A note about Axe-Fx III support

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rjmmusic

rjmmusic

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The release of the Axe-Fx III is understandably a big deal, and we're getting a lot of questions from people asking about if or when we're going to support it in our products. We've supported the Axe-Fx series since the release of the Mastermind GT and definitely intend to continue this with the Axe-Fx III.

Right now, you can set up a "generic" MIDI device on your Mastermind GT, LT or PBC and use it to control the Axe-Fx III. It requires some setup on both the Mastermind and the Axe-Fx, but you can have it control presets, scenes, effect blocks and effect channels. This solution is working today and we have a lot of users running this way, including some big name acts.

We're working closely with Fractal Audio to provide even better support. They will be providing us information on the advanced communication protocol that their editor software and upcoming controllers use to talk to the Axe-Fx III. With this information, we expect to be able to have even more control of the Axe-Fx III, and also be able to offer a much easier, faster setup process. Additionally, we expect to be able to receive status from the Axe-Fx which would allow us to display tuner, tempo, effect block state, etc. on the Mastermind series.

We don't have a timeframe for when this support will be ready, there are too many variables right now. But, once we have the information we need, implementing this next-level support will become a top priority project and we'll get it working as quickly as possible.

We suspect that this is going to cause higher than normal sales of the Mastermind GT, and possibly the LT and PBC as well. If you're thinking about waiting to buy until we have this support written, you may want to reconsider. We can only build so many of these products at a time and a large increase in demand is going to get us into a waiting list situation pretty quickly. EDIT: We're out of GTs again, but hope to get more in early July. After that, we'll try to keep up but some of our parts need to be ordered well in advance, so scheduling becomes tricky.

Thanks for your patience as we work this out, our goal is to have the best support possible for this product!
 
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Excellent, sir. Can’t wait, and glad I made the purchase before the back order sign went up! I’m enjoying the GT a lot.
 
Fractal Audio opened the wait list for the FC pedals today, so I am hopeful that's a sign the protocols needed are being locked down and are closer to being shared. It's been a great learning journey starting from scratch on both machines, but I am really looking forward to true interaction and two way connectivity. Another day closer...
 
Thanks Ron! I’ve been running on basic midi for weeks now. I’m hopeful that Fractal releases their advanced MIDI spec any day now so we can be closer to receiving status information from the new Axe-Fx III.

I’ve found that the Mastermind is still the best controller out there and even with just the basic Fractal MIDI capabilities currently, the Mastermind GT22 is still a blast to work and play with. I just can’t see myself with anything else.
 
after seeing the photos of the FC12, and having found that it is only a copy of the Helix Foot Controller (but double the price), with small lcd screens, which does not have a midi module as it had before the MFC, I'm more and more happy to have bought a GT16.
 
I have my Axe III on the way so this is good news that my GT22 will be supported. The GT22 is awesome. While a bit large I loved the bump up in surface control from my GT16 that I traded in. I also love how the GT has ultimate flexibility with controlling external midi devices. This is where the Fractal MFC 101 fell short which I saw why I upgraded to the GT22. With the enhanced IO capabilities the GT22 will even be more powerful ones the protocols are ironed out.
 
I haven't messed with the Helix, so I can't comment on the comparison between it and the FC-12, but I can say this: I was sweating my purchase of the MMGT/22 when I finally jumped in because I thought I might regret investing this much only to have the FC come out and do everything I needed at less than half the cost. It's almost a bit of a relief to say I am glad I bought the MMGT, and don't think I will regret not having the FC at all. I have grown quite fond of the MMGT already, and feel I'd likely be giving up a lot of ability to swap to the FC. I feel good knowing that, if it can or needs to be done with a foot controller, the MMGT can do whatever I will need to do.

That said, I do think there is a place for both units. The person who doesn't want to do any programming at all will have a fairly plug and play option in the FC. The person who wants to really dive into his setup should also get a lot of mileage from it. If your needs are modest, the FC might even be overkill.

Happy RJM family member here. Happy Fractal family member too. All good.
 
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I really hope Fractal is able to get the MIDI spec to you soon, Ron. Basically waiting on that to make the full transition. Your controller design sure seems like it is going to hold up well over time!

Let us know if there is anything we can do to encourage Cliff to get this done sooner.
 
Rick said:
I haven't messed with the Helix, so I can't comment on the comparison between it and the FC-12, but I can say this: I was sweating my purchase of the MMGT/22 when I finally jumped in because I thought I might regret investing this much only to have the FC come out and do everything I needed at less than half the cost. It's almost a bit of a relief to say I am glad I bought the MMGT, and don't think I will regret not having the FC at all. I have grown quite fond of the MMGT already, and feel I'd likely be giving up a lot of ability to swap to the FC. I feel good knowing that, if it can or needs to be done with a foot controller, the MMGT can do whatever I will need to do.

That said, I do think there is a place for both units. The person who doesn't want to do any programming at all will have a fairly plug and play option in the FC. The person who wants to really dive into his setup should also get a lot of mileage from it. If your needs are modest, the FC might even be overkill.

Happy RJM family member here. Happy Fractal family member too. All good.
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I feel the same way. I wasn't liking the FC only being 12 switches. I wrestled with this concept and just couldn't get on board with that limitation for the way I work. I agree that for many people it'll be fine. Thanks to others on the Fractal forum, i learned more about the MMGT. I really like the approach, the displays and the fantastic editor. It's so comprehensive and versatile. I ended up deciding on the GT 16. It's only four more switches....but it's so much more than that. The only downside is powering it via a 7 pin midi cable compared to an XLR. That's a small concession. I'm pretty sure it's the last controller I'll ever need. Like everyone else, I'll be glad when it full communicates with the Axe-FX III. Mine is arriving today.
 
I think I am close to being able to order the Axe-FX III. I already have an RJM MMGT22. What is the current status of support for the Axe-FX III? Perhaps I missed some other explanation, but I couldn't find anything current.
 
David Barrow said:
I think I am close to being able to order the Axe-FX III. I already have an RJM MMGT22. What is the current status of support for the Axe-FX III? Perhaps I missed some other explanation, but I couldn't find anything current.
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I'm not sure what the hold up is on getting the info to Ron, but don't let it hold you up, bro! I have been gigging the Axe FX III with the MMGT as a generic controller and it works just fine. I have scenes, channels, IAs, presets, and everything I need working. Two way comms would (will) be awesome, but it is totally gigable as is.
 
I think the hold up is they aren't done with the midi implementation. They won't even talk about it. I keep pushing though.
 
Hey Everyone,

So I just moved from Axe II to Axe III. I see the thread and how support is forthcoming. But how is everyone using the GT as a controller in the meantime? I have it working via midi port and it can change presets. But I haven't worked long enough to get it to control effects or load preset names. Any tutorials for tuner, tap, preset names, expression pedals? Pretty please? :)
 
So I've pretty much have moved everything that I know how to move over - on over. Kind of laborious LOL. I know RJM is working on the update and am stoked about that! I was so spoiled with AXE II compatibility.

My question is about names comes from Axe III to Mastermind AND having IA buttons switch (read from Axe III) on preset switch is this possible?
 
You have to program it manually - set your IA buttons to have "Update on Preset Change" turned on. "Send on Preset Change" should be turned off. Then, use the GT or the editor to program which IA buttons should turn on for each preset. It's up to you to program them to match the settings in the Axe-Fx. Until we have bidirectional support, this is the best we can do. This is more or less equivalent to "Slave Mode" when using the GT with earlier Axe-Fx models.
 
Thanks. I have pretty much figured it out. Should have kept my Axe II until support was up. LOL. I'm sure it will be great once you guys are up and running with it. Love my Mastermind GT!
 
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