Why should I get a MFC 101 mark II

Mr.RangoTango

Mr.RangoTango

Experienced
Hey guys [emoji4]
I'm on the verge of buying a mfc 101 to replace my fcb1010.
I know this seems obvious, but I would really like to know why I should upgrade. This is of course very subjective, but I can tell you that I'm not happy with my current setup as I feel it's a little annoying that I cannot switch between x/y states, easily manage the delay, reverb and so forth.
And also - the looper works great with the mfc right?
I really appreciate any answer [emoji4] thanks !
 
I personally wouldn't own the Axe without the MFC. It makes the unit so much easier to use. You can see the tuner at your feet, turn on/off effects within patches effortlessly, change scenes, x/y state, even volume commands. Most importantly you get feedback from the Axe to the MFC so you can see which effects are on/off at the MFC. If you are considering it for the looper primarily, I find it works but the looper to me is kind of useless as it doesn't have nearly as much flexibility as a real looper pedal IMO.
 
Jakobscortum said:
Hey guys [emoji4]
I'm on the verge of buying a mfc 101 to replace my fcb1010.
I know this seems obvious, but I would really like to know why I should upgrade. This is of course very subjective, but I can tell you that I'm not happy with my current setup as I feel it's a little annoying that I cannot switch between x/y states, easily manage the delay, reverb and so forth.
And also - the looper works great with the mfc right?
I really appreciate any answer [emoji4] thanks !
Click to expand...

Well, the MFC "just works" (tm) :)

I switched because it's the easiest to use as far as integration. I was using a Gordius before the MFC, and though I think it is definitely the most programmable and flexible midi controller available, certain things are very involved to get working.

Previous to that I have used Ground Control and Ground Control Pro, as well as FCB1010+UNO chip.

I'm pretty happy with the MFC. And, yes, looper control is built in.


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Yeah I really want my rig to "just work" without any unnecessary complications [emoji4] !
So basically would have the mfc set up to show all the different active blocks. So it's in stompbox-mode but with the ability to change scenes too. That's not possible on my fcb1010 I guess[emoji4]
 
Seemless integration is the reason I chose the MFC.

in addition, I upgraded to the MFC III for the integrated FASLINK and silent switches.

Nice piece of kit!
 
BreadTooth said:
Seemless integration is the reason I chose the MFC.

in addition, I upgraded to the MFC III for the integrated FASLINK and silent switches.

Nice piece of kit!
Click to expand...

cool. The mfc costs around 860 dollars here in Denmark. I can buy it used for 535 dollars, I think it's a good price for the product ? But should I get the III > II?
 
Jakobscortum said:
.. And do you have the mark II?
How is it without the fas link and the silent switches?[emoji4] is it alright?
Click to expand...

I have both , the MKII is fine, switches aren't really that bad ,never bothered me before I got the MKIII , bought it for the faslink mostly and wound up still using ethercon .
 
So you would recommend me investing in the MFC II as a long term midi controller even though the mark III has some improvements? :)
 
Jakobscortum said:
cool. The mfc costs around 860 dollars here in Denmark. I can buy it used for 535 dollars, I think it's a good price for the product ? But should I get the III > II?
Click to expand...

Which version of Axe Fx do you have?

Keep in mind that to use the FASlink with Axe Fx II you will need an adapter. To me it was worth the additional cost. Depending on your situation you might be totally fine with Ethercon or midi.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
unix-guy said:
Which version of Axe Fx do you have?

Keep in mind that to use the FASlink with Axe Fx II you will need an adapter. To me it was worth the additional cost. Depending on your situation you might be totally fine with Ethercon or midi.


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Click to expand...

Before getting the Axe/MFC last week, I had been using ethercon with the G-System for years and haven't had a single problem. I've known others that have had issues with ethernet cables (I think they were ethernet, not ethercon) but I had a high quality ethercon that never gave me a hiccup in years of gigging multiple times a month (often multiple times a week).
 
Jakobscortum said:
So you would recommend me investing in the MFC II as a long term midi controller even though the mark III has some improvements? :)
Click to expand...

If the MKII was considerably less money, probably, you would have to buy a Faslink converter to use a MKIII Faslink with the AxFx MKII, but if relatively close margin price wise , I would go for the MKIII ! I,m sort of a latest and greatest nut :)
 
If you use a AxeFX II Mk1 or Mk2 then the MFC 101 Mk 2 is fine - there's little you'd miss from what a Mk3 does.

The old style 'louder' switches are not going to bother you if playing at volume and as the AxeFX II earlier models do not have a FASLink connector on them it would mean you'd have to buy an adaptor from FAS to utilise the additional FASLink out on the MFC Mk3.

I have AxeFX Mk1 and a MFC Mk3 ..... I use the MFC in Expansion mode with a heavy duty Cat6 cable via the ethercon out on the MFC. I have a Vafam front panel in my rack that has a receiving ethercon socket which is tailed into the normal style fragile ethernet input on the AxeFX 2 Mk 1 - so no strain can ever be put on the port on the AxeFX.

If you own a AxeFX II Mk 2 then you'll already have a more robust ethercon style connector on it.

The MFC Mk2 has the robust ethercon out socket on it. (Mk1's have the more fragile std ethernet socket)

For a non XL or XL+ user the only other difference between a MFC Mk2 and a MFC Mk3 is that the MFC Mk 3 allows you to 'soft' swap the bottom row of switches so you can have Scenes on row 1 and Preset changes on row 2. Not a big deal really - and if you really want this, it is achievable by opening up the MFC Mk1 or Mk2 and swapping 2 cables around I hear).

The MFC's are not cheap by any means ... so a good price on a Mk2 is worth it. They are all built like tanks.
 
I had an FCB1010 for about a year and struggled with it.

I finally broke down and bought an MFC-101 for the following reasons:
  1. MFC-Edit allows me to do all the programming in my computer rather than dancing around on the foot pedal like a jester doing the safety dance.
  2. Powering the unit with the Ethercon just works well rather than dealing with the Behringer power supply or dealing with some odd mod to power the FCB through Midi.
  3. The MFC actually displays tuner info so that I don't have stare at the rack unit to tune.
  4. Implementation of scenes and X/Y is much easier using the MFC.
  5. I can hook up 2 better quality foot controllers to the MFC and if I get really crazy, hook up another two along with 8 extra switches. It's a lot more expandable in that way than using the FCB.
  6. The editor program for the MFC is actually supported by Fractal as opposed to dealing with a third party for an FCB editor or mod chip.


You won't be disappointed with the Mark III as it solved the scenes in the bottom row issue that the Mark I & II required you to switch ribbon cables to implement.
 
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Mfc 101 is awesome, I had ground control pro and it sucked in comparison, no way of using scenes, only 8 ias and there was terrible lag when using the expression pedals, with mfc, all is well and its sexy looking too.
 
dr bonkers said:
[*]The FCB actually displays tuner info so that I don't have stare at the rack unit to tune.
Click to expand...

I assume you meant MFC, not FCB, no?


dr bonkers said:
You won't be disappointed with the Mark III as it solved the presets in the bottom row issue that the Mark I & II required you to switch ribbon cables to implement.
Click to expand...

I'm curious what preset issue you're talking about. I have a Mk III so it doesn't really affect me, but I haven't heard about this before.
 
mbrown3 said:
I assume you meant MFC, not FCB, no?




I'm curious what preset issue you're talking about. I have a Mk III so it doesn't really affect me, but I haven't heard about this before.
Click to expand...

let me correct the original post for clarity.
 
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