MFC Setup & organization suggestions

bfinn19

bfinn19

Member
So I'm helping a friend get set up with an XL+ and a MFC 101 Mk III. He's a very good musician but not too tech savvy. He's given me a list of amps & effects he'd like, and its pretty easy to get in the ballpark with some patches.

The challenge for me is the MFC config.

I'm thinking of giving him the 4-5 patches to try out, nice and simple, presets 1-5 on the first 5 preset switches.

Once he finds the ones he likes, back down to a favorite 2-3 patches, then set up scenes for each, different effects on/off, X/Y amps, etc.

But how to organize the IA switches? So he's on patch 1, with 2-3 different scenes: Should the second row then be scene 1, 2 , 3 on the second row IAs. Or simply use the increase/decrease buttons to scroll through the scenes? The problem with the latter is you have to remember which order the scenes are.

Of course I could just set up duplicate patches with different "scenes", but that seems a little clunky (although easier to label on the MFC, perhaps)

Appreciate any ideas on this (which btw will also help organize my mfc as well...)

Thx

Bob
 
Check out midi mapping and how to set two patch/scene combos per switch. I'm using this like crazy now. Lots of fast changes in my show. Figure out which p/s he toggles between often and bind them to a single IA. So, first press (green) is the primary and second press (red) is alternate.

Also, look at the "back" function for the lead IA. First press (green) is lead. Second press (red) is the previous patch.

Finally, abort AxeFX mode and use MFCEdit to label all the IAs an Program changes.
 
The MFC's default layout should work find for this. Use Reveal mode to access scenes. It will turn the 5 preset buttons into 5 scene buttons. The Reveal button LED will blink green while you are in Reveal mode. Hit Reveal again to go back to regular preset mode to change presets. If you press and hold Reveal for a couple of seconds it will go into Looper mode. The Reveal LED will light up red while in Looper mode. Hit Reveal again to go back to regular preset mode. There's no need to dedicate any of the other 12 IA switches to access these features.
 
My MFC is organized as follows:
  • Bottom row switches are scene 1-5
  • Second row switches are presets 1-5
  • Everything else is an IA
This is what works best for me. It allows me to easily select a preset (which I only do between songs), and then have all my scenes in the most convenient location at the bottom of the board.

Also, check out KickTags by our forum member @Toadfish. Those labels are top notch and easy to customize for your needs.
 
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I use buttons 1 to 8 for scenes and 9 to 15 for ias.
I have clean/crunch/fuzz/disto/lead etcI use bank up to switch to next preset
 
It's hard to say who finds what intuitive and easy to use. I've always hated pedalboards and love presets where several things change simultaneously. Others like to be able to access each effect individually. So who knows what your friend will like.

I personally have my MFC set up this way - Bank Size is 0, so one preset per bank. Switches 1-4 are for scenes with ascending amount of gain - clean, breakup, rhythm, lead. 5 is alternative lead with song-specific effects. 6-8 are alternative clean, breakup, rhythm. 9-10 are for vocals, one is harmony, another one is eq for lead/backing. The next row has switches without AFX functions, they are set as external controllers, doing similar things across presets, modifying different effects: Eq/compression/filter, drive, pitch, delays, reverbs. The top to switches are tap/tuner and DAW playback control. This way I have the same type of setup for all my presets, I always know where to push regardless of specific effects I use. It's also very easy to explain to anyone.
 
Sleestak said:
My MFC is organized as follows:
  • Bottom row switches are scene 1-5
  • Second row switches are presets 1-5
  • Everything else is an IA
This is what works best for me. It allows me to easily select a preset (which I only do between songs), and then have all my scenes in the most convenient location at the bottom of the board.

Also, check out KickTags by our forum member @Toadfish. Those labels are top notch and easy to customize for your needs.
Click to expand...

This might sound like a stupid question but how do I set the presets to the second or third row?. I tried looking for it under IAS, MFC Setup, and Midi Table CC number list but I can seem to find it. Also, any IAS recommendations?
 
Ytolyccuz said:
This might sound like a stupid question but how do I set the presets to the second or third row?. I tried looking for it under IAS, MFC Setup, and Midi Table CC number list but I can seem to find it. Also, any IAS recommendations?
Click to expand...
Which version of the MFC-101 do you have? This is a software setup option, but it's only possible on the MFC-101 MkIII. It can be done on the other versions of the pedal, but it requires opening the unit and moving the ribbon cables.
 
Sleestak said:
Which version of the MFC-101 do you have? This is a software setup option, but it's only possible on the MFC-101 MkIII. It can be done on the other versions of the pedal, but it requires opening the unit and moving the ribbon cables.
Click to expand...

Ouch, that kinda sucks. :D I'm using a mk2. Don't want to open it up because I might do something I'm not supposed to. I hope that it can be made possible in firmware update.

Thanks for the info. Would have been great to have a similar layout to yours.
 
Ytolyccuz said:
Ouch, that kinda sucks. :D I'm using a mk2. Don't want to open it up because I might do something I'm not supposed to. I hope that it can be made possible in firmware update.

Thanks for the info. Would have been great to have a similar layout to yours.
Click to expand...
In the MkII, this apparently can be done with a ribbon cable swap. I haven't personally done this, and I don't recall seeing any sort of statement from Fractal Audio saying it was a recommended practice, but I do remember reading posts from users who did this successfully. Search the forum for the various threads on the cable swap button reassignment process. It's intrusive in the sense that you need to open the MFC to do it, but it's not permanent; if you later decide it doesn't make sense for your needs, you can reverse the cable swap. I would imagine the most difficult thing about it is to remember that switches 1-5 are now the middle row.

I would strongly encourage you to read up on this before considering it, and only proceed if you're quite comfortable with it.
 
Sleestak said:
In the MkII, this apparently can be done with a ribbon cable swap. I haven't personally done this, and I don't recall seeing any sort of statement from Fractal Audio saying it was a recommended practice, but I do remember reading posts from users who did this successfully. Search the forum for the various threads on the cable swap button reassignment process. It's intrusive in the sense that you need to open the MFC to do it, but it's not permanent; if you later decide it doesn't make sense for your needs, you can reverse the cable swap. I would imagine the most difficult thing about it is to remember that switches 1-5 are now the middle row.

I would strongly encourage you to read up on this before considering it, and only proceed if you're quite comfortable with it.
Click to expand...

Thanks for laying it out very clearly. I'll take a closer look at it probably once I am comfortable with my MFC layout.
 
Sleestak said:
In the MkII, this apparently can be done with a ribbon cable swap. I haven't personally done this, and I don't recall seeing any sort of statement from Fractal Audio saying it was a recommended practice, but I do remember reading posts from users who did this successfully.
Click to expand...
Guilty. Presets are now on the top row because I only change them between songs. Frequently used effects are on the bottom row, where I can hit them easily, and the remainder in the middle. For effects I use a combination of AFX mode switches and IAs.

No scenes? Yes, I know. They don't suit my workflow when playing. Instead some of the IAs change several effects at the same time.
 
Roland said:
Guilty. Presets are now on the top row because I only change them between songs.
Click to expand...
Agreed. My organizational model for the AxeFX and MFC is based on this logic:
  • I use one preset per song, and only change presets between songs. I put the presets on the second row so they're fairly convenient to access.
  • I use as many scenes per song as necessary. That's usually five or six scenes max. I put the scenes on the bottom row since I use them frequently during songs.
  • The other switches are for IAs, and honestly, I rarely need them. Most of the time, I use scenes for switching around my tones, even if I'm just turning on / off an effect or two. I do, on occasion, like to directly access individual effects, so it's handy to have them at my feet for those occasions.
 
Hello I Use 5 scenes... 1lead/ 2 lead/ 3 rhytm 4 clean 5 crunch for all presets...and I remenber well the patches and warking well..using stomplabels
 
mr_fender said:
The MFC's default layout should work find for this. Use Reveal mode to access scenes. It will turn the 5 preset buttons into 5 scene buttons. The Reveal button LED will blink green while you are in Reveal mode. Hit Reveal again to go back to regular preset mode to change presets. If you press and hold Reveal for a couple of seconds it will go into Looper mode. The Reveal LED will light up red while in Looper mode. Hit Reveal again to go back to regular preset mode. There's no need to dedicate any of the other 12 IA switches to access these features.
Click to expand...

Problem was I wanted to select scene and preset via one switch. AxeFx mode didn't seem to support this. Certainly not with a custom name per IA.

So each IA had a PC and Scene number and a custom name. I didn't have to "switch presets" (and then select the desired scene) it was built in to the IA. I used custom mapping to drop into the desired PC + Scene.

I need to post a rundown of this. It was my best MFC experience so far.
 
I don't know if this is the right place, but in lieu of this discussion, I have it set up as 1-5 Presets, 6-10 Scenes, everything else an IA.

When I switch between presets there is what seems to be a slight drop out? Any way to fix it?
 
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