Axe Fx III on USB-C of 2020 Macbook Pro 13''

parlopower

Inspired
My 2015 Macbook Pro 15'' starts making trouble and I think about replacing it with the latest 2020 Macbook pro 13'', the one with the 2.0GHz Quadcore i5, 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD. This model only has 4 Thunderbolt/USB-C ports, no other connection options (except for the headphones jack).

I would have to connect the Axe Fx III used as audio interface, the Steinberg USB eLicenser for Cubase 10.5 Pro, my USB iLok dongle and my MIDI keyboard. There are plenty of USC-A to USB-C hubs on the market. Does anybody have experience with how they work with the Axe? It would not only be for Axe Edit and FractalBot, but to use the Axe as my main audio interface with Cubase. I could imagine putting all four devices on one hub with four USB-A ports, or since I have also seen one-on-one USB-A to USB-C adapters, I could imagine putting the Axe through such an adapter on its own USB-C port and only put the other three on the hub, if that works better.

Any experience somebody could report would be very much appreciated, thanks in advance.
 
I bought a new MacBook last week, whatever the best one is. I ordered a wire off Amazon and hooked it up, Edit and Bot work great.
 
I use the USB/HDMI/USBC power only AV adapter by Apple. I connect the monitor, power adapter and AXE to a 2020 MacBook Pro. No issues.

I previously ran a USB multi port to it as well with a Presonus and a webcam before the AXE but it kept having connection issues.

If I had issues, I was planning on running a single USB to USBC for the Axe but have not needed it.

I also looked for a cord to go direct from the AXE but didn’t find one and I had a couple of the others already from the Presonus.

YMMV
 
I have this Thunderbolt3 Dock that works well. I have my old Thunderbolt2 Dock from my old iMac plugged into it, and between them, it gives me a TON of USB2 and USB3 Type-A jacks to use....

20200928_131005.jpg
 
I have this Thunderbolt3 Dock that works well. I have my old Thunderbolt2 Dock from my old iMac plugged into it, and between them, it gives me a TON of USB2 and USB3 Type-A jacks to use....

20200928_131005.jpg
can anyone tell me why they do not make a thunderbolt 3 hub? All I want is a thunderbolt hub that gives me more thunderbolt ports.
 
can anyone tell me why they do not make a thunderbolt 3 hub? All I want is a thunderbolt hub that gives me more thunderbolt ports.
I have the same question. I've done a lot of searching for this, and what I have read indicates that either (1) the chip set for Thunderbolt can't support parallel hub connectivity, or (2) there is a "shortage" of the controller chips. Those both seem like terrible answers to me. I have a MacBook Pro, and all four of my Tbolt ports are in use, with Tbolt-USBA/HDMI ports in two of them, and external peripherals plugged into the other two. Tbolt daisy-chaining doesn't work in setting, so that's another issue. The promise of Tbolt3 is great, and I love the speed. But I absolutely need a Tbolt hub with multiple Tbolt ports.

The fact that no one makes such a device suggests there is a technical challenge in doing so.
 
I got a Samsung thunderbolt monitor, which powers my laptop, gives me 4 usb A ports, and my primary screen on one cable.
Very neat solution and works fine with my afx3 plugged into the monitor.
(2019 MBP, not sure how different the 2020 is.)
 
So from all this, it sounds like running the Axe Fx III through a hub / adapter into a USB-C port works fine.

Thanks a lot, that's what I hoped to hear!
 
So from all this, it sounds like running the Axe Fx III through a hub / adapter into a USB-C port works fine.

Thanks a lot, that's what I hoped to hear!

Yep. I can connect to the Axe FX III and the FM3 at the same time with my OWC powered thunderbolt hub.
 
Cool, thanks again everybody, just placed my order for the Macbook Pro. Looking forward to the ca. 35% increase in power compared to my old laptop... 👍

Enjoy high speed! I have a mid-2014 MPB with lowly specs (has done its job magnificently, no qualms) but going SSD and quadrupling my RAM has me excited to upgrade.
 
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