Looper control functionality

Arjan

Arjan

Inspired
Hi everyone,

I'm struggling with setting up and controlling the looper in the Axe Fx II and MFC101, and I was wondering if what I want is possible. I would like to have two switches on the MFC that have similar behavior to the Boss RC20XL. So, the first switch starts recording, when pressed again it stops recording and starts playing, when pressed again it starts overdubbing. The second switch starts or stops the loop depending on if it is playing or not.

What I currently have is one IA assigned to the record parameter, and one IA to the play parameter. This doesn't have the desired effect. I press record and it starts recording, if I press it again it starts playing. But in order to stop the loop that is playing, I have to press the second switch twice. It seems this is because there is no toggle play/stop mode but only an on/off, is this correct? Furthermore, I do not see how to get the overdubbing/record control with the same switch like in the Boss pedal. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks!
 
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As far as I know, that is one switch working in steps. I do not think that is possible yet. Might make a very good MFC wish list item though. After watching the LF+ videos on YT today, I would like to see a firmware update for the mfc that does the same.
 
Then I think what you want is MOMENTARY vs LATCHING. I don't know about the MFC, but you can change the IA behavior of the LF series. In the editor, top right, you should see a drop down about the button behavior.

I think the link in my signature about FCB Looper Controls might help (momentary setup, etc), just apply the same to your own pedal. I will work on my looper controls for the LF Jr soon.
 
No, it is not possible with the MFC. I tried setting the play IA to momentary, but that doesn't have the desired result: when I release the footswitch, the looper stops playing.

I really hope Fractal will look into improving the looper control. As it is now, I think it is very counterintuitive, and missing the simple interface that even basic units such as the Boss ones have.
 
I have the looper setup the same as Yek's wiki I believe, record is set to momentary and play to toggle, 2 IA's. Same issue though record/playback is fine for me but have to hit play 2x to get it to stop which is not ideal. I hope we get some guidance or some better integration of the looper, I love it personally.

Dave
 
DaveZ said:
I have the looper setup the same as Yek's wiki I believe, record is set to momentary and play to toggle, 2 IA's. Same issue though record/playback is fine for me but have to hit play 2x to get it to stop which is not ideal. I hope we get some guidance or some better integration of the looper, I love it personally.

Dave
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What controller are you using?


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The Gordius Little Giant allows this as well. You can program almost every kind of strange behaviors on that machine. Unlimited power X)
 
In my opinion, these kinds of basic features should be a part of the product that is specifically made for the AxeFx: the MFC101. Why is this possible on third party devices such as Gordius or Liquid Foot but not the MFC?
 
Arjan said:
In my opinion, these kinds of basic features should be a part of the product that is specifically made for the AxeFx: the MFC101. Why is this possible on third party devices such as Gordius or Liquid Foot but not the MFC?
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I love my Ultra (and on the wait list for the II), but I've always laughed when people say the MFC's more 'tightly integrated' with the Ultra than the LFs are. mebbe so, but I can do lots o' things with my LF Pro that just can't be done with the MFC. And the thing's built like a depleted uranium shell. Never given me a lick of trouble, though I've sometimes been less than kind to it.
 
Arjan said:
In my opinion, these kinds of basic features should be a part of the product that is specifically made for the AxeFx: the MFC101. Why is this possible on third party devices such as Gordius or Liquid Foot but not the MFC?
Click to expand...
Well, the MFC is aimed at a flawless use, sort of plug'n'play; it takes power from the Axe ect. The other ones are more powerful, don't know LF deeply but GLG is the most powerful thing out there for sure in terms of possibiities and versatility (but requires more work for programming). And the guy at Gordius is crazy about FW updates as someone here around ;D
 
viabcroce said:
Well, the MFC is aimed at a flawless use, sort of plug'n'play; it takes power from the Axe ect. The other ones are more powerful, don't know LF deeply but GLG is the most powerful thing out there for sure in terms of possibiities and versatility (but requires more work for programming). And the guy at Gordius is crazy about FW updates as someone here around ;D
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Yes, except that it is not flawless when looking at the looper control. One of the most basic operations one would want to do with a looper is press a button to stop playing the loop. This is not possible with the MFC. I am surprised that there are so few threads about this (in my opinion) broken behaviour of the looper, even from Ultra users, where the looper works in the same way.
 
Arjan said:
Yes, except that it is not flawless when looking at the looper control. One of the most basic operations one would want to do with a looper is press a button to stop playing the loop. This is not possible with the MFC. I am surprised that there are so few threads about this (in my opinion) broken behaviour of the looper, even from Ultra users, where the looper works in the same way.
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I'm sorry, I don't really understand your complaint.

Just assign a button to the "play" control on your looper. "play" defaults to MIDI CC #29.
 
AdamCook said:
I'm sorry, I don't really understand your complaint.

Just assign a button to the "play" control on your looper. "play" defaults to MIDI CC #29.
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Hi Adam,

Thanks for your reply. Unfortunately, that doesn't always work as intended. I have assigned one IA to start and stop recording. When the recording stops, the loop automatically starts playing. A second IA is assigned to `play'. However, in order to stop the loop that is currently playing, I have to press that button twice. This could be solved in a dirty way by reversing the functionality of the button in the Axe Fx. But then I would have to press twice in order to start playing the loop when I didn't press the record button.

A much neater way would be if the MFC knows the state of the looper (playing or not), just like for effect bypass state which is transferred when the preset is loaded. For example, the Axe could send a IA state update to the MFC when the looper stops recording and starts playing. This would solve the control problems and make it much more intuitive.

A second control problem in my opinion is that it is too easy to delete what you've recorded, because when you accidentally press the record switch instead of your play switch, the currently stored loop is deleted.

I would like to propose a better control paradigm for the looper, following the interface on (IMHO) one of the most intuitive looper pedals that exist today: the Boss RC20XL. It has two switches. The first switch starts recording when pressed. When pressed again, the recording stops and playing the loop starts. When the first switch is pressed again it starts overdubbing. When pressed again, it starts playing again, and so on. The second switch is for playing and stopping the loop. When the loop has stopped, the first switch ('record') starts overdubbing when pressed. Deleting the currently stored loop is done by holding the second switch ('play/stop') for a number of seconds. This way, deleting the loop cannot be done accidentally.

I really think it would immensely improve the AxeFx and MFC as an integrated product if this kind of intuitive control were possible. Furthermore, it would allow us control over most of the looper's main functions with only two switches, instead of the five needed now.

Finally, but this is a very different point, the looper would be much easier to use if any silence at the beginning/end of the recorded audio is automatically truncated.
 
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