the SEND Tab in Fractal Bot, select MFC 101 MK3 and select the OUTPUT as AXE FX 2 Midi IN (Note: I've seen online tutorials where users have MIDI OUT as the option available, not MIDI IN - is that part of the problem? I only have MIDI IN as an option).

I select the file I just received and send back to the MFC as instructed. The MFC just hangs with 'Loading Presets 1' and that's as far as I can get.

Suggestions please! I really want to get the MFC Edit software working this weekend! Cheers, Simon
 
If MFC-Edit won't load the file then the dump is invalid. After the failed attempt at loading the file into MFC-Edit go to the EXTRAS page and click the "View Error Log" button. Copy/paste that content into an email to mfcedit@fractalaudio.com. The file size must be 140915 bytes for a Mark III MFC-101. If the size isn't the same that's the first clue that the dump was unsuccessful. So the problem is before MFC-Edit. If the file is corrupt then the MFC-101 would not be able to restore it either. From another post ...

To get a good backup from your MFC-101 using an Axe-Fx the simplest thing to do is connect a MIDI cable from the MFC-101 MIDI OUT to the Axe-Fx MIDI IN port. Connect the Axe-Fx via USB to your computer. Go into the I/O menu on the Axe-Fx console, page over right twice to the MIDI page of the I/O settings, scroll down and make sure that the SEND REALTIME SYSEX is set to NONE and the USB ADAPTER MODE is set to ON.

Plug in your MFC-101 power supply (use the transformer/wall wart) and power it up. Press the EDIT footswitch, press the SETUP switch (#5), press the LEFT ARROW switch (#6) four times. STOP NOW and direct your attention to your computer.

Start the MIDI capture program on your computer (Snoize, MIDI-OX, Fractal Bot, MFC-Edit) and follow those instructions so that your capture program is sitting waiting for data to start coming in from the MFC-101.

Now press the ENTER switch on the MFC-101 (#14). That should work. Don't be running anything CPU or I/O intensive (encoding, decoding, transcoding audio and video for example) while the capture is happening.

What I describe isn't the only way to do this, but it has the fewest variables and there will be the simplest to troubleshoot.
Click to expand...

You can email the sysex dump file that you created to mfcedit@fractalaudio.com and I take a look at it for you to see if there are more clues.
-G
 
bwanagary said:
If MFC-Edit won't load the file then the dump is invalid. After the failed attempt at loading the file into MFC-Edit go to the EXTRAS page and click the "View Error Log" button. Copy/paste that content into an email to mfcedit@fractalaudio.com. The file size must be 140915 bytes for a Mark III MFC-101. If the size isn't the same that's the first clue that the dump was unsuccessful.
-G
Click to expand...
Gary,
What size should the file be for a Mark I or II MFC-101? I'm still having transmission and corrupt file issues, and I'm trying to determine if it's my computer or midi cables, first, before I bug you with the details....
Thanks!
 
api4u said:
Gary,
What size should the file be for a Mark I or II MFC-101? I'm still having transmission and corrupt file issues, and I'm trying to determine if it's my computer or midi cables, first, before I bug you with the details....
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Hello api4u. The Mark 1/II firmware should be 140897 bytes exactly.
 
bwanagary said:
What to do after you install it ...

"Read The Manual", while good advice, isn't something people want to do before trying the program to see if its even worth reading the manual in the first place :) So I'm creating this page for most of us ...

Here's my suggestion, assuming that you are learning the editor as well as the MFC-101:


  1. Dump a file from your MFC-101 to the computer using Fractal Bot (See Fractal Bot manual)
  2. MAKE A COPY OF THE FILE IN A SAFE PLACE :)
  3. Transmit the file immediately back to the MFC-101 to make sure that the bi-directional communication between the computer and MFC-101 is flawless. If you have any problems with send the sysex dump back to the MFC-101 you must resolve them before going any further. Once that is working reliably ...
  4. Launch MFC-Edit and open the file you dumped
  5. Go to the SONGS tab first and add about six songs - enter only the first Preset of each song
  6. Go to the SETS tab and choose the songs in a particular order for a "Set"
  7. Rename the Set by double-clicking the column header - you can enter up to 7 characters
  8. Save the file or Save As to save it to a different name
  9. Transmit the file back to the MFC-101 using Fractal Bot
  10. Make sure that your SONGS and SETS exist on the MFC-101 by pressing the Edit->Setup->Page-Right (#7) switches on your MFC-101. Pressing the UP and DOWN switches should scroll through your sets and you should see the Set Name that you entered. If you don't, recheck each step.
​
Assuming that is all good, I would then use the Axe-Edit program (not MFC-Edit) to export your Axe-Fx Presets to a text file using ​Tools->Export As Text->Presets, then from the MFC-Edit (not Axe-Edit) File menu select Import Axe-Fx Presets and import the file you just exported from Axe-Edit. This will aid you greatly configuring your MFC-101 because it will display the actual Axe-Fx Preset names that your MFC-101 settings are pointing to.

If your MFC-101 is not connected to your computer, or you just want to poke around MFC-Edit without hooking up the MFC-101, MFC-Edit comes with "stock" sysex files in the MFC-101/dumps folder (in your Home folder), that you can load up and mess with to learn the program.

REMEMBER - MFC-Edit contains both it's own and the MFC-101 Owner's Manuals accessible from the Help menu, and there are always helpful "Nuggets" available almost everywhere by right-clicking the mouse on the screen part you're interested in.
Those are the basics. As you learn more about the equipment you can use more and more powerful features of the editor. You can also ask questions on the Forum - lots of really smart people on there.
Click to expand...




I’ve been trying to complete the steps above with out any luck. Where can we get a very detailed step by step guide to getting MFC Edit up and running on a Mac? Detailed to the point of where to plug the midi cable in and out etc. I thought that I was fairly tech savvy until I got started with this little project. This whole process would seem quite unintuitive. For instance. I have the midi cable plugged in to the (out) of the MFC into the (IN) of the AXE FX and I’m doing a dump from the MFC but the drop down menu option on fractal bot says midi out on the axe fx. WTH?


HELP!
 
I'm afraid I have the same error here that a lot of people are having. No matter what method I try to upload the dump file, I keep getting the "Loading Presets I" display and it just stays there.

I was able to get a dump from my MFC-101 using the MFC-Edit software just fine (Tools - Receive Dump). No errors at all.

The file that I've been trying to send is exactly 140, 897 bytes as it should be (I'm on a Mark I MFC-101).

I've even used the software suggested above to validate the sysex file, and it says it's valid.

What else can I try?
 
What USB/MIDI interface are you using? Operating system? Cables? What computer are you using? How fast is the computer?
This problem nearly always a "speed mismatch" between how fast your computer is sending and how fast your cables, USB/MIDI interface and MFC-101 can receive and process the data.

If you're using the Axe-Fx as the USB/MIDI interface follow the instructions exactly found by displaying them from the Axe-Fx As USB/MIDI Interface from the Help menu of MFC-Edit. If your are NOT using the Axe-Fx as the USB/MIDI interface try slowing down the transmission only a little using the Manual Delay (ms) Override option on the SysEx Transmitter window. If that doesn't work please open a ticket and provide all the information requested above and after a failed transmission, copy/paste the entire contents of the View Errors window off the EXTRAS page.

Later: Thanks for sending me your sysex dump file. It loads just fine here. Please provide the information requested above in this forum so that I can post the solution for the next person who experiences the same difficulty.
 
bwanagary said:
What USB/MIDI interface are you using? Operating system? Cables? What computer are you using? How fast is the computer?
This problem nearly always a "speed mismatch" between how fast your computer is sending and how fast your cables, USB/MIDI interface and MFC-101 can receive and process the data.

If you're using the Axe-Fx as the USB/MIDI interface follow the instructions exactly found by displaying them from the Axe-Fx As USB/MIDI Interface from the Help menu of MFC-Edit. If your are NOT using the Axe-Fx as the USB/MIDI interface try slowing down the transmission only a little using the Manual Delay (ms) Override option on the SysEx Transmitter window. If that doesn't work please open a ticket and provide all the information requested above and after a failed transmission, copy/paste the entire contents of the View Errors window off the EXTRAS page.

Later: Thanks for sending me your sysex dump file. It loads just fine here. Please provide the information requested above in this forum so that I can post the solution for the next person who experiences the same difficulty.
Click to expand...


MIDI Interface = Creative EMU XMIDI 1x1 USB MIDI Interface
Operating System = WinXP (can't remember what patch, but it's latest available)
Cables (see above)
Computer = not the fastest for sure, so maybe that's where the problem lies. What would you recommend?

I am not using the AxeFX as an interface - I don't have the power adapter for the MFC and I also don't want to have to continually change the settings on the FXII.

I tried changing the Manual Delay Override, but I made it as slow as possible - I'll give it a go with only a slight change in the transmission speed and let you know how it goes (later today or this evening).

Again, I'm not getting any errors, and everything seems to work fine when taking data from the MFC-101. It's just that I can't send my modified Sysex file back to the MFC.

Thanks for verifying that my sysex is ok - at least we got that cleared up! :)
 
Skanky said:
MIDI Interface = Creative EMU XMIDI 1x1 USB MIDI Interface
Operating System = WinXP (can't remember what patch, but it's latest available)
Cables (see above)
Computer = not the fastest for sure, so maybe that's where the problem lies. What would you recommend?

I am not using the AxeFX as an interface - I don't have the power adapter for the MFC and I also don't want to have to continually change the settings on the FXII.

I tried changing the Manual Delay Override, but I made it as slow as possible - I'll give it a go with only a slight change in the transmission speed and let you know how it goes (later today or this evening).

Again, I'm not getting any errors, and everything seems to work fine when taking data from the MFC-101. It's just that I can't send my modified Sysex file back to the MFC.

Thanks for verifying that my sysex is ok - at least we got that cleared up! :)
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info. The EMU interface is the problem. Slow down or speed up the transmission slightly. I have one of these interfaces an it's rather persnickety. You have to have the speed just right.
 
bwanagary said:
Thanks for the info. The EMU interface is the problem. Slow down or speed up the transmission slightly. I have one of these interfaces an it's rather persnickety. You have to have the speed just right.
Click to expand...

Oh man - if that fixes it I'll buy you a beer. I fought that damn thing for 2 hours last night. lol.
 
Ok, so I might have noticed something recent when getting a sysex from the mfc using mfc-edit... I get an error which I may have overlooked before. Here's the log:

11/25 8:53: Info: Mfc user Home : 'C:\Documents and Settings\xxxxxxxxxx.xxxxxxxxxxxx\Desktop'
11/25 8:53: Info: MFC-Edit Vers : 4.2, build #3,241
11/25 8:53: Info: Operating Sys : Windows XP, 5.1
11/25 8:53: Info: Java Version : Oracle Corporation, 1.8.0_66
11/25 8:53: Info: Licensed to : xxxxxxxxxxxxx
11/25 8:53: Info: License key : 10b5-bfca-b193-3ea9
11/25 8:54 MIDI DEV: USB Audio Device
11/25 8:54 Receiving: MFC-101 Mark-I/II dump.
11/25 8:54 Receiving Firmware: 3.8
11/25 8:55 Loading file: My MFC-101 Dump.syx
11/25 8:55 Firmware ver : 3.8, Model: MK-I/II
11/25 8:55: Info: SUCCESS - File My MFC-101 Dump.syx loaded.
11/25 8:55 Barf! Exception selecting illegal index (41) on IASwitchLink ComboBox
 
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