FASLINK

FASLINK

FASLINK is a proprietary Fractal Audio communications link:

• between Axe-Fx II and MFC-101 MIDI foot controller = FASLINK
• between Axe-Fx III, FM9 and FM3 and FC-6 and FC-12 foot controllers = FASLINK II.

FASLINK provides two-way communication and power via an XLR cable. XLR cables (microphone cables) are common, flexible and robust, supporting runs of hundreds of feet.

FASLINK has replaced previous connection methods for Fractal Audio foot controllers using MIDI and Ethernet.

There's no need to power down the Axe-Fx when connecting the FC controller ("hot connecting"). The maximum length of FASLINK II cables is 100 feet. [1]

"FASLINK is not a balanced protocol. But it is robust because it uses high signaling levels. You can use any wire for FASLINK but ideally it should be shielded and a heavy enough gauge to carry up to 1A without significant voltage drop. If "I" were adapting FASLINK to CAT5 I would use each pair as a conductor. I.e. blue and blue/white tied together as one conductor, green and green/white tied together as another conducter. Then the drain wire (and maybe another conductor pair to ensure low resistance) connected to the XLR shield. FASLINK uses two conductors plus shield (standard mic cable). One conductor is power. The other conductor is data. The shield is the common return for the two conductors. We've tested FASLINK over 100m of cable. As long as the conductors are heavy enough so the voltage doesn't drop too much you can run it very long distances." [2]

"We rewrote everything using a client-server approach. You can have any number of clients attached, even multiple editors, and they all update automatically when something changes (even if changed from the front panel). The foot controllers are essentially clients as well." [3]

"The FC's are clients. They request data, they do not get data pushed." [4]

"The communication protocol between the III and the FC's is proprietary and not MIDI-based. The FC's are sort of "dumb terminals". All the they do is tell the III "button #3 was pressed" and the III responds by saying "light LED ring #3 blue" or "display 'My Preset' on the main LCD". This way all the configuration data is on the III and when you backup you backup the foot controller as well. It also means if a foot controller fails you don't have to reprogram a new one (which is a big deal for touring acts where the gear gets hammered on and last second change-outs are common)." [5]

"It's not standard MIDI. The Axe-Fx III uses a proprietary communication protocol. Devices can communicate over any physical layer by wrapping and unwrapping the comm protocol. Theoretically you can control it over MIDI, Ethernet, WiFi, RS-232, AppleTalk, Sneakernet, etc. The MIDI basics are there, of course, but to access the tuner, etc. you need to wrap and unwrap the protocol layer." [6]

"FASLINK is not MIDI. The FC-6/12 are "terminals". They record button presses and send the button press to the host. The host sends messages to the terminal which tells the terminal what color to display on the LEDs and what text to display on the LCDs." [7]

"The FASLINK port is protected against shorts." [8]

"It's not standard MIDI. The Axe-Fx III uses a proprietary communication protocol. Devices can communicate over any physical layer by wrapping and unwrapping the comm protocol. Theoretically you can control it over MIDI, Ethernet, WiFi, RS-232, AppleTalk, Sneakernet, etc. The MIDI basics are there, of course, but to access the tuner, etc. you need to wrap and unwrap the protocol layer." [9]

"FASLINK is not MIDI. The FC-6/12 are "terminals". They record button presses and send the button press to the host. The host sends messages to the terminal which tells the terminal what color to display on the LEDs and what text to display on the LCDs." [10]

Available on which products

FASLINK II — Axe-Fx III, FM3, FM9, FC controllers

Original FASLINK — Axe-Fx II XL and XL+, Axe-Fx II Mark I and II (require FASLINK adapter to convert wiring from Ethernet/Ethercon to XLR), MFC-101 Mark III, MFC-101 Mark I and II (require FASLINK adapter to convert wiring from Ethernet/Ethercon to XLR)

Using FASLINK with the Axe-Fx II and MFC-101 requires adjusting settings.

Do NOT connect a power supply to the MFC-101 when using FASLINK.

Power over FASLINK

A FASLINK II connection transfers power from the processor to the first connected FC controller.

"The FC-12 uses more power because it has more LCDs. If the cable resistance is too high then there will be excessive voltage drop which could cause booting issues and other problems. Using a cable snake is not recommended because the conductor gauge is small and the resistance will be high. We recommend a good quality dedicated XLR cable. Dim LEDs are an indication that there is excessive voltage drop on the cable. The FC rated voltage is 9-12V but should work down to about 7V. If the snake is 100 ft. of 24 gauge wire then that would put you right at 7V. The FC-12 draws about 1A so Vdrop = 0.025 ohms/ft * 100 ft * 2 conductors * 1A = 5V drop. This is assuming the shield drain has the same resistance as the conductors. So, yeah, 100 ft snake is too long for an FC-12." [11]

Power and daisy-chaining

You can daisy-chain up to four FC controllers using the FASLINK II "THRU" ports.

The first FC controller gets its power from the Axe-Fx III, FM9 or FM3 through the FASLINK II connection. Additional FC controllers have to be powered separately through their power ports, see below.

When not powered through FASLINK II, the FC can be powered using a 9-12V power supply, 1000 ma, negative center, 2.5mm barrel.

Two or more daisy-chained FC units can be forced to remain in sync, showing the same layouts, the same switches and switch states. This is called "mirroring".

"FASLINK powers the first FC. FC setup is same as Axe-Fx III."

"The FC-12 uses more power because it has more LCDs. If the cable resistance is too high than there will be excessive voltage drop which could cause booting issues and other problems. Using a cable snake is not recommended because the conductor gauge is small and the resistance will be high. We recommend a good quality dedicated XLR cable." [12]

"Dim LEDs are an indication that there is excessive voltage drop on the cable." [13]

"The FC rated voltage is 9-12V but should work down to about 7V. If the snake is 100 ft. of 24 gauge wire then that would put you right at 7V. The FC-12 draws about 1A so Vdrop = 0.025 ohms/ft * 100 ft * 2 conductors * 1A = 5V drop. This is assuming the shield drain has the same resistance as the conductors. So, yeah, 100 ft snake is too long for an FC-12." [14]

"They are phantom powered. You can daisy-chain up to four. Any daisy-chained units need their own power supply. IOW only the first unit in the chain is phantom powered." [15]

Troubleshooting

When the processor shuts down or starts blinking all lights, there may be a short in the XLR cable or in the FC. Replace the cable.

FASLINK adapters for older hardware

The FASLINK XA-1 and XA-2 adapters convert the wiring on older Axe-Fx II and MFC-101 hardware (see above) from Ethernet/Ethercon to XLR. These adapters are "active". The adapters do not support FASLINK II.

Read this: FASLINK Setup Guide.