Using the Mastermind GT with an Axe-Fx III

rjmmusic

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This is a summary of how to get the Mastermind GT and Axe-Fx III working together. For more details, please consult the GT manual.

Step 1
Connect the GT and the Axe-Fx III. There are two methods:
  1. Use two 5-pin MIDI cables, one from GT MIDI Out to Axe-Fx MIDI In, and one from GT Remote In to Axe-Fx MIDI Out. The GT has 7-pin MIDI connectors, but 5-pin cables will work fine.
  2. Use a phantom power box. With this, a 7-pin MIDI cable connects from the MIDI out of the GT to the Phantom Power Output connector on the box. Then, two 5-pin MIDI cables connect from the box to the Axe-Fx III - "To MIDI Out" to the Axe-Fx's MIDI output and "To MIDI In" to the Axe-Fx's MIDI input. You can also connect the GT's power supply to the power input on the box. The intent is for the box to go into the rack with the Axe-Fx, so that you only need to run a single cable to the GT.

    You can find the phantom power box here:
    https://shop.rjmmusic.com/phantom-power-adapter-din7f-two-inputs/

    Best-Tronics also makes an all-in-one cable that performs the same function:
    https://btpa.com/AS-MSTRMBIP-XX.html
Step 2
Set up the Axe-Fx III: Go into setup on the Axe-Fx III, and use the “down” button to move down to the MIDI/Remote option, then press Select. Make the following changes:
  1. Set MIDI Channel to 1
  2. Set Program Change to On
  3. Set Send Realtime Sysex to On
Step 3
Set up the Mastermind GT:
  1. In Mastermind GT setup, select Edit Devices.
  2. Select a device slot. If you’re starting with a Mastermind GT that’s in the factory state, select the “Effect Gizmo” slot and you can overwrite it. If you also have an Effect Gizmo, you can leave the “Effect Gizmo” entry and instead select one of the empty slots.
  3. Press the Type button, then select Fractal Audio. Next, select Axe-Fx III.
  4. Press the Set Default Buttons button and press 1. This sets up button page 1 with a default set of buttons that control the Axe-Fx III.
  5. Press the Set Default Pedals button. This sets up the GT’s expression pedals to control the Axe-Fx. There’s a little more expression pedal setup required on the Axe-Fx, which is described in the next post.
  6. Optional: Use the Get Preset Names feature to read the preset names from the Axe-Fx. This process is described in a later post
  7. Exit setup mode.
This will get a basic, but full featured working setup. The GT can control presets, scenes, effect bypass, effect channels, external controllers, tuner and tap tempo. Also, changes made in the Axe-Fx and/or Axe-Edit will be reflected in the GT. For example, preset changes, scene changes, effect block changes will all appear on the GT.

Using the editor or deeper editing on the GT will allow you to further configure the GT to suit you.
 
Expression Pedal Setup

Following the previous steps sets up the GT’s expression pedals to send the correct CC numbers. Some more setup on the Axe-Fx III is required.

In the Axe-Fx’s setup menu, go to MIDI/Remote and select the External page. Set External Control 1 to CC11, External Control 2 to CC12, External Control 3 to CC13 and External Control 4 to CC14.

To assign an expression pedal to an effect parameter, edit the effect in the Axe-Fx. Select the parameter you want the expression pedal to control and press the Modifier knob on the Axe-Fx. Set Source to “External Control 1” to assign it to the first expression pedal, “External Control 2” to assign it to the second expression pedal, etc. For a more detailed description, please refer to the “MODIFIER TUTORIAL: WAH PEDAL” section in the Axe-Fx III manual.
 
Get Preset Names

The Get Preset Names process allows you to read preset names, and optionally scene names into the GT.

Once you've done the above steps, follow this process:
  1. Enter setup by holding the small black buttons under the screen for 3 seconds
  2. Select Edit Devices, then select the Axe-Fx III device
  3. Now press Get Preset Names
  4. You'll be presented with a menu. Start Preset and End Preset indicates the range of Axe-Fx presets that you want to read. Dest Preset is the first preset on the GT that will receive the preset names
  5. You can also turn on Get Scenes, which will read scene names in addition to preset names
  6. Create Songs changes the way presets and scenes are handled in the GT. This option is described in detail in the GT manual
Once you've set your options, press Start. It will ask for confirmation, then start the process. If for some reason the process isn't running, check your MIDI connections and MIDI channel settings.

The preset and scene names will be written to the presets as requested. Also, the GT presets will be programmed to recall the correct Axe-Fx preset numbers.
 
Awesome! Although, I wish you had this box with 2 phantom power outputs - one of them being the XLR format. Will this box be available with the XLR? All I see on the store is the 7pin DIN.
 
Finally, I have everything up and running on 4.2.3, bi-directional data flowing through one 7 pin cable with the new RJM 2 x 1 power input box connected to the Axe FX III, and several hours worth of hit and miss programming. Now that it's set up, I am pretty happy with the upgrades! Thanks to Ron, Alex, Rain, and all the forum folks for helping and posting.
 
I am currently running a GT16 with an AxeFX III, effect gizmo and some analog pedals. I see that the default device config for an AFX3 has "poll state" checked, however if I leave this on, each time i switch a preset on the GT it changes the gizmo almost immediately to something different. What am I missing in the config that may be causing this?
 
And just to state the obvious I already have different MIDI channels set in both the gizmo/AFX3 and they are configured in the GT correctly as well
 
It definitely sounds like it's related to the GT responding to Axe-Fx preset changes. The solution may be as simple as turning on "Ignore Incoming PCs" in the Devices tab for the Axe-Fx III entry. The only thing you'd lose by turning that on is that the GT won't automatically change presets when you change presets on the Axe-Fx.

If that's not an acceptable solution, please send me your settings and I can investigate.
 
I can check the "Ignore Incoming PCs" box but then it returns the first AFX preset to the GT on boot and overrides whatever preset may have originally been loaded. Also having this flag checked makes the tuner get disabled as soon as it is selected. Best thing i have found is keeping the 'Send PCs' box the only setting checked in the device tab setting for the AxeFX. I will send you a complete write up on my rig and config export as soon as I get things a bit more stable. Per our emails back and forth the rig is a tad on the complex side, where i am using many analog effects, the Axe III and am requiring a bunch of different routing/switching options. I would love to get your input (and the forum members) on how to perhaps make things a bit better. Thanks for all the help as usual!
 
What is the max number of Axe 3 presets you can get when using create songs?
Dave

It depends on how many scenes per song you're reading. There are 768 presets on the GT, so divide that by the number of scenes per song you need - that's your answer.
 
That’s what I thought but couldn’t remember the max presets number. Thanks! Helps to know so I can better organize my presets on the Axe!

Dave
 
Get Preset Names

The Get Preset Names process allows you to read preset names, and optionally scene names into the GT.

Once you've done the above steps, follow this process:
  1. Enter setup by holding the small black buttons under the screen for 3 seconds
  2. Select Edit Devices, then select the Axe-Fx III device
  3. Now press Get Preset Names
  4. You'll be presented with a menu. Start Preset and End Preset indicates the range of Axe-Fx presets that you want to read. Dest Preset is the first preset on the GT that will receive the preset names
  5. You can also turn on Get Scenes, which will read scene names in addition to preset names
  6. Create Songs changes the way presets and scenes are handled in the GT. This option is described in detail in the GT manual
Once you've set your options, press Start. It will ask for confirmation, then start the process. If for some reason the process isn't running, check your MIDI connections and MIDI channel settings.

The preset and scene names will be written to the presets as requested. Also, the GT presets will be programmed to recall the correct Axe-Fx preset numbers.


I'm not able to read the scene names into my GT. At least they're not showing on the displays. I followed the above steps except step 6. I also turned on "show scene names" on the display settings menu.
 
I'm not able to read the scene names into my GT. At least they're not showing on the displays. I followed the above steps except step 6. I also turned on "show scene names" on the display settings menu.

The Get Preset Names function is also responsible for reading scene names, you need to use it if you want any names displayed.
 
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