Stuck on which unit to buy

Just a suggestion if you would prefer to take the XL:

As the XL has two pedal slots, you can use one slot to add a simple non-latching footswitch and assign "preset inc" to it. Then you can use the second slot for an external expression pedal that controls wah/volume.

It's kind of a light footcontroller with stripped down functionality...

If you want to get even more fancy, you can even use the "custom mapping" feature of the Axe to not only increment presets, but select scenes too!

EDIT: damn, 10 minutes too late. ;)

EDIT 2: Yeah, following the advices of the virgin thread is a good idea. Especially if you haven't started creating tones yet. But check out the user IR slots first... maybe you can get some IRs for free that you can backup... ;)
 
Schulzy said:
Do you guys recommend I install the latest firmware and then do a soft reset of unit or should I do a full clean that I read on "how to virginize the axe" thread which involved downloading clean.sys files.
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I would definitely do a reset and system clean, then upgrade to v14. But I'm pretty OCD. Download Fractal-Bot and the latest USB driver to facilitate your data transfers to the Axe-Fx. Be sure to read all of the release notes before you install the latest firmware, however, because there may be a hoop or two to jump through if your version is very old. Then download and reload the latest factory presets and do a 'Reset All Presets' - I think it's in the utility menu. This jives the presets with the new firmware. There could be major sonic improvements in store depending on how long it's been since your unit was upgraded. NOTE: I'm not sure how compatible the clean.syx file is anymore...the latest version that I have is for v11.00.

Then get Axe-Edit and have at it! Between this forum, the Wiki, and the manual, you have tons of resources to help you along the way. I've had my Axe-Fx II for close to a year now and I'm still constantly amazed at this little black box.
 
I suggest doing the following in exactly this order (make sure you don't have Axe-Edit running at any time while doing this, you won't need it yet - also disconnect your MFC for now):

1) Install the Axe USB driver (it will ask you to connect your USB during the install process, so have it unplugged when you begin)
2) Download Fractal Bot and install it
3) Start your Axe (without USB) and go to utility and do a full system reset and clean the User IR slots (there's another option for this!)
4) Connect USB, run Fractal Bot and install the newest firmware
5) Go to the utility menu again and do a system parameter reset (this will also correct some global settings that might be off due to the newest firmware update)
6) Download the v12 factory banks from the Fractal website (unfortunately, this is the newest available revision for the factory banks)
7) Use Fractal Bot to overwrite all 3 banks with the v12 factory presets
8) Go to the utility menu and run "Update all presets"

Your Axe should now be as virgin as it can get.

9) Now connect your MFC by ethernet cable with your Axe (you still have the Axe connected to your computer via USB)
10) Connect a MIDI 5-pin or 7-pin cable between your Axe and MFC in addition to the ethernet cable, but make sure the power supply for the MFC is NOT plugged in, neither at the axe nor at the MFC!
11) Use Fractal Bot to update the MFC firmware (it will give you instructions what you have to do once you click on "begin" in Fractal Bot)
12) Unplug your MIDI cable again and put it away (you won't need it anymore) and perform a system reset of the MFC (check the MFC manual on how to do this)

Your MFC is now also ready for action. I think you should now think about how you want your MFC to be configured.
Take a note and write down how you want everything to be controlled. A general layout is very helpful. Do you want to use multiple presets per song or just scenes and only have one preset per song? Or do you even want general purpose presets? It makes a lot of sense to think about this before you start. It will save you a lot of time fiddling around at a later point.
 
Thanks Zwiebelchen, I'll make sure to follow your advice to the letter. It's been day 4 since buying it and I've had something on every day/night since and just had no chance to even turn the unit on... the suspense is killing me.
 
Schulzy said:
Thanks Zwiebelchen, I'll make sure to follow your advice to the letter. It's been day 4 since buying it and I've had something on every day/night since and just had no chance to even turn the unit on... the suspense is killing me.
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Jesus... 4 days unbelievable.
 
Just for the record, my Atomic Reactor amp is off getting repaired after it blowdidid up. Story for another thread, BUT..........

CURRENTLY my Fractal is going into the back (return) of a Mesa Express 5:50 and the sound is nothing like it was in the FRFR setup. Now it's treblely and harsh. So i expect your tone will be better when you get setup properly.
 
Well guys.

I finally got around to it, I ended up doing a full clean and reinstalling the latest firmware and presets.

Before I did the install I figured id plug in and get a reference for the tone, it had v13 on it and it sounded absolutely awesome.. I scrolled through a few presets and I was blown away. So I do the full reset and install v14 and new the new presets, I have also reset system params twice and updated all presets twice and it just sounds terrible.

All the presets seem way to gainy and flubby right across the board and the gate isn't working on any preset, if been into the global menu and set the gate to 0db even adjusting it up or down makes no difference to the sound. Another strange anomaly I found, on the recto modern preset the presence value was set to 0 and not 0.01 which I read in another thread is the default value in v14.

Is all this an indication some of the settings aren't being implemented correctly? The tone I had before the update was amazing.

Please help, thanks.
 
Okay so I worked out what was wrong, the master volume on every preset was set to 10 and for some reason in the IN/GTE tab the noise gate ratio was set to 1.0 and both the ATT and REL were set to 31.62. Is there any reason why even after numerous 'restore factory presets'.. 'reset system params' and 'update all presets' that it still sets the masters to 10. Why was the IN/GTE tab not set to a usable default when installing the latest firmware?

Is there any way to set the IN/GTE tab and Preset master volumes globally rather than having to tediously change the gate ratios and master volumes down from 10 on every preset?
 
Schulzy said:
Okay so I worked out what was wrong, the master volume on every preset was set to 10 and for some reason in the IN/GTE tab the noise gate ratio was set to 1.0 and both the ATT and REL were set to 31.62. Is there any reason why even after numerous 'restore factory presets'.. 'reset system params' and 'update all presets' that it still sets the masters to 10. Why was the IN/GTE tab not set to a usable default when installing the latest firmware?

Is there any way to set the IN/GTE tab and Preset master volumes globally rather than having to tediously change the gate ratios and master volumes down from 10 on every preset?
Click to expand...

Global > Noisegate Offset?
 
Did you restore the factory banks or did you load the v12 factory banks from the website?

MV on 10 isn't uncommon in the factory presets. MV of 10 is for amps that do not have a MV knob in reality.
 
I downloaded and installed the v12 presets from the website, I also ran the 'update all presets' option and the 'reset system params' option. I've done this numerous times now and even ran the 'restore factory banks' option also. All the presets I tried had the master volume all the way up and that's even on the 5153, Recto and JVM presets. The output was clipping on almost all of them as well so I've gone in and lowered the level option and master volume in the amp blocks but it still doesn't make the presets sound anything like the demo's I've heard.

Granted I am playing through headphones at the moment but I've listened to numerous youtube video's of others demoing the presets and mine sound nothing alike at all, bearing in mind I'm using the same headphones when listening to the demos as I do when running direct into the Axe, so you would think I would hear the same sound. All the presets I have tried sound overly woofy, flubby and harsh. Not even close to the sound I have heard of the exact same presets on youtube. Also as I have already mentioned above I have corrected the Global > Noisegate Offset setting but I still have no noise gate what so ever on any presets unless I go into the IN/GTE on each individual preset and change the noise gate ratio, is there no global setting to do this?

Just for context, I'm using a PRS Custom 24 with 59/09 pickups.

Thanks.
 
I think I might just run through the virginize process again as per yek's instructions and see how I go, Is there any harm to the unit or memory in constantly deleting firmware or presets and reinstalling? Also how often should a power cycle be done, in between each step?

Thanks.
 
If I knew about the XL in December when I bought my Mark II, I would have bought the XL just for the extra cab slots.

I can't bring myself to take a depreciation hit to sell the Mark II and get the XL so soon after purchase.

I am getting along fine with a cheap Behringer controller until I can save up to get the MFC.

That's just my 2 cents.
 
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