First gig with the III - A+

negativefx

Inspired
Just did my first gig with the III last night.

- Sound guy was impressed with the output he was getting. Said it sounded great in the headphones and a few ppl from the other bands said they thought it sounded kickass from the floor and were jealous. (One band had an ampeg portaflex and 15 cab, other was playing a sansamp sorta thing.) Drummer from one of the bands said he has an XL+ at home and hasn't been able to get a tight bass sound like I had.

- I do a lot of touch-sensitive playing to get ripsnort when I need it and cleaner when not. This wasn't as easy to dial in on the XL+ but worked great on the III last night.

- My band said that my bass has sounded better than it has in the past few months via the XL+. Nobody on stage had an issue hearing me. I largely used my XL+ presets imported via fractool but did make some cab tweaks (used a 1x6 and a 1x15 cab sim on all my presets).

- Used the MFC-101 as my controller. I don't have a <25ft 7pin DIN so I had the scrawny 12v adapter cable running on the floor. Scary. Worked OK, scenes got out of sync here and there due to fat footing the board but overall it was OK.

- Anyone know where I can get a fairly priced 15ft to 20ft 7pin DIN? I can only find lengths like <6ft and >25ft cables and the 25 footers apparently don't work well. I already have the 5-7pin adapter and whatnot, just need the cable. Doesn't matter if it's male-male or male-female. Have a bunch more gigs coming up soon and who knows when the FCs will release... very concerned about the tiny cord on the 12v adapter just getting mangled on stage.
 
Great report.
I used to have some long 7-pin cables from my Rocktron All Access days...let me look in a bin or two and get back to you as I don't need em.
 
Have a look at monoprice. i bought a 10,15,20 foot 5-pin recently. But I think they have 7-pin versions in similar lengths.
I would not skimp on the midi cable, especially with phantom power involved.

That cable is your control lifeline for live performance!

Get a quality cable...
 
BestTronics btpa.com for the cable. Not cheap, but fairly priced and good people to deal with. https://btpa.com/Midi-Footswitch/ For midi cables. I am using a 30 ft 7 pin cable from them that works well on my MMGT/22.

Glad to hear the gig went well!
I was going to recommend them, but I have yet to receive my first order from them (a 5 to 7 pin cable for connecting my Axe Fx III to MFC)... So I can't yet comment on the quality, even though they have a great reputation.

My 7 pin was made for me by Hans at VAFAM (RIP)...
 
I was going to recommend them, but I have yet to receive my first order from them (a 5 to 7 pin cable for connecting my Axe Fx III to MFC)... So I can't yet comment on the quality, even though they have a great reputation.

My 7 pin was made for me by Hans at VAFAM (RIP)...
BTPA cables are A+++
 
I did find that they make your cable as ordered, when ordered... so it does take a little longer than normal “off the shelf” purchases. But if you want a 31 ft 7 inch cable for some reason, you can have one!
 
I did find that they make your cable as ordered, when ordered... so it does take a little longer than normal “off the shelf” purchases. But if you want a 31 ft 7 inch cable for some reason, you can have one!
Yeah... Ordered mine on Tuesday, just found out this morning they are made to order so won't ship until next week.
 
Great report.
I used to have some long 7-pin cables from my Rocktron All Access days...let me look in a bin or two and get back to you as I don't need em.

That would be awesome if you have em laying around... I can toss you some cash for em, no need to donate unless you need a charity deduction. :) If you find them I can send you a shipping label.

ripsnort is a word I’m going to have to find use for. Good word.

I'm full of them. My drummer is more professionally trained/experienced with sound engineering than I and he gets a kick out of my descriptors for tones. Flab, icepick, chunk, jank....

I'll check out btpa. I don't have a gig for a few weeks so don't mind the wait.
 
Which cable has the power option plus midi? (So that I can skip the wall wart extra cord; would rather plug the wall wart in my rack and run power with the single midi cod out to the MFC.)
 
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Which cable has the power option plus midi? (So that I can skip the wall wart extra cord; would rather plug the wall wart and my rack and run power with the single Medicare bill out of the MFC.)
You don't get rid of the wall wart. Basically you plug the 5pin midi-out from Axe AND the wall wart's power-out end into an adapter that turns them into a single 7-pin out. Then you run a 7-pin cable from that adapter into the MFC. Allows you to keep all the power sources inside your rackbox and run a single 7pin cable across the stage instead of a 5pin + extension cord + wall wart.
 
You don't get rid of the wall wart. Basically you plug the 5pin midi-out from Axe AND the wall wart's power-out end into an adapter that turns them into a single 7-pin out. Then you run a 7-pin cable from that adapter into the MFC. Allows you to keep all the power sources inside your rackbox and run a single 7pin cable across the stage instead of a 5pin + extension cord + wall wart.


Thank you. I think I understood that I still had to supply power from the wall-wart, just wasn’t aware of the adapter bit .... Definitely need to run just one cord.

Any suggestions on in the adapter? Many thanks!
 
I snagged this one off of eBay which was made by BTPA: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1-foot-7-p...tor-BTPA-Best-Tronics-MIDI-Cable/192405402357

Then sskkmm was ridiculously kind to me and sent me a 7-pin cable he had on hand. From my reading, you cannot use a cable longer than 25ft and that's pretty much what is available pre-made online from sites like amazon. BTPA will build you a custom cable but they're not particularly cheap and are built to order. I'd recommend getting a 20ft cable if you can find/afford one just to be on the safe side.

Also, I think BTPA can just build you a single cable with the adapter built in rather than needing an adapter + cable.
 
Which cable has the power option plus midi? (So that I can skip the wall wart extra cord; would rather plug the wall wart and my rack and run power with the single Medicare bill out of the MFC.)
Here is part of the ship confirmation I got today from BTPA.com including shipping to CA:
FAS03-XX
  • SKU FAS03-XX
  • Cable length (Feet): 20 x $0.45 = $9.00
$39.78 1 $39.78
Subtotal: $39.78
Coupon discount: $0.00
Shipping cost: $11.80
Grand total: $51.58
 
Just did my first gig with the III last night.

- Sound guy was impressed with the output he was getting. Said it sounded great in the headphones and a few ppl from the other bands said they thought it sounded kickass from the floor and were jealous. (One band had an ampeg portaflex and 15 cab, other was playing a sansamp sorta thing.) Drummer from one of the bands said he has an XL+ at home and hasn't been able to get a tight bass sound like I had.

- I do a lot of touch-sensitive playing to get ripsnort when I need it and cleaner when not. This wasn't as easy to dial in on the XL+ but worked great on the III last night.

What amp/cab models do you find you are ending up using the most?

Congrats on the compliments from the first gig!
 
What amp/cab models do you find you are ending up using the most?

Congrats on the compliments from the first gig!

On bass so a combo of SVT and Mesa models depending on the preset. I used a b7k drive on a few scenes w/ Mesa amp model as well, and a short spring verb for a slight 'slapback' effect on all presets/scenes.

I used two cabs in my cab block, a 1x6 and a 1x15 for the gig but there's also an orange 4x10 model that I use on some presets that I didn't need for the gig... I can get the exact names at practice tonight. I have a pile of OH and other cab models so I can't guarantee it's one of the FAS-provided cabs.

To be honest, I can't remember if I took those cabs as a starting point, then tonematched and exported into an IR. Been dicking with so much stuff on the III that I'm not sure I could replicate what I did without a copy/paste. :)
 
Early days for me here so far... slightly more flexibility than a VT bass pedal, that's for sure!

Sad that there's no GK amp/tone options...
 
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