Basic midi question.

Michael.K.Abe

Michael.K.Abe

Member
I'm totally new to the Fractal family and for the life of me I can't figure out how to get midi to work. If I plug a midi controller into the axe without doing anything at all should it at least do something? I'm trying to figure out if I'm doing something completely wrong or if I'm midi cable is faulty lol any help would be greatly appreciated
 
Nothing will happen automatically. What MIDI controller are you using, and what features are you trying to control?

At a minimum, if the controller is powered and connected correctly, it will need to be set to the same MIDI channel that the Axe is listening on (default is Ch. 1).
 
Thanks for the reply! I am trying to use a liquid foot jr with an axe ultra. I actually reset the liquid foot and the axe just to make sure I hadn't messed something up but they don't seem to be communicating at all. They are both on ch. 1
 
At this point I'm just trying to get the two on the same page. Short term I just want to do preset changes. I have read both manuals a few times and feel optimistic that once they are communicating I will be able to get everything running, I just feel like I'm missing something super super basic.
 
I'm not familiar with how the Ultra worked, nor with the LF jr.

Super basic MIDI controller primer:
  • set a switch to send a "program change" (PC) message to change presets.
  • set a switch to send a "continuous controller" (CC) number and value to access various features like tap tempo, selecting a scene, block bypass, etc.
  • You'll need the MIDI reference chart for the Axe Ultra, as well as the manual for the LF jr.
 
Also check the the MIDI OUT from the controller is connected to the MIDI IN on the Axe. It's a common mistake to connect MIDI OUT to OUT.
 
Thanks for the tips! I guess where I'm struggling is I have the liquid foot in preset mode and I just(wrongly) assumed that stepping on preset 1-8 would automatically change the axe to the corresponding patch but that isn't happening. All my previous midi experience is with items of like brands(rocktron midi mate to rocktron loop 8 and rocktron intellifex or gcp to gcx) so it was basic plug and play stuff. I plugged the power supply for the liquid foot into the thru on the axe and it's powering up the controller so the cable must be functioning(at least on pins six and seven) but it honestly feels like I'm being dumb and missing something super super basic...this feels like the time I tore the amp/rack/pedalboard apart to diagnose a problem just to realize that I had forgotten to plug my guitar in lol
 
My guess would be that the Liquid Foot preset mode requires some minimal programming to send program changes.

I'm also not familiar with the Ultra or LF, but on the Axe Fx there is a MIDI light on the front panel which will flash when it receives MIDI input. If the Ultra has one, check it.

You might get better help on this if you change your thread title to indicate that you need help using LF + Ultra.
 
Thanks U-guy this is the first time starting a thread on this forum so it's super likely I did something wrong/posted in the wrong place. I apologize if this is the case! Lol yeah, the midi in light is constantly on right now but doesn't blink. So I guess that means the ultra is acknowledging that a midi cable is plugged in but the lack of blinking is indicative of not receiving any changes? You are probably right about the lf. Time to read that manual again for what feels like the tenth time today lol
 
MIDI messages can be sent on any of 16 channels. These MIDI channels are analogous to having multiple lines on the same phone. They're logically separate, even though the signals run over the same physical cable. Make sure that the Ultra is either set to OMNI mode (which forces the device to listen to messages coming over any MIDI channel) or that the Ultra is set to the same MIDI channel as the foot controller. And RTFM brother, always (and just look up terms you're not familiar with, step by step, slow but stead, right?).
 
The Liquid-Foot Jr. is a very powerfull but also a complex midicontroller. I had one and loved it!.

Even if set in preset mode, you still need to program each button to send a PC (programchange) number on a Midi-channel.

Here's a link with some tips which might help you

http://voes.be/liquidfoot/jr/index.html

Another tip: don't rely much on the Editor. It's programmed in Java which does't communicate well with MIDI.
 
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Thanks a lot Voes. I had read everything on your site regarding the liquid foot while I was waiting on it to get here in the mail along with the manuals for the lf and the axe but for whatever reason it didn't click until now. I appreciate all the help from everyone!
 
Davy Pelckmans said:
There is also a sticky thread in the "other controllers" department on the forum. It is written by gothmetalboy, and is very usefull. It's a practical manual for the liquid foot and axe fx.
Click to expand...

Here's my tutorials but they are for the LF+ series not the original series without the displays on every pedal.
* http://wiki.fractalaudio.com/axefx2/index.php?title=FAMC_Liquid_Foot+

I've never owned an original LF but their manuals seem to be a lot better than the LF+ manual.
 
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