What's the advantage of the MFC over other controllers?

atyourlasthourrr

atyourlasthourrr

Inspired
Specifically when put up against a FCB1010 w/Eureka PROM. (aside from the built in expression pedals which I don't use all that often)

I've never owned an MFC and I'm only experienced with the FCB1010. The FCB1010 can be used in various different setting (scenes, effects, etc.) but I really only utilize its basic function of taking me from one preset to another since its a pain in the ass to program everything. I also sometimes use it to control the looper.

I will consider acquiring an MFC if its a lot easier to use with the Axe Fx than the FCB1010.
 
Plug and play. There is no real comparison, at least as far as my experience with FCB + Uno, which is very similar.

You can have scenes, IAs, presets and Looper control with NO programming.

The MFC is powered by ethercon or FASLink connection.

It knows what effect blocks are in each preset and what state they are in for each scene.

Again, this is with NO programming.

You can do more advanced things with programming, and it's a pretty solid general purpose midi controller aside from Axe Fx integration.
 
For me it's the use of a simple Faslink (XLR) cable! And if any doubt arises, i ask my questions here, amongst good company!
 
FCB is fine kit. Never used one with that prom mod but used one for years with other rack gear. Just my two cents but MFC is the way to go. The ability have access to 4 expression pedals you can assign anything to as well as 4 switches to turn stufff on and off is a no brained for me. Personally I'm always trying to tweak every once of functionality out of gear
 
Just the answers I needed! If it's really plug and play then I'm going to look to get one by the end of the month!

I'm on a Mark II, so which MFC should I get? I know they have several iterations at this point.
 
atyourlasthourrr said:
Just the answers I needed! If it's really plug and play then I'm going to look to get one by the end of the month!

I'm on a Mark II, so which MFC should I get? I know they have several iterations at this point.
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Just be aware that you need an additional adapter to use FASlink with a mkII (assuming you get a mkIII MFC.

I'd suggest the mkIII unless you are on a budget... It's the most flexible.
 
I don't know. I don't have one. But I have a Liquid Foot LF+12+. Wonderful in theory, but customer support is terrible and the box is just too complicated. I haven't given up, but it's been months since I've fired it up. Many months. That's for my Axe Fx II XL+. I've been using the AX8 for gigs and rehearsals, moving my IIXL+ to the studio only where I don't really have a great need for the controller.
 
I just got my MFC Mk III yesterday. I had used a fcb1010 and pod hd500. The immediate advantages I have seen are:
  • The plug and play aspect is huge. Select the type of Axe and it knows your presets.
  • The Faslink connection: not having to use a power supply simplifies my overall setup.
  • Having the tuner at my feet in that big display
  • Using MFC Edit I was able to easily set it up as I wanted. I wanted scene buttons on most of the bottom row and the tempo on button 5, all without hitting the Reveal. Done!
  • It really is built like a tank
  • It's actually not as big as it appeared in pictures. My other controllers were significantly longer. I can fit my MFC in the same Gator bag I used for my pod and also have room for my EV-1.
What took the most time was dumping the settings I wanted from MFC Edit to the MFC. I didn't remember to power it up at first though I did remember I needed a midi cable. The transfer is slow, no getting around that.

With my previous controllers I was used to not having displays or labels at my feet, so that wasn't a big deal. I just can't see myself taking the plunge for nearly $2k for an RJM-22 as cool as the displays are.

I'm taking to rehearsal today and I expect it will be perform well.
 
grandinq said:
I just got my MFC Mk III yesterday. I had used a fcb1010 and pod hd500. The immediate advantages I have seen are:
  • The plug and play aspect is huge. Select the type of Axe and it knows your presets.
  • The Faslink connection: not having to use a power supply simplifies my overall setup.
  • Having the tuner at my feet in that big display
  • Using MFC Edit I was able to easily set it up as I wanted. I wanted scene buttons on most of the bottom row and the tempo on button 5, all without hitting the Reveal. Done!
  • It really is built like a tank
  • It's actually not as big as it appeared in pictures. My other controllers were significantly longer. I can fit my MFC in the same Gator bag I used for my pod and also have room for my EV-1.
What took the most time was dumping the settings I wanted from MFC Edit to the MFC. I didn't remember to power it up at first though I did remember I needed a midi cable. The transfer is slow, no getting around that.

With my previous controllers I was used to not having displays or labels at my feet, so that wasn't a big deal. I just can't see myself taking the plunge for nearly $2k for an RJM-22 as cool as the displays are.

I'm taking to rehearsal today and I expect it will be perform well.
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One thing your post noted that I forgot to mention is MFC-Edit. While it is not free like Axe-Edit, it is a really useful tool and @bwanagary has done a great job at making it much easier to use over the last couple years.

Also, good point on the size aspect. While it is "small" (compared to say a Ground Control Pro) it doesn't feel crowded.

Glad you are happy with yours. I knew you'd be able to get the setup you wanted pretty easily!
 
Had first rehearsal with new MFC and it worked very well. It's such a cleaner setup with Faslink and plugging my EV-1 into the MFC. I've got to practice my switching a bit more to develop the muscle memory for how I've set up things, but that's just putting in the time. I also have to re arrange some preset locations based on our set list. But the unit was great.

A year ago my live setup was all Line6: JTV, Pod, DT25. Now it's XL+, MFC with EV-1 into XiTone and I'm back to my favorite guitar, my PRS. Couldn't be happier (although I'd like another XiTone and another EV-1.
 
grandinq said:
Had first rehearsal with new MFC and it worked very well. It's such a cleaner setup with Faslink and plugging my EV-1 into the MFC. I've got to practice my switching a bit more to develop the muscle memory for how I've set up things, but that's just putting in the time. I also have to re arrange some preset locations based on our set list. But the unit was great.

A year ago my live setup was all Line6: JTV, Pod, DT25. Now it's XL+, MFC with EV-1 into XiTone and I'm back to my favorite guitar, my PRS. Couldn't be happier (although I'd like another XiTone and another EV-1.
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That's great, good to hear!!!!
 
Ease of use is the main advantage.
The MFC is made for the Axe Fx so it is really easy to setup without having to know anything about MIDI commands and looking up MIDI tables to work out what command is associated with which function.

You can just go in and assign Switch 1 to "Drive 1", Switch 2 to "Delay 2" etc - it is really intuitive. Easy enough to do on the fly at a gig if you need to make a quick change to your button setup. I know I wouldn't be able to do that with any other midi controller.

I know people that went with other units to save money and in the end hated it because it was much more involved to get up and running.

It is expensive, but very much worth it.

If you get the newest versions with FASLINK then it all connects via a simple XLR which is easy to find and in a pinch there will be spares lying around at any gig you play at.
 
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I use the MFC and I love how configurable it is and how easy it is to use with the AxeFX.
It's built well but so is the FCB. I definitely wouldn't say one was built better than the the other.
 
One last question though, what cable do I need to put between the FASLINK and my Mark II? I know it's an ethernet cable but there are different types (cat5, cat6, etc.)

Thanks!
 
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