Axe FX III - the Blog

Roland

Someone has asked me to blog the process I’ve started:

“... spotted that you've recently received an AFXiii. I just picked up an FM3, a very steep learning curve (uninitiated in Fractal ways!) but the tech is absolutely phenomenal ... There's a lot of good videos out there but I'm not finding much written content which goes back to basics and makes things accessible.”

At first I was reticent because I have the typical British distaste for “look at me” threads. What persuaded me is that, whilst there’s a lot of information about how to configure a block, or get a particular sound, but very little about how to approach configuration, and fit the jigsaw together.

I welcome contributions because I certainly don’t know everything. Even if I did there are still options for different purposes.

Roland

FarleyUK said:

Roland said:

My plan is to start by replicating my current live setup on the AxeFX II, and use it at next week’s rehearsal. I can also set up the FC12 to mirror my MFC layout. Replicating will mean that I know here I am at any point, otherwise it’s too easy to spend hours exploring. That can come later.

The effects should copy across with limited changes. When I say copy I’m actually re-typing most of the values. Last night I set up my acoustic guitar simulation. I’ve already discovered that I need different threshold values for the multi-band compressor. It’s likely that I’ll need to change PEQ settings too. If I put the II in the III’s loop (Output3 and Input3) then I should be able to do A:B tests as I go. 

After that I’ll configure a couple of Amp channels, and test the gap on channel and scene changes to see whether I can get away with one Amp and one Cab block. My kitchen sink preset is already at 75% cpu so it would be helpful to lose some blocks. Then there’s racking, pedal board, midi for the lighting ...... 

Don't forget you can reduce the quality of the reverb(s) to save a lot of CPU. I found a 2nd amp block doesn't actually use much CPU.

It’s important to have a goal to work towards. Mine is replicating my current rig. I’m aware that this means that I won’t be exploring lots of new things which the AFX3 can offer. I’ll also be reproducing bad habits I’ve picked over the last 12 years. Sorting that out can come later, once I’ve got a solid base to work from.

@FarleyUK An early objective is to push the CPU, and see how much I’ve got to play with.

octatonic

What power amp/monitoring are you using?

CFH

@Roland really glad to see this and will be following intently.

I just picked up the FM3, my first Fractal device, and I am bowled away by how good it is albeit utterly daunting.

FarleyUK

Roland said:

FarleyUK said:

Roland said:

My plan is to start by replicating my current live setup on the AxeFX II, and use it at next week’s rehearsal. I can also set up the FC12 to mirror my MFC layout. Replicating will mean that I know here I am at any point, otherwise it’s too easy to spend hours exploring. That can come later.

The effects should copy across with limited changes. When I say copy I’m actually re-typing most of the values. Last night I set up my acoustic guitar simulation. I’ve already discovered that I need different threshold values for the multi-band compressor. It’s likely that I’ll need to change PEQ settings too. If I put the II in the III’s loop (Output3 and Input3) then I should be able to do A:B tests as I go. 

After that I’ll configure a couple of Amp channels, and test the gap on channel and scene changes to see whether I can get away with one Amp and one Cab block. My kitchen sink preset is already at 75% cpu so it would be helpful to lose some blocks. Then there’s racking, pedal board, midi for the lighting ...... 

Don't forget you can reduce the quality of the reverb(s) to save a lot of CPU. I found a 2nd amp block doesn't actually use much CPU.

It’s important to have a goal to work towards. Mine is replicating my current rig. I’m aware that this means that I won’t be exploring lots of new things which the AFX3 can offer. I’ll also be reproducing bad habits I’ve picked over the last 12 years. Sorting that out can come later, once I’ve got a solid base to work from.

@FarleyUK An early objective is to push the CPU, and see how much I’ve got to play with.

Fair enough - just pointing out that it's a quick and easy 'fix' to help reduce overhead if you ever need to.... and I've yet to have an audience member complain about the reverb quality if I do.

Roland

octatonic said:

What power amp/monitoring are you using?

My monitor is a Matrix Q12. What the audience hears comes from the PA.

Roland

FarleyUK said:

.... and I've yet to have an audience member complain about the reverb quality ...

The reverb is for me at home, and for my monitor, so the quality doesn’t matter. For FOH we add reverb in the PA mixer. I hate to have conflicting reverbs. A previous singer put reverb on his acoustic guitar because it sounded good at home, and a different reverb on his voice. To my ears it appeared that we were playing in different rooms.

Roland

This is what I need to build. It's what I have on the AFX2, plus a few things which the AFX3 adds. Starting top left, I use Input1 in stereo. Left is the guitar using a cable into the front panel. Right is the wireless receiver. The Mixers separate Left and Right channels, and the Filter takes off some of the top end from the wireless signal. With this I can swap between cable and wireless between songs. I've had to do it once or twice when there has been interference.

Compresser is always off at the moment, but I may need it to tighten things up later. It goes in now to ensure I've left space on the grid, and so that it contributes to the CPU load, which you'll see is already near to the 80% limit.

WAH is auto-on. At the moment I'm using medium speed to switch it on. I don't like using pedal position because sometimes I hover at the extremes. Currently the wah is a modified Cry Baby, with high frequency limit around 1680 Hz, and a few other changes. I notice that the AFX3 came configured a Clyde wah, so I'm looking forward to playing with that.

Looper is there simply to help me configure the blocks. I can leave a short riff running on repeat while I mess with settings. Out4 and In4 are an external loop where I can test how the Digitech Drop sounds against the new (to me) virtual capo setting in a Pitch block which I'm going to insert after the Send/Return. I can also put the AFX2 in the loop for A:B testing. For those who have met it before Send/Return is an internal routing because the grid isn't long enough for complex presets.

After the Return block there are two Amps and a Cab. I use Amp1 for rhythm, and Amp2 for all-out lead playing. I used to have two Amps in the AFX2, but had to remove one as I ran out of CPU, and suffer the gap in sound. The Cab has a free IR called "ML Sound Lab's BEST IR IN THE WORLD" as a starting point. That will change when I get to auditioning IRs.

On the AFX2 I control the preset volume using a pedal attached to the Cab volume. That way, if I'm too loud and can't stop playing to change the guitar volume I can lower the volume with my foot without changing the Amp sound. Controlling volume at this point means that I can also cut the volume but leave the delay trails running. Since I've got CPU to spare I've put a volume block here, but may go back to using Cab level.  If I've got the opposite problem, and our bass player gets too loud, then I can punch through the mix using a Filter block as a mid boost. From memory its 4dB with a wide Q centered at 975 Hz.

Below the Amps is a signal path for my acoustic simulation. The multi-band compressor reduces the sustain which an electric guitar has, and makes it more like an acoustic. The Cab uses my own IR, which matches the bridge pickup of my guitar to my favourite acoustic guitar. The PEQ corrects things where my IR doesn't get it quite right.

Other bits: With the AFX2 I've programmed the MFC to send midi messages for lighting control. With the AFX3 I'll need to do something similar with a Scene Midi block. Not sure what yet.

At our last rehearsal we were discussing taking a starting click from SetListManager on my iPad. That will come in via USB, and go out to the PA mixer where it can be send to IEMs, but not FOH.

So that's where I want to get to. Wish me luck

TeleMaster

CFH said:

@Roland really glad to see this and will be following intently.

I just picked up the FM3, my first Fractal device, and I am bowled away by how good it is albeit utterly daunting.

Told ya.

CFH

TeleMaster said:

CFH said:

@Roland really glad to see this and will be following intently.

I just picked up the FM3, my first Fractal device, and I am bowled away by how good it is albeit utterly daunting.

Told ya.

Didn't doubt you for a second mate! 

Roland

This morning there was a convenient shower of rain just before I started gardening, and it was too wet to work outside. I switched on the equipment, and found everything sounding muddy. At first I wondered whether my ears had gone wrong yesterday, and I’d configured an awful sound. After a few minutes working through systematically I discovered that the Wah pedal was not properly plugged in, and the Wah block had defaulted to an off value of zero.

With that little problem solved I was able to run two tests. Firstly I tried the new virtual capo setting of the Detune block against the Digitech Drop. It sounded OK doing a semitone drop with a clean amp. I'll give it another go once I've got overdriven amps configured, but I think I can put my Digitech Drop back in its box. (I rarely sell anything). A classic mistake is to leave the Drop turned on as you go into the next song. I've done it so many times that I have a line on the set list saying "Turn Drop Off". To guard against this I've dedicated a switch on the FC12 to the Drop, and changed its colour to bright yellow to make it more noticeable. Lets see whether that works!

The second test was of the gaps in sound when I change a channel or a scene. It's way better than the AFX2. Again, I need to test again with overdrive, but I think I can merge the two Cab blocks.

Next I configured Chorus, Flange, and two Delays using values from the AFX2. I’ll do a second pass in a few days, using my ears instead of my eyes. There are two delays so that I can let one ring out as I switch back from lead to rhythm playing. All these effects are in parallel with the main signal, all with 100% mix, and I'll balance wet and dry using block output levels.

For Drive block my starting point is a modified TS808. Some people don’t like the sound of this on its own, but here it’s being used to push the Amp and change its EQ.

Now the interesting bit. Amp modelling has changed between the AFX2 and the AFX3, and between Ares and Cygnus. The Amps sound very different, and they behave differently. With the AFX2 I use scene controllers to change the drive and re-balance the output level. That means I can use the same Amp for different scenes, increasing the overdrive level from scene to scene. The AFX2 values don't work with the AFX3. In fact I'm not sure that I will be able to use the same Amp block settings, or even the same Amps. That's going to be interesting. For starter I’ve used the Bogner Euro Blue, and configured scene controllers 1 and 2 to change Drive and Output Level.

Enough configuring for now. I need to play.

DavusPG

Do you think you'll continue using scene controllers to control gain across your scenes?
I'm still doing the same - a hangover from the AX8, but not really necessary now that channels change so quickly, and with the luxury of a 2nd amp block

Roland

DavusPG said:

Do you think you'll continue using scene controllers to control gain across your scenes?

For the moment yes. It allows me to mirror my AFX2 setup where I keep the same Amp settings through my Clean, Edge, and Crunch scenes. The more I change the harder it will be to find and fix problems, and the harder to find matching Cab IRs.

As I’ve been updating the preset during the day I’ve run out of CPU! The easy remedy has been to remove the second Amp and Cab blocks. At present I’m using two channels in the Amp block, one for rhythm and the other for lead. In the future I could put Clean, Edge, and Crunch on separate channels. 

paulmapp8306

With 4 channels  Duel amp blocks are really for twin amp setups played together (like a jmp and twin) rather thsn how your using them.

I get you mirroring how you used the afx2,  its a sensible initial approach but the afx3/fc12 offers so many way to streamline cpu useage with little if any downsides (real world at least) it pays to rethink how you do things.

There are things the afx2/mfc can do the 3/fc cant though... sometimes you have to get a little creative.

Roland

It rained again this morning, so I ran through the set list. Predictably there were EQ and volume adjustments. There will be a lot more of these in coming weeks. One of the changes is with the mic proximity and low end cut in the Cab I use for my acoustic guitar simulation, trying to get the warmth without too much bass. Some of the songs sound better with different amps from the ones I’ve been using with the AFX2. The additional clarity brought by the AFX3 is astounding, and must be a factor.

The original kitchen sink preset has now become three. One for each amp type: Dr Z Highway, Bludojai, and Bogner Euro Blue/Red. This means that whenever I make an effect change I have to replicate it across the other two presets. Sometimes it’s a change which needs setting across scenes too. Being systematic is important.

My initial FC12 Performance layout had five scenes across the bottom row. Playing through the set list has lead to several changes. The Tuner button has been replaced by a Preset increment button. Tap for up, and Hold for down. I’ve limited the range to my three presets. The tuner is now turned on whenever the volume pedal is on zero. I tried this years ago with an FCB1010, but the treadles kept moving out of tolerance, and wouldn’t always give me the tuner. I’m expecting the FC12 and Mission treadles to be better.

Some of our songs need song-specific effects. I’m loath to create more presets at this stage, so I’ve added scenes 6 to 8 using the hold function on the same buttons as scenes 2 to 4. Why these? The new scenes 6 to 8 are versions of 2 to 4 with added effects. For example, I use a Flanger in one song, but don’t want to allocate a button for it, so it’s turned on in the new scene. Once I’ve settled on an amp sound for Superstition I might use the same approach for the Eb detune, and release one of the buttons. That will solve my problem of remembering to turn the detune off at the end of the song.

paulmapp8306 said:

There are things the afx2/mfc can do the 3/fc cant though... sometimes you have to get a little creative.

Yes, midi is very different. I use midi to control our lights, so that’s next in the queue.

Roland

So here’s the problem. I want to set the same tempo in the AFX3 and the DMXIS lighting controller. It was easy with the AFX2 because it’s MFC would send midi messages which I could pass through to DMXIS. The FC12 doesn’t use midi. The AFX3 can create midi messages, but Tap Tempo isn’t one of them, and it doesn’t send midi clock. 

Options considered so far:

- Two separate Tap Tempo switches. Setting one in the heat of battle is hard enough. 

- A single switch wired into both devices, as long as it doesn’t cause electrical problems. 

- An external midi Tap Tempo device driving the AFX3, and midi through to DMXIS, but that’s more equipment.

I’m looking for ideas. 

Roland

MIDI.

I can understand why people get frustrated with this equipment. It needs knowledge outside of just playing guitar and turning a few dials on an amp. We used to say that reading computer manuals was a skill. The AxeFX documentation on midi is spread of four documents which cross-refer to each other: AxeFX III Owners Manual, FC-12 Owners Manual, Fractal Audio Footswitch Functions Guide, and AxeFX III MIDI for 3rd Party Devices.

Once I’d realised that a Control Switch is an internal software switch, and an External Switch is a physical switch plugged into the FC12, and they don’t have anything to do with each other, then the Fractal side of MIDI programming is quite clear. MIDI is sent by the Scene MIDI block whenever you change Scenes, including when you change presets which automatically loads a scene.

The DMXIS manuals are insufficient. I’ve spend half a day trying to work out the missing bits. Thank god I’m retired and have the time to do this. My poor wife feels ignored, and I don’t blame her. For posterity this what I had to do with DMXIS:

    1. Set the audio input to something. Otherwise the MIDI functions are turned off!

    2. Set it to listen on MIDI channel 15. Actually it also listens on 16 too, which is just as well because…

    3. ... to change lighting programme I have to send a CC on channel 15 to change lighting bank, followed by a PC on 16 to start a lighting preset.

Four hours later I could connect everything up and configure the AFX3's Scene MIDI block. It can send up to eight MIDI messages per scene. It took me those four hours to work out that I need just two simple messages per scene:

CC on channel 15, number 32 decimal (20 in hex) and value = DMXIS bank number.

PC on channel 16, value=0, which jumps to the first lighting preset in the bank.

With the AFX2 I’ve been using one lighting bank (colourway) per preset, and changing the lighting preset (ambient, pulse, flash) with a foot pedal. With the AFX3 I’ve got the ability to change both colourway and preset with each scene. It’s set up for the first preset, and a simple matter to copy the Scene MIDI block to the other presets once I’ve tested it.

Roland

Limited time today, and I’ve used it to tick off some small stuff. With the AFX2 I preferred to use the front panel. With the AFX3 I’m preferring AxeEdit where I can use ctrlC and ctrlV to copy and paste blocks. Yesterday’s MIDI block is now copied to the other two presets. 

I’m very aware that I’m setting things up at bedroom levels, even ‘though I’ve got the AFX2 to compare with. There will need to be some fine adjustments to volumes and EQs at forthcoming rehearsals and gigs. Normally I keep pen and paper near me, and make shorthand notes. It’s rare that I edit anything then and there, partly because it’s a distraction, but mainly because first thoughts might not be the best answer. Today I’ve set up a PEQ block for the electric sounds. I already have one for the acoustic simulation. The new PEQ rolls off below about 120Hz, and above about 7.5kHz. It’s also got a mid hump, with starting values of 1dB at 600Hz, and 2.25dB at 1,200Hz, to deal with cutting through at stage volume. That’s likely to see a fair bit of editing.

The “Detune” button has gone from the FC12, replaced with Tremolo.

One of the nice things about the AFX2 is that it linked to DMXIS with a USB cable which sent both MIDI and the guitar signal. This meant that I could set a colourway which remained quiescent between songs, and then pulsed the lights as I hit he opening chords of the next song. With the AFX3 I’m going to use a separate audio cable out of Output3. (Out 1 is monitor, Out 2 is FoH). So I search the house for a suitable mini jack cable, plugged it in, and found that I couldn’t set the volume from the front panel. Even turned right down it was overloading. Eventually I resorted to RTFM, and learned that the Output block is also a mixer, taking signals from all six rows in the matrix as well as the signal path.

The downside of using a guitar signal to trigger lighting is sustain. It’s fine for turning the lights on, but unless the song has staccato chords, the lights don’t turn off easily. I’m sure there’s a way of using a compressor as an expander, or maybe a volume block controlled by an ADSR, to chop the signal going to the lights. Anybody know how to do this?

Roland

So far I've been focusing on gigging workflow rather than sound. Yesterday I got into configuring sounds.The AFX3 is so clear that I need to change some of the things I've been doing. I had a similar situation moving from the Ultra to the AFX2, where I stopped doing things that were there to compensate for deficiencies.

On the AFX2 I've been running and 8 voice Chorus with a Detune in parallel to give an edge to the sound. The Detune was a Michael Landau +13% and -11% 80s thing. I think I might change my Chorus settings, and abandon the Detune. So I started down the rabbit hole of comparing Chorus settings, using the Looper to repeat a chord sequence while changes settings. I've now got four different (well, not very different) sounds on channels A to D, and can't choose between them at bedroom volume. We've got a rehearsal on Sunday where I'll try them through the PA.

One thing I did learn is that I like a short pre-delay. Some stock tones use 5ms. This sounds metallic to my ears, and I've gone with 2.5ms.

Then on to the Amps. I've been using three:

• Dr. Z Route 66. I like the way that the top of the sound hardens up as it approaches overdrive, but the mids and bass stay clear.
• Bludojai Lead. I love the clarity run clean, and the warmth when soloing.
• Bogner Euro Blue and Red.

The Dr Z and Bludojai have made the transition with settings virtually unchanged. As I said a few days ago, I'm using scene controllers 1 and 2 to change Drive and Output Levels as I move between scenes. This gives a consistent sound, just more overdrive. That isn't working for the Bogner. I've thrown away the Red because it no longer gives the crunch I want. Instead I'm trying the Blue for clean and edge of breakup scenes, with a Control Switch turning on the Boost as I move to my crunch scene. I need to play through these at rehearsal volume before I'm comfortable with the settings. On the AFX2 I had a decent Bogner lead sound. I haven't found it yet on the AFX3. For the moment I'm using the same Bludojai lead which I use in both the Dr Z and Bludojai presets. When I've got time I'll go back to scratch, and set up a lead sound using the approach which Leon Todd uses in one of his videos

It was at this point last night, as I was switching in and out of the my crunch scene, that one of the buttons on the FC12 stopped working. You know what happens. You go through the sequence of I missed the button / maybe I didn't press it right / are the other buttons working / £$%@! it's faulty. So I turned everything off and had something to eat. After dinner I turned it back on again and the button was working, so I played for about an hour ... and a different button failed.

G66 have been very helpful, and are organising a swap within the UK. I offered to open up the case and check the cables, but very sensibly they want it back for diagnostic checks.

sgosden

When's your first gig with the new toys ? 

Roland

sgosden said:

When's your first gig with the new toys ? 

11th September at the White Lion in Melton Mowbray. However we’ve got rehearsals this Sunday, and again on Sunday 5th. If I’m going to use it at the gig then I need it ready to test at both rehearsals, and get presets levelled at gig volume. Otherwise the risk of wrong settings is too great, and I’ll have to stick with the AFX2.

I reckon that I could do the gig on the first two presets, and sort out the Bogner later. The FC12, however, must be sorted. There’s no way I’d consider a gig with dodgy pedals.