VooDoo Labs GCPro and Axe-Fx Scenes

Toopy14

Axe-Master
So this all started because I was on the Fractal forum reading about LF controllers and the Axe-Fx. I was convinced I was going to need to sell my GCPro and buy an LF because there was no way to implement scene selection without having to use the mapping feature on the Axe-Fx, which works, but is cumbersome. I was interested in the LF+ JR+, but by the time I factor in the exchange rate, shipping, duty, taxes, etc. I'm looking at a lot of money for something I would probably only scratch the surface of, in terms of functionality.

I figured that if scenes weren't an option on the GCPro, I could use the IA buttons to select/bypass blocks within a preset. So I got that working but quickly realized the limitations. I kept digging and came up with bits and pieces of information on the Fractal forums. In particular, the one about using the VCA function of the GCPro to select scenes. I was intrigued.

What does VCA stand for? Here's a post from John Clark at VooDoo, explaining it;

"VCA is a Voltage Controlled Amplifier, which in this case was a feature of the long discontinued System Mix Plus. It was a programmable volume control that could be routed anywhere in your rack controlled via MIDI. Unless you are using a System Mix Plus, there is probably nothing you could use the VCA settings within the Ground Control Pro for."

Turns out, his last sentence is not true...you can use it for something else...scene selection in the Axe-Fx! :)

Here's how it works;

The VCA function on the GCPro will send CC 07 on MIDI channel 16 to send out any one of 100 values, 0-99. Again, another post from John Clark;

"It will send Controller #007 on MIDI Channel 16 and the selectable 0-99 in the Ground Control Pro presets scales to data values 0-127."


So, that's how the GCPro works. Here's how the Axe-Fx handles scenes;

"Assign a switch to the MIDI CC for Scene Select (default 34) with values 0 to 7 to select scene 1 to 8 within the current preset. Values higher than 7 also select scene 8. Values higher than 63 will step through the scenes, wrapping at the limits. Also, there are dedicated MIDI CCs to increment or decrement the current scene. If you don't specify a value, the switch will switch between scene 1 and 8."


So, basically, a value of 0 selects scene 1, a value of 1 selects scene 2, and so on. Values 0-7, select scenes 1-8. Here's the tricky part though, but not a problem. Remember what John said;

"...the selectable 0-99 in the Ground Control Pro presets scales to data values 0-127"

That means that it's not a straight-forward mapping, in other words, a VCA value of 00 maps to scene 1, but a VCA value of 01 maps to scene 03. I mapped it all out;

VCA 00 -> CC 0 or Scene 1
VCA 01 -> CC 2 or Scene 3
VCA 02 -> CC 3 or Scene 4
VCA 03 -> CC 4 or Scene 5
VCA 04 -> CC 6 or Scene 7
VCA 05 -> CC 7 or Scene 8
VCA 06 -> CC 0 or Scene 1
VCA 07 -> CC 1 or Scene 2
VCA 08 -> CC 3 or Scene 4
VCA 09 -> CC 4 or Scene 5
VCA 10 -> CC 5 or Scene 6
VCA 11 -> CC 7 or Scene 8
VCA 12 -> CC 0 or Scene 1
VCA 13 -> CC 1 or Scene 2
VCA 14 -> CC 2 or Scene 3

That's enough for all 8 scenes, but the easiest way to remember and what I'm using, is;

VCA 00 -> CC 0 or Scene 1
VCA 07 -> CC 1 or Scene 2
VCA 14 -> CC 2 or Scene 3
VCA 21 -> CC 3 or Scene 4
VCA 28 -> CC 4 or Scene 5
VCA 35 -> CC 5 or Scene 6
VCA 42 -> CC 6 or Scene 7
VCA 49 -> CC 7 or Scene 8

So start at VCA 0 and go up by 7 for each scene.


Okay, enough with the theory, here's how you set it up.


Axe-Fx

1) The GCPro transmits the VCA values on MIDI channel 16. You need to set the Axe-Fx to OMNI mode, so it will listen to all transmitted MIDI data.

I/O MENU -> MIDI PAGE -> MIDI CONTROL = OMNI

2) The GCPro transmits the VCA values using CC 7. You need to change the Scene Select CC value from the default to 7.

I/O MENU -> CTRL PAGE -> SCENE SELECT = 7



GCPro

1) First thing you need to do, is enable the VCA feature.

SETUP MODE -> EXPANDERS -> BANK DOWN TO VCA -> VCA = ON

2) Now all you need to do, is setup your presets.

SELECT BANK -> PRESET X -> EDIT -> BANK DOWN TO VCA LEVEL -> VCA LEVEL = YY

(where YY = VCA value that corresponds to the Axe-Fx scene, see table above)

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[Edit, thanks @Speculum Speculorum ]

When you hold EDIT down it will first pull up a menu that shows your device name, and on the right hand side of the digital panel you'll see a number. This number is referring to the Axe-fx preset number. You have to point the GCP to the preset on the axe you will be referring to, otherwise it will still act like a preset # change as well.
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Here's an example. I have a preset for a song stored at Preset 111 on the Axe-Fx. Scene 1 is saved with the delay bypassed. I copied Scene 1 to Scene 2, enabled the delay block and saved the preset. So now I have;

Preset 111, Scene 1, no delay
Preset 111, Scene 2, delay

On the GCPro, I select the bank that calls preset 111 on the Axe-Fx. I have my GCPro setup with 8 IA's and 4 preset buttons. So, I select preset 1, edit the preset and change the VCA value to 00. Save it. Then I select preset 2, edit the preset and change the VCA value to 07. Save it.

That's it! Now I can select scenes, using the GCPRO!!!! :)

Here's a video of how it works;



Hope this helps.

A big thanks to Zéx for his post on GCPro's VCA feature!

Tony
 
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Wow. Thanks. But doing this ties up 8 of the buttons right?

No.

If you have your GCPro setup so that you have 8 IA buttons, with four preset buttons along the bottom, all your IA buttons are free to do whatever you want!

Basically, you select the bank on the GCPro, for the preset you want, then use the 4 preset buttons along the bottom to select scenes 1, 2, 3 or 4.

Here's a video of how it works;

http://youtu.be/WvMnpFA2Q2Y


Tony
 
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No.

If you have your GCPro setup so that you have 8 IA buttons, with four preset buttons along the bottom, all your IA buttons are free to do whatever you want!

Basically, you select the bank on the GCPro, for the preset you want, then use the 4 preset buttons along the bottom to select scenes 1, 2, 3 or 4.

Here's a video of how it works;

http://youtu.be/WvMnpFA2Q2Y


Tony


Hi Tony

Can you tell how to do this procedure in the same preset? Using the expression pedal?

LokoEdge
 
Please anyone on here have a copy of the Ground Control Pro editor (i'm running W7x64)?

Thanks!

Roberto
 
Hey there,
Im trying to set this up with axe fx 2 and GCPro and Its not working. Followed the instructions precisely, many times now. The GCP just treats the 4 buttons as different presets still. If I go to button 2 to set the vca to 07 it just takes me to the next preset... I change the vca to 07 anyway and it just stays on scene 1. Also once I've entered edit mode when I go back to button 1 (should be preset 15) it suddenly jumps to 271 and I have to power cycle the axe to get back!!! anyone else having trouble? suggestions?
thanks!
 
I'm in the same boat as Empty Vessel, same results. I my set #2 switch to preset 00 and VCA at 00 and it gives me preset 256, scene 1. (maybe this is a way to hit the higher numbers because I my GCP only lets me set preset numbers as high as 127). I can't figure out how to get A, B, C in front of my preset numbers, maybe that's the hint? I have an older GCP but its running firmware 1.11.
 
@empty vessel and @shreddykreuger : i have had my gcp for years, and earlier couldnt get the scenes to work. In the end i did a hard reset of the gcp ans started with a "clean" system. Then did the steps on both axe and gcp as decribed here and it worked. I must have had something set wrong by accident in earlier years without knowing/remembering.

I realize its a lot of work to redo, but it worked for me and It works great for a long while now.
 
I have an older GCP but its running firmware 1.11.

That could be your problem. The procedure I described was done on a newer GCPro with firmware v1.13.

I'm not sure if the newer firmware will run on older GCPro's, but you can contact Voodoo Labs and ask them. If it does, they can send you a new PROM to install. I find their support to be very good. Twice now, I've had switches fail and they sent me new tactile switches, free of charge.

Tony
 
I suspected it was the firmware. Its too bad because the GCP does nearly everything I need.

I called Voodoo and they told me I wouldn't get anything special with the firmware update but I guess they haven't thought of this. I found them to be very cool people too. There's a guy named Chris that started the company Decibel 11, he was the main programmer for the GCP. When you call support you talk directly to him and he will sit and chat and help you with everything. Seems like a pretty cool work culture that started at Voodoo.
 
So are they going to send you a PROM with the latest firmware? It's worth a try.

Like you said, for the price, the GCPro does everything you need and it's built like a tank.
 
So I've been searching around and I'm guessing that there is no way to program the scenes to IA 1 through 8, correct? I'm looking for as straight-forward a setup for live gigging pre-arranged tunes and being able to take advantage of all the switching power the Axe-fx II has to offer. I mean, for now I'm going to try setting up this method but I'm curious if I could figure this out. Cheers!
 
So I've been searching around and I'm guessing that there is no way to program the scenes to IA 1 through 8, correct? I'm looking for as straight-forward a setup for live gigging pre-arranged tunes and being able to take advantage of all the switching power the Axe-fx II has to offer. I mean, for now I'm going to try setting up this method but I'm curious if I could figure this out. Cheers!

No only the lower 4 buttons can be used for direct scene access. What you can do is to dedicate two IA's to step up and down through scenes. So with the combination of the direct access and step up/down you are still getting a lot of "switching power".
 
Ah, well after setting this up I realize it's not exactly a big deal. I didn't realize I could set up the Ground Control's bank/presets to interface back to my Axe-fx II preset so all is well. Now it's just a simple two-button touch and I have access to all 8 scenes. Way cool!

For those of you that might be confused, or if you are finding that the 1, 2, 3, and 4 buttons on the GCP are changing your scenes, I figured out why. There's a little step that is kind of implied but not specifically mentioned in the OP, and it's of utmost importance for this to work. In my case, when I pushed down on button 2 it kept switching to preset 256 on the Axe-fx II and changing the scene in THAT preset. Weird!

Assuming I had done something wrong I reset my GCP and started from scratch. Here's where I figured out what went wrong.

SELECT BANK -> PRESET X -> EDIT -> BANK DOWN TO VCA LEVEL -> VCA LEVEL = YY

(where YY = VCA value that corresponds to the Axe-Fx scene, see table above)


* NOW *

When you hold EDIT down it will first pull up a menu that shows your device name, and on the right hand side of the digital panel you'll see a number. This number is referring to the Axe-fx preset number. You have to point the GCP to the preset on the axe you will be referring to, otherwise it will still act like a preset # change as well. Now I'm rocking this thing and happier than ever. What I thought was going to be a very limited function is clear and making me perfectly happy. Thanks a bunch to the OP, and hopefully anything that was confusing before and causing crazy preset switches when trying to create scene changes is all cleared up!
 
When you hold EDIT down it will first pull up a menu that shows your device name, and on the right hand side of the digital panel you'll see a number. This number is referring to the Axe-fx preset number. You have to point the GCP to the preset on the axe you will be referring to, otherwise it will still act like a preset # change as well. Now I'm rocking this thing and happier than ever. What I thought was going to be a very limited function is clear and making me perfectly happy. Thanks a bunch to the OP, and hopefully anything that was confusing before and causing crazy preset switches when trying to create scene changes is all cleared up!

Thanks so much for this! After following Tony's steps and doing a factory reset of the GCP, I was still scratching my head for ages trying to figure out why the presets on the AxeFX kept increasing.
 
I have a question:

If I do set up the GCP to control the Axe-fx with scenes, Would I be able to still use my MFC mk2 without changing parameters in the axe fx or would I need to program each one every time I use them?

The reason I'm asking is I just bought a GCP to leave at the rehearsal place (friend's house) and the mfc at home and for gigs... Is this scenario possible?
 
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