Controllers and modifiers

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User contributions

About controllers and modifiers

A controller is a source that generates control data. An expression pedal for example is a controller because it outputs control data. And it’s an external controller, because the data is generated from outside the Axe-Fx II. The same goes for an on/off switch and a MIDI floor controller, when connected to the Axe-Fx II.

External controllers often operate on the basis of user input (by moving the pedal for example).

External controllers can be connected to the Axe-Fx II directly using the Pedal jack input at the rear, or via MIDI IN or via a floor controller. In I/O > Ctrl you tell the Axe-Fx II which external controllers you’ll be using.

The Axe-Fx also has internal controllers, which output control data as well. These are: Tempo, LFO, ADSR, Sequencer, Envelope and Pitch. Push the Control button at the front to adjust settings. Adjusting settings always changes the current preset, not all presets.

And then there are modifiers. A modifier sits between a controllers and the parameters that the controller controls. Still with me? The controller sends control data, which is then being modified by a modifier, and then changes a parameter. Actually, it’s far easier to work with than it is to explain.

Example: the Wahwah effect. Go into Edit mode and you’ll see a block under the FREQ parameter. This means that the frequency parameter can be controlled by a controller. If it is, the block is filled. Go to FREQ and press Enter. You’re now in the Modifier menu. Under Source you can select the internal or external controller you wish to attach, or select “None” to detach a controller. Start, End, Slope, Damping etc. are other modifier parameters. If you’d choose an internal controller like Envelope, you need to go to the Control menu (front panel button) to configure it.

Searching for and quick-jumping to modifiers/controllers

To check whether modifiers and controllers are used in a preset, press Control on the front panel and scroll to the Mods tab. When pressing Enter after selecting a modifier at the Mods page, that Modifier menu will open (except for "CONTROL" modifiers). Exit or Control will return from a modifier menu to Mods page

More information about internal controllers

• Wikipedia

Setting the initial state of an external controller

Setting the initial state of an external controller, mentioned in the manual, is important in this scenario: you have a pedal controlling the overall volume. To make sure that Volume is at 100% when the pedal that controls Volume is NOT connected, set initial state to 100%.

Modifier curves

Firmware 6.02 re-added the Scale and Offset parameters to the Modifier menu. Here are some useful settings:

• Simulating a Whammy, reaching an octave at toe-down, with extra "play" at the top: Pitch CONTROL; SCALE 1.089; OFFSET 10.0
• Make the Auto-Engage "bump" disppear (true bypass at heel-down): Pitch MIX; Start 40; Mid 100; End 55; Slope 0; Scale 10; Offset 100
• Make a modifier go straight from MIN to MAX at toe-down: START 0; MID 0; MAX 60; SLOPE 0; SCALE 10; OFFSET -100

Global Blocks

Modifier menu parameters and controller settings are not saved in Global Blocks. You can use use Effect Recall to copy controller settings between presets.

Using external controllers increases CPU utilization

If you move a pedal the CPU utilization of the preset will increase slightly because of the MIDI traffic.

Sequencer steps

Firmware 1.05 increased the number of steps in the sequencer to 32.