New Axe-Fx owner journal - my experience may help you.

New Axe-Fx Utlra owner here, and I love it.

Like many have said, there is a learning curve, especially for a gear novice like me. If you're a professional gigging musician, I'm sure this is old knowledge for you, but I had to go through several steps to get my Axe-Fx setup properly. So here's my experience from bringing it home, several trips to guitar center to get extra items, and what I did. Also what accessories I decided to buy, like foot controller. So there are some hidden costs that you might not be aware of, especially if you decide to update your firmware which you'll need a midi device. I'll also put down some useful links, like video tutorials I looked at.

First off, save yourself a lot of trouble and read all the stickies in the forums here. Also read the Axe-Fx Wiki:
http://axefxwiki.guitarlogic.org/

Ok, if you're like me, you're lazy and you only glanced at the stickies and just bookmarked the Axe-Fx wiki and decided to buy an Axe-Fx anyway. =) So after a 2 month hunt for a the perfect tube amp, I went found my holy grail when I discovered the Axe-Fx and decided to go digital. I bought an Axe-Fx Ultra from Tone Merchants (only Axe-Fx dealer in the Los Angeles area, located Orange County, Ca) and brought it home...

1) Hooking it up. I wanted to do the 4 cable method (see the diagrams in the Axe-Fx manual) and hook up my Axe-Fx to my Vox AD60VTX combo. I had 2 long guitar cables and 2 really short patch cables I use with my guitar pedals and this worked but I had to keep my Axe-Fx on top of the combo itself, because of the real short length of the 2 patch cables into the effects loop of my amp combo. I had to make a trip to guitar center to get longer cables later on so I could move my Axe-Fx off my amp.
- items purchased: 2 patch cables (3 foot or longer)

2) Making it sound good - I read the tips on turning off cab sims (possibly the power sims too) in the global settings. Also I the read tips about setting the global EQ. I actually ended up leaving everything on, cab and power sims, and just messed with the global EQ to get a good sound. I lowered the high frequences a bit and boost the bass and mid range slightly. I discovered that my optimum EQ settings would differ depending on what guitar I was using -- Gibson Les Paul Standard, American made Fender Stratocaster with 9 gauge strings with Kahler tremolo bridge (like a Floyd Rose), Japanese made Fender Stratocaster with 10 gauge strings standard tremolo bridge.

3) Updating Firmware - This was a bit of a hassle. I had a midi controller, my M-Audio Axiom keyboard hooked up to my computer via usb cable, but no midi cables to attach the Axe-Fx. I went to the store, bought one cable, and then realized I should have purchased 2 cables (although not necessary, I didn't want to switch cables everytime I sent or received data, plus the Axe-Fx editor needs both cables attached). I went back got another cable, a different color to make it easy to know which cable was "in" or "out". I then watched the Axe-Fx editor tutorial on youtube here (thanks marmax78):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVzQ7yDmNnQ

I discovered later that the midi channel setting doesn't apply anymore in the new version of the editor (I used 1.24 beta), so you don't need to set that (actually you can't anymore). Just need the sysex id in the editor to match the current preset that you're dialed into on the Axe-Fx itself. BTW I had to install Java on my Windows XP to make the Axe-Fx editor work. Painless process for me, but then again I'm a computer programmer.

I then discovered my midi controller, the Axiom keyboard, didn't like the editor as I couldn't do anything, send or receive didn't work. Tried the MidiOx program and I could receive data, like presets from the Axe-Fx, but just couldn't send data to the Axe-Fx. I did remember the warning that Axe-Fx editor (actually java's midi implementation) is a bit picky with midi devices.

After reading the midi interface thread here (click to see), I then bought a M-Audio MidiSport 2x2 as recommended and yes! It all worked, even the Axe-Fx editor. I updated firmware easily using the Axe-Fx editor. I wanted to update the new 6.00 presets too and used the editor to do it by uploading the new Ultra banks. Unlike the firmware updating process, there is no indication that the editor is updating banks -- no progress bar in the editor or the axe-fx -- so it's makes you wonder if it worked. I read on the forums that this is normal behavior. This thread, "Loading presets BankA, B, & C?", discusses about updating banks into the Axe-Fx and how to tell if banks were successfully updated, like the editor will freeze while uploading then unfreeze, etc).

- items purchased: M-Audio Midisport 2x2, and 2 midi different colored midi cables (helps to identify which is either "in" or "out)

4) Footcontroller and expression pedal (So many options!) - I had the Vox VC-12, a footcontroller and 2 expression pedal device for my beloved VOX AD60VTX that I loved, and wanted something like that with my Axe-Fx. I had thought initially that I could hook the VC-12 up to my Axe-Fx but there are some weird ports in the back of the Vox VC-12, so I'm not sure if I can.

I researched quite a bit on footcontrollers and expression pedals on the forums. Wow. Lots of choices. I initially wanted to go with a Rocktron Midimate since it's cheap and would be a stopgap until the official Fractal Audio footcontroller comes out (whenever that may be). And use it with 2 Rocktron Hex expression pedals as they seem popular and very sturdy, which I could later use with the Fractal Audio footcontroller. I was concerned about all this talk about needed to mod the cables (tip and ring ends) of various expression/volume pedals, like the Rocktron Hex in order to get it working with the Axe-Fx, but realized this was a non-issue (well most of the time) if you just plugged the pedal into a footcontroller board, and not into the Axe-Fx pedal jack itself. See the various forum threads in the "Floor Controllers & Midi CC questions" forum.

Ultimately, I just went with a Roland FC-300 which is a footcontroller, 2 expression pedal combo, just like my Vox VC-12 (similar to the Vox Tonelab SE/LE layout). I read people having a lot of success with the FC-300 and thier Axe-Fx and even better, it's reasonably priced ($345 or less). I was able to get it for $275 locally (yay!). Some people talk about the lack of available CC pedals on the Roland FC-300, but there's a mode you can get the Roland into that will let you enable the other pedals as CC pedals, and use the bank switcher to give you even more access. I found this out by reading one of "Cemusic" replies in this thread from the older Fractal Audio forum.
http://www.setbb.com/axefx/viewtopic.ph ... orum=axefx

Setting the Axe-Fx with the FC-300 was helped by watching the Rocktron Midimate tutorial (thanks 0ddb0d).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_qXIFSN5hM
Sticky forum thread on this video here:
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=53

The procedure with the Roland FC-300 is similar. Once I hooked up the FC-300 to the Axe-Fx, the Axe-Fx recognized it as I was able to switch presets. I did the offset change by 1 as explained in the video. And setting up the CC pedals and expression pedals was easy. Like in the video, I just matched the CC# for a pedal (looked in my Roland manual to the CC#) to a device in the Axe-Fx I0/Ctrl Menu. I tested it out by making a patch that had a drive block and a wah pedal. I was able to toggle the drive block on and off and the expression pedal was able to change the wah sounds. Oh yeah, I purchased 2 more midi cables, but I don't really need this as I could just the same cables I use for the Axe-Fx/MidiSport 2x2.

Helpful links:
http://axefxwiki.guitarlogic.org/index. ... di_control
http://axefxwiki.guitarlogic.org/index. ... =Midi_foot

- items purchased - Roland FC-300, 2 midi cables

Conclusion:

So there you go. An abbreviated version of my experience in setting up the Axe-Fx. I left out the stuff like learning the Axe-Fx itself, like how to use the expression pedal, in my case the pedal on the FC-300, as a wah device but you got the forums, wiki and manual for that.

The only other thing I can see my purchasing is a new amp combo for the Axe-Fx, like a FRFR system. Maybe QSC that seems very popular here, or the upcoming Atomic Reactor amp combos designed for the Axe-Fx.

I had so much fun over the weekend with the Axe-Fx and a friend of mine, a longtime guitar player that gigs in LA, came over and his reaction was priceless. I had the "machine gun" preset on and he was playing Hendrix's Machine Gun on my guitar and he stopped midway through, doubled over in the chair, laughing in disbelief. He was amazed at the sound.

Updates:

Dec. 2, 2008
Input level on the Axe-Fx makes a difference! I spent so much time tweaking my Axe-Fx but kept my input level fairly low, like at the 10 o'clock mark. I recently raised it to around 2 o'clock mark and wow, big difference in sounds. So much clearer and punchy. This might be obvious to more experienced people, but I didn't think about tweaking the input volume or had no idea it would affect the sound so much.

Another newbie Axe-Fx user also just made similar post about the input level affecting your sounds here:
New User Advice: Input level is SO IMPORTANT!!!

May 21, 2009
If upgrading to 7.0 firmware from 6.0 or less, remember to reset the new input volume control. I updated my firmware a month ago and wondered why all of a sudden all my patches sounded muffled and barely audible. It sounds like your Axe-FX is broken, which scared me at first, but a quick scan of the firmware release notes said what to do. Just wanted to point this out in case new users with older firmware (pre 7.0), eager to upgrade their firmware to the latest (at the time of this writing, version 7.08) encounters this same issue.

From the 7.00 release notes (see the latest notes here)
7.00

NOTE: IF UPGRADING FROM 6.07 OR EARLIER THE NEW INPUT VOLUME CONTROL WILL LIKELY NEED TO BE RESET AFTER INSTALLATION OF THE FIRMWARE. SET TO “NONE” TO DEFEAT THIS FEATURE. YOU MAY NEED TO POWER CYCLE THE UNIT AFTER RESETTING THIS PARAMETER.
 
Wow, great post! Thank-you for taking the time. This will be very helpful for me as I'm expecting the Brown truck to deliver my new Standard tommorow morning! :D
 
ToneChaser said:
Wow, great post! Thank-you for taking the time. This will be very helpful for me as I'm expecting the Brown truck to deliver my new Standard tommorow morning! :D
No problem. I hope my experience will help you. I hadn't realized at the time about the extra stuff that I would need like longer patch cables, 2 pairs of midi cables and a midi interface device that the Axe-Fx editor would like. So I hope you won't have to take multiple trips to the music store like I did.

Also I realized later that I didn't have my expression pedal set-up correctly to my wah block in the Axe-Fx. It just turned it the wah on and off without actually controlling the frequency wah parameter.

That was probably the second biggest hurdle for me, setting up my expression pedal. It was easy making the CC pedals work with the Axe-Fx especially after watching that midimate youtube video. I just set the CC# id in the "ctrl" tab of the IO menu on the Axe-Fx. Press the "enter" button to learn the CC pedal I wanted to use like for "drive 1 bypass" to turn drive blocks on and off.

I learned later that I should set my expression pedal to one of the external controllers, and not directly to the wah bypass. So in same IO/ctrl menu, I set my expression pedal (CC# 7 in my case) to "external 1".

Then I went to a preset that I had added a wah block. In edit menu for the wah block settings, I navigated to the "freq" knob and hit enter to bring up the modifier menu for the frequency parameter. For the "source" field and then selected "external 1" which is the external controller that is set to my expression pedal. Now my expression pedal will modulate the frequency of the wah, just like a real wah pedal. I also enabled "autoengage" to "med" (just scroll down to see the field if you are still on the modifier page for the frequency parameter". Now when my pedal is fully up, it'll disengage. Much better than use a toe switch. Plus now I can use the toe switch on my expression pedal (on the fc-300) for something else rather than as a wah bypass. Woohoo.

Anyway, it took me awhile to understand how to use external controllers and hook them up to modifiers. Any parameter, a knob, you see in edit mode that has a "-[--]-" icon underneath has a modifier attached to it, and just press the "Enter" key to access it. I had no idea that there was this hidden "modifier" menu. While in this modifier menu you can set the parameter's source to an expression pedal, or an internal controller like pitch etc.

I had to read these two pages in the wiki a couple times to understand how to do this. It might make your head spin, but I think reading what I wrote and the wiki pages will help you get a grasp on it.

Modifiers
http://axefxwiki.guitarlogic.org/index. ... #Modifiers

Wah-wah
http://axefxwiki.guitarlogic.org/index. ... le=Wah-wah

I had a bunch of fun last night using a pitch block instead of a wah block and using my expression pedal to make Tom Morello/Rage Against The Machine/Digital Whammy pitch squeals. I used the 2 octave up setting on the pitch block and had my expression pedal control the "control" parameter and I could do the "Killing In the Name" solo. Very cool.

For any Rage Against the Machine fans, here's Tom Morello vid showing how he does his digital whammy solo (near the end of the clip).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejymOPMpoJA

Update: I came across this forum post on the old fractal audio forum about setting up a whammy pedal (can apply to wah pedals) and noticed they recommended also adding a few milliseconds of damping to smooth things out when using an expression pedal. I'll have to try that.

Link to forum thread here: Anyone got a good whammy patch setup?
 
Oh yeah. I forgot to add that I had to buy a power adapter for my Roland FC-300 midi foot controller. Another cost that I hadn't anticipated but it was cheap. I was going to buy the Boss PSA adapter that Roland recommend but after reading user comments for it on musiciansfriend I heard that they aren't very good.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ ... sku=151370

The wiring on the Boss adapter will shred. Some people recommended instead to buy the better made (and cheaper!) Danelectro Zero Hum

I think normally 10 bucks but was on sale at musiciansfriend for only $7.61 when I bought it.
http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/ ... sku=151851

There's a newer Boss 120 adapter, the 120s adapter, that might have fixed the wiring issue but still it's more expensive than Danelectro Zero Hum. Plus the Danelectro Zero Hum comes in a groovy retro green box. =)
 
Scott Peterson said:
Well done. Kudos!
Thanks Scott. And also another thanks for your epic thread on thegearpage.net forums on the Axe-Fx. It influenced me greatly to get an Axe-Fx.

I actually had ignored the thread for a long time as I primarily looking for a tube amp and for some reason, when I saw the name "Axe-Fx", it conjured up some childhood memories of the "Guitar Pete's Axe Attack" album, which my friend bought long ago. "What the heck is an Axe-Fx?" I thought to myself and just ignored it. While on the hunt for a low wattage Plexi amp that could sound good at low bedroom levels, I kept coming across the odd comment or two in various threads saying that the Axe-Fx could do that and more. Finally I gave in and did some research. Glad I did. =)
 
Thanks for the elaboration on the wah/expression setup. I'm an Axe newbie too, and just started to try and get this set up with my FCB1010 a few days ago. It took me a few hours as well to figure this out, and your post would have helped a lot had I read it ahead of time! I'm also setting up a RATM patch (my cover band plays Killing in the Name), so that info should help tremendously.
 
SeasonOfPain said:
Thanks for the elaboration on the wah/expression setup. I'm an Axe newbie too, and just started to try and get this set up with my FCB1010 a few days ago. It took me a few hours as well to figure this out, and your post would have helped a lot had I read it ahead of time! I'm also setting up a RATM patch (my cover band plays Killing in the Name), so that info should help tremendously.
SeasonOfPain, glad to hear if any of wrote helps you. I think oddb0d, who did the MidiMate & Axe-Fx tutorial will be posting an expression pedal tutorial soon. That should help a future newbies. I'll update my main post with the link once he gets that done. But you should be proud you figured that out on your own. I did a lot of head scratching too.

Have fun with the pitch block. You can get a lot of the Digital Whammy sounds via the pitch block and wah block. When using the pitch block, also mess with the PITCH TRACK knob/parameter. I think one of the options is better when playing single notes (which is stated in the manual), which is what you'll need for the "Killing in the Name" solo.
godprobe said:
Also, craneturtle, nice post man! Looking forward to havin' ya here on the forums more!
Thanks godprobe! This forum is great resource indeed.
 
craneturtle,

Thanks so much for this post. Although I've been an Axe user for over a year, I am constantly recommending the unit to others. It's great to have this post to direct those Axe newbs to.

It explains things much better than I could!
 
Thanks for the kind words, gag halfrunt.

I'm still rockin' the Axe-Fx and my joy with the device hasn't diminished at all, in fact increased as I better learn the device. There so much you can tweak and learn with it.
 
Added an update about my experience upgrading the firmware from 6.0+ to 7.0+. I got the muffled sound on all my patches but read the release notes about resetting the new volume control, which did the trick. Added that in case any new users encounter the same issue.
 
craneturtle said:
Some people talk about the lack of available CC pedals on the Roland FC-300, but there's a mode you can get the Roland into that will let you enable the other pedals as CC pedals, and use the bank switcher to give you even more access. I found this out by reading one of "Cemusic" replies in this thread from the older Fractal Audio forum.
http://www.setbb.com/axefx/viewtopic.ph ... orum=axefx

I have a pedal plugged into the MODE input on my FC-300 and am using it to switch between Standard and Control Change Modes.

In Control Change Mode you can set up 2 rows of 5 CC pedals each, but you can also switch between banks of 5 of these (CC.1 thru CC.5). Does anyone know any way other than stooping down and pressing the VALUE button to switch between these banks? I was hoping for an easy way to toggle from say CC.1 to CC.2 with just a footpress, to access more controllers.
 
Hi craneturtle,

Im using the FC-300 as well (with a Digitech 2120), & was wondering if you noticed an issue with the CC switches not updating. For instance, after assigning CTL1 to a CC, say Chorus, it totally works. But after changing to a different patch, the LED stays on & you have to de-activate it, then re-activate it to turn the effect on next time.
 
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