Always consult the official Owners Manuals first
Difference between revisions of "X/Y switching"
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Reported CPU usage is based on the current block state (X or Y). When switching an effect between X and Y, the preset's CPU usage may change. | Reported CPU usage is based on the current block state (X or Y). When switching an effect between X and Y, the preset's CPU usage may change. | ||
− | =Copy and paste | + | =Copy and paste= |
The "X" settings can be copied to "Y", and vice versa, on the front panel of the Axe-Fx II by pressing the X or Y button twice quickly. There's no equivalent shortcut on the AX8 and FX8 hardware. | The "X" settings can be copied to "Y", and vice versa, on the front panel of the Axe-Fx II by pressing the X or Y button twice quickly. There's no equivalent shortcut on the AX8 and FX8 hardware. |
Revision as of 11:34, 29 April 2023
This page discusses functionality of legacy products and will not be updated.
Contents
- 1 Available on which products
- 2 What is X/Y switching
- 3 Which effect blocks support X/Y
- 4 Switching between X and Y
- 5 Visual indication
- 6 CPU usage
- 7 Copy and paste
- 8 Swap X and Y
- 9 Block reset
- 10 Modifiers
- 11 Recall Effect
- 12 Switching can cause an audio gap
- 13 Compare sounds and settings
- 14 Crossfading sounds
Available on which products
- Axe-Fx III: no (replaced with Channels)
- FM9: no (replaced with Channels)
- FM3: no (replaced with Channels)
- Axe-Fx II: yes
- AX8: yes
- FX8: yes
What is X/Y switching
Most effect blocks in the Axe-Fx II, FX8 and AX8 can be switched quickly between two sets of settings: X and Y.
Examples:
- Amp X = clean, Amp Y = high gain.
- Phaser X = Script 90, Phaser Y = Vibe.
- Rotary X = slow, Rotary Y = fast.
- Cab X = mono, Cab Y = stereo.
- GEQ X = soft boost, GEQ Y = loud boost.
"The idea behind X/Y is that people often have multiple distortion/chorus/delay/etc. pedals on their board but they rarely have more than one on at a time. So rather than creating more instances of effects, which sucks up CPU, have each instance capable of more than one sound." [1]
X/Y switching has been replaced with Channels on next generation Fractal Audio products.
Which effect blocks support X/Y
Axe-Fx II Mark I and II – Amp, Cab, Chorus, Delay, Drive, Flanger, Phaser, Pitch, Reverb, Wah, Rotary.
Axe-Fx II XL and XL+ – Amp, Cab, Chorus, Compressor/Dynamics, Delay, Drive, Flanger, GEQ, Gate, Mixer, PEQ, Phaser, Pitch, Rotary, Reverb, Tremolo, Wah.
AX8 – Amp, Cab, Chorus, Compressor/Dynamics, Delay, Drive, Filter, Flanger, Gate, Multi Delay, Phaser, Pitch, Rotary, Reverb, Tremolo, Wah.
FX8 – Chorus, Compressor/Dynamics, Delay, Drive, Filter, Flanger, Gate, MIDI, Multi Delay, Phaser, Pitch, Relay, Rotary, Reverb, Tremolo, Wah.
Transferring presets across different Axe-Fx II models:
"Any blocks that have X/Y on the XL but not on the Mark II will not import the bypass state as that is stored differently. You need to manually adjust the bypass state after import." [2]
Switching between X and Y
Axe-Fx II — In the Edit mode of a block, press the dedicated X/Y buttons on the front panel.
FX8 and AX8:
- Hold a switch (1-8) to alternate between X and Y. If the LED is amber lit, Y is active.
- Assign one of the three F-switches to "Single X/Y" or "Sticky X/Y", then press the switch which has been assigned to the effect.
- Switch a block between X and Y on the grid using a shortcut key:
- AX8 — SHIFT + 2x EDIT on LAYOUT page, or 2x EDIT in a block's editing mode.
- FX8 — 2x EDIT on CFG screen.
Scenes — The X/Y state of an effect can be set per scene.
Editors — Press the "X" key on the keyboard to switch a block between X and Y in the software editor. The X/Y state of each block is shown in the software editor, without needing to select the block first.
MFC-101 and other MIDI controllers — Most blocks have a dedicated MIDI CC for X/Y switching. These are listed in the manuals. Assign the CC to a switch to alternate between X and Y.
You can configure X/Y effect blocks to engage the effect in either X or Y mode. Example: ([3])
- IA Switch 1, ON message: DELAY 1 ON, DELAY 1 X (CC#47:127, CC#106: 127)
- IA Switch 1, OFF message: DELAY 1 OFF, DELAY 1 X (CC#47:0, CC#106: 127)
- IA Switch 2, OFF message: DELAY 1 ON, DELAY 1 Y (CC#47:127, CC#106: 0)
- IA Switch 2, OFF message: DELAY 1 OFF, DELAY 1 Y (CC#47:0, CC#106: 0)
Or use a MIDI controller's "group" or "linked switches" feature.
On the MFC-101 MIDI foot controller X is green, Y is red. If you prefer the default state to be green, use Y as the default state.
Note that not all effect blocks which support X/Y have a specific MIDI CC for that task. The FX8 lets you assign CCs to those, the Axe-Fx II does not. There's a way around this. Use a MIDI Monitor to detect the MIDI sysex command that switches the block between X/Y. Then program a switch on the controller using that data.
Visual indication
Axe-Fx II and FX8 — The current X/Y state of the selected block is shown in an effect block's EDIT menu (not on the Layout page).
AX8 — The current X/Y state of the selected block is shown at the bottom of the Layout page.
The visual X/Y state of effects blocks is shown in the software editors.
CPU usage
Reported CPU usage is based on the current block state (X or Y). When switching an effect between X and Y, the preset's CPU usage may change.
Copy and paste
The "X" settings can be copied to "Y", and vice versa, on the front panel of the Axe-Fx II by pressing the X or Y button twice quickly. There's no equivalent shortcut on the AX8 and FX8 hardware.
The software editor can be used to copy and paste an entire block or just the X or Y settings within the preset or to another preset.
Swap X and Y
Swapping the X and Y settings of a block requires use of the editor.
Block reset
Resetting block settings on the hardware resets the parameters to their default values. This only applies to the current state: X or Y.
To reset the entire block, switch to the other state and repeat the process, or use the editor to reset the entire block.
Modifiers
If a modifier has been assigned to a parameter, it always applies to both X and Y. It's not possible to have different modifier settings for X and Y, the architecture doesn't allow this. [4]
Recall Effect
The Recall Effect function (which copies block settings from another preset) always imports both X and Y settings. If you want to copy just X or just Y, use the software editor.
Switching can cause an audio gap
When switching an Amp block between X and Y, there will be a short gap in the sound.
Compare sounds and settings
X/Y switching offers an easy way to compare sounds when tweaking.
- Go to a block, state "X".
- Double-click "Y" on the front panel to copy the "X" settings into "Y".
- Select X or Y, and adjust settings.
- Now alternate between X and Y to see and hear the differences.
You can also do this in the editor.
This also offers an easy method to quickly see non-default settings, by resetting one side to default settings.
Crossfading sounds
Sounds do not crossfade when switching between X and Y. Use Scene controllers instead.