VooDoo Labs GCPro and Axe-Fx Scenes

Toopy14 said:
So this all started because I was on the Fractal forum reading about LF controllers and the Axe-Fx. I was convinced I was going to need to sell my GCPro and buy an LF because there was no way to implement scene selection without having to use the mapping feature on the Axe-Fx, which works, but is cumbersome. I was interested in the LF+ JR+, but by the time I factor in the exchange rate, shipping, duty, taxes, etc. I'm looking at a lot of money for something I would probably only scratch the surface of, in terms of functionality.

I figured that if scenes weren't an option on the GCPro, I could use the IA buttons to select/bypass blocks within a preset. So I got that working but quickly realized the limitations. I kept digging and came up with bits and pieces of information on the Fractal forums. In particular, the one about using the VCA function of the GCPro to select scenes. I was intrigued.

What does VCA stand for? Here's a post from John Clark at VooDoo, explaining it;

VCA is a Voltage Controlled Amplifier, which in this case was a feature of the long discontinued System Mix Plus. It was a programmable volume control that could be routed anywhere in your rack controlled via MIDI. Unless you are using a System Mix Plus, there is probably nothing you could use the VCA settings within the Ground Control Pro for.

Turns out, his last sentence is not true...you can use it for something else...scene selection in the Axe-Fx! :)

Here's how it works;

The VCA function on the GCPro will send CC 07 on MIDI channel 16 to send out any one of 100 values, 0-99. Again, another post from John Clark;

"It will send Controller #007 on MIDI Channel 16 and the selectable 0-99 in the Ground Control Pro presets scales to data values 0-127."


So, that's how the GCPro works. Here's how the Axe-Fx handles scenes;

"Assign a switch to the MIDI CC for Scene Select (default 34) with values 0 to 7 to select scene 1 to 8 within the current preset. Values higher than 7 also select scene 8. Values higher than 63 will step through the scenes, wrapping at the limits. Also, there are dedicated MIDI CCs to increment or decrement the current scene. If you don't specify a value, the switch will switch between scene 1 and 8. "

So, basically, a value of 0 selects scene 1, a value of 1 selects scene 2, and so on. Values 0-7, select scenes 1-8. Here's the tricky part though, but not a problem. Remember what John said;

"...the selectable 0-99 in the Ground Control Pro presets scales to data values 0-127"

That means that it's not a straight-forward mapping, in other words, a VCA value of 00 maps to scene 1, but a VCA value of 01 maps to scene 03. I mapped it all out;

VCA 00 -> CC 0 or Scene 1
VCA 01 -> CC 2 or Scene 3
VCA 02 -> CC 3 or Scene 4
VCA 03 -> CC 4 or Scene 5
VCA 04 -> CC 6 or Scene 7
VCA 05 -> CC 7 or Scene 8
VCA 06 -> CC 0 or Scene 1
VCA 07 -> CC 1 or Scene 2
VCA 08 -> CC 3 or Scene 4
VCA 09 -> CC 4 or Scene 5
VCA 10 -> CC 5 or Scene 6
VCA 11 -> CC 7 or Scene 8
VCA 12 -> CC 0 or Scene 1
VCA 13 -> CC 1 or Scene 2
VCA 14 -> CC 2 or Scene 3

That's enough for all 8 scenes, but the easiest way to remember and what I'm using, is;

VCA 00 -> CC 0 or Scene 1
VCA 07 -> CC 1 or Scene 2
VCA 14 -> CC 2 or Scene 3
VCA 21 -> CC 3 or Scene 4
VCA 28 -> CC 4 or Scene 5
VCA 35 -> CC 5 or Scene 6
VCA 42 -> CC 6 or Scene 7
VCA 49 -> CC 7 or Scene 8

So start at VCA 0 and go up by 7 for each scene.


Okay, enough with the theory, here's how you set it up.


Axe-Fx

1) The GCPro transmits the VCA values on MIDI channel 16. You need to set the Axe-Fx to OMNI mode, so it will listen to all transmitted MIDI data.

I/O MENU -> MIDI PAGE -> MIDI CONTROL = OMNI

2) The GCPro transmits the VCA values using CC 7. You need to change the Scene Select CC value from the default to 7.

I/O MENU -> CTRL PAGE -> SCENE SELECT = 7



GCPro

1) First thing you need to do, is enable the VCA feature.

SETUP MODE -> EXPANDERS -> BANK DOWN TO VCA -> VCA = ON

2) Now all you need to do, is setup your presets.

SELECT BANK -> PRESET X -> EDIT -> BANK DOWN TO VCA LEVEL -> VCA LEVEL = YY

(where YY = VCA value that corresponds to the Axe-Fx scene, see table above)


Here's an example. I have a preset for a song stored at Preset 111 on the Axe-Fx. Scene 1 is saved with the delay bypassed. I copied Scene 1 to Scene 2, enabled the delay block and saved the preset. So now I have;

Preset 111, Scene 1, no delay
Preset 111, Scene 2, delay

On the GCPro, I select the bank that calls preset 111 on the Axe-Fx. I have my GCPro setup with 8 IA's and 4 preset buttons. So, I select preset 1, edit the preset and change the VCA value to 00. Save it. Then I select preset 2, edit the preset and change the VCA value to 07. Save it.

That's it! Now I can select scenes, using the GCPRO!!!! :)

Here's a video of how it works;



Hope this helps.

A big thanks to Zéx for his post on GCPro's VCA feature!

Tony
Click to expand...

Hey! Very interesting! But I have a question, how many presets are available with this method?. Because I see in your vídeo that the display shows the next preset in the GCP while in the axe is the next scene...thanks in advance
 
I´ve read this post yet but doesn´t answer my question...sorry... My thoughts are if you have 127-8 presets available with the GCP in the normal function. How many presets do you have with this method? Same 127-8 with their scenes or 32 presets with scenes? Thanks
 
Pretty sure you'll still have the same number of presets, but I've never looked at that closely. I don't know how to play 127 songs, so it's never been a concern! lol
 
fisioaura said:
I´ve read this post yet but doesn´t answer my question...sorry... My thoughts are if you have 127-8 presets available with the GCP in the normal function. How many presets do you have with this method? Same 127-8 with their scenes or 32 presets with scenes? Thanks
Click to expand...
32 presets with scenes ( 4 x preset) :(
 
this method is not working for me

Question about it:

1) I have my GCPro setup with 8 IA's and 4 preset buttons, When I try to change banks, instead of starting at "5", jump to "11". This is one of the problems, and I do not understand why.

2) Another problem is that with this method I can only put scenes on the first 4 switches in the row below. The 5 scenes I need can not be assigned to any of the other switches.

3) If I use the 10 banks mode, I can assign the 5 scenes, but other problems are generated, such as confusion between presets and scenes.

I would like to use it as follows:

8 IA's and 4 preset buttons. So for example in the preset "5" you can switch between scenes from 1 to 5 with the buttons IA. This is possible?



Thank you
 
Not to be a buzz kill... and Im new here but...
What exactly has been discovered here? 1 preset = 4 presets?
How is this different than copying the same preset to the next preset space and modifying its blocks?
Preset 1 has delay and preset 2 doesnt. Seems 4 presets on the GCP is accomplishing the same thing. Unless you need 127 presets with 4 options within them.
 
Dickie Fredericks said:
Not to be a buzz kill... and Im new here but...
What exactly has been discovered here? 1 preset = 4 presets?
How is this different than copying the same preset to the next preset space and modifying its blocks?
Preset 1 has delay and preset 2 doesnt. Seems 4 presets on the GCP is accomplishing the same thing. Unless you need 127 presets with 4 options within them.
Click to expand...

What has been discovered is that, for those of us who own a Ground Control Pro, there is actually a way to use the GCP to change scenes within a preset, even though the GCP is not specifically designed to do this. It is a very interesting means of re-purposing an existing, though somewhat obscure feature of the GCP (VCA control), and making it do something that is actually useful for AxeFX owners.You could accomplish the various sounds that scenes provide by creating separate presets for every sound you need, but that defeats the whole purpose of the 'scenes' feature in AxeFx and could require a lot of extra effort in mapping presets to midi PC commands, leveling between various presets, etc. I think most of us are probably waiting for the release of the FC controllers and are exploring our options for using equipment we already own as interim measures. In my case, this means using a GCP. So, this thread has been extremely helpful in tweaking the GCP to be a more powerful option for the AxeFx, even if it is just a temporary stop-gap measure. Hope this info helps and welcome to the forum!!
 
Yes, I am in the same boat. I had the GCP for use with the 11Rack.

I just recently purchased the Axe2 so you can imagine Ive been all over the web in an effort to learn best practices in its use. I always liked the GCP so I wanted to just use it in an attempt to restrain my spending on gear haha

Yes, I too find it an amazing reuse of the tool. I wasnt trying to bag on the discovery. Just wondering again the specific uses that would make this configuration different/better than 4 presets.

Maybe name the preset by song and have a preset for each song so you stay within a preset? That's all I can think of and that's actually a pretty good idea.
 
Last edited:
Dickie Fredericks said:
Noted! That too makes sense.
I'm going to give it a whirl today.
I need to print out the instructions heh
Click to expand...
And you don't have to maintain multiple presets... If, for example, you use all 8 scenes of a preset, then you need 8 presets to cover that. Now, imagine you need to change 2 settings in the Amp block. That becomes 16 changes...
 
Quick question...
How does this work with the banks?
If I start the stuff up and am on preset 1, scene 1 I have 3 more scenes to access w the GCP on the bottom row and all the IA switches.
Is it as easy as hitting bank up and then the first button (bottom left) to be at preset 2?
Am I making sense? LOL

What I am asking is does the bank button then increment the presets 1 by 1 or how would you select preset 2? Seems that what I am reading is that though were using scenes we are getting less presets so it ends up the same count of options.

I may be confusing myself.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom