FC: I/O options

creativespiral

creativespiral

Inspired
Was thinking that it would be really cool to have a couple 1/4 Inputs and 1/4 Outputs on a FC unit that would duplicate I/O channels on the rack... ie: In3, In4, Out3, Out4

This would allow external effects pedals to be on the ground with the FC unit, rather than hidden away in a loop near the rack. Also, could plug guitar directly into the FC. Also, output could be wired from FC to amp / monitors.

It would require A/D and D/A on the FC, and not sure if new FASlink could support it, but I thought it would be a cool development.

I would run my Fuzz Factory and Wah on the floor in front of a FC input. FreqOut / TalkBox in a loop would be possibility. Might even throw my WMD Geiger back into mix for when I want to get weird. Having ext pedals down near the FC would increase flexibility and usability.
 
probably too much data. a typical XLR cable already handles JUST audio. but with all the communication for FASlink plus normal audio? it just sounds like it isn't possible, but i don't know. perhaps a separate I/O would be handy, but at that point, you're just plugging into one more thing, and you'd run the analog pedals back to the Axe anyway.

definitely a great idea though. people asked this of the MMGT a lot, since it can power external pedals too, but no audio path for them.
 
I think it's a great idea. But adding top-quality converters to the FC would add significantly to the price.
 
chris said:
probably too much data. a typical XLR cable already handles JUST audio. but with all the communication for FASlink plus normal audio? it just sounds like it isn't possible, but i don't know. perhaps a separate I/O would be handy, but at that point, you're just plugging into one more thing, and you'd run the analog pedals back to the Axe anyway.

definitely a great idea though. people asked this of the MMGT a lot, since it can power external pedals too, but no audio path for them.
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I don't think the cable would be the issue, presuming the converters are on the floor unit. AES3 transmits 2 channels of uncompressed PCM audio over what's basically a high quality mic cable just fine. (Higher impedance according to the spec, but people have used mic cables.) Of course it would add cost, but I think it could be done.
 
I want to second this idea. (In fact, I did already post something like it, in another comment in another thread, buried so deep I can't find it, but it's around here somewhere.)

The problem with mixing "Rack Gear" with "Your Favorite Pedals" is that you need to have some way to cable it all up.

If you have the Axe III plus a Strymon Big Sky and a Digitech Whammy (or whatever), what're you going to do? You plug your guitar into the Axe III. You run a cable from one of the outputs to the board, where it goes into the Whammy. You run another cable back to the rack, into one of the inputs. You run another pair of cables (stereo) to the inputs of the Big Sky. And another pair runs back. And then you run a MIDI cable out to the Big Sky also, so that you can keep things in synch. What a pain!

How much better would it be if the Axe-FX III had a sort of 1-cable digital snake that went to an audio break-out box (plus MIDI)?

When it's plugged in to the back of your Axe-FX III, you can cause certain of the hardware ports on the back of the Axe-FX III to be disabled and replaced with equivalent ports on the break-out box, which you'd put on your pedalboard.

The same wire could carry power and data to and from your FC-12 footcontroller, also.

So now you have one cable to carry everything you need, to and from the pedalboard. And the break-out box is positioned on your pedalboard right in the middle of your pedals, so that your MIDI cable (from the break-out box to the Strymon) is really short, and so are the cables from the break-out box to the 1/4" ins and outs of your pedals.

It's too late at this point to incorporate this into the Axe III directly, obviously. (But it'd be a cool add-on product to sell alongside the EP-1 in the Fractal Store.)
 
This is probably one of the best ideas I have heard in a while. I would certainly pay extra for a feature like this.
 
I had the same wish/idea. Maybe you wouldn’t need a converter, just buffers to handle the analog signal and let the axe III handle the conversion.
 
Sounds like a future implementation, like FasLink was, but I certainly wouldn't mind adding a second XLR to the cable run rack-to-FC (or something similar) to get that sort of capability. Great idea!
 
LeBigMac said:
I had the same wish/idea. Maybe you wouldn’t need a converter, just buffers to handle the analog signal and let the axe III handle the conversion.
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Can’t get multiple analog signals to run on a single XLR line so you’d need converters on the floor. Or...

Another solution would be to use a custom snake by BestTronics or similar. You could bring the Ins and Outs from the back of the rack to the floor and have a separate couple loops on your pedalboard (along with the FASLink connection and power for the pedals).
 
philipacamaniac said:
Can’t get multiple analog signals to run on a single XLR line so you’d need converters on the floor. Or...

Another solution would be to use a custom snake by BestTronics or similar. You could bring the Ins and Outs from the back of the rack to the floor and have a separate couple loops on your pedalboard (along with the FASLink connection and power for the pedals).
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've considered the snake/cable route before, but the thought of running my guitar signal through another loop - 20ft of cable to the floor unit, then 20ft back to the rack terrifies me... the noise, the impedance, the extra cables, the horror! I've spend so much time over the years optimizing and shortening every connection possible in my rigs to keep the signal chain as pure as possible. I've decided that I'd rather keep my fuzz factory and wah in storage, as well as some other pedals.

The optimal solution would be A/D and D/A on the Foot Controller, running digitally with the MIDI data to the rack. But, yeah, I realize that if Fractal has not already planned for this, its probably a no-go at this point.. But maybe for a future version of an FC-18-IO! ;)
 
I had the same desires, so I added an AX8 to my II rig, which I run pedals in front of, in a floorboard style setup

Would be cool to have some of the suggested features in a FC unit, but when you factor in all the hardware it would require, (and FAS would obviously use top quality stuff) it would likely end up costing nearly as much as an AX8
 
With the new I/O I have thought about going the multi-cable route with a Pedalsnake or something of that nature. This would be really cool however. I have never really gotten on with the Axe wah. It works, sounds good but it doesn't feel right to me. I still use it with a Mission Engineering pedal but I have always wanted to get my Morley Vai Wah out. I just can't recreate the feel of that with a Mission pedal.
 
lqdsnddist said:
I had the same desires, so I added an AX8 to my II rig, which I run pedals in front of, in a floorboard style setup

Would be cool to have some of the suggested features in a FC unit, but when you factor in all the hardware it would require, (and FAS would obviously use top quality stuff) it would likely end up costing nearly as much as an AX8
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No doubt it would add some cost, but it would be nowhere near as sophisticated or expensive as AX8. How much does a high quality Cirrus A/D or D/A chip cost in bulk? $5ea? I bet the "hardware only" cost on the FC side could be done for under $40 in bulk... to add a digital effects loop. Of course, the AXE3 unit would have to be capable of sending and receiving this digital loop as one or more of its IN/OUTs .

Again, if its not already in development, there's no way we'd see this in short term, but for a future XL version / FC-18-IO, might be a feature that a lot of people would buy into... if you've got boutique / strange external effects pedals that are not covered by AXE modeling.
 
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