MIDI transfer issues, corrupt data

Z

Zyglrox

New Member
Hi,

I'm pretty new to Axe-FX as I was basically gifted an old device to pay off a debt, and I'm more of a plug n'play kind of guy so never really worked with it and learned it. But now I have all these problems going for me which I'm hoping someone can help resolve. Sorry in advance for the TL;DR post.

Setup:
Axe-FX Standard, firmware 11
Axe-Edit Legacy Beta on Windows 10 Pro x64
Interface: Steinberg UR-22


So I have this Axe-FX which all of a sudden went mental on me after working fine for the 6 months or so I've had it. It started with what I thought was some kind of interference/noise which turned out to be a corrupt user cab.

Then I realized most or all of the presets had corrupt data - missing or added blocks/effects, wierd gibberish-like names containing all kinds of special characters, broken chains resulting in no output, etc. In addition the display on the Axe-Fx became unreadable, which I later found out was because of the contrast setting being reset to default, which is kind of low.

In the beginning the gibberish-like names were present both on the Axe-FX and Axe-Edit, however after many hours messing around this is no longer the case. I believe I have managed to delete all the presets on the Axe-FX, but when "syncing from hardware" some of the presets have these corrupted names on Axe-Edit while being nameless/empty on the Axe-FX itself.

On top of all this, I have immensely big issues with data transfers and the "BAD CHECKSUM" error.

What I've tried so far:
- Reinstalling/updating interface driver
- Reinstalling Axe-Edit, starting with a new/clean workspace
- Changed the battery inside the Axe-FX
- Reset Axe-FX to factory defaults
- Loopback test on both MIDI cables - PASSED
- Connection test - PASSED
- Verified physical connections, ports, Sysex ID and I/O settings - all seems to be in order as far as I can tell, and this is also confirmed by the fact that the above tests have PASSED(?).

Should mention that after swapping the battery at least the contrast setting (and probably other global settings(?)) are no longer reset on rebooting the Axe. Also there HAS to be a connection to the device as I can change preset in Axe-Edit which is then reflected on the Axe-FX.

Was gonna try replacing all presets with Fractal defaults and updating firmware (yes I know) next, but this fails with the "BAD CHECKSUM" error. This error also still sporadically occurs when syncing presets to the Axe-FX.

So there it is, I believe I've documented everything by now.. Sorry again for the long post, hope someone, anyone, are still around with the knowledge of what might be causing this and, hopefully, a solution.

Thanks in advance.
 
The last update I did with my Ultra was right after the last firmware was released. I can't remember any specifics but maybe this will help. In my experience connecting the Ultra to AxeEdit or to upgrade the firmware was iffy at best. When updating the firmware I remember getting the CHECKSUM error several times and my solution was to slow down the transfer speed. I cannot remember if that had something to do with buffer settings or if it was called something else. Whatever I did worked and I never had to deal with it again. I also remember that some midi interfaces were reported to work better than others.

Good luck!
 
Thanks for the suggestion.

I actually already tried changing these settings once before, but apparently not enough. I believe I changed it from default 256 buffer size and 90 ms delay to 128 buffer size and 150 ms or so delay. This time I reduced the buffer to 32 and increased the delay to maximum 500 ms and what do you know - it actually seems like it worked. I don't need to tell you though, it took forever for the update to complete (approx 2 hours I believe), and when it finally completed I got an "unknown error" stating the firmware version remained the same. But at least the update completed (I think) and the error might be explained by the fact that firmware 11 is already installed..?

Not sure though, because after I tried replacing the presets with Fractal defaults again and after another several hours it failed. I assume "BAD CHECKSUM" though I didn't actually see it since the status field returns to showing model and version so quickly, and I'm not aware of any log files to check. In any event, all the preset icons remained red indicating unsaved changes, and after rebooting the Axe all were empty.
 
I know you're looking for plug n play but have you tried to make a preset from scratch? I've never had to re-initialize a preset but I'm sure that's in there somewhere. Stretch a chain of blocks across the grid and just use an amp & cab block to see what happens. If it works then see if you can save/recall it. If that fails then the unit may have issues that Fractal would have to fix.
 
Yes I have, with varied results. The problems seem so random it's hard to keep track...

From Axe-Edit I can create, save and load from disk and sporadically upload/save to the Axe-FX. If I can successfully save it to the Axe-FX I think I can recall it as well, as all settings saved seems to be remembered after swapping the battery. Not entirely sure, but think I'm still seeing some corrupt data on the recalled presets though.

So that, to me, indicates a transfer/MIDI issue, which I'm thinking also is the reason for the corrupt data..? One interesting thing, is after creating a new preset and playing a little I adjusted the threshold on the noise gate - which resulted in a loud interference-like noise followed by total silence and a completely frozen Axe-AX. Could not click any buttons, change preset or anything and the lights did not register any input until rebooted.

Not sure if this means problems with both MIDI and the Axe-FX itself, only the Axe-FX or maybe the MIDI interface, if it could somehow be sending data it's not supposed to or something, resulting in all kinds of weird behavior.

I've unplugged both MIDI cables now and will try creating, saving and modifying presets directly on the device itself from scratch, effectively removing MIDI and Axe-Edit from the equation. Maybe this will shed some light on what is the culprit. If the problem persists I guess the Axe-FX is slowly decaying after 12 years of action, if not it must be a MIDI/transfer issue of some sort?
 
Yes, that's what I would suggest. I tried to use Axe-Edit with my Ultra 2 or 3 times and then gave up. I'm old-school anyway so all of my presets were made directly on the device.

By-the-way, Axe-Edit works just fine for me on the AFII and AX8 so I use it when I make new presets or just want to rearrange things.
 
Have you tried an older version of Axe edit? I was having issues connecting and editing then I tried a really old version, I think 1.0.88 and no issues. Note: I am using Axe edit with Linux mint 17.
 
I feel it may be to early to know for sure, but I've created and modified a couple of patches directly on the Axe-Fx the last couple of days, with the MIDI cables disconnected. Seems to be working okay, no errors, corrupt patches or anything so far. I'll keep testing through the weekend. If it works flawlessly the issue must be with the data transfer - MIDI cables, interface, computer, and/or Axe-Edit.

I have not tried an older version, I'm using the newest legacy/beta version for the Standard, 1.0.191. It sounds strange to me that this would be the problem considering I've used it for 6 months with no problems. On the other hand, when I come to think of it, I may have never actually done any modifications through Axe-Edit before now as I've been pretty happy with the presets I had before the meltdown...Only used it to change presets and for the tuner.

Re-installation didn't fix the issue, but I can try and older version. Do you know where I can find an older installer?
I can also try connecting it to my laptop, which is also running Linux Mint. Are you running Axe-Edit with Wine or something?
 
I suggest that you get an external midi device to use axe edit. I used an m-audio midi sport 2x2 and it worked flawlessly with my ultra.
 
TL;DR: Looks like it's the audio/MIDI interface that's the problem.


So I tested an earlier version of Axe-Edit to no avail. Was gonna try from another computer but I never did get this to run on my Linux. Doesn't look like it recognizes the USB interface at all. I realize Steinberg doesn't have any Linux drivers, but it would need to be able to talk to the kernel to function in Wine, no? I.e. show up under lsusb/aplay? Running Mint 18.2, kernel 4.8 and 4.13. Did you have to do anything special for it to work?

Anyway...
I ended up testing on a friends computer - both Windows and MacOS running on Mac hardware. Same interface, same cables, same Axe-Edit version - same issue. But when testing with his Clarett interface, however, no bad checksum errors! So I guess that means that the problem lies within the MIDI interface. Which makes all kinds of sense really, except that the loopback test indicated no errors...

I'll probably just order a new interface and hopefully that will be it. I could just use a MIDI interface as you're suggesting, but I need to be able to route the audio a certain way as well so a combined audio/MIDI interface is preferable. Should make no difference anyways.
 
Update:

So I bought a new Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 and the results are interesting... All the things that didn't work with the old interface is now working OK, and all the things that actually DID work on the old interface is not working. Seriously... wtf? :)

UR22: Could change presets from Axe-Edit, change reflected on Axe-Fx and new settings loaded successfully. Could however not upload/download presets and/or banks between Axe-Fx and PC without "BAD CHECKSUM" error.

Scarlett 2i4: Can now upload/download presets and/or banks between Axe-Fx and PC, but when trying to simply change to another preset the new settings isn't loaded and the display on the Axe-Fx does not reflect any changes being made - although I believe the "dump in progress" bar is visible for a short moment.

The Scarlett interface were recognized as a device on my laptop/Linux so I was able to test here as well, with exactly the same results. The only thing I can think of now, is the USB cable between the computer and audio interface as I re-used the one belonging to the UR22, as the new USB cable from Focusrite were a little too short. Not sure how realistic it is to blame the USB cable for all this though...

Also it doesn't feel like the MIDI cables are connected right to the interface, I think the connectors are too big/too much plastic so they don't enter completely or something, so they feel a little loose. But again, I have connection and can in fact up- and download banks, sync and backup...

I'll try with another USB cable after work and maybe pick up a Roland UM-ONE for comparison/testing.
 
Tested with the Scarlett-accompanying USB cable, as expected it made no difference.
Guess I have to buy Axe-FX II and iMac or something for this to work.
 
Dear blog...

I picked up the Roland UM-ONE MIDI interface and for the first time the "MIDI" light on the front of the Axe-Fx lit up (blinking). Didn't fully work until I restored global settings yet again though, but now it seems to be working.

Not entirely sure what to get from all this, but I think I have to stick the original conclusion that the Steinberg interface was broken. Didn't work on several different computers, even after resetting global settings. Also (maybe, not 100% sure on the source yet) had audio interference from it.

So either the Scarlett interface was broken as well (even though it was factory new), or I (for some reason) had to reset the Axe-Fx for it to work fully. Don't quite remember, but I don't think I factory restored the Axe-Fx while testing the Scarlett.
 
Glad to hear it's finally working. Your other interfaces may not be broken, they just didn't work for this application. As I said earlier, it was tough to get adequate communication between the Axe Edit software and/or the AxeFx hardware from that era.
 
Ain't that the truth. I've always thought that if I got "Status: Connected" it was indeed, well, connected... But I guess not, which makes troubleshooting complicated to say the least.

You may be right regarding the Scarlett, that it's not compatible with the rest of the setup. Or maybe it would've worked if I have restored the Axe-Fx to factory defaults, as I had to to get the Roland interface to work. Idk. But the Steinberg interface I believe is actually broken as it didn't work on my friends setup either, which it did before I bought it from him...

One last question: when you change preset in Axe-Edit, the Axe-Fx is also updated to reflect that change, i.e. changed from preset 1 to 2. Is that supposed to work the other way around as well, if you change preset on the Axe-Fx, Axe-Edit is updated to reflect this? Or will you have to "Recall from Axe-Fx" even if the source is already selected?

I believe I saw some settings stating the MIDI-connection was "Real-time", just don't know if that's supposed to work both ways. I would assume so, but then again - it's awfully old technology...
 
If you have 2 midi cables connected then it should work. I never tried that so I don't know how quickly the changes occur.
 
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