I just accidentally briefly plugged the usb cable into the MIDI port

H

horacexgrant

Member
With the monitors on, and i heard a brief pop noise from the monitors, and i remembered how you're not supposed to put the usb cable into the MIDI port or the Axe will fry. But so far, everything is working. Am I fine, or did some damage occur?
 
If I remember correctly (based on previous threads about this), the damage usually causes the MFC-101 not to work with the Axe correctly. If you have an MFC and it's still communicating as it should, the Axe is probably fine. If you don't have an MFC, I don't know of any way to be sure if the Axe is damaged or not.
 
Thanks, I don't have an MFC-101. Not sure if I need it for my current needs. But the sound card in the Axe should be fine? If I try to record, it should be fine? Thanks.
 
Your axe should function fine...as the MFC expansion port has nothing to do with the axe/USB....but yeah it might not work with an MFC if you damaged the port.
 
Thanks guys. If i never decide that I want an MFC-101 to use, and it doesn't work because of what I did, what's the best way to go about fixing it? Is it covered by warranty, etc?
 
IIRC, plugging a USB plug into the MFC port fries causes the port to no longer deliver power to the MFC. I think an MFC will still work if you power it by its own power supply. Fractal Support could tell you for sure.
 
I did the same thing a while back, as soon as it touched I realized and jerked it away , Screen went blank ,I freaked out! Rebooted all came up fine,and worked fine ! Then connected MFC at next gig and called up wrong patches and wouldn't read out the patch names , blew the usb out, fortunately I allway keep my old midi cables with me .hooked them up worked fine and did gig ! sentit in to fractal for repair when I had a long enough break !
 
I also plugged the USB into the ethernet port by accident. The screen started blinking. Could not figure out what was wrong so I kept unplugging and replugging the damn cable into the wrong slot.

finally I figured it out and plugged the USB into the right jack.

Nothing happened to my unit. MFC powers up and works fine.

However, I did go through a VaFam breakout box in the front of my rack. Not sure if that saved my hide because I was not plugging directly into the Axe.
 
horacexgrant said:
Thanks guys. If i never decide that I want an MFC-101 to use, and it doesn't work because of what I did, what's the best way to go about fixing it? Is it covered by warranty, etc?
Click to expand...
Damage like this is not covered by warranty. You can get it fixed by sending it back to FAS. IIRC, it costs ~$70 to repair + shipping.
 
Thanks guys! Yea, my axe works fine and i can record fine. i dont have a MFC-101, so i can't test that out. but thankfully, i dont think i will ever need an MFC anyways, since i would only want to record at home and not gig
 
I did this some time ago in a hurry in our "mood lit" practice room and my Axe worked fine for a few months and eventually died. So that may be the bad news. The good news is Fractal support was awesome and repaired it at quite a reasonable cost. If you are worried about it dying at a gig then I would recommend sending it in when you know you are in between gigs or have something else to use during the repair time.
 
For future protection of you Axe:

1. Cut a small piece of duct tape (or gaffers tape, or adhesive felt, etc) with a hole in the middle and put this around the USB port. Next time you reach to plug in the USB cable you will have a tactile clue.

Or

2. Get a USB extension cable to leave plugged in the back and use it to connect cables where you can see them (you might need a gender changer or other adapter between 2 regular cables).
 
 
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Just cut of the end of a cable and put it in. Problem solved?

You can even take out all the wires. Then you have a dummy plug.
 
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LVC said:
I also plugged the USB into the ethernet port by accident. The screen started blinking. Could not figure out what was wrong so I kept unplugging and replugging the damn cable into the wrong slot.

finally I figured it out and plugged the USB into the right jack.

Nothing happened to my unit. MFC powers up and works fine.

However, I did go through a VaFam breakout box in the front of my rack. Not sure if that saved my hide because I was not plugging directly into the Axe.
Click to expand...

I also use a breakout box , wasn't as fortunate I guess! !:)!
 
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