Sigh... gig failure.

I Think this could also be my problem in the thread (Odd preset incident) because I have an RAC12 connected to midi in the Axe at the same time as my MFC is connected to the Ethernet input. I did not now it wasn't made for that and will conflict.

Cheers
Allan
 
Pinkycramps said:
would LOVE to learn more about how you are doing thi
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In Reaper, you create an "Item", which is their version of a "Clip", and then edit its MIDI properties with the built-in editor. This editor has a view where all the events are presented as a list. You double click an event and just type/select everything - message type, length, start and end time, CC number, whatever.

One way to see if your MIDI stream is OK is to watch the LED on AFX labeled "MIDI In". If it lights up very briefly when messages are supposed to come in, it's good. But sometimes it stays on for longer time or glows continuously - that is a problem. I've had this even though visually everything seemed okay in Ableton.

Of course, even if the messages are short and proper, there's still a possibility of conflict if several come simultaneously. That's where track delay comes in handy.

Pinkycramps said:
I would never be comfortable not using the MFC.
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Oh, I have it connected for backup. I just never had to use it as such so far. And not all of my songs are automated, I'm too lazy for that. :)



Pinkycramps said:
How do you wah/volume control? Direct to the two inputs on the rear of the Axe?
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No, my pedals are connected to my MFC.
 
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.
 
Pinkycramps said:
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.
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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.
 
I've had some issues with the MFC connection which is a shame. I have the vanilla Axe FX MKII so maybe FASlink is more reliable than CAT5. But generally The Axe has never let me down. I would say my real AC30 has let me down MANY times, blown rectifiers being the main culprit. A reboot of the Axe is a LOT easier than replacing a blown tube and associated fuses in a 60s designed amp. I remember once the amp blew just as we were going on, borrowed one, then my Les Paul slipped off the stand and the headstock basically snapped off. Gig from hell.
 
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ibanezfreak4 said:
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.
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Well, I already do that. But it's far from simple.
I run a Ground Control Pro (voodoo labs) into the Motu. That starts/stops tracks, plus has other functions ( I can go up or down the track list, mute certain tracks if I don't want them, like some cheater backup vox, and light up the stage via a DMXis lighting plugin in Ableton. ) The GCP is the Ableton and show control. The MFC is just guitar rig control.

The motu runs out to the AxeFX for preset selection and automatic scene selection. The Axe FX runs midi out to a GCX switcher (external effects like a talkbox) and a Voiceworks Live. Like I said in the OP, my rig is on the complicated side.
Then I have a MFC101 with 3 expression pedals that I use for Ad lib stuff. The ad lib stuff is the issue here. I can't (and don't want to) give it up. I'd rather give up the automation than the control. As modern and complex as my setup and show is, I still have that old school in my veins.
 
luthier42 said:
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.
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Well, you are on the right track. Much/most of what you suggest is the case. I simply can't ditch the MFC though, for 3 reasons: 1 because I use 3 expression pedals. The second and larger reason is, we have a couple spots in the show that are add lib. 3rd, backing tracks in Ableton are a trick, and some of them are a bear to "warp" ,which is what they call time aligning everything. This is especially true if the tempo changes at all. For that reason, a number of our tracks are not warped, but just play in real time. That makes midi alignment more of a problem, and on those songs I use the MFC like normal.
 
Thanks Vangrieg. I might give that a try. It sounds like we have a ton in common from the way we run our setups. I think we are bit rare!
 
Had my Axefx2 going on 4yrs the only issue I've had is my ethernet cable where my mfc would not fully work (wouldn't change scenes, presets would only go up) and it was due to all the pins not connecting in the cable. And i have had a couple corupt patches,
Other than that no issues In almost 4yrs...
***I do have my backup rig a boss heavy metal pedal > a EH 44 Magnum into a cab***

I have had issues with my old guitar rigs bad tubes ,bad cables,bad midi cables, fx unit cuts out.
I can't see its any worse than a traditional rig

There's a reason for the problems::: corupt patches corupt patches ,bad ethernet connection, power supply
Just like blown tubes ,bad cables,bad fx units,bad pedals

We have to weed out the problem and fix it,
And ALWAYS HAVE A BACKUP
 
I have had an AXE FXII Mk1 since launch with an MFC101 Mk1 - never had a problem with them.

I relegated my "old"rig to the studio and bought a new AXE FXII XL+ and an MFC1010 mk3 - as my gigging rig. I have had lots of "NAME TIMEOUT" , locked out MFC (all Red LED"s) and bizarre preset hopping issues with the new rig (jumping around presets) - I also added an RAC12 to my rig at the same time as upgrading to XL+/Mk3 - so I don't know if its the Faslink causing the issues or the RAC12 ??

TO be honest I haven't really chased the issue too hard as in the intervening period I got one of the first AX8's.....but I would like a solution!
 
See my thread "odd preset incident"
Did you connect the RAC12 to midi in on the axe, and at the same time using the FAS LINK?
 
paranoid said:
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.
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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.
 
Pinkycramps said:
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.
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Not sure if this would be helpful but forum member Coldstar created a post called: "Synchronizing Reaper Projects with AxeFX using midi: this is how"

Here's the link to the post:
http://forum.fractalaudio.com/threa...cts-with-axefx-using-midi-this-is-how.116465/

Here's the link to where I added it to the Wiki:
http://wiki.fractalaudio.com/axefx2...onizing_Reaper_Projects_with_AxeFX_using_midi
 
Etudica said:
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.
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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.
 
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