Firmware release notes - FX8

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Firmware release notes

3.00 (Public Beta)

• IMPORTANT: After installing Beta 3.0, it is strongly recommended that you perform RESET SYSTEM PARAMETERS in the Utility Menu under SETUP. If not, you will at least need to check all I/O: CONTROLLER and I/O: PEDAL settings. Note: RESET SYSTEM PARAMETERS does NOT erase your presets; it merely reverts GLOBAL, I/O, and TUNER settings to default values.
• WHAT’S NEW
  • Added the latest DRIVE and DELAY types (as of Quantum 1.06).
  • Added the SYNTH block.
  • Separated the Signal Chain from Footswitch 1–8 Layout so effect switches can be placed anywhere on the floor without changing signal flow.
  • Added “Footswitch Blocks” which can be assigned per-preset, allowing you to create custom layouts of Presets, Scenes, Instant-Access FX, (and more).
  • New Global Footswitches perform the same functions across all presets.
  • Scenes can now also send a MIDI CC message.
  • Added new Relay options for compatibility with more amps.
  • And more…
• MAJOR CHANGES
  1. THE FOOTSWITCH PAGE (“FS”) –"Stompbox Mode" is now “the Footswitch page.” Functions assigned here determine only what the eight footswitches do. Footswitch assignments do not change which effect blocks are in your preset—or their order. Before you can assign an effect to a footswitch, it MUST be placed into your preset using the new CONFIGURATION page (see below.)
  2. THE CONFIGURATION PAGE (“CFG”) – Blocks are now placed into presets using the Configuration (aka “Config”) page. Here, the eight entries previously used only to set SERIES or PARALLEL are now actually slots into which effects must be placed—in order of signal flow.
     1. To change the effect for a given slot, NAV to that slot in the numbered list, press ENTER, turn the VALUE wheel until the desired effect is shown, then press ENTER again to confirm your selection. To remove an effect, choose “NONE” from the list.
     2. The Config page also shows the X or Y state of each block. To change X/Y without using the footswitches, NAV to the desired slot and double-tap EDIT.
     3. Each slot can still be set to SERIES or PARALLEL. NAV to the desired slot and turn VALUE to make the change.
     4. The Routing diagram now shows whether each block is engaged or bypassed. Engaged blocks are shown in a solid BOX . To toggle the bypass state for a block without using the footswitches, NAV to its numbered slot in the list and double-tap ENTER.
  3. FOOTSWITCH BLOCKS – The FX8 no longer limits footswitch 1–8 assignments to effect blocks only. New “Footswitch blocks” allow you to assign other useful functions to create custom layouts combining Presets, Scenes, Instant-Access Switch FX, and more.
     1. Footswitches are assigned as they always were: on the footswitch page (previously known as “Stompbox mode”) select the desired slot and turn VALUE. Press ENTER to confirm your selection.
     2. The list of available items for each footswitch includes: every effect already present on the Config page (see above), plus Presets 1–8, Scenes 1–8, Scene 1/2 toggle, Bank Up, Bank Down, MIDI 1, MIDI2, Relay 1 and Relay 2. NOTE: MIDI and RELAY blocks no longer require a “slot” on the Config page. If you load an older preset which had a MIDI or RELAY block in the signal path, those footswitch will still work, but you’ll find available spaces where the block(s) were previously located in the signal chain.
  4. GLOBAL FOOTSWITCHES – Footswitches 1–8 can now be designated as GLOBAL, making their assigned function the same across all presets. Footswitches are designated as either "Global" or "Per-Preset" using the new Global Footswitch (“GBL FS”) page of the GLOBAL Menu under SETUP. Once a footswitch has been designated as GLOBAL, you need to check and set its function on the Footswitch page as you would any other footswitch. The list of items that can be assigned as Global Footswitches includes every effect on the FX8, plus Presets 1–8, Scenes 1–8, Scene 1/2 Toggle, Bank Up, and Bank Down. Note: MIDI and RELAY blocks are not currently available as global footswitches. If you assign an effect globally (Ex: “ENHANCER”) and then load a preset which does not include that effect, the footswitch will be shown “grayed out” and perform no function.
  5. NEW RELAY OPTIONS – Relays now offer MODE, which determines whether the relay is “Latching” or “Auto-Off.”
     1. The “LATCHING” mode is identical to how the FX8 relays worked prior to firmware 3.0.
     2. The new "AUTO OFF" mode causes the relay to momentarily connect and then disconnect, as required by certain amps (e.g. 5150 III, some Bogners, etc.). The LED will flash ON and then turn OFF when you stomp the switch.
     3. Auto-Off relays have an option for “AUTO TRIGGER” (OFF/ON). When Auto-Trigger is on, this causes the relay to fire its momentary “makethen-break” routine automatically whenever a scene is loaded— including the default scene that loads when a preset is selected— or whenever you manually change X/Y, or stomp the relay’s footswitch.
  6. MAIN MENU “MISCELLANEOUS” PAGE – The menus for Controllers, Tuner and Tempo are now located in a new “MISC” page of the main menu. (From the footswitch page, press PAGE 4x.)
• ENHANCEMENTS AND FIXES
  1. Added new “Economy Mode” switch to the Pitch Block for comparable audio performance with lower CPU requirements.
  2. Improved switch/button/knob performance at high CPU loads.
  3. Bank Up and Bank Down switches now fire repeatedly when you press and hold the up/down footswitches in Preset/Bank Select Mode.
  4. On the main footswitch page, Footswitch MOVE is now Footswitch SWAP.
  5. All effect BALANCE controls now display a range of +/- 100. (Note that fully right is actually shown as 99.9)
  6. When in “Single Preset/Bank” mode, the LED that corresponds to the current preset no longer blinks.
  7. PEDAL 1 and PEDAL 2 can now be assigned to ANY function in the I/O : CTRL menu. (Previously they were only working correctly for limited items).
  8. SysEx messages used for FX8-Edit no longer appear at the MIDI OUT port as this was overloading certain MIDI-operated amps (e.g. JVM, some Carvin amps, etc.)
  9. Preset names now correctly display up to 23 characters.
  10. Removed the PRESET page from the UTILITY menu. Use Fractal-Bot instead of manual dumps for all backups. "ERASE ALL PRESETS" was moved to the RESET page of the UTILITY menu.
  11. Fixed incorrect knob labels in the Tempo menu.
  12. Fixed a bug that prevented Scene 2, Relay 1 from saving its state when the signal chain was configured for “8 Pre / 0 Post”.
  13. Fixed a bug in the Filter block that prevented BYPASS from working correctly when changing scenes.
  14. Fixed "Learn Mode" not working correctly for Pedal 2.
  15. Fixed "Auto Engage" bogging down FX8-Edit.
  16. Fixed modifier on Reverb Input Gain not working correctly.
  17. Fixed a bug where assigning Tap Tempo to “SCENE” or “LOOPER” footswitches disabled some LEDs.

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2.00 (in addition to the notes below)

• Fixed a couple of small screen navigation bugs discovered during the public beta.
• Added Function Switch LED support for True Bypass and the Looper.
• Fixed a small bug that provides LED selection support during STICKY PRESET.

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2.00 (Public Beta)

• Dramatically improved preset loading times by orders of magnitude.
• Fixed TAP TEMPO. User should now be able to capture correct tempo in as few as two taps (depending on your timing capabilities).
• Separated per-SCENE MIDI PC (PROGRAM CHANGE) from the MIDI Block. The PC numbers configured for SCENE changes are no longer disabled by the presence of a MIDI block.
• Fixed a bug that would cause screen navigation issues during a “Sticky” preset load.
• Reduced the input gain on the FACE FUZZ drive block.
• Added a new global setting “PRESS/HOLD FOR X/Y” to the SETTINGS tab. This setting defaults to ENABLED. The options are as follows:
  • ENABLED – Pressing and holding footswitches 1 – 8 will toggle the X/Y setting of the corresponding block. In this mode, effects are engaged or bypassed when you release the footswitch.
  • DISABLED – Pressing and holding footswitches 1 – 8 performs no function. In this mode, effects are engaged or bypassed immediately when you press the footswitch.
• NOTE: You can disable press/hold X/Y switching and still change X/Y using SCENES, or by using the new XY FUNCTION FOOTSWITCHES (see below.) In fact, the setting for this parameter is IGNORED and treated as DISABLED if you assign any XY function to any FUNCTION FOOTSWITCHES.
• Added FUNCTION FOOTSWITCH capabilities: the three switches on the right side of the FX8 are labeled SCENE, LOOPER, and TEMPO. It is now possible to change what these switches do using the “FUNCTIONS” page in the GLOBAL menu under SETUP. For each of these three switches, you can select what happens when you tap, and what happens when you press and hold:
  • SINGLE PRST/BANK - activates PRESET/BANK mode (see Chapter 2 of the FX8 manual). This function can only be assigned to the SCENE switch because while SINGLE PRESET/BANK is active, the LOOPER and TEMPO switches ALWAYS operate as BANK UP or BANK DOWN.
  • STICKY PRST/BANK - activates STICKY PRESET/BANK mode. Like SINGLE PRESET/BANK, this function can only be assigned to the SCENE switch. To exit Sticky Preset/Bank mode, tap the switch again.
  • STICKY PRST +/- activates the NEW STICKY PRESET +/- mode. When activated the LOOPER switch becomes PRESET +1 (up), and the TEMPO switch becomes PRESET -1 (down). Like other PRESET/BANK functions, this function can only be assigned to the SCENE switch. To exit Sticky Preset +/- mode, tap this switch again.
  • SINGLE SCENE – activates SCENE SELECT mode. When you choose a scene, the FX8 automatically returns to STOMPBOX MODE.
  • STICKY SCENE – activates STICKY SCENE SELECT mode. To exit Sticky Scene mode, tap this switch again. (See Number 8 in Chapter 2 of the FX8 Owner’s Manual for more on Sticky Scene Mode).
  • PRESET UP, PRESET DN – Each of these functions can be assigned to a switch. (See STICKY PRST +/- above)
  • TEMPO TAP – activates TEMPO TAP. NOTE: This function can only assigned to the TAP of a footswitch (not HOLD)… Think about it.
  • TUNER – activates the TUNER.
  • SINGLE X/Y – when this mode is activated, pressing the numbered footswitch associated with an effect block toggles the X/Y state of that block. See “Note 1” below.
  • STICKY X/Y – same as SINGLE X/Y except it is persistent until you step on this switch again. See “Note 1” below.
  • LOOPER – activates the LOOPER.
  • TRUE BYPASS – activates TRUE BYPASS.
  • NONE – The se
• NOTES:
  1. Assigning SINGLE X/Y or STICKY X/Y to ANY function switch will DISABLE PRESS AND HOLD for X/Y ON FOOTSWITCHES 1 – 8. Now, all effects will be BYPASSED or ENGAGED immediately on the down stroke of the footswitch (instead of the upstroke, as it worked previously.)
  2. If you set any FUNCTION SWITCH to NONE on “HOLD” the TAP function switch will activate on down instead of up. This is useful for switches assigned to PRESET UP and PRESET DN as it causes them to execute immediately.
  3. The default switch assignments match the screen printing on the FX8. Resetting your global defaults will return these switches to the default configuration. (Yes, we’re talking to the people who make magnets!)

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1.02

• Added remaining “G3” drive blocks.
• Enhanced the delay block to make the “drive” parameter more responsive.
• Fixed two bugs in the multitap delay block that prevented the use of modifiers and to correctly processes filter frequencies 2 and 4.
• Fixed a bug in scene changes to correctly update the noisegate, looper, and outputs.

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1.02 (Public Beta “b”)

• Fixed a bug affecting XY and effect bypass switching on scene change.
• Fixed presets loading wrong TIME or RATE into tempo synched effects.
• Improved spring reverb for a more natural sound.
• Added currently available “G3” drive blocks, recent compressor block changes from Axe-Fx II FW 19.
• Re-designed how “STICKY PRESET MODE” LEDs work; the LED corresponding to the current preset now flashes as long as you remain in sticky preset mode.

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1.01

• Initial Public Release.