Fractal Axe-Fx, Owner'S Manual

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Page 3: ...ce the risk of fire or electric shock do not remove screws There are no user serviceable parts inside Refer servicing to qualified service personnel 1 Obey all warnings on the Axe Fx II and in this Us...

Page 4: ...uipment generates uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions may cause harmful interference to radio communications There is no guara...

Page 5: ...ndard or an Ultra we think you ll be very impressed with all the updates additions and improvements If you re new to the Axe Fx family this is an incredible place to start It has been said that the Ax...

Page 6: ...4 2 3 5 3 Connections 15 3 1 Setting Levels 15 3 2 The PEDAL Jack s 16 3 3 System Parameters 16 3 4 Connection Diagrams 17 Axe Fx II into Self Powered Full Range Speakers 18 3 4 1 Axe Fx II into Studi...

Page 7: ...1 4 5 Bypassing a Block 37 4 6 Loading Effects from another Preset 37 4 7 Saving Changes 38 Swapping the Locations of Two Presets 38 4 7 1 5 Effects Guide 39 5 1 Amplifier AMP 39 Amp Type 39 5 1 1 Am...

Page 8: ...75 5 13 Formant FRM 77 5 14 Gate Expander GTE 78 5 15 Graphic Equalizer GEQ 79 5 16 Looper LPR 80 5 17 Megatap Delay MGT 82 5 18 Mixer MIX 84 5 19 Multiband Compressor MBC 85 5 20 Multi Delay MTD 86 Q...

Page 9: ...5 29 Rotary Speaker ROT 119 5 30 Synth SYN 120 5 31 Tone Matching TMA 121 5 32 Vocoder VOC 122 5 33 Volume Pan VOL 124 5 34 Wahwah WAH 125 5 35 Input Noise Gate 126 Input Impedance 127 5 35 1 5 36 Out...

Page 10: ...3 4 Pitch Detector 144 7 3 5 Manual Knobs 144 7 3 6 Scene Controllers 144 7 3 7 External Controllers 144 7 3 8 8 Global Parameters 145 8 1 Configuration Parameters 145 8 2 Output Parameters 146 8 3 Cu...

Page 11: ...ROM Backup and Restore 160 14 Firmware Updates 162 Axe Fx II XL XL Failsafe Firmware 162 14 1 1 Firmware Compatibility 162 14 1 2 15 Troubleshooting 163 16 Appendix 165 16 1 Table of Amp Types 165 16...

Page 12: ...ct Chains 183 16 14 2 16 15 Scenes 184 Selecting Scenes 185 16 15 1 SETTING UP SCENES 185 16 15 2 SAVING SCENES 185 16 15 3 SPILLOVER IN SCENES 186 16 15 4 SCENES AND MIDI 186 16 15 5 MFC 101 Scene Fe...

Page 13: ...echnology used by other products It entails digital replicas of vacuum tubes complete with time frequency and level dependencies This creates a level of dynamic realism in a class of its own Like our...

Page 14: ...gerous cheater plugs or expensive isolation transformers We designed the Axe Fx II with the Four Cable Method in mind Special analog processing keeps the noise floor even lower on outputs designed to...

Page 15: ...and XL All Axe Fx II units have the same DSP and amp modeling capabilities but the XL offers the additions of expanded memory and peripherals as detailed below Built in FASLINK port for connection to...

Page 16: ...ctly like the originals But while the unit includes emulations based on specific product types it goes well beyond simply presenting models with their limited controls features and sounds to offer a d...

Page 17: ...rves assign multiple parameters at once tap powerful global controllers and much more Multi Fx The Axe Fx II offers all the classic effects plus a few new ones The massive effects inventory allows any...

Page 18: ...in adjacent columns may be connected directly together with splits and merges as needed Passive shunts carry signal through otherwise empty grid spaces Figure 1 1 The Inventory Grid Concept Note Seve...

Page 19: ...r remotely control various parameters in any preset These are LFO 1 LFO 2 ADSR 1 ADSR 2 Envelope Pitch Detector Sequencer Manual A B C D and External 1 12 Connectivity and More 1 3 The grid and effect...

Page 20: ...the MIDI IN port These flash briefly whenever the signal level at the corresponding output causes the D A converter to clip Section 3 1 on p 15 has more information on Setting Levels 6 In RECALL mode...

Page 21: ...the Axe Fx II routing the input directly to the output defeating all processing lighting the BYPASS LED and showing a flashing on screen warning Press again to un bypass Double clicking the BYPASS bu...

Page 22: ...using the FX Loop block 18 This section includes the Left and Right Output 1 unbalanced 1 4 Jacks Balanced XLR jacks and XLR Ground Lift Switch The main processed output of the Axe Fx II appears at th...

Page 23: ...ol Port This RJ45 jack allows you to use a standard non crossover CAT5 Ethernet cable to connect the Axe Fx II to a Fractal Audio Systems MFC 101 MIDI Foot Controller The cable used to connect the Axe...

Page 24: ...S X 10 6 8 for MIDI over USB Fractal Bot Axe Edit Cab Lab etc 10 9 or later required for USB audio An issue in older versions causes audio pops CPU Intel Processor Memory 512MB minimum USB 2 0 Support...

Page 25: ...4 bit Audio from the Computer to the Axe Fx II Two output channels allow audio to be sent from the computer to the Axe Fx II where it can be processed by the unit or simply played back to OUTPUT 1 To...

Page 26: ...the raw dry unprocessed signal from the main input i e the front jack or the rear jack depending on both what is selected under INPUT 1 LEFT SELECT p 148 and the rear jack These require USB 2 0 suppo...

Page 27: ...and inch jacks and the unit s headphone jack level Optimal levels will depend on what the Axe Fx II is connected to To operate with unity gain set the Output Level knobs to maximum If you then route s...

Page 28: ...about External Controllers on p 144 System Parameters 3 3 As you will discover the Axe Fx II has a range of flexible input output options The hardware descriptions cover the basics but seeing a few c...

Page 29: ...diagrams that follow in sections 3 4 1 through 3 4 10 illustrate several real world applications Note that the Axe Fx II Mark II has a shared MIDI OUT THRU and that MIDI THRU must be enabled in the I...

Page 30: ...ects and more Optional headphones provide an alternate way to listen when cabs are not present or are switched off Balanced XLR or unbalanced 1 4 jacks and cables can be used to connect the Axe Fx II...

Page 31: ...d or combo or a guitar oriented tube power amp one that significantly affects to the tone and feel In either case it is completely safe and reasonable to try both settings to see which you prefer When...

Page 32: ...o Interconnection 3 4 5 COMPONENTS Guitar Axe Fx II Mixer recorder computer etc with digital S PDIF or AES EBU inputs and or outputs Global Settings Default I O Settings See below Notes The digital co...

Page 33: ...he actual amplifier on the grid Output 2 of the Axe Fx II has an all new extremely low noise design that is well suited for feeding the front of an amplifier The signal makes a round trip to the amp s...

Page 34: ...ibility is to use a preset with two totally separate signal paths In the example below the top direct signal path contains a fully simulated guitar chain while the second backline does not use a CAB s...

Page 35: ...en running in front of an amp recognize that Output 2 of the Axe Fx II has an all new extremely low noise design that is well suited for this purpose Effects only presets should terminate in an FX LOO...

Page 36: ...he computer through the Axe Fx II while simultaneously processing your guitar so you can play along with tracks Send audio from the computer to the Axe Fx II for processing and send it back to record...

Page 37: ...made at the Axe Fx also happen on the MFC and more When FASLINK is used the MFC 101 still transmits receives standard MIDI data to from the Axe Fx II XL XL which can then forward messages to other dev...

Page 38: ...ers you ll perform with Meanwhile USB provides all of the usual computer audio and MIDI integration features with full range studio monitors connected to a 3 rd party audio interface for monitoring an...

Page 39: ...he LEFT RIGHT buttons change by 10 4 Turn the to DIR for a directory of all presets by number The A Z page lists all presets by name Use the wheel to navigate and press to load the selected preset The...

Page 40: ...I grid must be populated with blocks components pulled from a large inventory of amps cabs stompbox studio effects mixers and more The insertion modification or removal of blocks happens at the grid c...

Page 41: ...as you cycle through the insertion menu so AMP 2 is hidden until you have placed AMP 1 When the desired block is shown press To cancel without making changes press instead To REMOVE an existing BLOCK...

Page 42: ...create the components of a chain but these still need to be connected to one another for signal to flow This is done using routing connectors commonly referred to as cables Figure 4 4 Two otherwise i...

Page 43: ...o risk of inherent phase or other problems in the split merge itself CROSSING is also possible Figure 4 5 Cables can CROSS one another without issue Routings can be as COMPLEX as required To Create a...

Page 44: ...long short split merged or crisscrossed in a huge mess have absolutely no sonic properties whatsoever They do not impart color add latency suck tone create load invite hum develop shorts or get tangl...

Page 45: ...ctors which appear in Axe Edit almost as one continuous cable connect the INPUT to the AMP the AMP to the CAB and the CAB to the OUTPUT Figure 4 6 Amp Cab Preset EXAMPLE 2 Long Pedal Chain Here effect...

Page 46: ...ith various effects appearing before and after two independent amps Notice the complex feedback loop routing in parallel with the dry signal feeding the amps and the reverb at the end of the chain run...

Page 47: ...s a knob or shown to its left in text menu pages In scrolling menu pages the sidebar has an indicator to show relative position The wheel changes the selected parameter Changes can be auditioned in re...

Page 48: ...utton while editing or by using MIDI remote control during performance When you save a preset the current X Y state of each X Y block is saved as well so the preset loads with your choices already sel...

Page 49: ...tached to the block s BYPASS MODE parameter 4 3 By remote control via the block s global remote bypass function which may be set to PEDAL or to any MIDI CC on the CTRL page of the I O menu p 148 A byp...

Page 50: ...preset names before saving Turn the wheel to select from all available characters The knob selects UPPER CASE letters The knob selects LOWER CASE letters The knob selects NUMBERS left right or the kno...

Page 51: ...pacity for ultra realistic distortions created using our proprietary multi stage non linearity generators with virtual preamp and power amp stages emulating the different types of distortion generated...

Page 52: ...t have an OVERDRIVE control see above BOOST appears only on the ADVANCED page BASS MID TREBLE While other modelers use simple filters to approximate amp tone controls the Axe Fx II replicates exactly...

Page 53: ...ntrol This high frequency filter allows you to control the tone the power amp When changing to a model with no negative feedback i e Class A Mr Z Recto Red be sure to check your presence settings as s...

Page 54: ...tone becoming muddy or noisy This includes the USA Lead types SOLO 100 and others Amps with negative feedback damping greater than zero tend to have a crunchier power amp distortion which can get rasp...

Page 55: ...late higher power supply impedance and thus greater tube plate voltage droop for a more compressed feel This control interacts with the Master and will have little effect if the power amp is not being...

Page 56: ...boost while other combinations yield almost none As always use your ears as the final determinant of the settings that will work best for you OUT COMP The Output Compressor parameter controls the rati...

Page 57: ...to play However the highs may get overly compressed causing the amp to sound too dark The Dynamic Presence control allows you to get the desired power amp drive and liquid feeling and then bring the h...

Page 58: ...switches appears on the PRE page but is offered here with a modifier option BRIGHT CAP Sets the value of a virtual capacitor to determine the sonic effect of the BRIGHT switch above Increasing this w...

Page 59: ...you change the amp TYPE but it can then be changed as desired However if you subsequently change the TONESTACK TYPE the TONESTACK FREQUENCY will not necessarily be correct anymore TONESTACK LOCATION T...

Page 60: ...and power amp NOTE Preamp modeling uses screen voltage from power amp in calculations rather than operating independently This improves feel as preamp voltage drops with power amp sag The effect is m...

Page 61: ...ive feedback around the power amp makes the distortion harder Another factor which controls power amp hardness is Transformer Match turn it up and turn down Negative Feedback for softer power amp dist...

Page 62: ...r when you are using Cab Lab available from http shop fractalaudio com Please note that the contents of the SCRATCHPADs are cleared every time you restart the Axe Fx MIC TYPE Selects the microphone si...

Page 63: ...d UltraRes UltraRes IRs use a patent pending proprietary technology to deliver enhanced sonic resolution without high latency or CPU load When you use UltraRes IRs and set the Cab block mode to UltraR...

Page 64: ...Mode Parameters When the MODE of the CAB block is set to STEREO independent instances of the following parameters appear for left and right CAB TYPE L R MIC L R PROXIMITY L R LEVEL L R PAN L R Pan Pa...

Page 65: ...our online repository of presets and cabs Fractal Audio Systems also offers professionally produced Cab Packs at http shop fractalaudio com Next you ll need to transmit your IR to the Axe Fx II Our v...

Page 66: ...NUMBER OF VOICES Each stereo channel in the chorus can have from one to four voices Increasing the number of voices increases the fullness of the effect Use two voices for a vintage chorus effect or...

Page 67: ...LFO waveform shapes and phase AUTO DEPTH Scales DEPTH to create a consistent sound at any RATE This control simplifies dialing in musical results For precise control or wild sounds you may wish to tu...

Page 68: ...a signal chain to smooth irregular levels The Axe Fx II provides both pedal and studio type compressors detailed below The Compressor block supports X Y Switching on the XL XL only See p 36 for more...

Page 69: ...the threshold applying a sort of ceiling or brick wall limiting above which nothing can rise ATT Attack rate sets how fast the Compressor reduces the volume once the threshold is exceeded For guitar...

Page 70: ...of the compressor s detector stage Raising the filter frequency can help prevent low frequencies from pumping the entire mix Does NOT filter the output SCSEL SIDECHAIN SELECT determines which signal i...

Page 71: ...the level of the left input low pass filter LEFT HI LEVEL Sets the output level of the left input high pass filter RIGHT LOW LEVEL Sets the output level of the right input low pass filter RIGHT HI LEV...

Page 72: ...is used Depending on the configuration you select on PG1 of the delay block PG2 is configured with different parameters The details and parameters of each configuration are listed in the subsections...

Page 73: ...r see below Set TEMPO to NONE to regain manual control FEEDBK Sets the amount of delay feedback a k a regeneration to determine the number of repeats Negative values phase invert the signal in the fee...

Page 74: ...to 100 e g 99 6 will subtly widen the echo sound while ratios corresponding to whole number relationships like 7 8 87 5 3 4 75 or 1 2 50 will create interesting grooves SPREAD Controls stereo width b...

Page 75: ...the stereo field in real time R TIME RATIO Allows the right delay line time to be reduced Very for subtle TEMPO offsets TEMPO L TEMPO R Dual parameters to lock the independent TIME L and or TIME R par...

Page 76: ...bal tempo SWEEP PHASE Adjusts the phase differential between left and right sweep LFO waveforms Reverse Delay 5 6 6 The Reverse Delay simulates the impossibility of a performance from the future being...

Page 77: ...ime in milliseconds XFADE TIME Sets the crossfade time between reverse audio snippets When the playback position approaches the delay time a new snippet begins playback at time zero The crossfade time...

Page 78: ...d within the stereo listening field Note that the MONO TAPE TYPE uses the TAPE CONFIG but the STEREO TAPE uses the STEREO CONFIG Delay Common Parameters 5 6 8 Delay Modulation Parameters Modulation sy...

Page 79: ...r the diffuser PHASE REV Allows the Left Right or Both delay line outputs to be phase inverted Delay EQ Parameters The delay features an equalizer inside the loop before the feedback tap to shape echo...

Page 80: ...s DIST are based on a variety of tube and solid state models and give classic distortion tones The fuzz FUZZ types are based on a hard clipping distortion and give a raspy sound Drive effects include...

Page 81: ...ular for extreme gain settings Master Fuzz Based on the Maestro Fuzztone aka Satisfaction fuzz Micro Boost Based on MXR s Micro Amp an opamp driven clean boost pedal Mid Boost A custom mid boost overd...

Page 82: ...oo high or too low with certain clipper types can render the block inaudible BIT REDUCE Creates digital distortion by reducing the resolution of the audio signal The number shown is the number of bits...

Page 83: ...mix to the front of house while simultaneously feeding a real power amp and speaker cabs See the example on p 22 for more details Alternatively you might use the INPUTS and not the OUTPUTS so the FXL...

Page 84: ...right channel by a very small amount to increase the apparent stereo separation between the left and right channels It also provides individual left and right phase and pan controls You can use these...

Page 85: ...y Warning Use these blocks with caution as you can easily program an unstable loop and cause internal clipping and or very high sound levels which may damage your hearing or connected equipment With t...

Page 86: ...e Peaking Peaking 2 Variable Q type Notch or Tilt EQ The NULL type has no effect on frequency response but allows gain phase pan and other adjustments to be made Note Low and High Shelf 2 filters recr...

Page 87: ...e RATE Controls the frequency of the Low Frequency Oscillator which varies delay time to create the sweep Use low settings rate with high depths for slow moving sounds Increase the rate for vibrato ef...

Page 88: ...o LFO TYPE Sets the shape of the modulation waveform See section 16 7 on p 174 for more information on LFO phase and waveform types LFO HICUT Lowering this control filters the LFO waveform rounding sh...

Page 89: ...various frequencies and amplitudes The Axe Fx II Formant Filter can be set statically or blend dynamically between START MID and END vowels The CONTROL knob sweeps across this range gradually changin...

Page 90: ...the output signal will drop by 2 dB ATT Attack time Sets how quickly the Gate Expander restores the gain once the threshold is exceeded REL Release time Sets how quickly the Gate Expander reduces the...

Page 91: ...12 dB The outermost bands are shelving filters The above modes can be run as Constant Q or Variable Q In a variable Q equalizer the bandwidth varies as a function of boost cut levels such that lower b...

Page 92: ...eady stopped ONCE will start playback play through the loop and then stop You cannot go directly from RECORD to ONCE STACK Overdubs audio on an existing loop Pressing it again stops the addition but p...

Page 93: ...ER for recording to begin DUB MIX Actually located on the Looper s MIX page this determines how much layers are reduced when you STACK new layers If you never want old layers to decay set this to 100...

Page 94: ...ons this control should be set at 100 MASTER LEVEL Controls the overall level of the delay TIME Sets the delay time of the last tap The echoes will be distributed between zero and this time NUMBER OF...

Page 95: ...f volume change across the taps A setting of 0 results in no effect while 100 results in an extreme effect PAN SHAPE This specifies how the pan changes from tap to tap as they progress PAN ALPHA Sets...

Page 96: ...arameters GAIN 1 Sets the level for the incoming signal from a block in row 1 of the column left of the mixer BAL 1 Sets the balance between left and right signals of the block in row 1 of the column...

Page 97: ...to occur RATIO Sets the input to output ratio for signals above the THRESHOLD A ratio of 2 00 2 1 means an increase of 2 dB is needed at the input to produce an increase of 1 dB at the output ATT Atta...

Page 98: ...shares a common set of PAGE 1 parameters The TYPE control selects which of the above mentioned sub algorithms to use and INPUT GAIN determines the amount of signal fed to the effect Master Parameters...

Page 99: ...ignore the global tempo set to NONE TIME 1 2 3 4 Sets the time when the selected tap will be heard from 0 2000 ms When any TIME is shown in parenthesis it is being set automatically by the correspond...

Page 100: ...of modulation for the selected tap Remember that while LFO1 is set as the master the controls for 2 3 and 4 will have no effect on the sound When any RATE is shown in parenthesis it is being set auto...

Page 101: ...the corresponding TIME parameter in rhythmic relation to the global tempo For example if the global tempo is 120 BPM and TEMPO is set to 1 4 one echo per beat time will be 500 ms To ignore the global...

Page 102: ...on to the global tempo LFO 1 DEPTH Sets the modulation depth Increasing modulation adds a chorus effect to the Plex Delay Plex Detune 5 20 3 The Plex Detune is based on the Plex Delay 0 above but adds...

Page 103: ...works imagine a word whose individual letters have been mirror imaged but are still in the correct left to right order In this case the letters are very short snippets of audio These are reversed and...

Page 104: ...you would hear echoes at 100 200 300 and 400 ms after the input Figure 5 22 The Quad Series Multi Delay Type The parameters of the Quad Series Delay are identical to those of the Quad Tap delay 5 20...

Page 105: ...peats decay over time SHUFFLE Sets the amount of time offset for the odd taps to give a shuffle feel to the repeats SPREAD In stereo mode this sets the spread of the repeats At maximum the left channe...

Page 106: ...p times to the entered note value This can be used to aid in tapping in a rhythm The tap times will be rounded to the nearest multiple of the note duration You can change this value even after you ve...

Page 107: ...a rhythmic value in relation to the global tempo LFO 1 DEPTH Sets the modulation depth to determine the intensity of time variations chorusing TEMPO 1 2 3 4 Sets the corresponding TIME parameter in rh...

Page 108: ...the TEMPO to NONE for manual control DEPTH WIDTH Sets the intensity of the modulation When WIDTH is set to more than 100 the Panner uses psychoacoustic effects to pan beyond the boundaries of the nor...

Page 109: ...5 25 Effect of Q on bell peaking filters Q exerts a different effect for BLOCKING or SHELVING EQ types selectable for bands 1 and 5 GAIN Sets the strength of the filter through a range of 12 dB TYPE T...

Page 110: ...ee p 36 for more information Each Axe Fx II preset can use two fully independent Phaser blocks Figure 5 26 The Phaser Block Basic Parameters TYPE This sets other Phaser parameters for different useful...

Page 111: ...ary reverse sync setting of the world s largest phase shifter which incidentally employed six stages per side in this mode See section 16 7 on p 174 for more information on LFO waveform shapes and pha...

Page 112: ...y custom intelligent shifting Auto Pitch Turn your guitar or voice into Cher or T Pain Actually please don t we ve removed the Axe Fx Ultra s Auto Pitch algorithm from the Axe Fx II Each Axe Fx II pre...

Page 113: ...lies the level values by this amount Pitch Source Track and Adjust PITCH TRACK Allows you to select from different styles of pitch shift tracking When set to MONO the Pitch Shifter will track the pitc...

Page 114: ...Figure 5 27 The Detune Pitch Shifter Type INPUT MODE Determines whether the inputs are stereo or summed VOICE 1 DETUNE VOICE 2 DETUNE Sets the detune amount for each voice Attach an LFO to create mod...

Page 115: ...ge of 12 half steps VOICE1 LEVEL VOICE2 LEVEL Sets the volume level of the voice VOICE1 PAN VOICE2 PAN Sets the panning of the voice VOICE1 DELAY VOICE2 DELAY Sets the delay time of the voice When a d...

Page 116: ...Sets the scale or mode into which notes will be shifted TRACK MODE Sets how the harmony will track the input SMOOTH allows the shifted note to follow bends and vibrato in the input STEPPED locks the...

Page 117: ...the scale will sound in actual use but instead serves as an aid so you can see an example of your custom scale transposed to any arbitrary key Change this value and other scale degrees will automatica...

Page 118: ...pitch See the Wah pedal tutorial on p 179 for more details on doing this The introduction to this section covers COMMON MASTER TRACKING and MIX parameters Octave Divider 5 24 5 The Octave Divider sim...

Page 119: ...s the panning of the voice VOICE1 DELAY VOICE2 DELAY Sets the delay time of the voice When a delay time is shown in parenthesis it is being set automatically by a TEMPO parameter see below Set the cor...

Page 120: ...w setting will make the edges more discrete while a high setting will tend to blend splices together Example Imagine that the shaded rectangle below represents an audio signal like a piece of reel to...

Page 121: ...h new note SCALE Sets the type of scale or scale mode that the notes of the arpeggio will be drawn from Examples are Ionian major Aeolian minor whole tone etc Set to CUSTOM to use custom scale tones s...

Page 122: ...t s sometimes easiest to just use your ears Tip By choosing the CHROMATIC scale you can create a pattern that ignores the notes you play and simply shifts pitch by the specified number of semitones Th...

Page 123: ...Quad Chorus are divided across pages for Master Chorus 1 4 Advanced and Mix Master Parameters TIME Scales the times set individually for each of the chorus voices RATE Sets the master rate against whi...

Page 124: ...even blend of LFO2 and LFO3 Figure 5 36 Quad Chorus LFO Morph Scale Advanced Parameters The MASTER parameters on the Advanced Page are duplicates of items on the MASTER page detailed above WIDE MODE...

Page 125: ...CY In MANUAL MODE MASTER FREQUENCY scales the frequencies set manually for the four resonators filters In CHORDAL MODE this is replaced by FREQUENCY which sets the frequency for the chord root MASTER...

Page 126: ...incorporated metal springs and plates but as with delay processing reverberation effects were truly revolutionized by digital technology The Axe Fx II is one of the finest you are likely to have heard...

Page 127: ...s is also known as the t60 time referring to the amount of time required for the reverb to decay to 0 001 of its initial value 60 dB PRE DELAY Adds extra delay before the reverb starts The SIZE contro...

Page 128: ...her effect ECHO DENSITY Controls the initial density of the reverb tail Higher values give a smoother sound Lower values allow the individual repeats to be more easily discerned This determines the ov...

Page 129: ...o normal level A slow high value causes a gradual return Reverb EQ Parameters The reverb features a powerful equalizer with high and low pass plus two peaking type filters LOW CUT Sets the frequency o...

Page 130: ...e two fully independent Ring Modulator blocks Parameters FREQ Sets the frequency of the oscillator FMULT Sets the frequency multiplier for the oscillator The actual oscillator frequency is the FREQ va...

Page 131: ...er below Set TEMPO to NONE for manual rate control TEMPO Locks the rate to the global tempo For example if the global tempo is 120 BPM and TEMPO is set to a 1 4 the LFO rate will be 2 Hz 120 BPM 60 se...

Page 132: ...elects the level to be controlled by the envelope while frequency is set manually PITCH ENV Selects the frequency and level to be controlled by the pitch and envelope of the input FREQ If input tracki...

Page 133: ...ht summed channel should be used REF SOLO When set to ON the reference signal is sent directly to the block output and other block inputs are muted If you assign a footswitch to this function you can...

Page 134: ...in the analysis and synthesis filter banks MIN FREQ Sets the frequency of the lowest filter band MAX FREQ Sets the frequency of the highest filter band RES Sets the Q or bandwidth of the filters Highe...

Page 135: ...l for each of the 16 bands PAN 1 16 These parameters appear as sliders across two pages They set the out pan for each of the 16 bands Vocoder Mix Parameters The Vocoder block has a MIX page with MIX L...

Page 136: ...ng this p 179 BALANCE Sets the balance L R out of the block VOLUME TAPER Sets the taper of the volume control LINEAR selects a linear taper Log 30A 20A 15A 10A and 5A select various tapers typically u...

Page 137: ...edal VX845 Based on a Vox V845 FMIN Sets the frequency of the filter when the frequency control is at its lowest value This can be adjusted to match the range of your instrument or preference FMAX Set...

Page 138: ...e Gate will start its downward expansion If the input signal drops below this level it will be attenuated by an amount controlled by the ratio NOTE As of firmware version 14 the threshold can be modif...

Page 139: ...load down the pickups causing a change in frequency response The Axe Fx II recreates this effect by switching various real resistors and a capacitor in and out of the signal path In Auto mode the impe...

Page 140: ...p the main outputs This parameter can be adjusted via MIDI using the VOL INCR VOL DECR feature See section 9 4 on p 152 The setting for MAIN is stored per scene see SCENES on p 184 Common Mix Paramete...

Page 141: ...ls are silenced when the block is bypassed but signals can still enter before it is switched on MUTE FX IN When the block is bypassed the inputs to its internal Effect Processor are disconnected This...

Page 142: ...OBAL MIX This switch determines whether or not the MIX setting of the selected effect will be subject to an offset 50 applied using the global EFFECTS MIX parameter p 145 This feature is provided so y...

Page 143: ...inal global entries Now as favorite global sound settings evolve as we all know these things tend to do you no longer need to update all of the individual presets that rely on them You just save your...

Page 144: ...al Preset This assumes that you ve already inserted a block on the grid and adjusted its parameters to create a setting you want to save as a Global Block Select a block on the grid and press to open...

Page 145: ...ct a block of the appropriate type in the current preset Remember that Global Blocks are limited to use with normal blocks of the same type and instance so a Global FILTER 4 Block for instance cannot...

Page 146: ...blocks of the same type and instance so a Global Wahwah 1 block can be loaded into a Wahwah 1 block but not into a Wahwah 2 block With the desired block selected on the grid press to open its EDIT men...

Page 147: ...bank their Global Blocks links point to data which is not present in the preset or bank dump Instead the Axe Fx looks to its own local Global Block data which could be totally blank or unrelated Ther...

Page 148: ...can have its own settings for 2 LFOs 2 ADSRs Envelope Follower Sequencer 4 Manual knobs and 2 Scene Controllers These are accessed via the button on the front panel See section 7 3 below for details o...

Page 149: ...update in this fashion The text box above a knob shows the value that was set before the modifier was applied You must STORE the current preset to make the modifier setting permanent To Remove a Modi...

Page 150: ...ed to multiple different parameters The MIN and MAX parameters determine the range over which the controlled parameter will respond using the same units For example the MIN to MAX range for a LEVEL pa...

Page 151: ...o their extremes At first glance this seems to be a reversal of the example above where pushing the pedal forward decreases the volume But look closer and you ll find that MIN is set to 10 0 and MAX t...

Page 152: ...and then bypasses the effect when pulled all the way back Try it You ll quickly find that Auto Engage comfortably eliminates the need for expression pedal toe switches How the effect turns ON or OFF i...

Page 153: ...ontains two global LFOs that can be individually programmed per preset for use as modifier sources to control various other parameters Press the front panel button to find the LFO1 and LFO2 menu pages...

Page 154: ...segments that determine how long it takes for the entire envelope to run its course The graph below illustrates this concept Press the front panel button to find the ADSR1 and ADSR2 menu pages for the...

Page 155: ...Assign the CC to an External controller p 144 and assign this as the source of the modifier on the RUN parameter STAGES Sets the number of steps in the looped sequence from 1 32 For example if STAGES...

Page 156: ...with a value of 10 in SCENE 1 30 in SCENE 2 0 in SCENE 3 and so on SCENE CTRL 2 could meanwhile be used for something completely different External Controllers 7 3 8 The onboard jack or any MIDI Contr...

Page 157: ...ain tone etc Graphic EQ and Mixer Level Balance etc sections of the AMP block continue to affect the sound CABINET MODELLING ACTIVE BYPASSED This parameter enables or disables all CAB block processing...

Page 158: ...filters These come in handy when using the Axe Fx II in different acoustical environments or when you change amps speakers with no opportunity to adjust your presets Output 1 settings apply to all ins...

Page 159: ...l custom scales available to edit using the 12 parameters below Input Pitch Output Shift These 12 parameters are used to determine the relationship between notes played and pitch shift applied Each of...

Page 160: ...RCE ANALOG IN 1 USB SPDIF AES This selects which signal source should be routed to the Input of the grid ANALOG IN 1 selects the front INSTR input jack or the rear INPUT 1 jacks based on the setting o...

Page 161: ...er being created as a COPY of OUT 1 see below This control makes it possible to use the same FX LOOP block based presets in either stereo or mono conditions or to use OUT 2 to create a mono copy of th...

Page 162: ...change messages to load user specified presets For example an incoming program change message of 15 would normally recall preset 15 or preset 16 if DISPLAY OFFSET is on see below With Custom Mapping...

Page 163: ...MIDI over USB data sent via the AXE FX II MIDI OUT port of a connected computer is processed by the Axe Fx II When Set to ON 1 Inbound MIDI data at the MIDI IN or MFC ports is processed by the Axe Fx...

Page 164: ...lect it and turn the dial to select a MIDI CC number or choose PEDAL 1 or PEDAL 2 for the onboard jacks An Axe Fx II Mark II or older has only one pedal jack Set to NONE to disable remote control The...

Page 165: ...OLUME DECR NONE PEDAL 0 127 These two options provide a convenient way to permanently increase or decrease the MAIN volume OUTPUT 1 of the currently loaded preset Each time VOL INCR is triggered by a...

Page 166: ...dals and MOMENTARY or LATCHING for switches PRESET INCR OFF ON When this is turned ON a connected at the jack may be used to increment presets PRESET START PRESET END These set the start and endpoints...

Page 167: ...rameters in each amp block in the current preset to default values Tone controls and Drive levels are not altered UPDATE AMPS ALL PRSTS Same as above but acts on all amps in all presets ERASE ALL PRES...

Page 168: ...Reset System 10 5 This menu page includes a single parameter that is used to restore the factory default settings to System Parameters specifically GLOBAL Configuration parameters Global OUT1 and OUT...

Page 169: ...irmware 6 0 increased the range of the Axe Fx tuner so it is equally well suited for bass or drop tune guitars and also added a spinner that rotates clockwise when the note being tuned is sharp and co...

Page 170: ...lobal Tempo will automatically synchronize to MIDI Beat Clock if it is detected at the port or in the incoming MIDI stream of the USB interface The Axe Fx II does not recognize MIDI Time Code or SMPTE...

Page 171: ...ets in the Axe Fx II are saved with a tempo of 120 BPM and a TEMPO TO USE setting of PRESET If a preset s TEMPO TO USE parameter is instead set to GLOBAL its saved BPM value will be ignored and the cu...

Page 172: ...nterrupt a FLASH ROM Backup or Restore operation in process or data loss corruption could occur Do not unplug or power off the unit during BACKUP or RESTORE BACKUP BANK A B or C Axe Fx II Mark II Only...

Page 173: ...hanges you save to the preset memories or backup ROM These otherwise operate the same as RESTORE USER BANKS above FETCH BACKUP PRESET Axe Fx II Mark II Only loads an individual preset from the USER BA...

Page 174: ...ed to reboot the Axe Fx II and try again after slowing the MIDI transmit rate of your application Axe Fx II XL XL Failsafe Firmware 14 1 1 The Axe Fx II XL XL has a built in recovery mechanism to prot...

Page 175: ...d MFC and hold RECALL while you power on the unit This will load an EMPTY preset but won t affect any of your saved settings Q One or more of my presets produces no sound A This might be any one or se...

Page 176: ...vels of your presets or reduce the global BOOST PAD setting for the offending output In a pinch you can also lower the GAIN setting on the Global Graphic EQ Q My screen is blinking EXCESS CPU UTILIZAT...

Page 177: ...ll 1987x Vintage Series Both Treble and Normal channels as when jumpering the inputs of this amp 1987X Normal Marshall 1987x Vintage Series Features what many consider to be an essential mod to the to...

Page 178: ...b Based on the dirty channel of the 50W head known for warmth and rich harmonics Citrus Terrier Orange Tiny Terror Based on the Orange Tiny Terror Class A 15W TB Vox AC 15 The heart of this amp s tone...

Page 179: ...Blues model but with the Fat switch engaged Jr Blues Fender Blues Jr A gutsy little classic with dual EL84s JS410 Crunch Or Marshall JVM410HJS Based on a Marshall JVM410HJS Joe Satriani s 4 channel 1...

Page 180: ...sources Two Stone J35 1 Two Rock Jet 35 The amp was modeled in the LEAD mode with the input tone stack bypassed Two Stone J35 2 Two Rock Jet 35 Modeled with the Preamp Bypass switch off TX Star Clean...

Page 181: ...2 Pre Rola GB C414 070 4x12 Beatle GB 071 4x12 D120 072 4x12 Sorcerer 073 4x12 USA Trad 57 121 ML 074 4x12 USA Trad 906 421 ML 075 1x8 Champlifier Mix 076 1x8 Vibrato Champlifier Mix 077 1x10 Prince T...

Page 182: ...ty MIDI utility such as MIIDI OX or Snoize Sysex Librarian The process for sending User Cab IR Files to the Axe Fx II is as follows 1 Ready the Axe Fx II to receive the file a Open any preset with the...

Page 183: ...E With any block selected PRESS AND HOLD ENTER to create a series of connectors and shunts to bridge empty space to the right This will also CLEAR existing connectors between a series of blocks IN THE...

Page 184: ...nd Edit Guide 16 5 The following is provided as a quick start up or reminder about editing on the Axe Fx II XL XL Figure 16 1 60 Second Edit Guide Note The Axe Fx II Mark II has 384 presets and suppor...

Page 185: ...certain parameters can also help Lowering the number of voices in a chorus for example or switching the CAB TYPE from high to low resolution might make the difference of fitting that last effect block...

Page 186: ...pitch offset at any moment A triangle with a constant up down slope will sound like the square wave looks A square waveform with no effective slope will produce only a series of clicks unless used wit...

Page 187: ...2 875 24 4 16 63 47 64 2 938 25 4 3 5 333 64 49 64 49 64 3 063 26 5 4 5 65 50 64 25 32 3 125 27 5 64 0 313 66 51 64 3 188 28 7 64 0 438 67 52 64 13 16 3 25 29 9 64 0 563 68 53 64 3 313 30 10 64 5 32 0...

Page 188: ...or amps have been used b Summed Mono By choosing SUM L R mode for either OUTPUT 1 or OUTPUT 2 the two channels are added together and the resulting signal produced at both LEFT and RIGHT jacks This ha...

Page 189: ...l mixer inputs are stereo The BALANCE controls determine the left right output balance of each channel When the balance for an input channel is set fully left only the left channel of the block connec...

Page 190: ...th add and amplify ground hum but it provides similar benefits when connecting to the 1 4 unbalanced inputs of any device full range cabs mixers and other processors or devices Humbuster technology ca...

Page 191: ...t or insert a WAH block c Press to open its edit menu d Find and select the CONTROL parameter e Press to view the MODIFIER screen f Change the SOURCE to EXT 1 Test the pedal to see the dot on the scre...

Page 192: ...ng a different MIDI controller or if you had XP2 assigned to a different CC you would use the CTRL page of the I O menu to set the desired EXTERNAL CONTROLLER to the desired MIDI CC number 4 Assign Ex...

Page 193: ...over processing the tails If you change from a preset where delay has a time of 500 ms to one where the time is 100 ms the tails will be inserted into the new effect and be heard as 100 ms echoes For...

Page 194: ...the mix with the main line at 4 where it is heard at 2 This echo simultaneously enters the Send block 5 and is routed to the Return 6 From here it again passes through the Flanger where the effect st...

Page 195: ...be used for just this purpose Place a Send block at the end of your first long chain and place the Return block at the beginning of another setting the return MIX to 100 and the level to 0 dB Continue...

Page 196: ...could be challenging changes were not always gapless and it took care to get levels and spillover right To solve this we created SCENES Every Axe Fx II preset now contains eight SCENES Each scene sto...

Page 197: ...n block in a given scene Select the scene as described above Navigate to the desired block and enter its EDIT menu Press X or Y to set the desired state Note X Y is supported for Amp Cab Chorus Delay...

Page 198: ...d to step up or down through scenes The entries SCENE INCR and SCENE DECR in the I O CTRL menu designate CCs for each action The defaults are CC 123 INCREMENT and CC 124 DECREMENT Values from 64 127 t...

Page 199: ...nformation on how to assign Axe Fx Mode IA Switch functions OK here s a crash course 1 Press EDIT 2 Press MIDI 4 3 Press PAGE 7 7x to select IA01 Axe Fx SCENE1 You may have changed this default alread...

Page 200: ...BYPASS MODE modifiers of different effects across different presets or anything else you can imagine 12 Map SCENE CONTROLLER 1 to DRIVE to increase the number of amp sounds available within a single...

Page 201: ...izes unwanted noise and interference Cables designed to carry balanced signals are called Balanced Cables and usually use the XLR or Tip Ring Sleeve TRS connector end types BPM Beats per minute A meas...

Page 202: ...self this cool t shirt from Rational Acoustics http www rationalacoustics com store goodies 7 bad system dwarves t shirt html I O Stands for Input Output IR Impulse Response An Impulse Response file i...

Page 203: ...reset with blocks that invert phase or shift time alignment Resonance Resonance is an increase in amplitude around certain frequencies It results in the intensification or prolongation of certain comp...

Page 204: ...25 153 281 409 537 665 89 89 217 281 473 601 729 26 26 154 282 410 538 666 90 90 218 282 474 602 730 27 27 155 283 411 539 667 91 91 219 283 475 603 731 28 28 156 284 412 540 668 92 92 220 284 476 60...

Page 205: ...49 8 I O AUDIO Main Input Source ANALOG IN 1 Input 1 Left Select FRONT Input 1 Mode LEFT ONLY Input 2 Mode LEFT ONLY Output 1 Mode STEREO Output 1 Boost Pad 0 dB Output 1 Phase NORMAL Output 2 Mode S...

Page 206: ...Bypass 98 Looper Play 29 Graphic EQ 1 Bypass 62 Amp 1 X Y 100 Looper Once 30 Graphic EQ 2 Bypass 63 Amp 2 X Y 101 Looper Dub 31 Graphic EQ 3 Bypass 64 Cab 1 X Y 102 Looper Rev 32 Graphic EQ 4 Bypass 6...

Page 207: ...7 pin DIN pins 6 7 connected to phantom power in jack Out Connector 5 pin DIN Thru Connector 5 pin DIN PEDAL INTERFACE Connectors 2 1 4 TRS phone jack Format Switch Momentary or Latching Pedal 10 100k...

Page 208: ...SB Audio Clock 48 kHz fixed MIDI INTERFACE Input Connector 7 pin DIN pins 6 7 connected to phantom power in jack Out Thru Connector 5 pin DIN PEDAL INTERFACE Connector 1 4 TRS phone jack Format Switch...

Page 209: ...port this function AMP1 AMP2 etc Program Change True Number Bank Select O O O O Bank Select CC 0 and Program Change messages may be used to recall the presets of the Axe Fx II The unit also supports c...

Page 210: ...tion of repairs to authorized service centers Unauthorized service repair or modification will void this warranty DISCLAIMER AND LIMITATION OF WARRANTY THE FOREGOING WARRANTY IS THE ONLY WARRANTY GIVE...

Page 211: ...created without a commercial license cannot be included for free with another product or package that is offered for sale Contact sales fractalaudio com to obtain a commercial license 5 SUPPORT Subje...