FM3 control using an MFC 101

W

waylander69

Inspired
Hi

I upgraded from an Axe FXII to an FM3 when they first came out,
Now I have the idea to control a few items on the FM3 using my MFC 101 controller,
I have linked the FXII and the FM3 for a bit of dual amping so maybe I'll take this further and control a few patch changes on the FXII from the FM3

Can anybody give guidance or links to info that I should be reading to enable me to config the FM3,
I realise I am just wanting to use the MCF101 as a basic midi controller
My only understanding of midi was setting cc's on the the MFC and the FXII had a register of cc numbers
However I believe the FM3 is slightly different , there are only 8 inputs on the midi block
but can't see how this links to a cc 34 from the mfc operating what on the fm3
or how to select that cc34 on the FM3 and associating within the various "source" parameters on the FM3

many thanks
G \../
 
I use MFC to control Ax3+Ax2 (3 spdif'd into the 2). I do not use the midi block in any way for this. Generally, the MFC is set up in "Axfx Mode=None" and with IA switches set to correspond to CC values in the Axfx Setup / Midi / Midi Remote / Bypass Menu. For presets/scenes, I'm using the Axfx mapping feature (Setup / Midi / Midi Remote / Mapping) which allow for 32 presets with 4 scenes each (plenty for me) - the MFC is set up with a bank size of 4 so pressing switch 1/2/3 or 4 will send a program change that will in turn affect a scene change within current Ax3+2 preset via the mapping feature in Axfx3 and 2. To change Axfx presets I use the MFC Up or Down switch to select a bank (which corresponds to "preset" on Axfx), and then press switch 1/2/3 or 4 to select the desired starting scene within that preset. I don't use MFC Edit which is no longer supported / working on my mac - I do everything directly on the MFC which can be labour-some but once it's done it's done. There's a few different concepts here for which I don't know if there are any step by step guides - best advice I can give is to read and understand the MFC and Axfx manuals wrt the related topics and to start SLOW and then build up (ie: start with a goal of just getting MFC to control one thing in Axfx (ie delay on/off) with a clear understanding of how that's working, then build up from there - trying to do everything at once if your a new to it will not likely get you very far).
 
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@sprint Thanks for that response, much appreciated , I've now found a menu in the FM3 that I'd missed just from your pointer above.

I need to decide exactly what I want to achieve and as you say start slowly changing 1 thing and getting my head round the programming.

My initial hope is that I can configure the mfc to control the looper functions in the fm3 ( I can see cc mapping info for this )
and enable / disable filter blocks / PEQ blocks to allow me to change different guitars in different pre-sets.
what I can't see at present is if it is possible to select block channels ie filter 1 block C ( as used with scene ignore in a pre-set ) can only see mapping info the the filter block itself.

cheers
 
waylander69 said:
@sprint Thanks for that response, much appreciated , I've now found a menu in the FM3 that I'd missed just from your pointer above.

I need to decide exactly what I want to achieve and as you say start slowly changing 1 thing and getting my head round the programming.

My initial hope is that I can configure the mfc to control the looper functions in the fm3 ( I can see cc mapping info for this )
and enable / disable filter blocks / PEQ blocks to allow me to change different guitars in different pre-sets.
what I can't see at present is if it is possible to select block channels ie filter 1 block C ( as used with scene ignore in a pre-set ) can only see mapping info the the filter block itself.

cheers
Click to expand...
same as for on/off, but map to the settings you have on Axfx in Setup / Midi Remote / Channel, however because you have 4 channels on an effect in most cases you may need more than just one switch (on/off) - the MFCs "grouped switches" can be good for this as you could set up a group of switches to match to each of 4 channels (of a delay block for example) and have each switch of the group bring you to a specific channel (when one switch in a group goes on, any other that's on goes off) - anyway: grouped switches is a whole topic in the MFC manual - I'd start with getting a simple on/off working first, then move on to channels switching. As mentioned above, a good place to start your study is to get a full understanding of Axfx Setup / Midi - then move into MFC to control those settings in the Midi menu.
 
@sprint been doing a lot of reading and re organising my "man cave" and am just about ready to start programming.
How are you powering your MFC ?

I read somewhere that it wasn't a good idea to have the power supply connected to the MFC at the same time as the network lead from the FX2 to the MFC

Since I don't plan at present to use the FX2 all the time with the FM3, if I was to power the MFC from the power supply I assume I'd have to connect the MFC to the FX2 by midi cable ( no hardship but need to go shopping only have 1 midi cable at present ) and not the the a network cable.

any thought on this would be appreciated

cheers
G \../
 
waylander69 said:
@sprint been doing a lot of reading and re organising my "man cave" and am just about ready to start programming.
How are you powering your MFC ?

I read somewhere that it wasn't a good idea to have the power supply connected to the MFC at the same time as the network lead from the FX2 to the MFC

Since I don't plan at present to use the FX2 all the time with the FM3, if I was to power the MFC from the power supply I assume I'd have to connect the MFC to the FX2 by midi cable ( no hardship but need to go shopping only have 1 midi cable at present ) and not the the a network cable.

any thought on this would be appreciated

cheers
G \../
Click to expand...
Hello fellow man-cave dweller - correct, do not connect MFC with both phantom power and AC Adapter at the same time - bad things could happen. I am using the AC Adapter to power my MFCmk1, along with standard 5 pin midi cables for midi connectivity (midi out of MFC to Ax2 midi-in, and Ax2 midi-thru to Ax3 midi-in + other devices). I am running MFC in NON Axfx mode because I use it more as a standard general use midi controller to control several devices. Many moons ago when I just had Ax2 only, I used MFC in Axefx-mode with bi-directional midi communication and power via just an RJ45 cable (no AC power adapter). See section 2 of the manual for the varous cabling options, and section 3.1 for a list of advantages Axefx mode provides when using MFC primarily with Axefx2. If you want phantom power via midi cable, and/or bi-directional communication via midi cable for Axefx mode, take care to choose a compatible midi cable (they don't all have the pins connected the same way).

If using the RJ45 jack, careful, as it is (like all RJ45 jacks) somewhat delicate. Fractal used to sell XA adapters to help protect it but I'm not sure about getting those now - I didn't use the adapters as my stuff stays put, but I was careful not to position the RJ45 cable where it could be inadvertently yanked. Later models of MFC have the FASLINK connector which is more durable.
 
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Hi
Thanks for that info , I used to use my mfc in exactly the same way as you, no problem shopping time for a 5 pin midi then

Cheers
G \../
 
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