would LOVE to learn more about how you are doing thi
I would never be comfortable not using the MFC.
How do you wah/volume control? Direct to the two inputs on the rear of the Axe?
Hi Cliff, Do you think a midi merger would help with the collisions?This is likely the problem. You're getting MIDI collisions. The Axe-Fx was never designed to support multiple MIDI inputs simultaneously.
Ha... ya beat me to itI wonder if a midi merger device might solve this issue:
http://www.midisolutions.com/prodmrg.htm
Thanks. I'm thinking this must be it. Going to take a little time to see if the action cleans up and runs smooth without this element.
Could you use a simple foot controller for running Ableton queues? Our church uses a Mac laptop with a simple three button Play/Pause | Next Q | Previous Q foot controller to play the background tracks. Just a thought to simplify and remove variables.
It sounds like you've got a pretty complicated setup, but maybe not complicated enough. If I were looking to automate preset changes I'd want to automate everything. Automate preset and scene changes thru Ableton (I'm assuming this is possible, I've never used it) and ditch the MFC. You can still connect expression pedals to the rack. If you're concerned about backup I'd suggest bringing the MFC and cable to the gig, just not connecting them. If you've taken the time to automate some of the changes you may as well just automate the rest of it so that you can just play your guitar. You could also create a preset that works well enough for everything in the event that you do have to switch to the MFC. Probably preset 1.
Or go the other way. I create presets for each song as you do and several scenes per preset. I always arrange my presets in playlist order so that it's simple to go thru the gig. To keep my life consistent and free from extra thinking I try to keep my scene usage consistent also, scene 1 is super clean, 2 is light crunch, 3 heavy rhythm, 4 lead, etc. This means that no matter what song I'm playing I've got my effects set as needed and don't have to think too hard to remember what's going on.
I never had any of these problems with my XL and have had no issues with my AX8, but I'm not doing anything complex with MIDI.
The only issue I have ever had with an axe fx or axe fx xl was the mfc connection. with the xl I learned to ohm read the cables and since have had no trouble.
Thanks. I'm thinking this must be it. Going to take a little time to see if the action cleans up and runs smooth without this element.
. You know, I have a quad through, but never thought about merging. Not sure how that would work, can't see it clearly in my head... I guess I would abandon FASLink, have to use wall wart power for the MFC, run a midi from the MFC to the merge, and a midi from the MOTU to the merge, both into the AXE? hmmm... Sounds convoluted, and would not be my first choice, but if it worked... I might be ok with that.
Dude... would LOVE to learn more about how you are doing this. I've never used Reaper, and you are right that Ableton is a REAL pain to draw clips in. I create two points and use Shift/drag, which raises a vertical line segment between two points, so it's clean and on time, but scene changes have a touch of lag that can cause a small delay or dropout. BUT... I would never be comfortable not using the MFC. If a change didn't occur, (and that happens to me sometimes now... very likely a result of the midi collisions Cliff is talking about) I need that manual backup. How do you wah/volume control? Direct to the two inputs on the rear of the Axe?
So much good info here guys... I have a feeling I am going to be able to get this fixed, just not sure what the solution looks like just yet. For now, going to follow my plan to ditch the Ableton control, and then once I go a while with no issues, try one of the above (or some combo) solutions to see if I can get it back on line.
There is resistance in all cables, but if the resistance is to much the mfc will not get enough power to operate properly. with most good quality cables this is not a problem, but you can also have quality broken cables that will work with audio but not with fas link.Sorry to get slightly off topic, but what exactly is Paranoid referring to "ohm read the cable" for the XLR FASlink??? I recently upgraded to a XL+ with MFC MKIII and starting using FASlink with a standard planet waves XLR cable. All working fine, just curious.