October 2024: Fractal Audio's VP4 Virtual Pedalboard has been added to the wiki.
Looper block
Contents
Manual
User contributions
Features
The Looper on the Axe-Fx II is a separate effect block (instead of a mode of the Delay as on the Ultra). With firmware 6 the Looper features have expanded considerably. It's now possible to select Half Time, Undo, Threshold, Quantize, and Mono or Stereo. Note that you can record with Half Time switched on, and then turn it off during playback for very fast riffing.
Undo will remove the most recently recorded layer on the stack. If you're not in a mode that has undo it doesn't do anything.
You can decide how put the memory to best use. Select between these modes:
- Mono - 60 seconds
- Stereo - 30 seconds
- Mono with Undo - 30 seconds
- Stereo with Undo - 15 seconds
With Threshold turned on recording will not start until the input level passes a certain threshold (set by the threshold level parameter). So if you press record, you will see the indicator come on and then turn off. This means it is waiting for an input to start recording. Once you start playing you'll see the indicator come on and you are recording.
Quantize will automatically chop your recording to the nearest 1/4 note tempo click. Recommended to use in conjunction with Threshold. Press Record, then start playing on a downbeat click. Play however many beats and then press Record again to stop. If you stop slightly too soon or late it will automatically trim the recording to the length. Also, it will automatically statt playback on the downbeat. So if you stop playback and start it up again later, it should always come back in on the beat.
Using switches
Go to I/O > Ctrl to assign the looper controls (such as Play and Record) to switches on a floorcontroller. Some functions require a latching switch, others work best with a momentary switch. A walkthrough for the MFC-101 is here.
Metronome
Firmware 6 has added a Metronome to the Looper block.
Surviving preset switching
The loop buffer will be erased upon presets switches, unless Spillover is enabled. If the preset you're switching to also has a Looper in loop mode, you can continue to control the looper.
Handy tool for dialing in tones
Use the Looper when dialing in sounds. Place it before before the Amp block, and record a "unamped" guitar tone. Now keep playing it back while adjusting amp settings. You'll hear the differences in real time. Alternatively, use it to compare two sounds. Place it after the Amp block and record. Start tweaking. When you want to hear the original tone, play back the sample.