Axe-Fx III with MFC-101 (basic setting)

Paolo1971

New Member
Hi everyone,
not being able to wait for the FC-6 pedal, I decided to buy the MFC-101 to connect to my new FX III.
Basically I bought the MFC-101 to:
1) set some IA switches to change the scenes and the channels
2) scroll through the various presets of the Axe Fx III
3) activate the tuner
I do not need anything else...

I have read both the manual of Axe Fx III and the manual of MFC-101, in addition to explanations in this forum.
But unfortunately I am still not able to program the two devices.
- I set the MFC-101 as a general midi controller (NONE)
- I set the port on the MFC-101 to MIDI
- I made sure that the midi channel is 1 in both devices
That's all...

Now I really need someone to explain me step by step what to set up in the MFC-101 and what to set up in the FX III.
I think it is enough to make just one example, like "how to set scene 1 on IA switches1" or "how to set the tuner on IA switches10" etc....I think that when I understand the process I will be able to set all the other switches by myself. I really need an elementary explanation step by step with the values to put in the various fields.
Thanks in advance to those who will answer me, I hope that my post will help those who will be in my situation.
 
I agree. I have read a bunch of instructions on how to set the MFC with the III, but for
the life of me, I can't figure out how to set the IA's to select scenes. There's a reference
to assigning a CC# for the desired function, but I've been through all the Midi/Remote
menus and I can't seem to put it together. It sounds simple enough, but the instructions
always seem to be missing some crucial details.

I'm using MFC Edit and still can't get things to work, no matter what settings I use.
The only thing I've managed to do is get the MFC to step through Presets 1-xx depending
on the number of switches I have assigned to presets, but everything else is greek to me.

As you said, a detailed Step by Step procedure for setting an IA switch to a specific function
both on the MFC and the Axe III sides would be great. Once we know the exact procedure,
then we can apply it to whatever switches & functions we wish.

Thanks!
 
I`m actually writing a (english) Step by Step Tutorial ...
- Preset Changes
- Scene Changes


- FX Bypass Switching


- FX Channel Switching (no, there is no delay between pressing buttons and execution on the Axe, the two Handys i used for video just get out of Video sync...)


...all with MFC Status LEDs in SYNC with the Axe III

- TAP Tempo




... sooo, it costs some time to do that in a way, not only "the MIDI nerds" are able to get this done, but hopefully i got it ready soon ...
 
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I did follow the steps in your previous post, but I can't seem to locate the Scene function in
the Midi/Remote menus. All I see are a complete list of effects from A-Z. I'm just looking for
the actual screen(s) where the CC#'s are supposed to be input. For example, Scene Inc/Dec,
Bank up/down & other functions besides effects.
I've been reading the MFC & Axe III manuals, but they only seem to give general examples.

Basically I could get by with 5 IA's in the first row with selecting Scenes 1-5 and 5 IA's in Row 2
selecting presets. I'm just trying to program a basic live setup until the FC's are released.

The Video's above look great, but unfortunately, I don't understand German.

Thanks for the help. It is appreciated!
 
I did follow the steps in your previous post, but I can't seem to locate the Scene function in
the Midi/Remote menus. All I see are a complete list of effects from A-Z. I'm just looking for
the actual screen(s) where the CC#'s are supposed to be input. For example, Scene Inc/Dec,
Bank up/down & other functions besides effects.
I've been reading the MFC & Axe III manuals, but they only seem to give general examples.

Basically I could get by with 5 IA's in the first row with selecting Scenes 1-5 and 5 IA's in Row 2
selecting presets. I'm just trying to program a basic live setup until the FC's are released.

The Video's above look great, but unfortunately, I don't understand German.

Thanks for the help. It is appreciated!
You are probably on the Bypass page... Page to the right again (I think- not in front of mine right now).
 
Unix is correct.

Go to
1. Setup
2. Midi
3. Page over to the "Other" tab
4. Scene + and Scene - are on the tab
 
Thanks Rob, I thought I looked in there, but must have missed it. I'll try again tonight.

Regards
 
No problem.

Note: I set the MIDI cc's to 123 and 124.

rllw
 

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Rob, thanks for the photo! Now what if I want to assign 1 IA switch for Scene 1, another for Scene 2, etc.
Is there away to assign a CC to a particular scene, instead of just Inc/Dec?
Also, on the MFC side, I assume I have to set the specific IA switch to send the same CC?

I keep forgetting that the MFC is the controller and the Axe III is the controllee, so the Axe is responding
to the Footswitch commands.

Thanks
 
Check out page 45 of the AXE III manual.

First, you have to assign a MIDI CC number to the Scene select function. Then, you have to send a specific value with that CC.

Keep in mind, there is a CC number and CC value. Both need to be assigned to the I/A switch.

Hope this helps!!






SELECTING SCENES & CHANNELS REMOTELY
Scenes and Channels can be selected using MIDI or Global Controllers. Switches but not pedals are
recommended in this case (though switches
can
be plugged in at “Pedal” jacks). Several options are provided.
SCENE INCREMENT AND DECREMENT
The
Scene Increment
and
Decrement
functions allow you to step up or down through scenes one at a time. You
must first assign each function its own CC# or pedal/switch option in the
MIDI/Remote
menu. The function is
triggered by any value of the controller.
SCENE SELECT
This option uses the value of a controller to select a specific Scene. You must first give the
Scene Select
function its own controller in the
MIDI/Remote
menu under
SETUP
.
The scene is set by the
value
of the controller (not the controller number itself... see FAQ below).
Values begin at 0, while Scenes are numbered from 1, so “
Value plus one = Scene number

(see table 1, right). The series continues, repeating scenes 1–8 across CC values up to 127
1
.
EXAMPLE
: Let’s say you want your DAW to select scene 3. Open the
MIDI/Remote
menu and
assign your desired CC# to “Scene Select”. Let’s say CC#34. Set your DAW to send CC#34 with a
value of “2”, which loads scene 3.
CHANNEL SELECT
This uses the value of a controller to select a specific Channel. Each block has its own dedicated
setting for channel select, found across the listings on the
Channel
page of the
MIDI/Remote
menu under
SETUP
.
The Channel is set by the
value
of the controller (not the controller number itself... see FAQ
below). Values begin at 0, which is Channel A, and it continues from there. (See table 2, right).
As with Scene Select (above) the series continues, repeating Channels A–D across values to 127
 
I`m actually writing a (english) Step by Step Tutorial ...
- Preset Changes
- Scene Changes


- FX Bypass Switching


- FX Channel Switching (no, there is no delay between pressing buttons and execution on the Axe, the two Handys i used for video just get out of Video sync...)


...all with MFC Status LEDs in SYNC with the Axe III

- TAP Tempo




... sooo, it costs some time to do that in a way, not only "the MIDI nerds" are able to get this done, but hopefully i got it ready soon ...

Thanks for the videos ... unfortunately I can see the result (excellent), but not as you got the result. The procedures that describes the MCF and FX III settings are missing...
 
Did you try the steps I outlines here:

Thank you so much....this is very useful for me ....thank you.
Unfortunately I can not understand this fundamental point..
"If you have NOT previously setup your MFC to use MIDI commands, follow the instructions on page 24 of the MFC manual."
I read page 24 but I did not understand if I have to change the default values and how I have to change them. I need an example...
 
Thanks to everyone for the advice, I finally managed to program some function ....
Thank you thank you thank you
 
Thank you so much....this is very useful for me ....thank you.
Unfortunately I can not understand this fundamental point..
"If you have NOT previously setup your MFC to use MIDI commands, follow the instructions on page 24 of the MFC manual."
I read page 24 but I did not understand if I have to change the default values and how I have to change them. I need an example...

The statement was in reference to people who have used their MFC to control a previous AXE.

If you're a new MFC user, you will need to setup your MFC to send MIDI commands to the axe, and those instructions start on page 24 of the manual. As I had previously programmed my MFC with my XL+, I did not need to do this to get the MFC to work with the III. Rather, I have the III learn the midi messages that I had used in my legacy setup.
 
Well, I made some progress last night. Was able to get a Bank of 4 Presets
on IA's 1-4, IA5 set for Scene Dec and IA10 for Scene Inc. Bank Inc/Dec are in
the normal spots (left over from Axe II setup). One thing I could not figure out was
where the CC# Value was on the MFC. I was trying to set IA6 to a specific scene.
I set the CC# to 120 on Axe III. Then I was trying to find the Value Parameter for
CC#120 so I could set it (for example) to Value 0 to select Scene 1. On the MFC, there
is a CC# parameter, but the only value Parameters I saw were for on/off (00-127).
These were 2 separate Parameters. I didn't see a place to set the Value for that
particular CC# (at least not in the same window with the CC#). Does anyone
know where the Value setting is for a CC# on the MFC?

I also could not get an IA to toggle on/off a particular effect (Delay, Drive, etc.)
I set Delay to CC#115 on Axe III, then set an IA to the same. Tried it with a Preset
with Delay in the grid (off when recalling the Preset). Stepped on IA and nothing
changed. Maybe there's some Toggle setting I need to change?

At this point, I can actually use it live by copying my main Presets into Banks 1-4
and using Scene Inc/Dec. Almost there!

Thanks for the help so far!
 
Great progress!

Regarding the delay/drive blocks, what is the midi configuration you have on the i/a switch?

It should be something like for I/A switch 6:
1. EDIT : MIDI : PAGE" (8x)
2. "I/A 6 c1 CC#115 Ch01"
3. EDIT : MIDI : PAGE" (9x)
4. "I/A 6 c1 Off Off On 127"

also make sure the I/A swtich is set to Toggle:
1. EDIT : SETUP : PAGE" (10x)
2. Go to I/A switch 6
3. Set to TOG

Finally link all of the IAs that you are using for scene select.
 
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Hi Rob,
The above info #2 & #4 looks correct (not in front of Axe at the moment).
I'll have to check the TOG setting, that may be it.

Just curious as to where the Value setting is for the CC#? For Scene
select, you're supposed to be able to set Value to 0-7 (1-8) to select
specific scene. I don't see any Value except the Off 000 - On 127

Thanks!
 
Edited 6/27/2018:

For scene select, you would have to set the value to the appropriate scene.

To access Scene 1 from I/A switch 9 setup the following (assuming AXE on midi channel 1):

1. Setup the Scene select MIDI on the AXE III
a. Setup
b. MIDI Remote
c. Page over "Other"
d. Setup a CC number for "Scene Select". In this example, let's use 99.​

2. On the MFC Setup the I/A Switch MIDI CC
a. Check out page 55 of the MFC Manual 12.4.8 IA Switch Control Change (CC#) Settings
b. IA09 c1 CC#99 Ch01
c. Note c1 above means "command 1", which we need to setup next​

3. Setup the MIDI command/Value to send with the I/A switch
a. Check out 12.4.9 IA Switch Control Change ON/OFF Values of the MFC manual
b. IA09 c1 OffOff On00
c. Note: the On00 above should correspond to the scene you wish to access (see table below).​

4. Repeat for each I/A switch you wish to assign, changing the IA switch nubmer and scene Value as appropriate.

CC Values, Scenes.
0 = Scene 1
1 = Scene 2
2 = Scene 3
3 = Scene 4
4 = Scene 5
5 = Scene 6
6 = Scene 7
7 = Scene 8​

5. You may also want to change the switch type to "Momentary" or "Auto Off", this may drive better behavior. Again, as I no longer have an MFC, I can't really test.
a. Check out page 65 of the MFC manual 12.5.10 IA Switch Types
b. EDIT : SETUP : PAGE" (10x)
c. IASw 09 Type MOM



6. You may need to link the IA switches together. Check out MFC manual 12.5.14 IA Switch Link Settings.

Link all of the IA switches that you are using for scene select.


Please let me know if this works, and we can update the instructions appropriately.
 
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