Contemplating the III - is setup with FC as easy as Axe-Fx II XL and MFC?

G

geoangus

Inspired
The concept of a foot controller with multifunction switches is a bit daunting for my aged mind and it does temper some my interest in the III.

I play covers in small bars, and the Axe-FX / MFC-III rig worked great. But alas, I sold it last summer, and after a year using a combo amp, I’m ready to return to Fractal.

I typically ran five scenes per preset, bottom row configured for banks of 5 presets, and the other two rows for turning effects on/off. It was so easy, on/off. What is the learning curve for using the FC controllers? While they seem pretty complex, is there a simple default setup that is largely plug n’ play for guys like me? And coming from an MFC, will the FC6 give me the same utility, or do I really need the FC12?
 
It’s a million times easier, everything is dynamic, labeled, and can be programmed easily through Axe Edit or the front panel, basically just hit a switch, tell it what you want it to do on tap and hold, auto saves

Brilliant concept and super powerful
 
geoangus said:
...I typically ran five scenes per preset, bottom row configured for banks of 5 presets, and the other two rows for turning effects on/off....
Click to expand...

If you're really married to the idea of being able to turn effects on and off and still have access to five scenes, I suspect you'd be happiest with the FC-12. With the FC-12, you could easily have 5 scenes and 10 effects (5 with taps on the buttons, and 5 more with holds), and still have a couple of buttons left over. And that's just on one page....you'd still have 6 more pages avail;able if you wanted to go crazy. And that's not taking into account that you can have different buttons for different effects on each preset. Super flexible, yet super easy to set up.

I was doing the same approach as you with my MFC-101, but had to change that when I went to the FC-6. I have no regrets, though. It made me realize that with just a little bit more forethought on setting up my scenes, I really don't need the individual on/off switches for my various effects. And for the rare occasions when I want to do that, I'm only a tap or two away from another couple of pages that are all effects/no scenes.

And as said above, programming the FC-x is dead easy. Much easier (for me) than the MFC-101.
 
FC12 is awesome.

I have a "presets" layout that gives me a whole bank of 10 presets, and selecting the preset automagically switches the FC to the "performance" layout, which can be set up for any number of different things, including effects on/off, control switches to tweak settings, switch channels on an effect, or switching scenes (scenes can remember 8 different sets of effects on/off and effects channel, and can turn a lot of Fred Astaire manouevers into a single button tap).

It took me a couple iterations through the "how can I do this better" to get there, but it is definitely worth the journey....
 
Other than a direct "brain-to-foot switch interface" this could not be any easier. 5 minute job using Axe Edit to get going and then you are just spoilt for choice on how best to use it. Hard to imagine shortcomings with this sort of design ethic.
And its built like a ** tank.
 
I still use my MFC101 and also use an FC6.
The MFC is for the presets and the on/off stomp effects. The FC6 supplies the fancy stuff like increase or decrease channels, tap, tuner and so on.
That works like a charm and I have everything I need.

I tried in the rehearses if I could use the FC6 alone and use multiple layers. What a mess. It was like a step dance. Whenever you want to access something else you need to step once to leave the preset layer, switch the effect, switch again to return to the preset layer. Some hold functions help a bit, but it's not as convenient than having a certain switch for a certain function
Also couldn't trust anymore that switch X is function X and Y is Y....instead I needed to look on the mini displays to see what's going on whenever I had to switch anything.
 
Rex said:
If you can set up an MFC, you can certainly set up an FC. :)
Click to expand...

I never really had to do much with the MFC - other than setting up bank of 5 presets, and assigning effects to the remaining switches, it just worked - easy peasy
 
geoangus said:
I never really had to do much with the MFC - other than setting up bank of 5 presets, and assigning effects to the remaining switches, it just worked - easy peasy
Click to expand...
It will take you all of 15 minutes to set up the FC. It is super intuitive. If you want to go really crazy with customization, add a little more time for manual reading and another 30 minutes. And if you want each preset to have its own customizable layout, then it's another 5-8 minutes per preset!
You will not regret moving from your current awesome rig to the "awesomer" Axe FX III and FC12!
 
666was999 said:
I still use my MFC101 and also use an FC6.
The MFC is for the presets and the on/off stomp effects. The FC6 supplies the fancy stuff like increase or decrease channels, tap, tuner and so on.
That works like a charm and I have everything I need.

I tried in the rehearses if I could use the FC6 alone and use multiple layers. What a mess. It was like a step dance. Whenever you want to access something else you need to step once to leave the preset layer, switch the effect, switch again to return to the preset layer. Some hold functions help a bit, but it's not as convenient than having a certain switch for a certain function
Also couldn't trust anymore that switch X is function X and Y is Y....instead I needed to look on the mini displays to see what's going on whenever I had to switch anything.
Click to expand...

I set mine up with a layout link where once I select a preset it automatically changes the layout back to the scene or effects layout page. I don’t need to change presets very often so a button press to access the layout page isn’t a big deal, and then its right back automatically after selecting one
 
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