nojyeloot
Experienced
There used to be a really good youtube video on this (how I learned initially), but the guy took it down.
I've had several guys ask me how to set this up, step by step. So I decided to write up a step by step tutorial on how to set it up with 4 preset/bank with 8 IA buttons/MIDI CC.
I know there's a lot of info on this (including the sticky), but I would've killed for a step by step tutorial initially. I have a PDF version of this which has a bunch of pictures HERE
This is a tutorial to set up your AxeFX II to be controlled by a Ground Control Pro (GCP).
Consult this manual for further details: http://www.voodoolab.com/manuals/ground_control_pro_manual.pdf
Preface:
This setup is for 4 presets/bank (with the bottom 4 buttons) with the top 8 Instant Access buttons (IA) changing MIDI CCs (stomp box pedal ON/OFFs). Consult pg. 13 of the manual to set it to factory defaults before you do anything else. Connect a 5pin or 7pin MIDI cable from the “MIDI Out” on the GCP to the “MIDI IN” on the back of the AxeFX.
Step 1. Presets Per Bank (4 or 10?)
Power up the GCP. Simultaneously press both the “setup” buttons. If you mess up during any of these steps, just press one of the “setup” buttons and exit, but don’t save.
Press the small #7 “utility” button.
Using the big #3 or 4 buttons, choose “4 prst/bank.” (Or you can try 10 presets/bank and bypass the rest of this tutorial).
Hit “setup” button to exit and “Y” (big #4) to save.
Step 2. Name and MIDI channel
Simultaneously press both the “setup” buttons. If you mess up during any of these steps, just press one of the “setup” buttons and exit, but don’t save.
Next hit the “Device Name/Channel” button
Name it whatever you want using the bottom buttons labeled with the big #1, 2, 3, 4. I named mine AxeFX. Scroll over with the big #2 cursor until you get to the “/##”. This is the MIDI channel. Set it to “01”. We’ll have to make sure your AFX is set to that channel later.
Press the big #2 cursor one more time to get to the next window. It will say “Starts at ##”. Press the big #3 until it says “Starts at 00”, this will set your proper numbering offset to correlate with the AxeFX. We’ll have to set your AFX offset in the following step 2a.
Hit “setup” button to exit and “Y” (big #4) to save.
Simultaneously press both the “setup” buttons and then press the #5 “MIDI” button. Press the big #2 cursor button and then change “Channel - ##” to “Channel – 01”
Hit “setup” button to exit and “Y” (big #4) to save.
Step 2a. AxeFX II MIDI channel
Power up your AxeFX and choose the I/O button. Page over to the MIDI tab first.
Change “MIDI Channel” to “1”, then scroll down to “Display off set” and change it to “1” as well.
Step 3. Pedal (expression pedals)
Simultaneously press both the “setup” buttons. If you mess up during any of these steps, just press one of the “setup” buttons and exit, but don’t save.
*Note: You will need a TRS cable (or a stereo Y cable) to connect your expression pedal to your GCP and have it function. For my setup I use two homemade TRS cables (www.redco.com) to connect my one Mission SP-1 to both Pedal 1 and Pedal 2 inputs on the GCP).
Notice the back of your GCP where the I/O interfaces are. You can have two expression pedals hooked up, (or one fully functional SP-1 [requires two stereo cables). Decide how many cables you need.
Now press the “pedal” (small #3) button.
Using the big #3 & 4 buttons choose “P1 is ON”. When you’re done, press the bank down select button and do the same for P2.
Hit “setup” button to exit and “Y” (big #4) to save.
Step 4. Instant Access Buttons
At this point it is highly advisable to already have your 8 IA buttons mapped out with what you want and where. For instance, I have my tuner set for IA button #4 and tap tempo on button #8, etc. Do this now, and really give some thought to it, it’ll make this next process smoother.
Simultaneously press both the “setup” buttons. If you mess up during any of these steps, just press one of the “setup” buttons and exit, but don’t save.
Press the little #6 “instant access” button.
Here, we will edit the 8 Instant Access (IA) buttons (your stomp boxes) named “1.CH## CTRL ###” to “8.CH## CTL ###”.
Use the big #3 & 4 buttons to scroll to “1.CH## CTL ###”. We will set these #s in the following.
Breakdown: There are 3 sections within this step to edit once you scroll to “1.CH## CTL ###”. You will have to edit EACH 3 for each instant access button. More on that later. Here are the first two sections to edit:
1.CH## - this is the MIDI channel # that we set back in step 2.
CTL ### - this is the MIDI CC # that is assigned to each ON/OFF state in your AxeFX. Find this area on the front panel of your AxeFX by pressing “I/O” then page over to the “CTRL” tab.
The 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] section is reached when you cursor to the right twice using the big #2 button. You have 3 options on how this IA switch will act:
NORMAL - The CC message is only sent when you press the instant access button. You press it once to turn it on, then again to turn it off. I use this option for IA pedals like a “Boost” or “Tuner” in the AxeFX.
XMIT W/PRSET - This stands for “Transmit with Preset”. When you call up a preset on the Ground Control Pro, it will send out the current state (on or off) of this instant access button. Of course it turns on and off when you press the button too. I don’t use this function for my needs.
MOMENTARY - This option means that it sends an “on” message when the instant access button is pressed, then sends an “off” message when it is released. I use this option for IA pedals like “Tap Tempo” or any of the “Scenes +/-“ buttons.
NOW, let’s get back to programming. You have already simultaneously pressed both the “setup” buttons and then have pressed the little #6 “instant access” button.
Change “1.CH##” to “1.CH01” using the big #3 & 4 buttons. That means this IA will function on MIDI channel 1, which is what your AxeFX is communicating on.
Next on the GCP scroll to the right using the big #2 button to edit the “CTL ###”. Leave that blinking there and look at your AxeFX. On the AxeFX press the I/O button again and page over to the “CTRL” tab. Navigate to any “CTRL” parameter you want under this tab, but for this tutorial, let’s choose Tuner. By default, the MIDI CC number associated with it is 15. Leave this number (though it’s changeable) and remember it.
Jump back to the GCP. “CTL ###” should still be blinking. Using the big #4 button, scroll up until your LCD on your GCP reads “1.CH01 CTL015”, then scroll over to the next window using the big #2 cursor button and choose “Normal”. We’re choosing normal b/c you want the pedal to be ON and the LED to show as ON. If the MIDI CC we chose was “Tempo Tap” then I advise to set it to “Momentary” instead.
Hit “setup” button to exit and “Y” (big #4) to save.
**Repeat Step 4 for the remaining 7 IA buttons with the AxeFX’s MIDI CCs that you want set up by pressing the "bank down" button on the GCP. Remember to change all 3 parameters I just described. Try out different IA functions per IA, since there are only 3, and determine which functionality is best for your needs**
Step 4a. Instant Access Buttons to Automatically Start “ON” with Preset Change
Forum member shotgunn helped me through this a while ago
http://forum.fractalaudio.com/other...ccess-buttons-xmit-w-prset-light-problem.html
Step 5. External/Expression Pedals on the AxeFX
Consult the AxeFX II manual. This info is in section 7.3.7. on page 130. Your GCP is already setup for this.
http://www.fractalaudio.com/downloads/manuals/axe-fx-2/Axe-Fx-II-Owners-Manual.pdf
Cool notes:
I use a 7pin MIDI cable that I got from Best-tronics.com.
I chose a 7pin vs. a 5pin because pins 6 & 7 are used to transfer power from the source (AxeFX), to your GCP. That way you only have one cable running out to your board. Super easy.
To do this, get a 7 pin MIDI and attach it as I detailed in the preface. Then, with an appropriate power adapter for the GCP, plug the “plug” into the “Phantom Power to MIDI in pins 6 + 7”
Best-Tronics Mfg., Inc.: Fractal_Audio
I've had several guys ask me how to set this up, step by step. So I decided to write up a step by step tutorial on how to set it up with 4 preset/bank with 8 IA buttons/MIDI CC.
I know there's a lot of info on this (including the sticky), but I would've killed for a step by step tutorial initially. I have a PDF version of this which has a bunch of pictures HERE
This is a tutorial to set up your AxeFX II to be controlled by a Ground Control Pro (GCP).
Consult this manual for further details: http://www.voodoolab.com/manuals/ground_control_pro_manual.pdf
Preface:
This setup is for 4 presets/bank (with the bottom 4 buttons) with the top 8 Instant Access buttons (IA) changing MIDI CCs (stomp box pedal ON/OFFs). Consult pg. 13 of the manual to set it to factory defaults before you do anything else. Connect a 5pin or 7pin MIDI cable from the “MIDI Out” on the GCP to the “MIDI IN” on the back of the AxeFX.
Step 1. Presets Per Bank (4 or 10?)
Power up the GCP. Simultaneously press both the “setup” buttons. If you mess up during any of these steps, just press one of the “setup” buttons and exit, but don’t save.
Press the small #7 “utility” button.
Using the big #3 or 4 buttons, choose “4 prst/bank.” (Or you can try 10 presets/bank and bypass the rest of this tutorial).
Hit “setup” button to exit and “Y” (big #4) to save.
Step 2. Name and MIDI channel
Simultaneously press both the “setup” buttons. If you mess up during any of these steps, just press one of the “setup” buttons and exit, but don’t save.
Next hit the “Device Name/Channel” button
Name it whatever you want using the bottom buttons labeled with the big #1, 2, 3, 4. I named mine AxeFX. Scroll over with the big #2 cursor until you get to the “/##”. This is the MIDI channel. Set it to “01”. We’ll have to make sure your AFX is set to that channel later.
Press the big #2 cursor one more time to get to the next window. It will say “Starts at ##”. Press the big #3 until it says “Starts at 00”, this will set your proper numbering offset to correlate with the AxeFX. We’ll have to set your AFX offset in the following step 2a.
Hit “setup” button to exit and “Y” (big #4) to save.
Simultaneously press both the “setup” buttons and then press the #5 “MIDI” button. Press the big #2 cursor button and then change “Channel - ##” to “Channel – 01”
Hit “setup” button to exit and “Y” (big #4) to save.
Step 2a. AxeFX II MIDI channel
Power up your AxeFX and choose the I/O button. Page over to the MIDI tab first.
Change “MIDI Channel” to “1”, then scroll down to “Display off set” and change it to “1” as well.
Step 3. Pedal (expression pedals)
Simultaneously press both the “setup” buttons. If you mess up during any of these steps, just press one of the “setup” buttons and exit, but don’t save.
*Note: You will need a TRS cable (or a stereo Y cable) to connect your expression pedal to your GCP and have it function. For my setup I use two homemade TRS cables (www.redco.com) to connect my one Mission SP-1 to both Pedal 1 and Pedal 2 inputs on the GCP).
Notice the back of your GCP where the I/O interfaces are. You can have two expression pedals hooked up, (or one fully functional SP-1 [requires two stereo cables). Decide how many cables you need.
Now press the “pedal” (small #3) button.
Using the big #3 & 4 buttons choose “P1 is ON”. When you’re done, press the bank down select button and do the same for P2.
Hit “setup” button to exit and “Y” (big #4) to save.
Step 4. Instant Access Buttons
At this point it is highly advisable to already have your 8 IA buttons mapped out with what you want and where. For instance, I have my tuner set for IA button #4 and tap tempo on button #8, etc. Do this now, and really give some thought to it, it’ll make this next process smoother.
Simultaneously press both the “setup” buttons. If you mess up during any of these steps, just press one of the “setup” buttons and exit, but don’t save.
Press the little #6 “instant access” button.
Here, we will edit the 8 Instant Access (IA) buttons (your stomp boxes) named “1.CH## CTRL ###” to “8.CH## CTL ###”.
Use the big #3 & 4 buttons to scroll to “1.CH## CTL ###”. We will set these #s in the following.
Breakdown: There are 3 sections within this step to edit once you scroll to “1.CH## CTL ###”. You will have to edit EACH 3 for each instant access button. More on that later. Here are the first two sections to edit:
1.CH## - this is the MIDI channel # that we set back in step 2.
CTL ### - this is the MIDI CC # that is assigned to each ON/OFF state in your AxeFX. Find this area on the front panel of your AxeFX by pressing “I/O” then page over to the “CTRL” tab.
The 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] section is reached when you cursor to the right twice using the big #2 button. You have 3 options on how this IA switch will act:
NORMAL - The CC message is only sent when you press the instant access button. You press it once to turn it on, then again to turn it off. I use this option for IA pedals like a “Boost” or “Tuner” in the AxeFX.
XMIT W/PRSET - This stands for “Transmit with Preset”. When you call up a preset on the Ground Control Pro, it will send out the current state (on or off) of this instant access button. Of course it turns on and off when you press the button too. I don’t use this function for my needs.
MOMENTARY - This option means that it sends an “on” message when the instant access button is pressed, then sends an “off” message when it is released. I use this option for IA pedals like “Tap Tempo” or any of the “Scenes +/-“ buttons.
NOW, let’s get back to programming. You have already simultaneously pressed both the “setup” buttons and then have pressed the little #6 “instant access” button.
Change “1.CH##” to “1.CH01” using the big #3 & 4 buttons. That means this IA will function on MIDI channel 1, which is what your AxeFX is communicating on.
Next on the GCP scroll to the right using the big #2 button to edit the “CTL ###”. Leave that blinking there and look at your AxeFX. On the AxeFX press the I/O button again and page over to the “CTRL” tab. Navigate to any “CTRL” parameter you want under this tab, but for this tutorial, let’s choose Tuner. By default, the MIDI CC number associated with it is 15. Leave this number (though it’s changeable) and remember it.
Jump back to the GCP. “CTL ###” should still be blinking. Using the big #4 button, scroll up until your LCD on your GCP reads “1.CH01 CTL015”, then scroll over to the next window using the big #2 cursor button and choose “Normal”. We’re choosing normal b/c you want the pedal to be ON and the LED to show as ON. If the MIDI CC we chose was “Tempo Tap” then I advise to set it to “Momentary” instead.
Hit “setup” button to exit and “Y” (big #4) to save.
**Repeat Step 4 for the remaining 7 IA buttons with the AxeFX’s MIDI CCs that you want set up by pressing the "bank down" button on the GCP. Remember to change all 3 parameters I just described. Try out different IA functions per IA, since there are only 3, and determine which functionality is best for your needs**
Step 4a. Instant Access Buttons to Automatically Start “ON” with Preset Change
Forum member shotgunn helped me through this a while ago
http://forum.fractalaudio.com/other...ccess-buttons-xmit-w-prset-light-problem.html
Step 5. External/Expression Pedals on the AxeFX
Consult the AxeFX II manual. This info is in section 7.3.7. on page 130. Your GCP is already setup for this.
http://www.fractalaudio.com/downloads/manuals/axe-fx-2/Axe-Fx-II-Owners-Manual.pdf
Cool notes:
I use a 7pin MIDI cable that I got from Best-tronics.com.
I chose a 7pin vs. a 5pin because pins 6 & 7 are used to transfer power from the source (AxeFX), to your GCP. That way you only have one cable running out to your board. Super easy.
To do this, get a 7 pin MIDI and attach it as I detailed in the preface. Then, with an appropriate power adapter for the GCP, plug the “plug” into the “Phantom Power to MIDI in pins 6 + 7”
Best-Tronics Mfg., Inc.: Fractal_Audio
Last edited: