State of Epicicity
Fractal Fanatic
EDIT #3: I've returned to using Mixers, Multiplexers, and Scene Controllers for gaplessness. I've still found gaps that interrupt what I'm playing past FW 22.00. This is a contextual thing, so it may not matter for you, depending on what you're going for in your preset.
EDIT #2: Forget all this. Just use Firmware 22.00. Channel changes in the amp and drive blocks are now perceptibly gapless.
EDIT: I have some ideas here that can help in some ways, but there is a great solution here that can save time, if you have a set plan for what amps you're going to need when you play, in what order.
I know this doesn't hold appeal to everyone, but for me it's addictive. Before I made the plunge to the Axe FX III I made gapless presets with VST plugins using automation of individual parameters; now, with an FC12 and the Axe FX III, I use Scene Controllers and Multiplexers (though Mixer Blocks would work too) for gapless Amp changes. It might not seem like a big deal to switch between tones without an audible gap, but I've found it to be the most thrilling and inspiring thing for me personally; for anyone else who's been thinking about this, I hope some of my thoughts are helpful. To me a gapless preset is like a pickup selector switch; it feels natural and awesome.
Here's the helpful thing I've just discovered to make it easier: I've found that, for the presets I make, I only ever get a gap when switching channels in an Amp Block, not in a Drive Block, IR Player Block, or Cab Block. (Edit: Drive Block Channel changes can have gaps, but it just depends, so I now use a Multiplexer for Drive switching too). So I've just realized I don't have to do anything elaborate to switch tones gaplessly in a Drive Block, IR Player Block, or Cab Block; just switching channels does that gaplessly already! The only thing you have to take care with is the amp block, and by limiting a preset to two amps, you can do it. Here's what I do:
I use two amp blocks, kept on Channel A for every scene, going into a Multiplexer Block or a Mixer Block, and by using Scene Controllers, I can get eight gapless tones easily, one for each Scene. You can go way beyond that though, if you include CSs or something similar. But eight tones is enough for me in a preset. I first create one preset that is not gapless, to use as a basis, with eight tones, with four tones from Amp 1 in Channels A-D respectively landing in Scenes 1-4. Now, for Amp 2, I have four tones in Channels A-D respectively landing in Scenes 5-8. Now, the one thing I make sure to do when turning knobs for each of the four tones in a single amp, is I make sure only to turn the knobs that allow modifiers attached to them. I.e., if I alter the Negative Feedback, I make sure it doesn't change between those four tones. Same with Input Boost Type, or anything else that does not allow modifiers. Now, I use a spreadsheet in which I enter the values for any parameter that changes between channels. It's the same calculation for everything except Input Drive, which requires an alteration in which you use a log formula (which I found with some experimentation haha). One quick way to get a list of the parameters of all the scenes in your preset is to use @AlGrenadine's FracTool to export all the parameters of your preset as a CSV. It does round your Input Trim settings to the nearest hundredth, but everything else I think is just as it's displayed on the unit itself. Here's an example of the first three columns of my spreadsheet with their formulas showing:
By plugging in the values for the particular parameter for each scene, the spreadsheet then displays the minimum and maximum value the knob will travel for each amp (here Amp 1 is Scenes 1-4, and Amp 2 is Scene 5-8, but you can alter this for your setup), and the ideal settings for Scene Controllers will display for each scene for that parameter. This is great if you use only four parameters with Scene Controllers: in each modifier, set the Update Rate to Fast, with 0 ms for the Attack and Release times, set your min and max values in the modifier menu, and set your Scene Controller settings, and you're done! Gapless!
If you I have more than four Scene Controller - attached modifiers I still set the min and max values, but then I'll just adjust the other parameters, like Slope, Scale, Offset, and Start, Mid, and End, until I reach the intended value for each parameter. It's cumbersome, but I've done it, and the results are totally worth it to me.
Like I said, this isn't for everyone, but for those interested, this is the method I've found that I like. You can also do this using MIDI CC of course, which would be easier in some ways, but I love excluding all other devices and just using the FC12 with the Axe FX III. Best of luck on your tonal endeavors!
EDIT #2: Forget all this. Just use Firmware 22.00. Channel changes in the amp and drive blocks are now perceptibly gapless.
EDIT: I have some ideas here that can help in some ways, but there is a great solution here that can save time, if you have a set plan for what amps you're going to need when you play, in what order.
I know this doesn't hold appeal to everyone, but for me it's addictive. Before I made the plunge to the Axe FX III I made gapless presets with VST plugins using automation of individual parameters; now, with an FC12 and the Axe FX III, I use Scene Controllers and Multiplexers (though Mixer Blocks would work too) for gapless Amp changes. It might not seem like a big deal to switch between tones without an audible gap, but I've found it to be the most thrilling and inspiring thing for me personally; for anyone else who's been thinking about this, I hope some of my thoughts are helpful. To me a gapless preset is like a pickup selector switch; it feels natural and awesome.
Here's the helpful thing I've just discovered to make it easier: I've found that, for the presets I make, I only ever get a gap when switching channels in an Amp Block, not in a Drive Block, IR Player Block, or Cab Block. (Edit: Drive Block Channel changes can have gaps, but it just depends, so I now use a Multiplexer for Drive switching too). So I've just realized I don't have to do anything elaborate to switch tones gaplessly in a Drive Block, IR Player Block, or Cab Block; just switching channels does that gaplessly already! The only thing you have to take care with is the amp block, and by limiting a preset to two amps, you can do it. Here's what I do:
I use two amp blocks, kept on Channel A for every scene, going into a Multiplexer Block or a Mixer Block, and by using Scene Controllers, I can get eight gapless tones easily, one for each Scene. You can go way beyond that though, if you include CSs or something similar. But eight tones is enough for me in a preset. I first create one preset that is not gapless, to use as a basis, with eight tones, with four tones from Amp 1 in Channels A-D respectively landing in Scenes 1-4. Now, for Amp 2, I have four tones in Channels A-D respectively landing in Scenes 5-8. Now, the one thing I make sure to do when turning knobs for each of the four tones in a single amp, is I make sure only to turn the knobs that allow modifiers attached to them. I.e., if I alter the Negative Feedback, I make sure it doesn't change between those four tones. Same with Input Boost Type, or anything else that does not allow modifiers. Now, I use a spreadsheet in which I enter the values for any parameter that changes between channels. It's the same calculation for everything except Input Drive, which requires an alteration in which you use a log formula (which I found with some experimentation haha). One quick way to get a list of the parameters of all the scenes in your preset is to use @AlGrenadine's FracTool to export all the parameters of your preset as a CSV. It does round your Input Trim settings to the nearest hundredth, but everything else I think is just as it's displayed on the unit itself. Here's an example of the first three columns of my spreadsheet with their formulas showing:
| A | B | C | |
| 1 | Input Trim | Input Drive | |
| 2 | Scene 1 | ||
| 3 | Scene 2 | ||
| 4 | Scene 3 | ||
| 5 | Scene 4 | ||
| 6 | Scene 5 | ||
| 7 | Scene 6 | ||
| 8 | Scene 7 | ||
| 9 | Scene 8 | ||
| 10 | |||
| 11 | Percentages for Ideal Scene Controller | ||
| 12 | Scene 1 | =((20*log(B2))-(20*log(MIN(B$2:B$5))))/((20*log(MAX(B$2:B$5)))-(20*log(MIN(B$2:B$5)))) | =(C2-MIN(C$2:C$5))/(MAX(C$2:C$5)-MIN(C$2:C$5)) |
| 13 | Scene 2 | =((20*log(B3))-(20*log(MIN(B$2:B$5))))/((20*log(MAX(B$2:B$5)))-(20*log(MIN(B$2:B$5)))) | =(C3-MIN(C$2:C$5))/(MAX(C$2:C$5)-MIN(C$2:C$5)) |
| 14 | Scene 3 | =((20*log(B4))-(20*log(MIN(B$2:B$5))))/((20*log(MAX(B$2:B$5)))-(20*log(MIN(B$2:B$5)))) | =(C4-MIN(C$2:C$5))/(MAX(C$2:C$5)-MIN(C$2:C$5)) |
| 15 | Scene 4 | =((20*log(B5))-(20*log(MIN(B$2:B$5))))/((20*log(MAX(B$2:B$5)))-(20*log(MIN(B$2:B$5)))) | =(C5-MIN(C$2:C$5))/(MAX(C$2:C$5)-MIN(C$2:C$5)) |
| 16 | Number of Values | =COUNTUNIQUE(B2:B5) | =COUNTUNIQUE(C2:C5) |
| 17 | Minimum Value | =Min(B$2:B$5) | =Min(C$2:C$5) |
| 18 | Maximum Value | =MAX(B$2:B$5) | =MAX(C$2:C$5) |
| 19 | Scene Controller Assignment | ||
| 20 | |||
| 21 | Scene 5 | =((20*log(B6))-(20*log(MIN(B$6:B$9))))/((20*log(MAX(B$6:B$9)))-(20*log(MIN(B$6:B$9)))) | =(C6-MIN(C$6:C$9))/(MAX(C$6:C$9)-MIN(C$6:C$9)) |
| 22 | Scene 6 | =((20*log(B7))-(20*log(MIN(B$6:B$9))))/((20*log(MAX(B$6:B$9)))-(20*log(MIN(B$6:B$9)))) | =(C7-MIN(C$6:C$9))/(MAX(C$6:C$9)-MIN(C$6:C$9)) |
| 23 | Scene 7 | =((20*log(B8))-(20*log(MIN(B$6:B$9))))/((20*log(MAX(B$6:B$9)))-(20*log(MIN(B$6:B$9)))) | =(C8-MIN(C$6:C$9))/(MAX(C$6:C$9)-MIN(C$6:C$9)) |
| 24 | Scene 8 | =((20*log(B9))-(20*log(MIN(B$6:B$9))))/((20*log(MAX(B$6:B$9)))-(20*log(MIN(B$6:B$9)))) | =(C9-MIN(C$6:C$9))/(MAX(C$6:C$9)-MIN(C$6:C$9)) |
| 25 | Number of Values | =COUNTUNIQUE(B6:B9) | =COUNTUNIQUE(C6:C9) |
| 26 | Minimum Value | =Min(B$6:B$9) | =Min(C$6:C$9) |
| 27 | Maximum Value | =MAX(B$6:B$9) | =MAX(C$6:C$9) |
| 28 | Scene Controller Assignment |
By plugging in the values for the particular parameter for each scene, the spreadsheet then displays the minimum and maximum value the knob will travel for each amp (here Amp 1 is Scenes 1-4, and Amp 2 is Scene 5-8, but you can alter this for your setup), and the ideal settings for Scene Controllers will display for each scene for that parameter. This is great if you use only four parameters with Scene Controllers: in each modifier, set the Update Rate to Fast, with 0 ms for the Attack and Release times, set your min and max values in the modifier menu, and set your Scene Controller settings, and you're done! Gapless!
If you I have more than four Scene Controller - attached modifiers I still set the min and max values, but then I'll just adjust the other parameters, like Slope, Scale, Offset, and Start, Mid, and End, until I reach the intended value for each parameter. It's cumbersome, but I've done it, and the results are totally worth it to me.
Like I said, this isn't for everyone, but for those interested, this is the method I've found that I like. You can also do this using MIDI CC of course, which would be easier in some ways, but I love excluding all other devices and just using the FC12 with the Axe FX III. Best of luck on your tonal endeavors!
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Yeah, this is some of the most exciting stuff as far as I'm concerned. I generally set up eight gapless tones: I'll do two amps with a multiplexer, then I'll add four scenes of scene controllers to change the tone of each amp. Another thing I love is to have 4 drive blocks in front a multiplexer going into the two amps, who then go into the second multiplexer. This way you can get eight drastically different tones that are all gapless.
Also, running a couple of drives into a Multiplexer is a good way to switch gaplessly between drastically different tones. Best of luck, and happy tone exploration!
