Latest AxeFX III Rig Setup

Sleestak

Sleestak

Power User
I have been doing some minor updates with my AxeFX III rig, and thought it might be fun to share the latest configuration. About six months ago I decided to experiment with WIDI (MIDI over Bluetooth). In my previous rig, I used Phantom Power box to connect the AxeFX III to my RJM Mastermind GT16, using a single 7 pin MIDI cable for power and bidirectional comms. That 7 pin MIDI cable was the most most fragile connection in my system, and I always had to carefully route the cable around the stage to minimize risk of damage (yes, I carry a spare). With the WIDI system, I only need to provide power to my pedalboard, and all of the communications occur via Bluetooth. So far, it's been super reliable, and I've been able to place my pedalboard more than 40 feet from the rack without any issues.


Rack Front.jpgI use Sennheiser wireless IEM and instrument systems. The Korg Pitchblack tuner is only there because I wanted to have a way to tune instruments that aren't hooked up to the AxeFX III.


Rack Back.jpg
The back of the rack is pretty simple. I have a Digitech Freqout pedal in the back of the rack, which is in a loop in my presets. At some point, I'm guessing that FAS will release a model of that pedal, and I'll remove it. You can just see the WIDI Jack box sitting in the bottom of the rack.


Board Top.jpg
My pedalboard is an RJM Mastermind MMGT16 with 2 Fractal EXP1 expression pedals. On the upper left corner, you can see the Neutrik PowerCon connection that provides power. No other connection is necessary with the WIDI system.

Pedal Back.jpg
This is the back of my MMGT16. Again, you can see the WIDI Jack system, along the other jacks. The only connection I make at gigs is the Neutrik PowerCon input.

Board Bottom.jpg

Here's a shot of the bottom of my board. I'm a bit of a nerd for neat wiring, even if nobody sees it. In the upper right corner, you can see the little patch panel where the Neutrik PowerCon feed is, along with the USB A and B connectors that are wired to the corresponding ports on the MMGT. This way I can connect to the laptop or USB drive to configure the MMGT without having cables coming from the audience-facing side of the board.

This is the best and cleanest rig I've used to date. The combination of the AxeFX III and MMGT is incredible.
 
Very nice. I see that you have the Freqout in the back of your rack. How do you switch it on and off. Ok, it is in a loop, but I always thought that the Freqout can only be switched on by the pedal itself because be default it is always off. Or maybe I overlooked something...?
I have a Mastermind PBC and it would be great if there would be a way to switch it on and off with a pedal switcher. There is no problem with all my other pedals because they are all on by default and then it is easy do make configurations with a certain pedal either on or off, but it seems to me that the Freqout doesn't behave this way or am I wrong?
 
zappafranco said:
Very nice. I see that you have the Freqout in the back of your rack. How do you switch it on and off. Ok, it is in a loop, but I always thought that the Freqout can only be switched on by the pedal itself because be default it is always off. Or maybe I overlooked something...?
I have a Mastermind PBC and it would be great if there would be a way to switch it on and off with a pedal switcher. There is no problem with all my other pedals because they are all on by default and then it is easy do make configurations with a certain pedal either on or off, but it seems to me that the Freqout doesn't behave this way or am I wrong?
Click to expand...
Freqout can be always on or momentary via pedal switch - I put mine, always on, into an Ax3 loop and use expression pedal to inject a little freqout into the beginning of my signal chain to get sustaining feedback.
 
sprint said:
Freqout can be always on or momentary via pedal switch - I put mine, always on, into an Ax3 loop and use expression pedal to inject a little freqout into the beginning of my signal chain to get sustaining feedback.
Click to expand...
Thank you. I will try that.
 
I tried, but it doesn't work. All my other pedals are on by default on my pedalboard. When I have the freqout on momentary and I send the following command nothing happens. I always have to switch it manually on (on the pedal itself). Once it is one. I can switch it on and off with the mastermind. So maybe I am still overlooking something...
freqout.jpg
 
zappafranco said:
When I have the freqout on momentary
Click to expand...
I have the momentary toggle switch on the Freqout pedal set to off and its main foot switch on (essentially making my Freqout pedal always active), then, with the Freqout in a loop, I put a modifier on a mixer's return signal from the loop to mix just a bit of Frequout into my mainline signal (about 5% for distorted tones (I don't use it for clean)). I attach an expression pedal to that modifier to control the amount of Freqout sustain signal added (0-5%). As mentioned by Mr Sleestak below, Freqout has to be re-activated at power up (does not retain previous state - no biggy, juss turn it on when you power up.

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Attachments

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zappafranco said:
Very nice. I see that you have the Freqout in the back of your rack. How do you switch it on and off. Ok, it is in a loop, but I always thought that the Freqout can only be switched on by the pedal itself because be default it is always off. Or maybe I overlooked something...?
I have a Mastermind PBC and it would be great if there would be a way to switch it on and off with a pedal switcher. There is no problem with all my other pedals because they are all on by default and then it is easy do make configurations with a certain pedal either on or off, but it seems to me that the Freqout doesn't behave this way or am I wrong?
Click to expand...
You are correct. The pedal must be manually switched on each time the rack is powered up. I have it in one of the AxeFX external loops, so I just a control signal to turn off the input to that loop (that way I still get a natural tail on the output).
 
zappafranco said:
I tried, but it doesn't work. All my other pedals are on by default on my pedalboard. When I have the freqout on momentary and I send the following command nothing happens. I always have to switch it manually on (on the pedal itself). Once it is one. I can switch it on and off with the mastermind. So maybe I am still overlooking something...
View attachment 114920
Click to expand...
You are correct. This is the behavior of that pedal. I considered rewiring it so that it was always ON, but the switch isn't wired in a conventional on/off manner, and I couldn't identify a simple way to send the ON signal via an external momentary switch.
 
Sleestak said:
You are correct. This is the behavior of that pedal. I considered rewiring it so that it was always ON, but the switch isn't wired in a conventional on/off manner, and I couldn't identify a simple way to send the ON signal via an external momentary switch.
Click to expand...
OK, thank you very much. I don't know why the freqout was designed this way. It is a shame that you always have to switch it on manually, but ok live goes on...
 
sprint said:
I have the momentary toggle switch on the Freqout pedal set to off and its main foot switch on (essentially making my Freqout pedal always active), then, with the Freqout in a loop, I put a modifier on a mixer's return signal from the loop to mix just a bit of Frequout into my mainline signal (about 5% for distorted tones (I don't use it for clean)). I attach an expression pedal to that modifier to control the amount of Freqout sustain signal added (0-5%). As mentioned by Mr Sleestak below, Freqout has to be re-activated at power up (does not retain previous state - no biggy, juss turn it on when you power up.

View attachment 114935
View attachment 114936
View attachment 114937
Click to expand...
Thank you for your advice. No it is no biggy, but I was thinking of hiding my pedalboard because I feel guilty of having to spend to much money on it, but that is obviously my problem :)
 
Sleestak said:
I have been doing some minor updates with my AxeFX III rig, and thought it might be fun to share the latest configuration. About six months ago I decided to experiment with WIDI (MIDI over Bluetooth). In my previous rig, I used Phantom Power box to connect the AxeFX III to my RJM Mastermind GT16, using a single 7 pin MIDI cable for power and bidirectional comms. That 7 pin MIDI cable was the most most fragile connection in my system, and I always had to carefully route the cable around the stage to minimize risk of damage (yes, I carry a spare). With the WIDI system, I only need to provide power to my pedalboard, and all of the communications occur via Bluetooth. So far, it's been super reliable, and I've been able to place my pedalboard more than 40 feet from the rack without any issues.


View attachment 112794I use Sennheiser wireless IEM and instrument systems. The Korg Pitchblack tuner is only there because I wanted to have a way to tune instruments that aren't hooked up to the AxeFX III.


View attachment 112795
The back of the rack is pretty simple. I have a Digitech Freqout pedal in the back of the rack, which is in a loop in my presets. At some point, I'm guessing that FAS will release a model of that pedal, and I'll remove it. You can just see the WIDI Jack box sitting in the bottom of the rack.


View attachment 112796
My pedalboard is an RJM Mastermind MMGT16 with 2 Fractal EXP1 expression pedals. On the upper left corner, you can see the Neutrik PowerCon connection that provides power. No other connection is necessary with the WIDI system.

View attachment 112798
This is the back of my MMGT16. Again, you can see the WIDI Jack system, along the other jacks. The only connection I make at gigs is the Neutrik PowerCon input.

View attachment 112797

Here's a shot of the bottom of my board. I'm a bit of a nerd for neat wiring, even if nobody sees it. In the upper right corner, you can see the little patch panel where the Neutrik PowerCon feed is, along with the USB A and B connectors that are wired to the corresponding ports on the MMGT. This way I can connect to the laptop or USB drive to configure the MMGT without having cables coming from the audience-facing side of the board.

This is the best and cleanest rig I've used to date. The combination of the AxeFX III and MMGT is incredible.
Click to expand...
Time to revive the thread. I've actually been looking for an alternative to RJM's phantom power box. I'm planning on using one of those SKB fly racks also and space at the back might be an issue. I'm sure I can make it work but the Widi interface will be a lot more compact.

So if I buy 2 Widi Masters one for the Axe III in the rack and one for the GT that would work no problem? I could then just move the GT's power adaptor to underneath the pedalboard and just use my powercon cable and tail to power everything. Awesome stuff!

Is there any reason to go for the Widi jack vs the Widi Master?

Many thanks

Paul
 
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Paulg2uk said:
So if I buy 2 Widi Masters one for the Axe III in the rack and one for the GT that would work no problem? I could then just move the GT's power adaptor to underneath the pedalboard and just use my powercon cable and tail to power everything. Awesome stuff!

Is there any reason to go for the Widi jack vs the Widi Master?
Click to expand...
I have two of these : https://www.cme-pro.com/widi-jack/, placing one in the rack (connected to the AxeFX III), and the other connected to my MMGT10. As you noted, I moved my GT power supply to under the pedalboard, and added a PowerCon for ease of connectivity. Same as you, I'm using an SKB iFly rack, which has reduced my overall cartage significantly.

As for the difference between Widi Jack / Master, on the Widi Jack page, the manufacturer says:
  • With 5 different cable options, WIDI Jack is compatible with almost any MIDI device via standard MIDI I/O (not USB MIDI).
  • WIDI Jack even works with unpowered MIDI OUT ports, devices with only MIDI IN and can switch between TRS MIDI type A/B.
For my application, either the Widi Jack or Master would have worked. My thinking was that if I decided to use this setup with another device, including my weird older gear without powered a MIDI jack, I'd still be able to power the Widi Jack via USB C.

I'm still quite happy with this setup. Zero issues in usage. It's eliminated at least 20 minutes of setup / teardown time.
 
Last edited:
Sleestak said:
I have two of these : https://www.cme-pro.com/widi-jack/, placing one in the rack (connected to the AxeFX III), and the other connected to my MMGT10. As you noted, I moved my GT power supply to under the pedalboard, and added a PowerCon for ease of connectivity. Same as you, I'm using an SKB iFly rack, which has reduced my overall cartage significantly.

As for the difference between Widi Jack / Master, on the Widi Jack page, the manufacturer says:
  • With 5 different cable options, WIDI Jack is compatible with almost any MIDI device via standard MIDI I/O (not USB MIDI).
  • WIDI Jack even works with unpowered MIDI OUT ports, devices with only MIDI IN and can switch between TRS MIDI type A/B.
For my application, either the Widi Jack or Master would have worked. My thinking was that if I decided to use this setup with another device, including my weird older gear without powered a MIDI jack, I'd still be able to power the Widi Jack via USB C.

I'm still quite happy with this setup. Zero issues in usage. It's eliminated at least

Yes!
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply, really appreciate it. All sounds good here I'm gonna give it a go. That's a good idea I can always use an extra USB C jack even if its to just charge my iPhone or iPad. Very handy!

Was there much setting up required in the MMGT to get it all working? Does it all work on one midi channel?

Thanks again

Paul
 
zappafranco said:
Very nice. I see that you have the Freqout in the back of your rack. How do you switch it on and off. Ok, it is in a loop, but I always thought that the Freqout can only be switched on by the pedal itself because be default it is always off. Or maybe I overlooked something...?
I have a Mastermind PBC and it would be great if there would be a way to switch it on and off with a pedal switcher. There is no problem with all my other pedals because they are all on by default and then it is easy do make configurations with a certain pedal either on or off, but it seems to me that the Freqout doesn't behave this way or am I wrong?
Click to expand...
Yes, it's a bit of a pain, as I have to remember to turn it on every time I power up the rack.
 
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