I’ll add my 202 cents…
Nobody, and I am pretty confident on this one, okay, not many, have started out more naively than I. I was a beginner guitarist when I bought the Ultra in 08 and knew absolutely nothing about the electric guitar signal chain. But I dove in the deep end regardless and had this black box sitting in front of me and no idea how to even hook it up much less make it work. I read the manual and even though I am an IT guy I was OVERWHELMED to say the least. I was playing around with the front panel as there was no real editor (that I knew of) then and it just wasn’t intuitive to me. I definitely had my “what did I get myself into” moments. I also was thinking I was wasting my valuable practice time as I was literally just learning how to play the damn instrument! I am not a quitter though and several things happened at that point. I found this forum, and someone did a video showing this cool new editor from AlbertA.
For some reason, seeing the video made things click for me kind of like showing the whole big picture as opposed to the small subset view you get at any time on the front panel. I went back to the manual and then learned how to use the editor and front panel concurrently. For those of you who weren’t around back then you have no idea how easy you have it now. There were lots of frustrating moments with MIDI connections and incompatible hardware and it was baptism by fire. That is where this forum SHINES! It is like no other on the internet. I realize much of my frustration was a simple lack of everything guitar but I did feel I had an advantage coming from a programming and computer perspective. Still, it was daunting at the very least.
Fast forward to today and what is available to us. The Axe-FX has evolved quite a bit with its ever expanding parameter list. We now have a foot controller specifically designed to co-exist with the Axe, and Axe-Edit. The landscape is changing almost daily with the upgrades and in such an environment there are always going to be growing pains with associated gear and software. Is Axe-Edit fool proof? Absolutely not. It is so accommodating with regards to how you like to create your work flow that it can become its and your own worst enemy. It is still quite powerful and barring any workarounds to deal with existing bugs, quite impressive. My opinion is Matt has done a remarkable job on the manuals and they are some of the best I have seen in an ever increasing world where most are written by persons that have no real world experience with the equipment being discussed or do not speak English as their primary language. We have all the tools so to speak, much more than ever since I started this journey, and it’s all about how to go about incorporating them in the easiest manner that suits our needs.
So here are some of my thoughts regarding the OP…
I found that when I would get the most frustrated was when I would try to do too much at once. As many have posted, keep it simple at first. It is very easy to get so far down that worm hole that you have lost track of the path you have taken and the result you are seeking.
Get the controller working and able to change presets, engage effects, and use the expression pedals. Leave it there and worry about the fancy stuff later after you have your II running like you wish with the tones you like.
Get the II set up for your tones and again start out simple with just Amp & Cab and expand from there by adding effects. Once that is complete and you are comfortable then expand to some of the more creative configurations, routings, modifiers, etc.
Use Axe-Edit for visual reference and database activities but do so knowing its evolving software and subject to bugs. Do not use it exclusively. Do NOT feel you have to go into every page and know every parameter. Stick to the basics at first. Leave the advanced parameters for when you are advanced if at all! Dohhh
USE THE FRONT PANEL! It amazes me that anyone who uses the II live does not do this. It is totally inconceivable to me. At first it can seem unintuitive. It really isn’t. It’s just because you are only seeing a page at a time or a subset of what you are seeing in Axe-Edit. When you learn something new in Axe-Edit take the time to reproduce it on the front panel and vice versa. You become more versatile and it reinforces what you have learned. There is NO EXCUSE for being in a live situation and not knowing how to create a shunt. NONE!
Learn how to back up your presets and settings. Write down any settings you cannot backup.
Use the reset function. It is quite easy to get so far down the path that you cannot remember what you have touched or changed. Step 5 could have had an impact on step 10 and you just didn’t realize it at the time. Document what you do! Reset the system and start over. It’s all trial and error. I spent the last couple days experimenting with Clarkys and Adams preset control examples ad had no clue sometimes what I had done or how I got to particular spot. Reset and start again. I don’t know about you guys but I learn by repetition and not by following someone’s example one time and poof! I have reset my system hundreds of times. I know this is problematic for those with complex pedal settings etc. but they are not the ones having issues with their systems. Experiment, learn, and document.
Reading the manuals from cover to cover will help with your basic knowledge up front but that is about it. USE THEM! Write notes in the margins! It is so easy to just to ask someone here and move on but undoubtedly you will be asking it again in the not too distant future. I originally wrote up my MFC update with pictures for myself and only shared it here because so many were asking the very same questions. I found myself running into the same problem so I documented my successful tasks and even tossed in some pics for visual reference. It’s hard to remember everything in systems that have so much complexity to them. Now I go through my steps and it’s proved to be time saving and fail proof.
Use this forum and the countless guys who offer up their valuable time to answer your questions. Many of which they have answered countless of times previously. Do so in a courteous manner. You are asking for help no? So many these days feel self-entitled simply because they paid a certain price for a piece of gear. Grow up! You bought the gear. If you did your research you know what documentation comes with it and the issues that said gear may be experiencing. If you didn’t, then shame on you.
Be patient. It’s often difficult to get the picture of the issues at hand through written text. Take the time to create videos or clips to help those helping you. And when you resolve the issue with or without the help provided, be thoughtful enough to post it so others may gain from your experience. To take that another step, if you have been helped, take the time to go out of your way and help someone else who may have an issue you can handle.
I still believe this forum is the best of the best with regards to helping others. I know we get a lot of grief on the net but i think that is jealousy and/or sour grapes. Nobody knows that more than me. It has taken several years but I have made some good friends and learned quite a bit along the way from guys who had no business stooping so low as to help a TRUE beginner out. Just look at this thread for example. Everyone jumping in to help the OP using tough love or words of encouragement is amazing. We have a Grammy Award winning artist and touring pro offering up his home and skills to help out a stranger? Are you kidding me? (tip of the hat to you Larry)
Don’t toss your rig. Take the time to properly learn it. You will not regret the decision or time spent. I actually advocate total newbies to guitar purchasing the magic black box. If you take the time and have the patience it can be the greatest learning tool on the market. And quality to boot.
Sorry for rambling, my bad… again!
