Can the AxeFX III be 100% controlled by a computer?

j20056

j20056

Inspired
I am ready to take the plunge and buy an AF3. However, my rack is a few feet away from my desk, so I am trying to find out what piece of functionality requires physical interaction with the unit. As a point of reference, I own an Eventide H9000 Rack, which has no physical interface, and I found that being 100% software controlled is great for studio setups. I am aware of Axe Edit software, but what % of the functionality does it control? More specifically, once all the I/O, volume normalization and other global settings are done, I would think that Axe Edit would be more or less my interface no physical interface with the AF3.
Please let me know about your workflows and how it relates to the above.
 
Many commonly used global settings are available in Axe-Edit so once you have the unit connected and have completed "one-time" setup functions like calibrating expression pedals etc, then you can round it off to 100% of your day-to-day workflow can be through Axe-Edit. That's pretty much how I use my FM9: it sits on the floor connected with USB and SPDIF and I almost never have to use the unit's UI.
 
Last edited:
j20056 said:
I am ready to take the plunge and buy an AF3. However, my rack is a few feet away from my desk, so I am trying to find out what piece of functionality requires physical interaction with the unit. As a point of reference, I own an Eventide H9000 Rack, which has no physical interface, and I found that being 100% software controlled is great for studio setups. I am aware of Axe Edit software, but what % of the functionality does it control? More specifically, once all the I/O, volume normalization and other global settings are done, I would think that Axe Edit would be more or less my interface no physical interface with the AF3.
Please let me know about your workflows and how it relates to the above.
Click to expand...
By all means yes......Axe Edit is the only way to fly! biggrin.gif
 
I almost never touch anything on my AxeFX3 except the power switch. Everything is done either through Edit or my FC-6. Before I had my FC-6 I would use some buttons on the front panel to bring up the tuner and switch presets but all that can be done via software too.
 
j20056 said:
my rack is a few feet away from my desk, so I am trying to find out what piece of functionality requires physical interaction with the unit.
Click to expand...
Mine sits a few feet away, where I can reach the knobs but can't easily see the display.

There are some global settings we use when initially setting up the hardware that can only be done from the front-panel, but, for day-to-day things Edit is fine.
 
There is one important thing which you cannot do via software: changing the physical output levels, which are controlled by the front panel Out1-4 volume knobs. Depending on your use case it might work for you to set an appropriate level once and never change it, as preset levels as well as USB levels (meaning sound from the PC) can be controlled via software. Personally, I change the Out1 knob multiple times daily as I use the Axe FX as my main audio interface and prefer just twisting the volume knob to adjust for a different sound level (e.g. watching a movie vs playing my guitar) instead of changing some other parameter such as the USB return level.
 
Some parts of the system settings and a few other things are hardware only.

It’s primarily a preset editor but has been updated over the years to include the most accessed system settings and more.
 
l4mpi said:
There is one important thing which you cannot do via software: changing the physical output levels, which are controlled by the front panel Out1-4 volume knobs. Depending on your use case it might work for you to set an appropriate level once and never change it, as preset levels as well as USB levels (meaning sound from the PC) can be controlled via software. Personally, I change the Out1 knob multiple times daily as I use the Axe FX as my main audio interface and prefer just twisting the volume knob to adjust for a different sound level (e.g. watching a movie vs playing my guitar) instead of changing some other parameter such as the USB return level.
Click to expand...
I mean, sure, but you can change the level of the output blocks or put a volume block in front of your outputs and throttle that.

In between rehearsals, I just throw my FX3 on top of my full stack and plug in the I/O+USB, and interact only with Axe-Edit.
 
It would be cool to have a comprehensive list of current hardware-only options, but I have no idea how difficult that is to make
 
I have the Axe Fx in the live room, running optical cables and USB to connect to the UAD Apollo and computer in the control room. Also a 7 pin midi cable runs from live room to control room for the connection between Axe Fx 3 and RJM mastermind GT.

I can control all I want via Axe Edit and mastermind GT...no problems at all.
 
DiamondDaveL said:
I mean, sure, but you can change the level of the output blocks or put a volume block in front of your outputs and throttle that.
Click to expand...
Yeah as I said there are ways to work around that, but how well they work depends on the specific use case. For example, I keep the presets on my home Axe FX identical to those in my live rig and wouldn't want to change preset levels or add volume blocks just for home use. And while there are other ways that would work in my scenario, such as changing USB return level or boosting the volume via the out1 global eq level, it's simply more convenient for me to twist a physical knob that's sitting right in the middle of my desk.

I'm not trying to suggest it's a dealbreaker for using an Axe FX in a fully remote controlled situation, just brought it up as it wasn't mentioned yet and is one of the very few things that cannot be done remotely.
 
I would say about 99.999% controlled by computer.

You can't calibrate expression pedals through Axe Edit and adjust a couple minor settings like scene revert etc. Once you navigate your preferred settings on the front panel once, you rarely have to go into the unit. Most of the touring I've done with the AxeFX3 everything was operated via laptop/ableton and the unit stayed in a rack sidestage.
 
j20056 said:
once all the I/O, volume normalization and other global settings are done, I would think that Axe Edit would be more or less my interface no physical interface with the AF3.
Click to expand...
Once setting Scene Revert as desired, getting expression pedals calibrated and getting the Output levels set on the unit, I have used Axe-Edit III exclusively at home. I don't recall the last time I used the UI to make any tweaks to a preset or to adjust any Audio or EQ settings in the unit.
 
Anything in the MIDI/Remote menu is only on the hardware UI (MIDI configuration, global CC and controller assignments, PC mapping, etc.).
Loading the factory FC layouts, Stand-In Switch configuration, Pedal and switch configuration and calibration are also hardware only.
 
mr_fender said:
Anything in the MIDI/Remote menu is only on the hardware UI (MIDI configuration, global CC and controller assignments, PC mapping, etc.).
Loading the factory FC layouts, Stand-In Switch configuration, Pedal and switch configuration and calibration are also hardware only.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure if it applies to all of these settings, but at least some of those can technically be changed remotely by restoring system configuration via fractal bot. So in theory, you could control this remotely on one Axe FX by buying a second Axe FX, changing the settings there, exporting them, and restoring the backup on the first Axe FX - no access to the first Axe FX hardware UI required :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom