[SOLVED] Strange behaviour - MFC preset name clears out and AFX screen blanks

chucma

Fractal Fanatic
Hey guys and gals, hope you can help me with something here please! Not sure if this is just my unit, but I've twice now had to reboot my Axe-Fx during a live performance.

What happens is really weird and I haven't quite figured out how to recreate it, what happens is I play a few songs and everything works perfectly, in both occasions I turn on the AFX tuner to mute my sounds once a song has finished; all good so far.
Then when I disengage the tuner a few minutes later then my AFX screen goes blank, and the MFC101 shows the preset number only without the preset name. This happens when I'm playing live (well seconds before I'm about to start the next song) so I don't have time to troubleshoot or test if the sound is working, so I quickly reboot the AFX and it works fine after it boots up again.

Now this has only happened twice in the last month or 2, so it's not regular. The first time was at least over a month ago, and I thought it was a once off so ignored it because I play live with it nearly every week and it never happened again until this morning. Luckily the reboot helps, but I'm not sure what the cause of this is and am hoping someone has some ideas?

My setup is Axe-FX XL with MFC101 (mark III), Mission EP-1 and Fractal EV-1 - so pretty simple. It's been like that for over a year, gets played every day (most days :)) and been incredibly reliable. I'm on the latest FW for the MFC, and QFW2.02, but I doubt it's a firmware issue as it has happened on different versions. And I play direct into FOH.

Thanks in advance!
 
We'll see if we can reproduce it.

It's going to be hard, I've tried a few times today already but I can't figure out what I'm doing differently. I must be doing something different when I play live. Will let you guys know as soon as I can replicate it with the exact steps.

Thanks a mil for the response!
 
So an update from my side. Over the last few days I've tried to recreate this, but my AFX and MFC are working perfectly and very stable.

I do have a new angle on this which I hope you guys can help confirm - is it possible that this could be cause by the venue's electrical power? i.e. power surges or drops?

The reason I ask is because I was speaking to the sound engineers who operate a couple of desks including a Behringer X32, and they described a similar problem which they managed to resolve by sticking in a UPS to regulate the power.

If this could be the cause, then would a power conditioner be good enough for the AFX? Or would I have to go for a voltage regulator instead?
 
What about your cable? I had this happen a bunch of times early on when I was using a CAT5 cable and it turned out to be the CAT5 cable. Replaced it and it works fine now. I since moved on to using FASLink with no problems.
 
What about your cable? I had this happen a bunch of times early on when I was using a CAT5 cable and it turned out to be the CAT5 cable. Replaced it and it works fine now. I since moved on to using FASLink with no problems.

I use the MFC mark III with a FAS Link, so unfortunately it isn't that.
 
Could still be the cable. The fas link has to be good to send power and two way communication. I have had Brand new XLR cables that would light the mfc but nothing would work.
 
I use the MFC mark III with a FAS Link, so unfortunately it isn't that.
Could still be the cable. The fas link has to be good to send power and two way communication. I have had Brand new XLR cables that would light the mfc but nothing would work.

Exactly my point. Could still be the cable. Just because it's FASLink (XLR) doesn't mean it ain't broke. It's still a cable, and they still go bad.
 
Thanks for all the help guys! I narrowed it down after trying all suggestions and more (cables, different plugs etc). This last month I had this happen to me another 3 times at the same venue, so it was definitely getting worse - and it was only happening when I was at the venue. I use my AFX a lot more at home or in the studio and it is perfectly solid; this only happens on that particular stage.

I plugged into a spare UPS that they were using for the desk, and had no trouble at all, so I can only think this is related to a problem with the power at the venue.

Is it safe to use a UPS similar to what they use for servers on my AFX? This seems to stop the problem from happening, but I don't want to do anything that might cause any damage in the long run.
 
I think that better than an UPS would be a power conditioner. I think that it is a must, because this is a very sensitive equipment, and power variations can not just damage, but affect the audio, tones or behavior. With a furman you can even monitor the voltage oscillation.
I'm not an specialist. Just giving my 2 cents ;)
Cheers.
 
I bought an APC line conditioner for mine, besides high and low voltage at venues, I play at several outdoor events throughout the year and sometimes power is an issue ex: generators, and that is a big concern for me. Id hate to jack up my unit because of power fluxuations.
 
I bought an APC line conditioner for mine, besides high and low voltage at venues, I play at several outdoor events throughout the year and sometimes power is an issue ex: generators, and that is a big concern for me. Id hate to jack up my unit because of power fluxuations.

Is that something like this?
http://www.criticalpowersupplies.co.uk/le600i?gclid=COiC5unli8wCFUE_GwodPswH-Q

I can't seem to find Furman here in the UK, and APC don't seem to make a rack unit. If it isn't rack I could probably just leave it at the venue.
 
I would recommend avoiding APC at this point in time when it comes to purchasing power protection devices. Had to many defective units from them. The defect is due to design yet its something they continue to repeat in their devices for the last 10 years or so. Considering how expensive it is to ship UPS's back when they fail, 2-3 failures of one unit and you have generally paid for a new unit in shipping costs alone.

I stick with Eaton for Power solutions now.
 
they're models have progressed a fair bit since i last purchased ones, and I am generally buying high voltage ones for server racks, but I have put some of the small mid range UPS's into the field aswell with no problems.

They are all in locations that have siginficiant power problems due to voltage spikes from welding and industrial supply close by.

I am guessing this is probably what your looking for http://powerquality.eaton.com/5P850GR.aspx?CX=3, a local UK supplier should probably have a better price, possibly a lower VA model thats in the correct voltage range. You can often pickup the 110-120volt ones here for around 200$ which is significantly different than what the MSRP is.

The 5p's are what i was looking to put in my rack soon for the fractal. The big feature is cold start capabilities. As they run the devices on them off the batteries or capacitor banks. They have some additional features like power on sequencing and stuff that aren't needed for the fractal. But the level of protection they provide for bad power is what your really looking for. They are also capable of compensating for out of phase power situations. Which smaller cheaper UPS's are known to have problems with.
 
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