New used Fractal

Metal_Head1349

Metal_Head1349

Member
Hi everyone, I'm new here, and also new to Fractal. I bought a used Fractal II original and the MFC 101 Mark II foot controller off of ebay, and I'm wondering if there is anything I should do first as far as any resets I should or should not do, and how I can be sure that it is up to date with the latest firmware? Any other advice on what I should do first?
 
Load up latest firmware and factory presets.. that's about it.
Then you can start from scratch and build your own, or modify the factory presets ... :)
 
s0c9 said:
Load up latest firmware and factory presets.. that's about it.
Then you can start from scratch and build your own, or modify the factory presets ... :)
Click to expand...
Does the latest firmware have all previous updates with it, or do I need to load up any previous ones before that in order for the newest one to work properly (may seem like a stupid question, sorry).
 
Yes updates are cumulative. Each new firmware supersedes the previous version UNLESS in those instances where epiphanies in modeling obviate the need for certain parameters that are put in place to mitigate shortcomings that are solved by the new firmware.

Checklist:
  1. RTFM - Once through completely then As required.
  2. Download/Update Fractal Drivers - As required.
  3. Reset ALL parameters
    1. Very important because the owner before you will have had in there all sorts of crazy settings that really applied only to <pronoun>.
  4. Download & Install Fractal-Bot
  5. Download & Install Axe-Edit
  6. Update firmware
  7. Load Factory presets
  8. Load factory cabs
  9. Repeat Steps 1-6 (Replace Axe-Edit with MFC-Edit).
 
Last edited:
USMC_Trev said:
Yes updates are cumulative. Each new firmware supersedes the previous version UNLESS in those instances where epiphanies in modeling obviate the need for certain parameters that are put in place to mitigate shortcomings that are solved by the new firmware.

Checklist:
  1. RTFM - Once through completely then As required.Download/Update Fractal Drivers - As required.
  2. Reset ALL parameters
    1. Very important because the owner before you will have had in there all sorts of crazy settings that really applied only to <pronoun>.
  3. Download & Install Fractal-Bot
  4. Download & Install Axe-Edit
  5. Update firmware
  6. Load Factory presets
  7. Load factory cabs
  8. Repeat Steps 1-5 (Replace Axe-Edit with MFC-Edit).
Click to expand...
Just to clarify, #7 is not actually a step as the factory cabs are loaded as part of the firmware. Although there are about 20 "bonus" cab IRs in tree FW bundle that you can load into user IR slots.
 
Before wiping out the current presets I would go through them and see if there are any you really would hate to lose and back those up individually first. Some of those will probably be part of the factory presets which you will find out when you load them or even better you can look on the Fractal Wikipedia page (http://wiki.fractalaudio.com) and see the list of the factory presets and see if the ones you really like are listed there. This of course will not account for edits the previous owner might have made but you will be in good shape.
 
USMC_Trev said:
Yes updates are cumulative. Each new firmware supersedes the previous version UNLESS in those instances where epiphanies in modeling obviate the need for certain parameters that are put in place to mitigate shortcomings that are solved by the new firmware.

Checklist:
  1. RTFM - Once through completely then As required.
  2. Download/Update Fractal Drivers - As required.
  3. Reset ALL parameters
    1. Very important because the owner before you will have had in there all sorts of crazy settings that really applied only to <pronoun>.
  4. Download & Install Fractal-Bot
  5. Download & Install Axe-Edit
  6. Update firmware
  7. Load Factory presets
  8. Load factory cabs
  9. Repeat Steps 1-6 (Replace Axe-Edit with MFC-Edit).
Click to expand...
Ok, I just got my Axe FX II today. Thanks for all your responses! I just want to verify what "Reset ALL paramerts" means. I got this from the wiki page, is this what I should do, exactly as it is listed?

Follow these instructions to "clean" the hardware and restore its initial state.

Axe-Fx II Mark I/II:

  1. Delete all presets: Download the "empty bank" sysex file. Launch Fractal-Bot, load the file and send it. The Bot will ask to which bank it should send the file. Just select one bank and repeat it for the other ones.
  2. The system data area of the Axe-Fx II contains all user cabs, configuration information and global blocks data. Cleaning it will delete it all. This is accomplished by downloading the clean system data file (see below). Launch Fractal-Bot, load the file and send it. The Bot will display a warning. Confirm, wait and it's done. Now restart the Axe-Fx II! After powering up all parameters in I/O, Global etc. will be reset to their default values, user cabs 1-50 will be empty and global blocks data is gone. Note that this method does not clear user cab slots 51-100.
  3. Download clean system data file for firmware 11 and later.
  4. Uploading the clean system file does not clear user cabs 51-100. This has to be done separately. Download the file listed below. Launch Fractal-Bot, load the file and send it. The Bot will ask to which slot it should send the empty IR. Type "51" (or Current if you have selected the cab slot on the unit itself) and send it. You have to repeat it for every slot. Note that when you select an user cab slot on the Axe-Fx after sending the empty IR to it, the Axe-Fx will still display the user cab name afterwards. You have to restart the Axe-Fx II to make the names disappear.
  5. Download the "empty cab" sysex file
  6. Then load the factory presets again.
 
Metal_Head1349 said:
Ok, I just got my Axe FX II today. Thanks for all your responses! I just want to verify what "Reset ALL paramerts" means. I got this from the wiki page, is this what I should do, exactly as it is listed?

Follow these instructions to "clean" the hardware and restore its initial state.

Axe-Fx II Mark I/II:

  1. Delete all presets: Download the "empty bank" sysex file. Launch Fractal-Bot, load the file and send it. The Bot will ask to which bank it should send the file. Just select one bank and repeat it for the other ones.
  2. The system data area of the Axe-Fx II contains all user cabs, configuration information and global blocks data. Cleaning it will delete it all. This is accomplished by downloading the clean system data file (see below). Launch Fractal-Bot, load the file and send it. The Bot will display a warning. Confirm, wait and it's done. Now restart the Axe-Fx II! After powering up all parameters in I/O, Global etc. will be reset to their default values, user cabs 1-50 will be empty and global blocks data is gone. Note that this method does not clear user cab slots 51-100.
  3. Download clean system data file for firmware 11 and later.
  4. Uploading the clean system file does not clear user cabs 51-100. This has to be done separately. Download the file listed below. Launch Fractal-Bot, load the file and send it. The Bot will ask to which slot it should send the empty IR. Type "51" (or Current if you have selected the cab slot on the unit itself) and send it. You have to repeat it for every slot. Note that when you select an user cab slot on the Axe-Fx after sending the empty IR to it, the Axe-Fx will still display the user cab name afterwards. You have to restart the Axe-Fx II to make the names disappear.
  5. Download the "empty cab" sysex file
  6. Then load the factory presets again.
Click to expand...
Yep.. follow those directions and you should be all set!
 
Metal_Head1349 said:
I don't quite understand step 3, could you help explain that part a little better...step 4 says it does not actually clear user cabs 51-100, but what does step 3 actually do then?
Click to expand...
you can probably skip that step.. there was a bug back then (fw11-ish and PRE-quantum) that was fixed by installing a blank [empty] firmware.
I "assume" you are loading up the latest Quantum firmware, but IF you WANT to do step 3 (NOT necessary IMHO) you can the file under the firmware section of the link in my sig.
or use this link
http://steve.sideroadsband.com.s3.amazonaws.com/AxeFx/firmware/axe2/clean-system-v11.syx
Personally, I'd skip that step since its REALLY old (like 10 firmware releases old !!) and Quantum is so much more advanced.. and you're going to put the latest Quantum on there anyway.

And... on reflection, those directions ARE a little dated, but the principles are the same.
 
s0c9 said:
you can probably skip that step.. there was a bug back then (fw11-ish and PRE-quantum) that was fixed by installing a blank [empty] firmware.
I "assume" you are loading up the latest Quantum firmware, but IF you WANT to do step 3 (NOT necessary IMHO) you can the file under the firmware section of the link in my sig.
or use this link

Personally, I'd skip that step since its REALLY old (like 10 firmware releases old !!) and Quantum is so much more advanced.. and you're going to put the latest Quantum on there anyway.

And... on reflection, those directions ARE a little dated, but the principles are the same.
Click to expand...
The only other thing I am having a bit of trouble is, is there a link to load the the factory cabs? I can't seem to find one anywhere, unless it is included with the factory presets download.
 
Check and see if the previous owner had any third party cabs installed because you would want to keep those around. I would back everything up as a precaution if I were you before doing anything.
 
Livstone said:
Check and see if the previous owner had any third party cabs installed because you would want to keep those around. I would back everything up as a precaution if I were you before doing anything.
Click to expand...
I backed up everything, first thing I did! How do I check to see if there are any third party cabs loaded?
 
Download AX8 Edit. Click on any preset cab block and towards the lower half of the screen you will see the cab that's loaded in. Click in that window and it will take you to the installed cabs which are separated by factory and user cabs which you will see tabs at the top of the cab window to go to each of them. There should be 189 factory cabs and when you click on the user cabs you will see if there are any there. If you see that all of them are empty then yo udon't have any. There are a ton of slots for user cabs! If you backed up already then you have them saved and can reload them if needed.
 
Livstone said:
Download AX8 Edit. Click on any preset cab block and towards the lower half of the screen you will see the cab that's loaded in. Click in that window and it will take you to the installed cabs which are separated by factory and user cabs which you will see tabs at the top of the cab window to go to each of them. There should be 189 factory cabs and when you click on the user cabs you will see if there are any there. If you see that all of them are empty then yo udon't have any. There are a ton of slots for user cabs! If you backed up already then you have them saved and can reload them if needed.
Click to expand...
You mean Axe-Edit, right? ;)
 
Thanks Livstone, I understood that you meant Axe-Edit, but I ran into another Issue as I was following Wiki reset steps, the links for "empty bank" and "empty cab" didn't actually link me to the file, they led me back to the Forum page...so I was unable to find those two files and download them. Also, can I use the Reset function under the Utilities menu and accomplish the same task here?
 
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