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Fractal Audio AXE-FX II, Owner'S Manual

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Fractal Audio AXE-FX II Owner'S Manual Download Page 4

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Foreword 

Thank you for purchasing an Axe-Fx II, one of the most powerful musical instrument processors 
ever produced. Please take the time to read through this manual to become acquainted with 
the Axe-Fx II. 

Thinking back to a date when the first Axe-Fx units rolled off the line back in 2006, it would 
have been a challenge to predict the scale of what was to follow… that the product would be 
such a worldwide success that we would have a hard time keeping it in stock; that musicians 
would rally around the unit, from online “Axe-evangelists” to the world’s most celebrated pro 
players; that we’d soon be writing the foreword to a manual for the sequel: the Axe-Fx II. 

Nevertheless, the Axe-Fx II is here. Advances in technology and knowledge, along with the 
shared insights of our community, have allowed us to design and produce a next-generation 
product that represents a giant step forward. If you owned a Standard 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 Axe-Fx “restored digital to its rightful place as the superior solution to 
musical effects processing.” Every aspect of the Axe-Fx II has been designed to deliver the latest 
word in this commentary. It has twice the power of the Axe-Fx Ultra (while even the older 
“Standard” still has more horsepower under the hood than the closest competitor). For the 
player, this means better sound, smarter features, and improved performance.  

We think that a time traveler from that date back in 2006 would be quite impressed with how 
things turned out. We are, and we hope you will be too. And now, on to the show… 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

—Fractal Audio Systems, May 2011 

 

Summary of Contents for AXE-FX II

Page 1: ...Owner s Manual ...

Page 2: ...ock 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 User Guide 2 Keep away from sources of heat such as heat ducts registers or appliances which produce heat 3 Connect only to a proper AC outlet of 100 240V 47 63 Hz 4 Keep the power cord in good condition Do not kink bend or pinch If the...

Page 3: ...in accordance with the instructions may cause harmful interference to radio communications There is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the fo...

Page 4: ...hared insights of our community have allowed us to design and produce a next generation product that represents a giant step forward If you owned a Standard 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 Axe Fx restored digital to its rightful place as th...

Page 5: ...nimum Requirements 12 2 3 1 Software Installation 12 2 3 2 Capabilities 13 2 3 3 3 Connections 15 3 1 Setting Levels 15 3 2 The PEDAL Jack 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 Studio Monitors 18 3 4 2 Axe Fx II with Power Amp and Guitar Speakers 19 3 4 3 Axe Fx II Effects Loop 20 3 4 4 Axe Fx II Digital Audio...

Page 6: ... 2 3 Moving Blocks on the Grid 32 4 2 4 Example Presets on the Grid 33 4 2 5 4 3 Editing Sounds 35 Quick Control 36 4 3 1 4 4 X Y Switching 36 X Y Quick Jump 37 4 4 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 Basic Amp Parameters 41 5 1 1 Amp Dynamics Parameters 44...

Page 7: ...5 11 Filter FLT 67 5 12 Flanger FLG 69 5 13 Formant FRM 72 5 14 Gate Expander GTE 73 5 15 Graphic Equalizer GEQ 74 5 16 Looper LPR 74 5 17 Megatap Delay MGT 76 5 18 Mixer MIX 77 5 19 Multiband Compressor MBC 78 5 20 Multi Delay MTD 79 Quad Tap Delay 80 5 20 1 Plex Delay 81 5 20 2 Plex Detune 83 5 20 3 Plex Shift 83 5 20 4 Band Delay 83 5 20 5 Quad Series Delay 84 5 20 6 Ten Tap Delay 84 5 20 7 Rhy...

Page 8: ...or 100 5 24 8 Custom Shifter 101 5 24 9 5 25 Quad Chorus QCH 102 5 26 Resonator RES 104 5 27 Reverb REV 105 5 28 Ring Modulator RNG 108 5 29 Rotary Speaker ROT 108 5 30 Synth SYN 110 5 31 Tone Match TMA 111 5 32 Vocoder VOC 112 5 33 Volume Pan VOL 113 5 34 Wahwah WAH 114 5 35 Input Noise Gate 115 Input Impedance 115 5 35 1 5 36 Output Mixer 116 5 37 Common Mix Parameters 117 6 Global Blocks 119 6 ...

Page 9: ...set 128 7 2 4 7 3 Control Sources 129 LFO1 2 129 7 3 1 ADSR 1 2 130 7 3 2 Sequencer 130 7 3 3 Envelope Follower 131 7 3 4 Pitch Detector 131 7 3 5 Manual Knobs 131 7 3 6 External Controllers 132 7 3 7 Modifier Power 132 7 3 8 8 Global Parameters 133 8 1 Configuration Parameters 133 8 2 Output Parameters 134 8 3 Custom Scales 134 9 Input Output Parameters 135 9 1 Input Parameters 135 9 2 Audio Para...

Page 10: ...4 Auto Delay 147 12 5 Metronome 147 13 Backing Up and Restoring 148 13 1 MIDI SysEx Backup and Restore 148 Dumping to a computer 148 13 1 1 Restoring from a Computer 149 13 1 2 13 2 Onboard ROM Backup and Restore 149 13 3 Machine to Machine Transfers 150 14 Firmware Updates 151 14 1 Firmware 151 15 Troubleshooting 152 16 Appendix 154 16 1 Shortcuts Overview 154 16 2 60 Second Edit Guide 155 16 3 U...

Page 11: ...n Expression Pedal on an MFC 101 163 16 10 2 16 11 Setting Up Spillover 164 Within a Single Preset 164 16 11 1 Across Different Presets 164 16 11 2 16 12 Using Send and Return 165 Creating Feedback Loops 165 16 12 1 Extending the Length of Effect Chains 165 16 12 2 16 13 Loading User Cab IRs 166 16 14 Glossary Resources 167 16 15 Axe Fx II Bank Preset Numbers Table 170 16 16 Factory Default Settin...

Page 12: ...200K gate FPGA provides peripheral functionality and system bus management The Axe Fx II is by far the most powerful instrument processor ever created with more raw real time audio processing horsepower than anything available at any price Yet unlike power hungry PCs the Axe Fx II consumes less than 40W and is nearly silent in operation G2 Amp Modeling with Virtual Vacuum Tube Technology All this ...

Page 13: ...t USB interface provides a range of great capabilities for recording and computer integration You can record high quality 48k 24 bit audio from the Axe Fx II directly to the computer play or process audio tracks from the computer through the Axe Fx II and use two way high speed MIDI without a 3 rd party interface On USB 2 0 or better systems recording capabilities include not only the main process...

Page 14: ...lizers Chorus Flanger and Wahwah modeling has been improved and also now includes optional built in nonlinearity circuit overdrive functions The Phaser has been expanded Graphic Equalizers including Global are 10 band There are many new modifier slots Compressors now use millisecond values for attack and release times Tempo parameters now offer 64 different rhythmic values Filters allow far greate...

Page 15: ...nals 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 do it yourself modeling platform If it s models you want we can give them to you but why stop there The Axe Fx II removes limits instead of recreating them Take our Wahwah effect for example You might just plug in and st...

Page 16: ...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 preset to use two or more of almost every effect block type so you can build huge virtual rigs In addition many effects now include X Y states so you can instantly swap one set of settings for another without changing presets Almost a...

Page 17: ...ks 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 Seven empty columns were removed from the illustration and are represented by The figure above presents a stylized example of an Axe Fx II preset The INPUT is routed through a SHUNT to feed a WAH block ...

Page 18: ...re LFO 1 LFO 2 ADSR 1 ADSR 2 Envelope Pitch Detector Sequencer Manual A B C D and External 1 12 1 3 Connectivity and More The grid and effects inventory may be the centerpiece of the Axe Fx II but it is the powerful connectivity and companion features that allow the system to be so much to so many The hardware itself is covered in Section 2 Overview p 8 which also details the new USB features for ...

Page 19: ...s LED is lit when any change has been made to the current preset MIDI IN This LED is lit while data is received at the MIDI IN port CLIP 1 CLIP 2 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 the VALUE wheel selects and loads presets as it is turned In edit or me...

Page 20: ...tput options of the Axe Fx II See p 135 for details INPUT is used to set input levels for front and rear jacks AUDIO contains various settings and switches used to configure the signal path MIDI contains settings related to basic MIDI connectivity preset changes and SysEx CONTROL is where MIDI CC numbers or the pedal jack are assigned globally to various functions PEDAL allows you to configure the...

Page 21: ...e jacks being sure to set the INPUT 1 LEFT SELECT to REAR in the I O menu p 135 17 INPUT 2 Left Mono and Right Balanced 1 4 Tip Ring Sleeve Jacks FX RETURN Connect to the output s of outboard equipment when using the FX Loop block p 66 You can also use this as an auxiliary input to any point in the signal chain of any preset using the FX Loop block 18 OUTPUT 1 This section includes the Left and Ri...

Page 22: ...o provide power to the floor unit via pins 6 7 Some other MIDI controllers also support the use of phantom power on pins 6 7 Warning Do not connect an AC adapter with a rating higher than 1A to the Phantom Power jack Doing so will damage your Axe Fx II 24 MFC Control Port This RJ 45 jack allows you to use a standard CAT5 Ethernet non crossover cable to connect the Axe Fx II and a Fractal Audio Sys...

Page 23: ...ac Minimum Requirements OS X 10 7 4 or later Note Many Axe Fx II owners achieve satisfactory results with 10 5 7 or later CPU Intel Processor Memory 512MB minimum USB 2 0 Support required Software Installation 2 3 2 Although the Axe Fx II drivers are fully class compliant software installation is still required on all platforms Step by step instructions are included with the installer Both Mac and...

Page 24: ...typically called OUT 0 and OUT 1 allow audio to be sent from the computer to the Axe Fx II where it can be mixed with processed signal at the main outputs or routed through onboard effects To pass unprocessed computer audio through the Axe Fx II set the MAIN INPUT SELECT p 135 to ANALOG IN1 the default setting or SPDIF AES This allows you for instance to play along with backing tracks or use the A...

Page 25: ...2 0 see Minimum Requirements above always provides a way to simultaneously record a dry track for reamping The source for these channels is the unprocessed signal from the main input i e the front INSTR jack or the rear INPUT1 L MONO jack depending on both what is selected under INPUT 1 LEFT SELECT p 135 and the rear INPUT1 R jack Warning As with all input output systems certain routing configurat...

Page 26: ...adjusts the headphones level Optimal levels will depend on what the Axe Fx II is connected to To operate with unity gain simply set the Output Level knobs to maximum If you then route shunts from the input to the output you will get out exactly what you put in If levels result in clipping of attached equipment turn down the front panel OUTPUT LEVEL1 2 knobs At the minimum setting volume is reduced...

Page 27: ...x II is equipped with a flexible array of input output connector jacks The diagrams above cover the layout of the hardware but seeing a few complete setups can also be helpful as you decide how to connect other equipment The following section illustrates some typical setups some of which require that certain System Parameter settings be made For example when real physical guitar cabs are used the ...

Page 28: ... Diagrams Familiarize yourself with the capabilities of inputs outputs and control connections through this overview The diagrams that follow in sections 3 4 1 through 3 4 10 illustrate several real world applications Figure 3 1 I O Overview ...

Page 29: ...ffects 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 with the former providing the advantage that less noise will be picked up over longer cable runs If only one speaker is used set OUT 1 MODE in the I O menu p 135 to one of the mono options Axe Fx II...

Page 30: ... the effects loop of a head or combo amplifier or a more guitar oriented standalone power amp that adds noticeable sag saturation tonal color In either case it is completely safe and reasonable to try both setting ways to see which you prefer Whenever you use the Axe Fx II with traditional guitar speaker cabinets whether open back or closed small or large alone or in pairs it is best to turn Speak...

Page 31: ...O options should be set accordingly Axe Fx II Digital Audio 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 connector jacks on the Axe Fx II allow it to interface with a variety of devices with S PDIF or AES EBU I O You can connect to the inputs of a d...

Page 32: ...w noise design that is well suited for feeding the front of an amplifier The signal makes a roundtrip to the amp s preamp and returns to the grid where it is then processed by additional blocks maybe chorus delay reverb pitch shifter etc The final routing is via Axe Fx II OUT1 L to the Return Power Amp Input of the amplifier and the cabs To extend this configuration for optional stereo connect OUT...

Page 33: ...first those in front of the amps but diverges from there The backline chain differs from the direct chain in several ways First its Amp has the SAG parameter set to 0 00 to disable power amp simulation in that block only Since real guitar speakers are being used no CAB block is inserted Duplicates of effects which follow the amp in the direct chain follow The chain ends in an FX LOOP block which i...

Page 34: ...when 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 LOOP block to route signal to OUTPUT2 In this case nothing would be connected to the FX RETURN of the Axe Fx II The new Boost Pad functions are designed to help run the OUT1 and OUT 2 D A converters at...

Page 35: ...gh the Axe Fx II simultaneously using all the regular processing capabilities for your guitar so that you can play along with tracks Send audio from the computer to the Axe Fx II for processing and send it back to record the result Use the Axe Fx II rear inputs to record other line level audio sources with or without Axe Fx II processing Use two way high speed MIDI over USB for control automation ...

Page 36: ...rries bidirectional communications to support the many powerful features of MFC 101 Axe Fx Mode including automatic preset name and tuner display on the floor preset aware tri state Instant Access Switch LED support and much more Although it utilizes innovative connectors the MFC 101 still transmits receives MIDI to from the Axe Fx II which can then forward messages to other devices via its MIDI T...

Page 37: ...uts feed a pair of powered FRFR cabs so you can design and monitor sounds and play live with the same sound 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 and playback We ve added an outboard processor in the FX LOOP so you can clone its settings and put it on eBay ...

Page 38: ... sequentially with the VALUE wheel or use the NAV buttons The new PRESET DIRECTORIES allows direct access to all 384 presets in an ordered list To open the directory press RECALL and use the PAGE buttons to select the DIR numeric or A Z alphabetical To use the directory just turn the VALUE wheel or use the NAV buttons to select the desired preset and press ENTER to load You will be returned automa...

Page 39: ...he Axe Fx II 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 cursor a filled rectangle controlled with the NAV buttons Figure 4 3 To INSERT a BLOCK into an empty space Use the NAV buttons to select the desired empty grid location Turn the VALUE wheel ...

Page 40: ... insertion menu so AMP 2 is hidden until you have placed AMP 1 When the desired block is shown press ENTER To cancel without making changes press EXIT instead To REMOVE an existing BLOCK Use the NAV buttons to select the block you wish to remove Turn the VALUE wheel until NONE is displayed and press ENTER or press EXIT to cancel Shortcut To remove any block except a Shunt select it and press EXIT ...

Page 41: ...e a preset s INPUT must be connected to its OUTPUT in order for that output to produce any sound Blocks including shunts 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 5 Two otherwise identical presets shown WITH and WITHOUT connector cables between the blocks The ...

Page 42: ...is also possible Figure 4 6 Cables can CROSS one another without issue Routings can be as COMPLEX as required To Create a Connector Cable Use the NAV buttons to select the block where you wish the cable to BEGIN You can t start from an EMPTY grid space The first and last grid columns are automatically connected to the INPUT and the OUTPUT Press ENTER The selected block and its neighbor to the righ...

Page 43: ...could be further from the truth Shunts and connectors whether 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 tangled up in the road case A word of advice merging identical copies of a split signal will result in additive level increase and should be avo...

Page 44: ...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 7 Amp Cab Preset EXAMPLE 2 Long Pedal Chain Here effects are strung together to create a giant virtual rig Compressor Volume Wahwah Whammy Tremolo Overdrive Phaser and Flanger are all connected to an AMP CAB combination followed by Delay and Reverb As you...

Page 45: ...am below demonstrates a more intricate routing scenario The signal is split and merged at various points between the input and the output with 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 running in parallel its level controlled by an envelope for a du...

Page 46: ...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 VALUE wheel changes the selected parameter Changes can be auditioned in real time by playing while you edit For effect blocks with multi page menus the PAGE buttons select between them Press LAYOUT to return to the grid or press RECALL to go back to play mode Pressing E...

Page 47: ...able You might simulate amp channel switching X as an American Clean and Y as a British Crunch This won t require the CPU overhead of two separate amp blocks Another application is mode switching effects Instead of painstakingly tuning modifiers p 124 you can just dial in X dial in the Y and switch between them at will Imagine a delay that can be switched at will from pristine dotted eighth note e...

Page 48: ...nstead see p 119 Press EXIT and try again if this happens 2 Use a MODIFIER section 7 attached 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 135 A bypassed block is shown on the grid with a dotted outline When you bypass any block one of several things can actual...

Page 49: ...eft right skip by 10 The NAME parameter allows you to edit preset names before saving Turn the VALUE wheel to change characters Press X or Y to jump to handy letters symbols space 0 A N a n Use NAV to move the cursor from one position to the next You can use up to 23 characters in a preset name Press ENTER to Store Press ENTER to Confirm The message STORED is displayed when the operation completes...

Page 50: ...ad this section The right amp with the right settings is the heart of the right tone Note The Cab block p 48 is vital in creating an overall sound if you re not getting the sound you re expecting from an amp try different cab settings The heart of the amp is its capacity for ultra realistic distortions created using our proprietary dual stage non linearity generators The preamplifier stage emulate...

Page 51: ...OFF USA IIc Norm Mesa Boogie Mark II Lead Normal Based on a US made amp famous for its smooth overdrive sound This model has the pull bright OFF USA IIc Bright Mesa Boogie Mark II Lead Bright Based on a US made amp famous for its smooth overdrive sound This model has the pull bright ON USA Lead 1 Mesa Boogie MKIV Lead This model has a tight focused hi gain sound Great for fusion and rock leads USA...

Page 52: ...n by Fractal Audio Systems One heck of a tweed Tx Star Lead Mesa Boogie Lonestar This model is based on the lead channel of a Mesa Lonestar FAS Wreck Trainwreck Express The original WRECKER 1 model from the Axe Fx Ultra Brit JVM OD 1 Marshall JVM 410 Based on the JVM410 channel OD1 Orange mode Brit JVM OD 2 Marshall JVM 410 OD 2 Channel of the same FAS 6160 PVH 6160 A modified version of the PVH 6...

Page 53: ...amp has a hard wired treble peaker the default BRIGHT state is on The effect may be subtle or quite pronounced depending on the amp selected and is also affected by the BRIGHT CAP setting p 54 To turn the bright switch ON or OFF while editing an amp use the NAV keys to select the TREBLE knob and press ENTER The letters BRT appear beneath the knob to indicate that the bright circuit is engaged The ...

Page 54: ... 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 raspy if driven too hard You can experiment with the interactivity of DAMPING see Advanced Parameters below and MASTER to achieve desired power amp distortion timbres Setting SAG see below to zero will disable Power Amp simulation at whi...

Page 55: ...r amp simulation see section 8 1 on p 133 or the FOH Real Amps diagram on p 22 DYNAMICS This controls the amount of dynamics processing and models the interaction between the power amp power supply and loudspeaker under high power level conditions XFRMR MATCH Transformer Match is an extremely powerful parameter that sets the relative output transformer primary impedance to determine how easily the...

Page 56: ...ions are based on The TONESTACK TYPE control lets you change this behavior from PASSIVE to ACTIVE or to substitute the passive tonestack of another amp type Selecting the ACTIVE type gives each tone control 12 dB boost cut operation for up to twice the range of a typical amplifier Since the active tone controls are more sensitive small adjustments have bigger effects and less extreme settings stil...

Page 57: ...plate supply Lower values give a bouncier feel while higher values give a tighter feel TRIODE1 PLATE FREQ TRIODE2 PLATE FREQ This parameter sets the cutoff frequency of the plate impedance for the next to last triode in the chain Many amps have a capacitor across this triode s plate resistor This capacitor is used to smooth the response and reduce noise You can adjust the amount of capacitance and...

Page 58: ...NAMICS TIME These control the dynamics processor in the amp block affecting the feel of the amp by setting how much and how quickly the level compresses in response to higher input AMP Mix Page The Amplifier block also has a MIX page with LEVEL BALANCE and BYPASS MODE parameters See Common Mix Parameters on p 117 for more information AMP block Resolution Presets which use a single amp block run in...

Page 59: ... Axe Fx II Each Axe Fx II preset can use two fully independent Cab blocks Cab X Y Channel Switching Each instance of the Cab block stores two fully independent sets of parameters called X and Y Selecting between these allows you to change all block settings instantly at the touch of a switch or button excluding current Bypass State and any Modifier assignments See X Y Switching on p 36 for more in...

Page 60: ...4 12 SLM M75 OH 59 4 12 SLM V30 OH 60 4 12 20W 61 4 12 25W 62 4 12 V30 63 4 12 German 64 4 12 30W Ultra 65 4 12 Cali 66 1 15 L A Bass 67 4 10 Aluminum Bass 68 8 10 SV Bass RW When the MODE of the CAB block is set to STEREO independent CAB L and CAB R type parameters appear User Cabs The Axe Fx II allows you to load up to 50 cabinet IR files of your own choosing A variety of 3 rd party libraries ex...

Page 61: ... when the Cab MODE is set to STEREO LINK Available only when the Cab MODE is set to STEREO LINK turns the LEFT channel parameters into master controls which set identical values for LEFT and RIGHT parameters You can still override the right channel parameters values if desired ROOM LEVEL ROOM SIZE These controls determine the level and virtual size of a room reverb simulation that is built into th...

Page 62: ... for different useful sound settings Types include DIGITAL MONO DIGITAL STEREO ANALOG MONO ANALOG STEREO JAPAN CE 2 WARM STEREO 80 S STYLE TRIANGLE CHORUS and 8 VOICE STEREO Rate Depth Level Balance Bypass Mode and Global Mix are not affected 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 ...

Page 63: ...s the most commonly used waveform but the trapezoid waveform is also of interest as it was used in a classic dimension chorus processor Set the LFO phase to 90 degrees to duplicate the sound of this particular unit Note Whenever the number of voices is set to more than two the LFO type will be changed automatically to SINE If the number of voices is greater than two and the LFO type is changed to ...

Page 64: ...t the start of an effects chain though using the effect in front of high gain distortion can increase noise or squealing In the recording studio a Compressor is typically placed towards the end of a signal chain to smooth irregular levels The Axe Fx II provides both pedal and studio type compressors detailed below Each Axe Fx II preset can use two fully independent Compressor blocks Pedal Type and...

Page 65: ...level above the threshold to 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 a fast attack rate often works best REL Release rate determines how quickly the output volume returns to normal once the input level falls below the compressor s threshold ...

Page 66: ... Crossover XVR This two way stereo crossover contains 4th order Linkwitz Reilly filters Each Axe Fx II preset can use two crossover blocks You can create a three way crossover by feeding one output of the first to the input of the second Each Axe Fx II preset can use two fully independent Crossover blocks XOVER FREQ Sets the crossover frequency of the filters FREQ MULTIPLIER When set to 10 the cro...

Page 67: ...lay Common Parameters TYPE The Delay TYPE control sets various parameters of the delay block to achieve popular delay effects instantly See the table below for a listing of DELAY block types CONFIG The delay configuration determines which one of several base delay algorithms is used Depending on the configuration you select on PG1 of the delay block PG2 is configured with different parameters The ...

Page 68: ...set automatically by the TEMPO parameter 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 ECHO PAN Controls the placement of the wet signal the echoes in the stereo image Note that this is different than the MIX page BALANCE control which acts on the mix of both wet and dry REPEAT HOLD This switch de...

Page 69: ...o 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 by setting the pan position of the two delays from hard panned 100 to dead center 0 to swapped hard pan 100 REPEAT HOLD Defeats the inputs of the delay and captures the current feedback loop FEEDBACK L S...

Page 70: ...the voices You can use a modifier on this parameter to move the voices around the stereo field in real time TEMPO L TEMPO R Dual parameters to lock the independent TIME L and or TIME R parameters in rhythmic relation to the global tempo See the TEMPO section under the MONO DELAY config p 57 for more about the relationship between BPM and delay time in milliseconds FEEDBK L L FEEDBK R R Dual parame...

Page 71: ...ture being heard backwards in the present It does so by using a delay line to first record for a set time period and then to play that recording backwards While the first recording plays the next snippet is being recorded so that reverse playback appears to continue seamlessly If you can think of your performance as a train this is like individually reversing each car in place instead of flipping ...

Page 72: ...for the old snippet to fade out and the new one to fade in You can achieve interesting and rhythmic variations by setting long crossfade times For classic reverse delay sounds set this at or near minimum value Tape Delay 5 6 7 The Tape Delay simulates a tape echo with two heads and motor speed control It is ideal for vintage tape echoes but can also create vintage digital or analog delay effects B...

Page 73: ...s This can create chorus effects the wow and flutter of a worn tape delay or extreme Ray Gun sounds LFO1 TYPE LFO2 TYPE Sets the shape of the modulation See section 16 5 on p 157 for more information on LFO waveform shapes Remember that the shift in pitch is determined by the slope of the LFO so a TRIANGLE waveform actually creates a sound that you might expect from a SQUARE waveform LFO1 TARGET L...

Page 74: ... Delay EQ Parameters The delay features a powerful equalizer inside the feedback loop LOW CUT Sets the frequency of the low cut filter Increase for thinner sounds HIGH CUT Sets the frequency of the high cut filter Decrease for darker sounds SLOPE Sets the filter slopes in dB per octave of the high and low cut filters Q Sets the resonance of the high and low cut filters High values create boosted p...

Page 75: ...ows Manufacturer names and product names mentioned below are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners which are in no way associated with or affiliated with Fractal Audio Systems The names are used only to illustrate sonic and performance characteristics of the Fractal Drive TYPES which have been created by incredibly detailed analysis of the actual amps that inspired them TY...

Page 76: ... control simulates the limited high frequency response inherent in drive pedals using early op amps This parameter defaults to an appropriate value when a type is selected BIAS Sets the bias point for the clipping circuit Varying this setting controls the relative amount of even and odd harmonics Set very high or very low for a unique sputtering effect Use caution as setting this too high or too l...

Page 77: ...method of setting up the Axe Fx II Alternate Use as an Auxiliary Output or Input The FX Loop Block doubles as a means to provide an auxiliary output or Input Feeding signal to the FXL block routes signal directly to the OUTPUT 2 jacks This is useful for instance to send a fully processed mix to the front of house while simultaneously feeding a real onstage power amp and speaker cabs See the exampl...

Page 78: ...lts in instability and undesirable phase issues Warning Use caution with the Feedback blocks as you can easily program an unstable loop and cause internal clipping and or very high sound levels which may damage your hearing With the RETURN block MIX at 100 set its LEVEL control to minus 80 dB and bring it up slowly If you start to hear squealing or other signs of instability return the LEVEL contr...

Page 79: ...s are available A NULL type has a flat frequency response characteristic and can be selected if you want to use the block as a simple gain element FREQ Sets the center frequency of the filter ORDER Selects different filter slopes 2nd 12 dB octave 4th 24 dB octave Q Sets the Q of the filter Higher values give sharper responses GAIN Sets the gain at the center frequency for the shelving and peaking ...

Page 80: ...ings Types include DIGITAL MONO DIGITAL STEREO ANALOG MONO ANALOG STEREO THRU ZERO and STEREO JET TIME Adjusts the nominal delay time of the delay line This changes the character of the effect Low values give a phaser like sound whereas high values are more metallic Adjust to taste RATE Controls the frequency of the Low Frequency Oscillator which varies delay time to create the sweep Use low setti...

Page 81: ... overdriving an analog bucket brigade delay chip of the type used in many vintage flanger effects Set to zero for pristine clean LFO PHASE Adjusts the phase difference between the left and right LFO waveforms For maximum stereo spread set this to 180 degrees For mono flanging set this to zero LFO TYPE Sets the shape of the modulation waveform See section 16 5 on p 157 for more information on LFO p...

Page 82: ...EFFECTS GUIDE Doc v6 00c 71 ...

Page 83: ...ormant Filter can be set statically or blend dynamically between START MID and END vowels The CONTROL knob sweeps across this range gradually changing from one vowel to the next between positions For example we can program the Formant Filter to go III AAA OOO for a yoww sound as a pedal is moved The Formant Filter usually sounds best when placed after distortion although there are no hard and fast...

Page 84: ...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 gain once the signal has fallen below the threshold HOLD Sets how long the Gate Expander holds the gate open once the threshold has been exceeded SCSEL Selects the sidechain input source NONE is the normal setting and selects the block input sum o...

Page 85: ...RECORD the Looper starts recording if you hadn t guessed as much we have to wonder Here s something that s not as obvious press record again to stop recording and instantly start playback This prevents you needing to hunt around for more than one footswitch to start a loop If the record length reaches the maximum allowed for the current mode recording will end and playback will stop automatically ...

Page 86: ...gth is 30 seconds Undo works STEREO UNDO Recording and playback are in mono Maximum loop length is 60 seconds Undo works QUANT With quantize enabled loop length is perfectly set to some whole number of beats with reference to the pulses of the Axe Fx GLOBAL TEMPO see p 146 THRSH The Axe Fx Looper can start recording automatically when the input exceeds a set level Turn this feature ON or OFF using...

Page 87: ...tions 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 TAPS Sets the number of taps repeats on the delay line TIME SHAPE Specifies how the time between taps changes as they progress CONSTANT The time between taps will not change regardless of the TIME A...

Page 88: ...s See Common Mix Parameters on p 117 for more information 5 18 Mixer MIX The Mixer block contains a simple linear mixer able to combine up to four stereo signals into either one stereo mix or one mono mix The mixer lets you fine tune level blends or use modifiers p 124 to crossfade between different effects or chains Each pair of gain and balance controls corresponds to a row in the grid For a mor...

Page 89: ...on starts 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 Attack rate Sets how long it takes for compression to occur once the signal exceeds the threshold Slower values allow more of the loud signal to punch through before the compressor can reduce it...

Page 90: ...ME Scales all the delay times in the block MASTER LEVEL Scales the output levels of all taps at once MASTER PAN Scales all tap pan amounts essentially acting as a width or spread control Negative values will reverse pan placement in left and right channels MASTER FEEDBACK Scales the feedback amounts of all taps or diffusors MASTER FREQ Scales the frequency values for the filters of all four taps f...

Page 91: ...will be 500 ms To 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 corresponding TEMPO parameter see below Set TEMPO to NONE for manual control LEVEL 1 2 3 4 Sets the level at the output of the selected tap PAN 1 2 3 4 Sets the pan for the selected tap in the ...

Page 92: ...s 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 automatically by the corresponding TEMPO parameter see below Set the TEMPO to NONE for manual control LFO 1 2 3 4 TEMPO Synchronizes the rate of the LFO for the selected tap in relation to the global tempo For example if the tempo is set to 1 4 and the global tempo ...

Page 93: ...er frequency of the bandpass filter for the selected tap Q 1 2 3 4 Sets the width of the bandpass filter for the selected tap Higher values result in a narrower range of frequencies passing through LOW CUT HIGH CUT Sets the cutoff frequency for gentle high and low pass filters in the feedback loop of the delays These controls affect all four taps simultaneously DUCKER ATTEN Ducker Attenuation Sets...

Page 94: ...x Shift is nearly identical to the Plex Detune which is itself very similar to the Plex Delay Its pitch shifters however are granted a two octave range with SHIFT parameters This sub algorithm has the same parameters as the Plex Detune 5 20 3 above with two exceptions DIRECTION This determines whether small granules of audio in the pitch shifter are played back forward or reversed To understand ho...

Page 95: ...ti Delay Type The parameters of the Quad Series Delay are identical to those of the Quad Tap delay 5 20 1 above except for the absence of the diffusor block controls the FEEDBACK SEND and RETURN parameters and the single FEEDBACK control FDBK SEND Specifies which delay output 1 4 should be tapped to feedback to the input FDBK RET Specifies which delay input 1 4 the feedback tap should be returned ...

Page 96: ...mode PAN SHAPE Controls the shape of the panning as a function of tap number The repeats can move slowly from one side to the other increasing or decreasing stay constant or move back and forth sine Dynamic pan effects are disabled if the Ten Tap Delay is set to STEREO mode PAN ALPHA Controls how quickly the repeats move as a function of tap number and pan shape Higher values produce a more pronou...

Page 97: ...e to include a tap for the original dry signal When finished tapping turn the VALUE wheel to DONE TAP TIME 1 10 Sets the time of the tap relative to the previous one in ms or divisions divs Divs are units with the QUANTIZE value length For example if QUANTIZE is set to 1 16 each div is 1 16 th note and all tap times will sound some whole number of 16 ths after the preceding tap If QUANTIZE is OFF ...

Page 98: ...Echo effect it can produce wild oscillating echoes in complex rhythmic patterns For details on MOTOR SPEED see section 5 6 7 on p 61 5 21 Tremolo Panner PAN The Tremolo Panner block as its name suggests has two uses Tremolo varies the volume of a signal in a pulsing or chopping way while the Panner often referred to a auto pan varies left and right channel volumes to create the illusion of motion ...

Page 99: ...IX page with LEVEL BALANCE and BYPASS MODE parameters See Common Mix Parameters on p 117 for more information 5 22 Parametric EQ PEQ The 5 band Parametric Equalizer is one of the most precise and flexible tone shaping tools in the Axe Fx II It lets you select the exact frequencies you want to focus on adjust how much you want to boost or cut and specify how the change should affect neighboring fre...

Page 100: ...ss through Band 1 is selectable as a low blocking type and Band 5 is selectable as a high blocking type Parametric EQ Mix Parameters The Parametric EQ block has a MIX page with LEVEL BALANCE and BYPASS MODE parameters See Common Mix Parameters on p 117 for more information 5 23 Phaser PHA The Phase Shifter or Phaser works by cascading a series of all pass filters and then mixing the processed sign...

Page 101: ...he Advanced page TEMPO Synchronizes the rate of the Phaser LFO in rhythmic relation 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 seconds 2 To ignore the global tempo set the tempo control to NONE Advanced Parameters All BASIC controls of the Phaser except TYPE are duplicated on the ADVANCED page for convenience ORDER ...

Page 102: ...nd many more with the following different modes of operation Detune Creates chorus sounds with up to two detuned copies of the original signal Fixed Harmony Shifts two voices by a constant amount Intelligent Harmony Shifts two voices to another note in the selected key scale Octave Divider Simulates the octave down effects of classic analog stomp effects Classic Whammy Shifts note s up and or down...

Page 103: ... allow the detector to track the pitch of a delay or effect tail even after you ve stopped playing They also include the internal feedback of the Pitch Block when calculating pitch Master Parameters Several of the Pitch Shift types include MASTER parameters detailed below MASTER PITCH Scales the SHIFT setting for each of the voices For example with VOICE 1 SHIFT at 12 VOICE 2 SHIFT set to 12 and M...

Page 104: ...ne sub algorithm creates two voices that are detuned between 50 and 50 cents one quarter step from the input This mode is useful for creating double tracked sounds or chorus like effects 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 modulating detune...

Page 105: ...esis it is being set automatically by a TEMPO parameter see below Set the corresponding TEMPO to NONE for manual control VOICE1 DLYTEMPO VOICE2 DLYTEMPO Locks 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 tempo set to NONE VOICE1 FEEDBACK VOICE 2...

Page 106: ...tic tone GLIDE TIME Sets the rate at which the harmony shifts from the one pitch to another as different notes are played TRACKING Allows fine tuning the pitch shifter splice length For large shifts this control can help improve the quality of the shifted note TRACKING is the same as TRACK ADJ in other Pitch Shifter types VOICE1 HARMONY VOICE 2 HARMONY Sets the scale degree that each voice will so...

Page 107: ...ll 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 automatically update It is the KEY parameter above which actually transposes your custom scale for use during actual performance NOTE 1 2 3 8 These are the notes of your custom scale relative to the TONIC Set these to defi...

Page 108: ...e pitch See the Wah pedal tutorial on p 162 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 simulates the classic analog effect and works by actually turning the input into a square wave and then dividing the signal by two using flip flops Like the classic effect this effect only works on sing...

Page 109: ...ts 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 corresponding TEMPO to NONE for manual control VOICE1 DLYTEMPO VOICE2 DLYTEMPO Locks the corresponding TIME parameter in rhythmic relation to the global tempo VOICE1 FEEDBACK VOICE 2 FEEDBACK Sets the f...

Page 110: ... low 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 reel tape The signal is divided into SPLICE parameter sized granules Setting DIRECTION to REVERSE does this CROSSFADE applies overlaps and tiny fade ins fade outs to blend spliced edges Figure 5 33...

Page 111: ...ch 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 see Intelligent Harmony above for details KEY Sets the key that the harmony will be in STAGES Sets the number of stages in the pitch sequencer REPEATS Sets the number of times the sequence will repeat...

Page 112: ...nd the steps required to arrive at them are drawn only from the current key scale Scales with more or fewer than seven notes in one octave diminished whole tone custom etc can require some mental math and it 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 semito...

Page 113: ... 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 which the rates of LFOs 1 4 are set as multiples DEPTH Controls the depth of LFO4 for all chorus voices FDBK Feedback for all four voices is controlled solely by this parameter Classic chorus would typi...

Page 114: ...an 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 When this in set to ON the modulation to voices 2 and 4 from their LFO MORPH outputs is inverted to widen the stereo effect MAIN DEPTH Controls the depth of LFO4 which modulates all four chorus voic...

Page 115: ... high feedback levels overload can easily occur This scales the level into the effect for control MASTER FREQ FREQUENCY 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 LEVEL Scales all the output levels MASTER PAN Scales all the output pans Use negati...

Page 116: ...ts and more Each Axe Fx II preset can use two fully independent Reverb blocks Figure 5 38 The Reverb Block Reverb X Y Channel Switching Each instance of the Reverb block stores two fully independent sets of parameters called X and Y Selecting between these allows you to change all block settings instantly at the touch of a switch or button excluding current Bypass State and any Modifier assignment...

Page 117: ...size of the space or spring This controls the length of time it takes for an echo to bounce between virtual surfaces Higher settings increase the echo time and the delay before the reverb starts Large values can make the reverb more grainy as the time between the individual repeats increases Lower settings smooth out the reverb but very small values will create a metallic sound As the size is incr...

Page 118: ...ruments For non pitched instruments like drums it may sound better with the modulation off Set the depth to zero to defeat the modulation To hear the effect of the modulation turn the mix to max and adjust the depth and rate Then set the mix to the desired amount MOD RATE Controls the rate of modulation of the reverb tail NUMBER SPRINGS When the TYPE is set to SPRING this sets the number of spring...

Page 119: ...lator block has a MIX page with MIX LEVEL BALANCE BYPASS MODE and GLOBAL MIX parameters See Common Mix Parameters on p 117 for more details on these 5 29 Rotary Speaker ROT A Hammond B3 Organ without a Leslie cabinet is like a BLT without the lettuce and tomato Guitar players also discovered the wonderful spinning 3D sound of the Leslie and its brethren The classic unit contains a spinning drum wi...

Page 120: ... cabinet reduce this HI LEVEL Sets the output level of the rotor Use this to balance the level between the drum and rotor ROTOR LENGTH This parameter adjusts the length of the virtual high frequency horn Larger values increase the amount of Doppler shift and result in a more intense effect LOW RATE MULTIPLIER Adjusts the speed of drum rotation compared to the rotor which always spins at the value ...

Page 121: ... 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 tracking is set to OFF or ENV ONLY this parameter sets the oscillator frequency SHIFT Shifts the frequency of the oscillator up or down in semitone steps TUNE Detunes the oscillator slightly up to 50 cents DUTY When ...

Page 122: ...preset Tone Match data is stored inside the preset which can be copied exported or shared without needing to attach anything extra Optionally Tone Match Data can be exported for use as an Axe Fx II User Cab IR see the User Cabs subsection of 5 2 on p 48 for more REF SOURCE This specifies where the Tone Match block will pick up the Reference Signal REF CHAN LOCAL CHAN The tone Match block can analy...

Page 123: ...e 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 Higher values yield narrower filters SHIFT Shifts the frequency of the synthesis bands relative to the analysis bands This allows you to change the character of the vocoding to produce anonymous mob info...

Page 124: ...Axe Fx II preset can use four fully independent Volume blocks VOLUME Scales the output level out of the block Assign a modifier to create a volume pedal See the Wah pedal tutorial for more details on doing this p 162 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 15A and 10A select various tapers typically used ...

Page 125: ...nts See X Y Switching on p 36 for more information Parameters TYPE Selects between a low pass bandpass or peaking filter A bandpass filter gives a more dramatic sound whereas the other filters are more subtle 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 Sets the frequency of the...

Page 126: ...ignal at 60 dB 10 dB below the threshold will actually sound 20 dB below the threshold so 80 dB ATTACK Attack time control Sets the rate at which the Noise Gate opens the gate RELEASE Release time control Sets the rate at which the Noise Gate attenuates the signal once the threshold has been crossed Higher values will make the signal gradually fade once it drops below the threshold Input Impedance...

Page 127: ... 41 The Output Mixer LEVEL 1 4 Think of these as input faders Each is connected to one row of the grid as shown above BAL 1 4 Each of these is connected to one row of the grid as shown above and determines the left right balance for the incoming signals See BALANCE under Common Mix Parameters below for more information MAIN Sets the overall level of the main mix for the selected preset Use this co...

Page 128: ... at its two outputs A centered BALANCE setting of 0 0 results in both left and right signals being at full volume As the control is turned either way from the center position the opposite channel gets quieter Both the wet and the dry are affected BYPASS MODE Determines exactly what happens when a block is bypassed The different options not all of which are available for every block are detailed be...

Page 129: ...ss un bypass check this setting INPUT GAIN This parameter available on reverb pitch shift and all three types of delay blocks determines the amount of signal fed to the effect portion of the block It has no effect on the dry signal Within the block this simulates the way an Aux Send would normally feed an effect routed in parallel GLOBAL MIX This switch determines whether or not the MIX setting of...

Page 130: ...orite 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 tweaks into the Global Blocks and the latest and greatest settings are automatically applied to linked blocks as normal presets are recalled Any of the 60 block type instances on the Axe Fx II can become global blocks with 10 glob...

Page 131: ...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 EDIT to open its EDIT menu Double click or press and hold the FX BYP button to open the SAVE LOAD GLOBAL BLOCK screen Make a mental note of the name and if there is one the number of the block type you are savin...

Page 132: ...lected on the grid press EDIT to open its EDIT menu Double click or press and hold the FX BYP button to open the SAVE LOAD GLOBAL BLOCK screen Turn the VALUE wheel to select the number of the Global Block you want to load from Ensure that LOAD FROM LINK TO is selected on the display and press ENTER A confirmation message will be displayed OPERATION COMPLETE YOU MUST SAVE PRESET TO COMMIT CHANGES Y...

Page 133: ...ess and hold the FX BYP button to open the SAVE LOAD GLOBAL BLOCK screen Turn the VALUE wheel to select the number of the Global Block you want to load from Ensure that LOAD FROM GLOBAL NO LINK is selected on the display and press ENTER A confirmation message will be displayed OPERATION COMPLETE YOU MUST SAVE PRESET TO COMMIT CHANGES You will be returned to the EDIT menu of the current block In or...

Page 134: ...ned to the EDIT menu of the current block In order for the link to be removed permanently you must STORE the current preset REMEMBER Global links are not exported with individual presets and presets in a bank will link to the local global settings stored in the System area of the Axe Fx II To back up presets with Global Blocks you must also back up the System ...

Page 135: ...reset can have its own settings for 2 LFOs 2 ADSRs Envelope Follower Sequencer and 4 Manual knobs These are accessed via the CONTROL button on the front panel See section 7 3 below for details on each of these controllers Figure 7 2 EXTERNAL CONTROLLERS Each one of the 12 External Controllers must be assigned either to the onboard PEDAL jack or a MIDI CC 0 127 in the CTRL page of the I O menu p 13...

Page 136: ...ters do not 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 Modifier To remove a modifier just change its SOURCE parameter to NONE Modifier Example Wahwah Control Before we get into further detail about the other parameters on the MODIFIER screen let s ...

Page 137: ...ple different parameters The START MID END and SLOPE settings are used to re map the ways in which parameters respond to changes in the source The MIN and MAX parameters peg the 0 100 scale of a modifier to actual parameter values MIN and MAX are set using the same units as the parameter being modified For example the MIN to MAX range for a LEVEL parameter might be set from 9 to 4 dB while a delay...

Page 138: ...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 to 0 0 With both sets of values inverted this setup sounds and works exactly like the one above Unlike the preceding examples this one does not show MIN and MAX set to their extremes Instead the range go...

Page 139: ... must remain above or below the OFF VALUE for the bypass state to toggle Fast 100 ms Med 333 ms Slow 1000 ms Use slower settings to loosen Auto Engage so your effect doesn t snap off every time your source dips Set to OFF to disable Auto Engage Try it You ll quickly find that Auto Engage comfortably eliminates the need for expression pedal toe switches Program Change Reset 7 2 4 Normally the last ...

Page 140: ... the MODIFIER slot beneath the TYPE control this parameter starts and stops the LFO When the LFO is stopped its output drops to zero and the wave cycle resets When using a MIDI CC via an external controller to toggle RUN a value of 70 or higher will START the LFO and a value of 57 or lower will STOP the LFO assuming the modifier has default settings for MIN MAX START MID END SLOPE Tip An LFO that ...

Page 141: ...reases to 100 over the duration of the attack time A DECAY When the attack phase completes the envelope descends for the duration of the decay time D until it reaches the sustain level L SUSTAIN LEVEL After the decay the envelope remains at the sustain level L for the duration of the sustain time S RELEASE At the end of the sustain phase the envelope proceeds to zero over the duration of the Relea...

Page 142: ...of dynamics control Press the front panel CONTROL button to find the ENVELOPE page for the current preset THRESH The threshold controls the sensitivity of the Envelope Follower by setting the level at which tracking kicks in or out When the input level is greater than the threshold the follower tracks it at the attack rate When the signal drops below this level the output of the follower will deca...

Page 143: ...ocated on the MIDI page of the I O menu p 137 to determine what value should be used for each External Controller between the time when the Axe Fx II is booted up and when external data is first received Options are 0 or 100 Modifier Power 7 3 8 With the free space at the end of this section here are some fun MODIFIER ideas 1 Eliminate conspicuous chorus pulsing with subtle RATE modification Try a...

Page 144: ... cabinets or the sound will be muffled muddy and boomy DELAY SPILL OFF DELAY REVERB BOTH Setting this to ON allows delays and reverbs tails to carry or spill over across preset changes You can select whether DELAY REVERB or BOTH effects will spill over Setting this to OFF causes effect tails to be cleared upon preset change Note that you must have nearly identical delay or reverb blocks in both th...

Page 145: ...ced jacks FX send and the Output 2 signal which can be routed to the DIGITAL OUTS See I O AUDIO on p 135 for more on routing GAIN 12 dB The GAIN slider to the right of the graphic equalizer can adjust the output signal at the selected output by 12 dB This level adjustment happens in the digital domain and a boost can cause output clipping if not used judiciously Conversely a reduction made here ca...

Page 146: ... jacks FX RETURN determining their level at the input of the A D converter 9 2 Audio Parameters Routing and format parameters appear on the AUDIO page of the I O menu PARAMETER Description MAIN INPUT SOURCE ANALOG IN 1 USB SPDIF AES This selects which one of several input sources should be routed to the Input of the grid ANALOG IN 1 selects the front INSTR input jack or the rear INPUT 1 jacks base...

Page 147: ...ied to outgoing DIGITAL or USB signals OUTPUT 1 PHASE NORMAL INVERT This determines whether signal at the OUTPUT 1 jacks will be normal or phase inverted relative to its state at the output of the grid This lets you compensate for inversions elsewhere in the signal chain Note that this inverts BOTH channels of the stereo pair OUTPUT 2 MODE LEFT ONLY L R SUM STEREO This determines how signals will ...

Page 148: ...when MAPPING MODE is set to CUSTOM For example if you select 15 for MAP FROM and then set a MAP TO value of 100 incoming Program Change 15 actually will load Axe Fx II Preset 100 or 101 if display offset is on see below SYSEX ID This is 00 01 74 for the Axe Fx II and cannot be modified DISPLAY OFFSET 0 1 Display Offset causes Axe Fx II presets to appear to be numbered from 001 instead of from 000 ...

Page 149: ...ackups or firmware updates to an MFC 101 connected at the MFC port Note that the USB ADAPTER MODE function is completely independent of the setting for MIDI THRU above It is therefore possible with both settings turned ON for the physical MIDI OUT THRU port to sum output four different sources simultaneously 1 The Axe Fx II regular MIDI out functions 2 events received at the MIDI IN port 3 events ...

Page 150: ...d the amp Changes in level equate to changes in distortion amount and effect tails ring out when volume is lowered OUT 1 VOLUME NONE PEDAL 0 127 This controls global OUTPUT 1 volume after the preset s output mixer and is useful to assign when you want to control playback levels without changing any other aspect of the sound Amplifier input levels are unaffected for consistent distortion at any lev...

Page 151: ...creases volume The MAIN volume can be found on the OUTPUT page of the Layout menu IMPORTANT Any other unsaved changes such as altered effect parameters or bypass states will also be stored if either VOLUME INCR or VOLUME DECR is triggered WARNING These functions are designed for use with momentary footswitches set up to send a CC value of 127 for ON and 0 for OFF Do not use an expression pedal or ...

Page 152: ...NTARY or LATCHING for switches PRESET INCR OFF ON When this is turned ON a connected at the PEDAL jack may be used to increment presets PRESET START PRESET END These set the start and endpoints for a cycle of presets that may be stepped through by a connected footswitch or pedal when PRESET INCR is on When the series reaches the END preset it starts from the beginning again PEDAL CAL To calibrate ...

Page 153: ...ng on p 148 10 3 Status Meters The Status meter page of the UTILITY menu contains audio meters for Input 1 Left and Right L1 R1 Input 2 Left and Right L2 R2 Output 1 Left and Right L1 R1 and Output 2 Left and Right L2 R2 The meter scale is 80 to 0 db The front panel also shows the levels for Input 1 L R and Input 2 L R on stereo LED meters To the right of the I O section CPU Utilization CPU is sho...

Page 154: ...eral common pieces of pro audio equipment Remember that every component in the chain contributes to the sound the amp the cab the mic and the preamp A sonically neutral solid state power amp is best High wattage is not important as an accurate impulse can be captured at relatively low levels but take care to match the amp to the impedance of the connected cab Select a microphone suited for guitar ...

Page 155: ...d the red LED indicates a level of 6db and may flicker on during healthy peak levels If signal is especially low you may need to increase the virtual input trim of the Axe Fx II Input 2 found under I O INPUT 7 When levels are set correctly navigate to the onscreen CAPTURE button and press ENTER 8 Wait quietly for the capture to finish 20 seconds then use the NAV keys and VALUE wheel to select a lo...

Page 156: ...p 139 to be remotely engaged disengaged using MIDI or the onboard Pedal Jack As of firmware version 6 0 the Axe Fx tuner can be used to tune droptune or bass guitars as well Configuration Parameters PARAMETER Description CAL 430 0 450 0 Hz This calibrates the tuner by setting the frequency of A4 in the 8va above middle C MUTE OFF INPUT OUTPUT This setting determines whether the main inputs or outp...

Page 157: ...t is detected at the MIDI IN port or in the incoming MIDI stream of the USB interface The Axe Fx II does not recognize MIDI Time Code or SMPTE nor does it transmit MIDI Beat Clock 12 2 Synchronizing Sound Parameters Rates and times in a preset can be made to sync rhythmically to the Global Tempo by setting their corresponding TEMPO parameters This is done by selecting from a list of rhythmic value...

Page 158: ...ry presets 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 current Global Tempo will be used 12 4 Auto Delay When set to ON any delay blocks that are bypassed will become active whenever a tempo is tapped in This allows you to set the tempo and un bypass...

Page 159: ...nd the scope of this manual but help can be obtained through their authors or at our forum http forum fractalaudio com Besides these options Axe Edit our own MIDI Librarian Editor provides a range of options Axe Edit is supported by its own documentation Once you have the computer connected and a SysEx utility ready to receive a dump select the appropriate entry on the UTILITY PRESET page and pres...

Page 160: ...Fx II It is not necessary to ready the Axe Fx in any way When the Axe Fx receives an individual preset it does NOT store it Rather it loads it into the edit buffer which must then be saved using normal methods p 37 When the Axe Fx receives a BANK or SYSTEM dump it processes and stores the data immediately overwriting local presets and settings without warning Axe Edit mentioned above in the sectio...

Page 161: ...ll of the non preset settings of the Axe Fx II from the onboard Backup ROM and writes these into their respective areas when you press ENTER This specifically includes All GLOBAL and I O parameter settings All TUNER settings All USER CAB IRs All saved GLOBAL PRESET settings RESTORE FACTORY BANK A B or C reads from a separate different ROM memory which always contains a fresh copy of the factory pr...

Page 162: ...quencer Connect the Axe Fx II and the computer This will typically be done using USB but legacy MIDI also works Launch your MIDI Utility and ready it to send the firmware System Exclusive file On the Axe Fx II press UTILITY and select the FIRMWARE page Press ENTER Transmit the file from the computer to the Axe Fx II A progress bar will appear on the Axe Fx II while it receives the firmware It will...

Page 163: ...o reset the edit buffer This will load an EMPTY preset but won t affect any of your saved settings Q One of my presets produces no sound A This might be any one or several of a number of things Is everything still wired up correctly Most of the time the problem is a faulty or disconnected cable Have you double checked to ensure that you have a complete path from the input to the output See p 30 Is...

Page 164: ...cing the global BOOST PAD setting for the offending output should help See p 15 for more on how to set levels Q My screen is blinking EXCESS CPU UTILIZATION REDUCE LOAD A First try undoing the last change you made by turning the value wheel in the opposite direction You can also return to the grid navigate around the message and remove one or more blocks You can also load a different preset or reb...

Page 165: ...ith a shunt selected press EXIT ENTER to convert to an EMPTY SPACE 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 EDIT MENU of ANY BLOCK Press EDIT to skip to the EDIT menu of the next block Double tap BYPASS to return the current block to defaults...

Page 166: ...APPENDIX Doc v6 00c 155 16 2 60 Second Edit Guide The following is provided as a quick start up or reminder about editing on the Axe Fx II Figure 16 1 60 Second Edit Guide ...

Page 167: ...f fitting that last effect block or not As a second safeguard the Axe Fx II will alert you if a parameter change pushes the CPU too far In this case the preset will be muted the message EXCESS CPU UTILIZATION REDUCE LOAD will flash on the screen and you ll need to take steps to get back below the limit The most likely solution will be to change back whatever setting you had just made but it is als...

Page 168: ...e 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 with damping Type 50 Duty Cycle Normal 0 Duty 100 Duty SINE NA NA TRIANGLE SQUARE SAW UP NA NA SAW DOWN NA NA RANDOM NA NA LOG NA NA EXPONENTIAL EXP NA TRAPEZOID LFO Phase 16 5 1 PHASE adjustments shif...

Page 169: ...3 32 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 0 625 69 54 64 27 32 3 375 31 11 64 0 688 70 55 64 3 438 32 13 64 0 813 71 56 64 7 8 3 5 33 14 64 7 32 0 875 72 57 64 3 563 34 15 64 0 938 73 58 64 29 32 3 625 35 17 64 1 063 74 59 64 3 688 36 18 ...

Page 170: ...s and the Ping Pong Delay and other wide effects will need adjustment to be heard somewhat as intended Tone may also change if panned cabs 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 has the advantage of including all sounds intended for both ste...

Page 171: ...ause B is on row 2 and so on In the second example the level of Effect Q would be controlled by the mixer s CHANNEL 2 LEVEL GAIN control because Q is on row 2 Effect Z would be controlled by Channel 4 because Z is on row 4 The location of the mixer never matters only the location of blocks connected to its inputs All mixer inputs are stereo The BALANCE controls determine the left right output bala...

Page 172: ...e isolation transformers or other noise reduction devices or methods It is especially helpful when using the Axe Fx II with a device like an amp head which can both 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 causes no signal loss or degradation To ...

Page 173: ...open its edit menu d Find and select the CONTROL parameter e Press ENTER to view the MODIFIER screen f Change the SOURCE to EXT 1 Test the pedal to see the dot on the screen moves If it doesn t move check the above steps again starting from 1 or try a different pedal cable i OPTIONAL to change the FEEL of the Wah try adjusting the value of MID ii OPTIONAL to make the Wah smoother adjust DAMPING to...

Page 174: ...r 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 External 1 to control the Wah a Press LAYOUT to view the grid b Select or insert a WAH block c Press EDIT to open its edit menu d Find and select the CONTROL parameter e Press ENTER to view the MODIFIER screen f Change the SOURCE t...

Page 175: ...r to work perfectly then the pair s of blocks in both starting and landing presets must have essentially identical settings and be placed in similar routing architectures You would hear quite a sudden difference in the tail for instance if a delay was placed after a clean amp in the first preset and in front of a heavily overdriven amp in the second Bypass states and BYPASS MODE settings must also...

Page 176: ...f Return Flanger Delay Send Return would continue forever if the FB Return block didn t make it a bit quieter each time so that it gradually fades away Each time the loop exits the Delay we get to listen in on the current state of things as it is routed through 4 to the output 2 So to review the send ports send signal to the return where LEVEL controls the amount of feedback At left the significan...

Page 177: ...s follows 1 Ready the Axe Fx II to receive the file a Open any preset with the CABINET 1 block in it b Select this block and press EDIT to open its EDIT menu c Ensure that the MODE is set to MONO HI RES or MONO LO RES d Change the CAB parameter to the numbered USER slot you wish to load into 2 Connect the Axe Fx II and the computer This will typically be done using USB but legacy MIDI also works 3...

Page 178: ...anced Balanced refers to audio signals designed to be carried over a three conductor cable which minimizes 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 measure of musical tempo The typical human heartbeat is about 60 80 BPM CPU Central Processing Unit dB...

Page 179: ...urself 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 is a collection of data representing sound measurements taken from a speaker cabinet or system and used by the Axe Fx II to enable the Cabinet block to emulate a particular speaker cabinet A test sig...

Page 180: ...n complete silence explaining why you need to be careful when summing to mono any preset 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 components of a sound In the Axe Fx II it is most commonly used in descriptions of the Q parameter of a filter or paramet...

Page 181: ...3 341 022 022 150 278 086 086 214 342 023 023 151 279 087 087 215 343 024 024 152 280 088 088 216 344 025 025 153 281 089 089 217 345 026 026 154 282 090 090 218 346 027 027 155 283 091 091 219 347 028 028 156 284 092 092 220 348 029 029 157 285 093 093 221 349 030 030 158 286 094 094 222 350 031 031 159 287 095 095 223 351 032 032 160 288 096 096 224 352 033 033 161 289 097 097 225 353 034 034 16...

Page 182: ...Input 2 Level 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 STEREO Output 2 Boost Pad 0 dB Output 2 Phase NORMAL Copy Out 1 to Out 2 OFF S PDIF AES EBU Select S PDIF USB S PDIF Out Source OUTPUT 1 I O MIDI MIDI Channel 1 MIDI Thru OFF Receive Progr...

Page 183: ...Control 12 27 Graphic EQ 1 Bypass 62 Looper Record 28 Graphic EQ 2 Bypass 63 Amp 1 X Y 100 Looper Play 29 Graphic EQ 3 Bypass 64 Amp 2 X Y 101 Looper Once 30 Graphic EQ 4 Bypass 65 Cab 1 X Y 102 Looper Dub 31 Megatap Delay Bypass 66 Cab 2 X Y 103 Looper Rev 32 Multiband Comp 1 Bypass 67 Chorus 1 X Y 104 Looper Bypass 33 Multiband Comp 2 Bypass 68 Chorus 2 X Y 105 Looper Half 120 Multi Delay 2 Bypa...

Page 184: ...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 Momentary or Latching Pedal 10 100kΩ max linear taper expression type MFC INTERFACE Connector RJ 45 CAT5 IMPORTANT Do NOT connect this to a computer or router switch hub This jack is only intended for connection to an MFC MIDI ...

Page 185: ... CAB2 etc and the X Y switches of the 20 block types that support this function AMP1 AMP2 etc Program Change True Number Bank Select O O O O Bank Select and Program Change messages may be used to recall the 384 presets of the Axe Fx II The unit also supports custom program change mapping utilizing a FROM TO table with 127 entries BANK select messages are persisted until a subsequent valid Bank Sel...

Page 186: ...orization 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 GIVEN BY FRACTAL AUDIO SYSTEMS AND IS IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER WARRANTIES ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE EXCEEDING THE SPECIFIC PROV...

Page 187: ... A D A Out 1 Mode Input 1 Mode Input 2 Mode Main Input Source Input 1 Left Select Out 2 Mode I O INPUT Menu I O AUDIO Menu GLOBAL OUT 1 2 Menus STEREO SUM L R COPY L R LEFT ONLY L R SUM STEREO LEFT ONLY L R SUM STEREO STEREO SUM L R COPY L R NORMAL NORMAL INVERT 12 dB 18 0 dB 18 0 dB 0 18 dB 0 18 dB 12 dB INVERT ANALOG FRONT REAR FXL The Grid Effects Loop Block boost and METER and METER boost pad O...

Page 188: ... The MIDI IN port c The MFC port When the I O MIDI MIDI Thru parameter is set to ON MIDI received at the MIDI IN port or MFC port is forwarded to the MIDI OUT port where it is merged with regular outbound messages When the I O MIDI USB Adapter Mode parameter is set to ON two things happen a MIDI from the Axe Fx II MIDI Output of a connected computer is forwarded to the MIDI OUT port of the Axe Fx ...

Page 189: ...ay 2 way high speed MIDI over USB enables control editing and backup restore The MIDI IN and OUT THRU jacks can also be utilized by the computer as a MIDI Interface based on the setting for I O MIDI USB ADAPTER MODE AXE FX II MIDI IN AXE FX II MIDI OUT Requires USB 2 0 or better Record the processed output of the Axe Fx II to your sequencer or other audio application Alternately capture the signal...

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