Controllers and modifiers

Manual

7 Modifiers and Controllers — 7.2.2 Damping — 7.2.3 Auto Engage — 7.2.4 Program Change Reset — 7.3 Control Sources — 9.4 Control Parameters

User contributions

Controllers and modifiers

• A controller is something that generates control data. For example: an expression pedal. And the pedal is considered an external controller, because the data is generated from outside the Axe-Fx II. The same goes for an external on/off switch and a MIDI floor controller, when connected to the Axe-Fx II.
• External controllers can be connected to the Axe-Fx II directly using the Pedal jack input(s) at the rear, via MIDI IN or via a floor controller. In I/O > Ctrl you tell the Axe-Fx II which external controllers you are using.
• The Axe-Fx also has internal controllers, which output control data: Internal controllers: ADSR, Envelope, LFO, Pitch, Sequencer. Push the Control button at the front to adjust settings. Adjusting settings always changes the current preset only, not all presets.
• And then there are modifiers. A modifier sits between an internal/external controller and the effect parameters which the controller controls. The controller sends control data, which is modified by a modifier, and then changes parameters in effect blocks.
• Example: 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 being controlled, the block will be 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 all 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.

Controllers and modifiers: detecting modifiers

• To check if modifiers and controllers are used in a preset, press Control on the front panel and scroll to the MODS tab. You can do the same in Axe-Edit.
• 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

Controllers and modifiers: Scene Controllers

• Scene Controllers can be assigned to modifiable parameters. There are two of these per preset. The value of this controller can vary per preset scene, allowing you to use a single effect block in a preset and still have different tones (block parameters) in each scene, without the need to use X/Y or other workarounds. The controllers are accessed via Control > Scene.
• Example: Scene controller 1 might have a Scene 1 value of 10% and a Scene 2 value of 20%. This controller can be attached to Reverb Mix, for example, which would give a higher Reverb mix in the second scene compared to the first scene.
• Scene controllers can also be used to change pitch (Synth, or Pitch block) per scene, or change amp gain per scene etc.
• Chris @ Katsu Kuri Media created an excellent tutorial video and a very handy chart to look up for values.
• Note that a scene controller is always related to the parameter it controls. For example, when attaching a scene controller to Delay Feedback, be aware that this parameter's range is from -100 to 100. In other words, setting the controller at 0% sets feedback at -100, not at 0! Source
• Crossfading sounds with scene controllers, see Crossfading sounds.
• More tips and examples

Controllers and modifiers: Global Blocks

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

Controllers and modifiers: X/Y

• An assigned modifier always applies to both block states: X and Y. It's not possible to have different modifier settings for X and Y.

Controllers and modifiers: CPU utilization

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

Controllers and modifiers: more information about internal controllers

• Tutorial video by Simeon

Controllers and modifiers: setting the initial state of an external controller

• Setting the initial state of an external controller is important in this scenario: you are using a pedal to control 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% (I/O > MIDI > Init Ctrl Val)..

Controllers and modifiers: Envelope and Pitch controllers work only with front input and Input 1 left

• The Envelope and Pitch internal controllers only detect signals at the front input and Input 1 left (rear).

Controllers and modifiers: modifier curves

• The Scale parameter applies a “gain” to the modifier curve allowing the user to create steeper or shallower curves.
• The Offset parameter allows shifting the curve up or down."
• 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.
  • To simulate a Log taper in a modifier menu, set "Mid" in the modifier menu to 20%. Adjust Slope to avoid the dead zone.

Controllers and modifiers: using a DAW

• Read this.

Controllers and modifiers: crossfading sounds

• See Crossfading sounds.