[Video] Stand-In Switches explained

chris

Owner's Manual Reader
Firmware 5.07 for the Axe-Fx III and Firmware 1.06 for the FC Controllers introduced Stand-In Switches. This feature allows External Switches to perform any function that a built-in switch can, which expands the usability of the FC controllers. A major quality of these Stand-In Switches is that the function does not change when Layouts are changed, so we now have "permanent" switches available for Tap/Tuner, or a "Panic Button" that always goes to a specific preset, and so on.

In this video, I explain the basics of Stand-In Switches, how to assign them, several use cases, and strategies for organizing their assignments in various places. I also show the basics of adding switches to the FC controller.



edit - i re-edited the video and removed the last section regarding Behavior and Polarity. some of the information was wrong, and i just couldn't explain it as briefly as i wanted. the release notes explain it well enough i feel.
 
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Thanks, that’s a great explanation.

I’ve got a 4 momentary switch box from Bright Onion, so I could assign:-
SW1 = Looper Layout
SW2 = Scenes Layout
SW3 = Blocks Layout
SW4 = Tap tempo/ Tuner

Could anything get assigned to the hold function on SW1-3?
 
Thanks, that’s a great explanation.

I’ve got a 4 momentary switch box from Bright Onion, so I could assign:-
SW1 = Looper Layout
SW2 = Scenes Layout
SW3 = Blocks Layout
SW4 = Tap tempo/ Tuner

Could anything get assigned to the hold function on SW1-3?
yes. if a built-in switch can do it, then an External Stand-in can too. just assign the Hold function.
 
Great video Chris! I was wondering, once you assign a stand in switch, can you change the original switch on the FC to something else? An example would be the tap/tuner. Once I have that assigned to a stand in switch, I don't need it anywhere else. Thanks!
 
Nicely done video...

The Fc6 was already super versatile with “just” 6 switches, but now with the ability to add 4 more it should really be able to handle most any situation anyone could throw at it, and if it’s not... then there is still the FC12, which also can have 4 more external switches, for a total of 16.... which boggles the mind really given how much a mere 6 can accomplish... so man... I don’t even know what I’d do with half of them had I bought a fc12 lol
 
Great video Chris! I was wondering, once you assign a stand in switch, can you change the original switch on the FC to something else? An example would be the tap/tuner. Once I have that assigned to a stand in switch, I don't need it anywhere else. Thanks!


You can’t because the external is duplicating the internal, but, you can have the external stand in for an internal on a layout you don’t use often, so, your basically able to free up an internal switch on a commonly used layout
 
I was wondering, once you assign a stand in switch, can you change the original switch on the FC to something else? An example would be the tap/tuner. Once I have that assigned to a stand in switch, I don't need it anywhere else. Thanks!
Nope. The Stand-In switch stands in for a switch you’ve already assigned. If you delete that switch assignment, then it’s standing in for nothing. ;)
 
You can’t because the external is duplicating the internal, but, you can have the external stand in for an internal on a layout you don’t use often, so, your basically able to free up an internal switch on a commonly used layout
Nope. The Stand-In switch stands in for a switch you’ve already assigned. If you delete that switch assignment, then it’s standing in for nothing. ;)
I figured that was the case. It would be nice if the stand in could be set to stand alone on it's own so you could reassign the original FC switch. Not really needed on the FC6 since you have 6 unused switches available but might be an issue on the FC12 if you use more than the default number of layouts.
 
I figured that was the case. It would be nice if the stand in could be set to stand alone on it's own so you could reassign the original FC switch. Not really needed on the FC6 since you have 6 unused switches available but might be an issue on the FC12 if you use more than the default number of layouts.
as i show, you can use the 4 extra switch slots on the MLM, if you absolutely need every single switch on all 8 layouts.

it literally is a "stand-in" as it does the function of an existing switch slot, so it can't be stand alone. it's genius that they did it this way, as you can use a "dumb" switch to trigger the advanced smart functions without needing to build support or require very specific external smart switches.

this is really an amazing addition.
 
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Very comprehensive and concise vid... thanks for taking the time to put this much appreciated tutorial together for the benefit of all!
 
as i show, you can use the 4 extras switch slots on the MLM, if you absolutely need every single switch on all 8 layouts.

it literally is a "stand-in" as it does the function of an existing switch slot, so it can't be stand alone. it's genius that they did it this way, as you can use a "dumb" switch to trigger the advanced smart functions without needing to build support or require very specific external smart switches.

this is really an amazing addition.
I guess the missing piece of the puzzle for me is there are 8 layouts available, not 12, right? If that's the case then I see there will always be 4 unused switch slots on the the master layout page.
 
I guess the missing piece of the puzzle for me is there are 8 layouts available, not 12, right? If that's the case then I see there will always be 4 unused switch slots on the the master layout page.
yes. that's why i showed that and explained it in the video ;)
 
yes. that's why i showed that and explained it in the video ;)
I know you showed those slots could be used for stand in switches but I don't remember any mention that those other 4 slots could not be used for additional layouts. I could not find anywhere on the product info page that mentions how many layouts are available either. No biggie. I get it!
 
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