Boss FS setup for Axe-Fx III

[garbard]

Hello,

I recently bought my Axe-Fx III, and so far it has been a dream come true. However, I cannot figure out how to get a simple footswitch (Boss FS-5U) to switch scenes. In fact, I cannot get the footswitch to do anything at all. I read through the manual and have searched extensively online for any help, but I have not found anything for the Axe-Fx III. There are many posts regarding I/O settings on the Axe-Fx 2, but most of those settings are nowhere to be found on the latest model. All help is greatly appreciated, as I would like to have some basic switching capabilities before the FC-6 is released.

Thank you.

 

[chris]

a simple on/off switch toggles between 2 things - off and on. but with the Axe-Fx, you may not know is that it is toggling between 2 MIDI values - 0 and 127. these represent the Minimum and Maximum Values used for MIDI communication.

on the Axe-Fx II, you saw the I/O CTRL menu which housed the assignments for Bypass and XY functions. these had a number for each Block, something like Filter 1 = 52. that number is a CC number, which is a type of MIDI message.

with so much more on the Axe3, a simple 1 page menu wasn't enough. so in Setup, you'll see a MIDI/Remote menu instead, with several pages of functions for the blocks and other things. go to this menu and assign the Bypass or whatever you want to the corresponding Pedal Port you're using. for example, if you FS5U is plugged into Pedal 1 on the rear of the Axe, then set Filter 1 to Pedal 1 rather than a number. this is the same as it was on the Axe-Fx II. just notice what Page you're on - Bypass, Channel, etc.

setting this up allows the FS5U to turn the Filter block on and off because remember, you're sending commands of 0 and 127. it just so happens that 0 = Bypass and 127 = Engage. (it's actually a range, but that explanation works for now.)

so again, this is the same as the Axe-Fx II. also the same is how to change Scenes. but as before, your FS5U is only sending commands of 0 or 127. these 2 commands can't control all 8 Scenes - again you're only sending 2 commands, not up to 8.

so going to the menu that shows Scene Select, if you set that to Pedal 1, you'll then send commands of 0 or 127, and this happens to correspond to Scene 1 (0) and Scene 8 (127). so you can change between those two Scenes with a simple FS5U, but that's it. be sure that you don't assign multiple items to Pedal 1 - assigning it again doesn't clear the previous assignment (for good reason).

so a very simple switch like the FS5U is just that, a simple switch, which means it can't control too much. but for some, this is useful or all that's needed.

 

[garbard]

Thank you so much for the detailed response Chris!

I apologize if I misread something in your post, but "Scene Select" does not have a "Pedal 1" option, only midi control 1-127. If I put "Scene Increment" to Pedal 1 it works, but then I am going through all 8 scenes. I can make scenes 1,3,5,7 Rhythm and 2,4,6,8 Lead as a work around for this, but it would be nice to be able to switch between just two for simplicity's sake. I am sure I am missing something quite simple here.

 

[chris]

Thank you so much for the detailed response Chris!

I apologize if I misread something in your post, but "Scene Select" does not have a "Pedal 1" option, only midi control 1-127. If I put "Scene Increment" to Pedal 1 it works, but then I am going through all 8 scenes. I can make scenes 1,3,5,7 Rhythm and 2,4,6,8 Lead as a work around for this, but it would be nice to be able to switch between just two for simplicity's sake. I am sure I am missing something quite simple here.

i'm not at the gear, so i could be wrong on that detail. sorry about that. the overall concept stands. i don't use switches like that often so maybe i didn't notice.

 

[garbard]

i'm not at the gear, so i could be wrong on that detail. sorry about that. the overall concept stands. i don't use switches like that often so maybe i didn't notice.

No problem. You have been more than helpful. This is plenty to hold me over till the FC-6 comes out.

Thanks again!

 

[Anand Mahangoe]

I think the FS5U is a momentary switch.....which works differently than a 'toggle' switch....the 'latch' version , the Boss FS5L......looking to do the same...select between scene 1-2......

 

[api4u]

I think the FS5U is a momentary switch.....which works differently than a 'toggle' switch....the 'latch' version , the Boss FS5L......looking to do the same...select between scene 1-2......

Agreed.

The FS-5L is "Latching", so it latches, or toggles on & off.

The FS-5U is "Un-Latching", so it is only latched when the pedal is pressed. If you remove pressure from the pedal switch, it returns to the unlatched state.

In other words, if you're using an FSU, the effect that is activated by the pedal switch will stay on, as long as you continue to step on the pedal. As soon as you step off, the effect that was activated by the switch returns to what it was before.