FC 12 buttons stop working

fannar182

fannar182

Member
My FC12 has been acting weird for the past week and three buttons in the bottom row (Nr.4,5,6) randomly stop working as they should. I press them but nothing happens. I then have to remove the cable from the unit and re-connect and then it works for 2-10 minutes again but then starts acting funky again.

I've had my FC12 for 10 months and never had any problems with it and this is really frustrating because I play a lot of gigs and I can't have this brake on me randomly.

Have you any idea what could be wrong? What could be causing this error? I read similar stories on the Fractal forum and some talked about a ribbon connector being loose? New XLR cable? I even saw one that had the exact story as mine and he had to have his Axe-FX III replaced because the problem was inside of it and not being caused by the FC12 unit itself? Could that seriously be what's happening to me?

So what would you do if you were in my shoes right now? All ideas would be greatly appreciated.

I have my AXE-FX III on the newest software version and the FC12 on 1.12

Here is a video if it happening live:
 
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I have seen a number of users reporting issues with the FC-12 like this on this and other forums. Has the cause(s) of these issues ever been officially definitely identified by Cliff and his team? I searched this web site, the Wiki, the manual and other forums to determine if Cliff has issued any direction to users detailing how best to avoid these problems but did not find anything. Does anyone know if there are actions that we users can take to avoid these issues, or, are the problems design or random manufacture issues? I don’t have a back-up FC-12 and would like to do everything I am able to do to prevent a failure at a gig. Thanks for any info you may have.
 
I have had this issue numerous times, even with different units (Axe and FC). Sometimes it's bad (every 5 minutes). Sometimes it doesn't happen for months. Same cable, different cable, same results. I have been frustrated enough to seriously consider other units (FC9, Kemper[again], Helix, etc) - then the problem magically goes away, almost like it is reading my mind.
 
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ewiz666 said:
I have had this issue numerous times, even with different units (Axe and FC). Sometimes it's bad (every 5 minutes). Sometimes it doesn't happen for months. Same cable, different cable, same results. I have been frustrated enough to seriously consider other units (FC9, Kemper[again], Helix, etc) - then the problem magically goes away, almost like it is reading my mind.
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Have you tried the cable that Fractal sells? Has anyone? Does it make a difference (I can’t imagine why it would unless there is something special going on)? What did Fractal Support tell you about your unit when they replaced it? so far, my FC-12 has worked flawlessly but it’s only three months old. I wonder if repeated plugging and unplugging of the connectors on the AX3 and/or the FC-12 wears or loosens the pins or receptors enough that they lose contact intermittently eventually? Maybe it would be wise to make up male/female pigtails that would stay connected to the units and plug the cable into those pigtails so the pigtails could replaced as necessary? I don’t know why the FC-12 connectors would wear more that the inputs or outputs…unless they are lower quality to start with.
 
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Yes I have the Fractal cable and No it doesn't make a difference.

After going round and round and round on this I'm convinced its a software/firmware issue and not hardware related.
 
ewiz666 said:
Yes I have the Fractal cable and No it doesn't make a difference.

After going round and round and round on this I'm convinced its a software/firmware issue and not hardware related.
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Thank you for the info. If it is software/firmware issues causing intermittent FC-12 failures there must be certain actions, or groups of actions, that trigger the problems and the problems would be so widespread that huge numbers of users would be reporting them consistently. Has anyone noticed any patterns in the operation of their AX3 and/or FC-12 that triggers the issues with the FC-12? Hopefully, the source of the issues will be found and corrected once and for all since the AX3/FC-12 combo is great otherwise. Now I’m glad I bought the extended warranties for both units! lol
 
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Dave Merrill said:
Huge numbers?
Not my impression, and lots of people use these units professionally.
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You are correct. I worded my previous post poorly. I have corrected it. I was attempting to say if there were systemic software/firmware issues one would think they would be widely reported in huge numbers and users and/or Fractal would have identified actions that intermittently trigger the problem. My attempt was not to infer that there are huge numbers of users who were experiencing FC-12 issues, because there does not appear to be…however, there are quite a few users reporting issues and identifying the cause(s) and developing solution(s) should be a priority.
 
Red Solo Cup said:
https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/if-you-read-nothing-else-read-this.162537/
Try another new cable
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I have read a number of posts where the user reports that he did indeed swap out cables, at times with several different cables, and that their FC-12 issues persisted. I would hope that most Fractal users would be sufficiently technically competent enough to be able to identify typical cable issues and correct them. Well, so far I have not experienced an issue with my FC-12; I hope I never do…but should I do I the future it would be great if I knew what the most probable range of issues might be and how to solve them.
 
ewiz666 said:
I have had this issue numerous times, even with different units (Axe and FC). Sometimes it's bad (every 5 minutes). Sometimes it doesn't happen for months. Same cable, different cable, same results. I have been frustrated enough to seriously consider other units (FC9, Kemper[again], Helix, etc) - then the problem magically goes away, almost like it is reading my mind.
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Why not contact support rather than consider moving to a different product? Seems like an extreme solution...
 
Daveporter33765 said:
Have you tried the cable that Fractal sells? Has anyone? Does it make a difference (I can’t imagine why it would unless there is something special going on)? What did Fractal Support tell you about your unit when they replaced it? so far, my FC-12 has worked flawlessly but it’s only three months old. I wonder if repeated plugging and unplugging of the connectors on the AX3 and/or the FC-12 wears or loosens the pins or receptors enough that they lose contact intermittently eventually? Maybe it would be wise to make up male/female pigtails that would stay connected to the units and plug the cable into those pigtails so the pigtails could replaced as necessary? I don’t know why the FC-12 connectors would wear more that the inputs or outputs…unless they are lower quality to start with.
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It's an XLR cable. There is nothing special other than being a quality cable.

I recommend a quality cable. If you have problems try a different cable and even a different brand.

A few users have reported issues and it seemed related to the cable manufacturer...
 
unix-guy said:
It's an XLR cable. There is nothing special other than being a quality cable.

I recommend a quality cable. If you have problems try a different cable and even a different brand.

A few users have reported issues and it seemed related to the cable manufacturer...
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I purchase only high quality cables, such as Mogami Gold Studio cables, because inexpensive cables are not reliable and offer very poor true value. So, hopefully I will not experience the FC-12 issues…time will tell.

One thing I have noticed over the years is that some inexpensive XLR connectors are not built with strict adherence to industry standards and have oversized diameter male pins. I have had one connector create an intermittent connection issue with a connector on an effects unit a number of years ago because repeated plugging and unplugging of the oversized connector into the effects unit’s connector eventually damaged the connector on the effects unit. This is just one reason I use only high quality cables and connectors.
 
Daveporter33765 said:
What was their solution to your problems?
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Try another cable. Try another cable. Try another cable. Send in FC to reproduce. Send back FC with no changes. Use FC power supply in addition to XLR. Send in both Axe and FC to reproduce. Send both back with no changes. Replace both units. Back to square one. While support was extremely responsive, I'm still sporadically experiencing issues.
 
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ewiz666 said:
Try another cable. Try another cable. Try another cable. Send in FC to reproduce. Send back FC with no changes. Use FC power supply in addition to XLR. Send in both Axe and FC to reproduce. Send both back with no changes. Replace both units. Back to square one. While support was extremely responsive, I'm still sporadically experiencing issues.
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Wow! Do you gig frequently…plugging and unplugging a cable into the XLR connections on both the AX3 and FC-12? If so, did the issue become more pronounced over time? I am trying to determine if this issue is an intermittent connection that occurs after repeated use of the connections on one or both units wearing the out so they no longer connect tightly. My other thought was just the opposite…does this occur when when a person rarely gigs wi their units and the cable connectors are constantly connected to both units causing metal fatigue to occur over time resulting in intermittent connections when one does disconnect the cable and gig with the unit from that point forward. Could there be a connector quality issue?
 
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