MFc 101 controlling axe Fx and midified amp, but how??

C

Chaossphere

New Member
Hi guys,
I got a serious problem.
I am trying to control my axe Fx II and my Hughes&Kettner tubemeister 36 via the Mfc 101. I want to use the Axe as effects unit via 4 cable method and my amp for the amp sounds. both units are updated to the latest version up to this date (mfc fw 3.05 and Axe Fx II 15.02)
Now my problems:
1. Do i need to exit the axeFx mode in the mfc to control both the tubemeister and the axe Fx II or is there a way to avoid a complete "from scratch" programming of the mfc?
2. is there a way to send midi Data via expansion cat5 cable AND the midi port on the mfc or are they only an "or" option and i need to use the axe Fx II midi through port?
3. How do I set up a preset switch to change axe Presets and send the data to my Tubemeister at all? My attempts to do that failed now for several days and I am starting to turn into a Midi Hulk... ( tubemeister is set to omni mode, I tryed to define midichannels like midichannel 2 and tryed to send through the corresponding channel via mfc. I too tried that via Axe FxII midi through connection with the "through" option set to on in the axe FxII midi setup and via direct connect mfc to tubemeister with 5 pin midicable, and yes the midicable is not broken, i updated the mfc ti the latest fw version with it but there seems no data to arrive)
4. and last but not least: is it possible to rename MFC Presetnames in the display without having to store and rename them in the axefx (in axeFX mode) so i do not have to save 6 times the same preset with differrent names in the axe fx just to have my different channels from my amp at my midicontrollers disposal. and have them shown on my mfc display.

I know it is a lot of questions, but i try to figure that out now for several days with no success. And I cant find any tutorials on that topic in the net. Further more I seem to be too stupid to use the manuals the way that it works ;(

So thank you for every bit of advice you guys can give me and have fun making music

Greetings
Chaossphere
 
you don’t need to exit Axe mode. in fact, you don’t need to change anything on the MFC.

it seems this amp (like most MIDI capable amps) only responds to Program Changes, MIDI PC messages. these messages are sent when you change Presets on the MFC. this means you can’t do anything to the amp with the other switches on the MFC - assuming your MFC is set to default where switches 1-5 change presets, that means switches 6-17 won’t do anything to the amp - they don’t send PCs.

so really, you don’t have to do anything to the MFC. you are however stuck to changing presets in order to change the amp settings.

this means you may have to have a few duplicate presets on the axe in order to change your amp setting (drive, clean etc) while keeping the same effect setup. this really isn’t a big deal; you can use Global Blocks to keep the “same presets” with the same settings even if you change something.


there is no way to use both the Expansion and MIDI on the MFC at the same time. if you want to use the Expansion and send MIDI out to another device, you have to use the MIDI Out/Thru on the Axe, and turn the Thru setting On in the I/O menu.

it seems you’ve done this but it’s not working? PC messages are pretty basic so it should just work without any further configuration. if you are in Omni mode on the amp, it should receive messages.

do this to test: keep the Ethernet cable in the MFC for power. change from Expansion to MIDI on the MFC. Change it from Axe mode to None. plug your 5 pin midi cable from the MFC MIDI Out to your H&K MIDI In. now change presets on the MFC. does the amp change? if no, then that cable doesn’t work or the amp isn’t setup right.

if it does work, let us know and we’ll troubleshoot the axe setup again. i’ve successfully used Axe Mode and Ethernet to control a Diezel VH4 i used to have, so this should work no problem.

as for renaming the MFC in axe mode separate from the axe, no you can’t. just rename them in the axe.
 
Thank you for the quick and fast reply!

Hi Chris,
thanks all lot for your fast and helpful reply.
I worked a bit on my problems with your advice and got everythingset up the way I needed it.
So I am ready to make a lot of noise and torture my fellow band members into oblivion now ;)

So keep up the good work and have as much fun as possible

Greetings
Christian
 
Sorry for bringing up an old thread, but I was doing a search for a "how to control axefx and amp using mfc-101" and this thread seems exactly like what I want to do but with a minor difference, my amp is not "midified" yet. Now that I have an AX8, I wanted to repurpose my trusty AxeFx Ultra and use it with my amp for effects and preamp sounds.

MIDI still confuses the hell out of me (and I am a Network Engineer working with complex routing protocols)...LOL! I figured I'd ask here first before I go down this road and start buying stuff I think I need but may end up not getting to work.

The goal:
1. Use 4 cable method to hook up my AxeFx Ultra to my Mesa Boogie Roadster for preamps sounds and effects
2. Control channel switching on the amp as well as changing presets on the AxeFx using the MFC-101
3. Be able to "tie together" specific amp channels to specific presets. For example:
a. For a clean preset, I want amp channel 1, matched with a preset on my AxeFx that has Chorus, Delay, Reverb
b. For a metal preset, I want amp channel 4, matched with a Drive and GEQ
4. Be able to change amp channels without changing presets utilizing IA switches on the MFC-101

What I think I need:
1. Voodoo Lab Control Switcher - http://www.voodoolab.com/controlswitcher.htm

How I think it should be hooked up:
1. 4 cable method for sound (and create appropriate patches with FXL, etc.)
2. Midi Out from MFC-101 into AxeFx
3. Midi Thru from AxeFx into Voodoo Lab Midi In
4. Voodoo Lab patch cables into Roadster channel switch inputs on the back of amp

What I am unclear of at this point is what I should do on the MFC-101 and on the AxeFx to get the channel switch commands to the Voodoo Lab and consequently change to the channel I want that matches the preset I want. Is this something simple and I am overthinking it?

Am I right in what I should buy and how I should hook things up?

Thanks for any advice/help!
 
Yeah you'll need a MIDI switch box to control the Roadster via its external switching jacks. RJM Music Mini Amp Gizmo is another option with more switches.

These switchers allow you to save preset switch states and recall them using MIDI Program Change (PC) messages. You would create presets on the switcher that correspond to matching presets on the Axe. If the Axe and MIDI switcher are set to the same MIDI channel, switching to preset 5 on the Axe would then also select preset 5 on the switcher and the amp would change channels accordingly. You could also then use MIDI Control Change (CC) messages to manually select channels on the amp as well. For that you would need to setup IA switches on the MFC for the desired CC#s. Just make sure the same CC# doesn't also control something in the Axe as well unless you want both changes to happen at the same time.
 
mr_fender said:
Yeah you'll need a MIDI switch box to control the Roadster via its external switching jacks. RJM Music Mini Amp Gizmo is another option with more switches.

These switchers allow you to save preset switch states and recall them using MIDI Program Change (PC) messages. You would create presets on the switcher that correspond to matching presets on the Axe. If the Axe and MIDI switcher are set to the same MIDI channel, switching to preset 5 on the Axe would then also select preset 5 on the switcher and the amp would change channels accordingly. You could also then use MIDI Control Change (CC) messages to manually select channels on the amp as well. For that you would need to setup IA switches on the MFC for the desired CC#s. Just make sure the same CC# doesn't also control something in the Axe as well unless you want both changes to happen at the same time.
Click to expand...

Awesome. Thanks for the explanation. I think I understand now the PC vs CC messages. I will update here once I get everything set up and tested.

I went ahead and ordered the Voodoo Lab because it's cheaper... LOL.
 
OK...I got it working!

I am going to paste my notes here for my own future reference as well as to help others who may want to set up something similar.

My Equipment:
AxeFx Ultra
Mesa Boogie Roadster
MFC-101
Voodoo Lab Control Switcher
Mission Engineering SP-1

Sound Hookup (4-cable method):
This comprises the main signal path:
Guitar --> AxeFx Input 1
AxeFx Output 1 --> Amp Effects Loop Return
This comprises the AxeFx Effects Loop (the FXL block):
AxeFx Output 2 --> Amp Input
Amp Effects Loop Send --> AxeFx Input 2

General Settings:
AxeFx = MIDI Channel 1 (default)
== Presets that use the real Amp Channels must have FXL block, no AMP block, no CAB block

Voodoo Lab Control Switcher
== Set to MIDI Channel 2
== Set to accept PC and CC messages
Control 1 = CC#80 == patch cable to Amp Channel 1
Control 2 = CC#81 == patch cable to Amp Channel 2
Control 3 = CC#82 == patch cable to Amp Channel 3
Control 4 = CC#83 == patch cable to Amp Channel 4

MFC-101
Instant Access (IA) Switches 1-5 are "hidden" because the footswitches are set to Preset Mode (by default), in order to use them as IA Switches, step on REVEAL switch first.

IA Switch 1 (via REVEAL) will be set to select Amp Channel 1:
EDIT/MIDI/PAGE (6x) == Set IA AxeFx Function = NONE
EDIT/MIDI/PAGE (7x) == Set Command Select (c1) = CC#80 Ch02

IA Switch 2 (via REVEAL) will be set to select Amp Channel 2:
EDIT/MIDI/PAGE (6x) == Set IA AxeFx Function = NONE
EDIT/MIDI/PAGE (7x) == Set Command Select (c1) = CC#81 Ch02

IA Switch 3 (via REVEAL) will be set to select Amp Channel 3:
EDIT/MIDI/PAGE (6x) == Set IA AxeFx Function = NONE
EDIT/MIDI/PAGE (7x) == Set Command Select (c1) = CC#82 Ch02

IA Switch 4 (via REVEAL) will be set to select Amp Channel 4:
EDIT/MIDI/PAGE (6x) == Set IA AxeFx Function = NONE
EDIT/MIDI/PAGE (7x) == Set Command Select (c1) = CC#83 Ch02

For any MFC-101 Presets that correspond to AxeFx Presets that have FXL enabled
EDIT/PRESET == Edit the MFC-101 Preset to remember IA Switch state
== IASw 01 ON / IASw 02 OFF / IASw 03 / OFF / IASw 04 OFF == Amp Channel 1
== IASw 01 OFF / IASw 02 ON / IASw 03 / OFF / IASw 04 OFF == Amp Channel 2
== IASw 01 OFF / IASw 02 OFF / IASw 03 / ON / IASw 04 OFF == Amp Channel 3
== IASw 01 OFF / IASw 02 OFF / IASw 03 / OFF / IASw 04 ON == Amp Channel 4

IA Switch Links
== Group IA switches 1-4 so that only 1 of the IAs can be ON at any given time
EDIT/SETUP/PAGE (10x) == LinkA 01 02 03 04


Once I understood that MFC-101 presets are independent from Axe-Fx presets, it all clicked for me and I was able to control things as I wanted.

Hopefully this helps someone in the future!
 
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