TUTORIAL: In depth MFC-101 programming guide for the Axe-Fx III

Thanks for all your hard work, Morphosis. This helped me to get the MFC functional including my expression pedals. It had been gathering dust since I got the III. Enjoy your pizza!
Great to hear and thanks! :)

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Can`t verify, have an MKI. The Firmwares got their own files for MKI/II and MKIII. If the data will be identical adressed i can`t say... try it and let us know :)

This is super work, thank you @Morphosis! I have an MFC MkIII so will try the import to see if it works. I have made a backup in case it doesn't. Will try report back on this later tonight.

EDIT: Haha, no chance! FractalBot checks the file in the beginning and errors saying it is not compatible with the MkIII. :rolleyes:
 
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Righto, I'm struggling a bit here with my MFC MkIII. Can someone help me please? I'm playing live in less than a week and starting to get nervous.

I have followed the tutorial (very well written, thanks @Morphosis), but the only thing I can get to work is bypassing effect blocks. I cannot get preset changes or scene changes to work.

Interestingly, when I boot up my Axe3 (and don't touch my MFC101) then I can hear my guitar and see an audio signal coming out of Output 1 on the Ax3. But as soon as I hit any of the buttons on my MFC then my Axe3 stops sending an audio signal dies completely, as if any button seems to be muting my output.

I have followed the instructions and MFC manual line by line, and I did notice some minor inconsistencies such as:
1) The instructions say to set MFC Display Offset = 1, and MFC Program Change Map to 000=000, however with the display offset to 1 I can only set the map to 000=001 (any lower it goes to 384). If I set the Display offset to 0, then I can set the map to 000=000.
2) Some CC#'s have been added/removed in later Axe3 FW updates

That said, I don't think either of these must be causing my problem though, however I'm doing this for the first time and have a steep learning curve.

Has anyone succeeded with their MFC101 MkIII? If so, could you maybe share your sysex with me please? I'm on FW3.08.

Sorry for the long post, and thanks!

EDIT: I suspect a faulty MIDI cable. I will start a new thread on this because I'm now not getting any MIDI activity on the Axe3 when pushing MFC buttons. Apologies for the hijack.
 
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So, has anyone written a zipped .syx file to set up the parameters for the MFC-101 Mark III to operate the AXE FX III in the midi controller mode?
Just like the file Markus Hohmann supplied for the AXE FX III Systemdata.syx on YouTube. His AXE FX III .syx file downloaded perfectly for the AXE FX III but his file for the MFC-101 would not load on the Mark III because it was for his Mark I or II...
That would really make things convenient if we had an updated .syx file for the MFC-101...
 
Not able to send the file to the MFC either : "The selected file is for a Axe-Fx III and is not valid for the MFC 101"
Note that I'm still connecting the MFC to my computer through the Axe-Fx II
 
Righto, I'm struggling a bit here with my MFC MkIII. Can someone help me please? I'm playing live in less than a week and starting to get nervous.

I have followed the tutorial (very well written, thanks @Morphosis), but the only thing I can get to work is bypassing effect blocks. I cannot get preset changes or scene changes to work.

Interestingly, when I boot up my Axe3 (and don't touch my MFC101) then I can hear my guitar and see an audio signal coming out of Output 1 on the Ax3. But as soon as I hit any of the buttons on my MFC then my Axe3 stops sending an audio signal dies completely, as if any button seems to be muting my output.

I have followed the instructions and MFC manual line by line, and I did notice some minor inconsistencies such as:
1) The instructions say to set MFC Display Offset = 1, and MFC Program Change Map to 000=000, however with the display offset to 1 I can only set the map to 000=001 (any lower it goes to 384). If I set the Display offset to 0, then I can set the map to 000=000.
2) Some CC#'s have been added/removed in later Axe3 FW updates

That said, I don't think either of these must be causing my problem though, however I'm doing this for the first time and have a steep learning curve.

Has anyone succeeded with their MFC101 MkIII? If so, could you maybe share your sysex with me please? I'm on FW3.08.

Sorry for the long post, and thanks!

EDIT: I suspect a faulty MIDI cable. I will start a new thread on this because I'm now not getting any MIDI activity on the Axe3 when pushing MFC buttons. Apologies for the hijack.


Hey chucma, just wondering, did you ever get this figured out? I've bumped into an issue where I can get switching between my 1st and 8th scene, but all the rest seem to "toggle" between whichever scene i select and then right back to scene 1.

Thanks in advance
 
I have been able to get basic things to work with MFC101 MkIII - scene changes, turning on/off a couple of effects like delay/drive. As others have mentioned, the stock .sysx from cabIR doesn't load on a Mark3. If I spend a few more hours on this I should be able to get other things to work like exp pedal, tuner, preset changes etc. But I'd rather spend that time playing guitar while I wait for the FC-12 :)
 
Hey let’s be real here. I love my Axe II And III but this craziness with the controllers is no fun at all. It’s like, here’s a new car but we have not built the steering column yet. Hahaha. I’m jelly for those who have gotten the golden ticket email but the frustration being generated by what really appears to be some poor planning and forecasting is a bummer. I wish the Mastermind were cheaper or I would get one. Until then I’m sticking with my AxeIIXL and 101 for live and writing insane patches that I cannot use live for the III. Sigh
 
I’m jelly for those who have gotten the golden ticket email but the frustration being generated by what really appears to be some poor planning and forecasting is a bummer.
The alternative was to delay release of the Axe III until the FCs were ready. I’m glad they didn’t.
 
Hey let’s be real here. I love my Axe II And III but this craziness with the controllers is no fun at all. It’s like, here’s a new car but we have not built the steering column yet. Hahaha. I’m jelly for those who have gotten the golden ticket email but the frustration being generated by what really appears to be some poor planning and forecasting is a bummer. I wish the Mastermind were cheaper or I would get one. Until then I’m sticking with my AxeIIXL and 101 for live and writing insane patches that I cannot use live for the III. Sigh

Look at https://midimonkeys.com
With my JORDI Board most features you know from Axe II will working with Axe FX III. You could use your MFC like an FCx „light“. For me it is all I need.
 
Hey all

Not sure if people are still looking for a Mark III backup, but I've finished setting up my MFC Mark III with the axefx III and it's all working well.
You'll need to setup the axefx as per the instructions in the tutorial. I've set this up to use the lower 5 buttons as 5 scenes and the remaining buttons as effect switches. Feel free to modify the CC numbers to get the effects you want in the place you want.

See the attached image for the effect locations as I set them.
 

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Don`t forget to turn the english subtitles on in the youtube video :)


In this tutorial you will find step-by-step instructions in 5 steps on how to configure the MFC-101 so that you can control the following functions of the Axe-Fx III and always keep track of current switching states.

You`ll find the 12 sites in depth TUTORIAL PDF file in a english (thanks to DeepL translator) and german versions here:
https://www.cabir.eu/content/13-mfc101-for-axefx3

This was lot`s of work, but i hope it will help some guys to learn their MFC-101 better. Also i referenced all the settings to the actual MFC-101 Manual. Furthermore, you`ll find a complete default CC# nomenclatura with maximal 127 CC# entries for the MIDI/Remote Menu!

Excelente!!! I'm considering buy an Axe Fx 3, but I have no intention to sell my mfc-101. It's gonna be very very very useful!!
 
Hey all

Not sure if people are still looking for a Mark III backup, but I've finished setting up my MFC Mark III with the axefx III and it's all working well.
You'll need to setup the axefx as per the instructions in the tutorial. I've set this up to use the lower 5 buttons as 5 scenes and the remaining buttons as effect switches. Feel free to modify the CC numbers to get the effects you want in the place you want.

See the attached image for the effect locations as I set them.

You sir are a top man! Thanks for this, I will have a play. I ended up setting up my MFC101 mkIII in a very basic (but usable) format so will be keen to see what you have done differently.
 
I apologize if this has been covered already.. but can i ask why we are limited to only 48 presets with this option here?

Thx!
 
In other words, what would be the limitation/difference if I were to set Bank Size to 0 and use all IA switches as toggles? (Which would give me access to all 384 presets right?). I could then switch Scenes with Scenes increments/decrement CC#.. or use my FCB1010 plugged into the MFC101 midi In to control Scenes?

Or something in between, with Bank Size = 5?

Thx!
 
In other words, what would be the limitation/difference if I were to set Bank Size to 0 and use all IA switches as toggles?

Scene select/inc/dec IAs won't change effect IAs to match the Axe-FX state. By using presets to send scene select CCs, a stored IA state can be loaded on the MFC.

A bank size of 5 could be used. If you only use 5 scenes in any preset, you could access 77 total presets this way (minus one scene on highest preset/bank). Any preset switch could have an alternate preset defined for 6/7/8 scenes when needed. (This would have to be one of the 384 MFC presets, gradually reducing the number of accessible Axe-FX presets.)

If a given scene # tends to have the same effects, songs/sets could potentially access more presets. For example a single "scene 2, chorus/delay/reverb on, everything else off" MFC preset could be on preset switch #2 in multiple songs.
 
Ok, makes sense. Thx for the reply! I saw after posting that sopachrga successfully set it up with Bank = 5. So I guess that would likely be my preferred option as well. Cheers!
 
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