October 2024: Fractal Audio's VP4 Virtual Pedalboard has been added to the wiki.

X/Y switching (legacy)

From Fractal Audio Wiki
Revision as of 21:44, 12 December 2015 by Yek (talk | contribs)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

X/Y switching: supported by which Fractal Audio products?

  • Axe-Fx II: yes.
  • MFC-101: yes.
  • AX8: yes.
  • FX8: yes.

X/Y basics

  • Cliff: "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."
  • X/Y-switching occurs at block level, not on preset level.
  • There's no crossfading when switching between X and Y. If you want crossfading, use Scene Controllers as an alternative to X/Y switching.

Effects with X/Y support

  • Axe-Fx II, Mark I and II: Amp, Cab, Chorus, Delay, Drive, Flanger, Phaser, Pitch, Reverb, Wah.
  • 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.

X/Y and CPU usage

  • CPU usage is calculated using the current state of a block (X or Y). When switching an effect between X and Y, CPU usage can change.

X/Y and scenes

  • The X/Y state of an effect can vary per Scene. This is one of the advantages of using preset scenes.

Using the X/Y front panel buttons as Quick-Jump buttons on the Axe-Fx II

X/Y switching on the FX8 and AX8

  • Hold a switch (1-8) to alternate between X and Y. If the LED is amber lit, Y is active.
  • You can also assign one of the 3 switches at the right to "Single X/Y" or "Sticky X/Y".
  • You can adjust the switch "hold" time in the Global menu.
  • You can also switch between X and Y in the Layout grid, using a shortcut key (AX8: 2x EDIT).

X/Y in software editors

  • Press the "X" key on the keyboard to switch a block between X and Y in the software editor.
  • The X/Y-states of the blocks are displayed in the software editor, without needing to select the block first.

Copying and swapping X/Y settings

  • X and Y effect settings can be copied to each other on the hardware itself. To swap X and Y, use of the software editor is required.

X/Y and resetting effect settings

  • Resetting an effect block 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 software editor to initialize the entire block).

X/Y and modified parameters

  • When a controller is 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 for this. source

X/Y and using Recall Effect on the Axe-Fx II and AX8

  • Using Recall Effect will always import all effect block settings: X and Y. So you can't use Recall Effect for just X or just Y. Use the software editor instead to copy and paste X-only or Y-only settings.

X/Y switching as a handy tool to compare sounds and check settings

  • X/Y switching offers an easy way to compare sounds when tweaking. Example:
    1. Go to an AMP block, state "X".
    2. Double-click "Y" on the front panel to copy the "X" settings into "Y".
    3. Select X or Y and adjust settings.
    4. Now alternate between X and Y to see and hear the differences.
  • You can also do this in the software editor.
  • This also offers an easy method to quickly see where effect settings differ from default, by resetting X or Y to default.
  • An alternative approach to comparing sounds on the Axe-Fx II: save a preset as a Snapshot in the editor. Select Revert to get the original sound back. Then drag and drop the snapshot file into the editor.

X/Y switching on the MFC-101 and other MIDI controllers

  • There's a dedicated MIDI CC for most blocks that offer X/Y switching. Assign this 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: (source)
    1. IA Switch 1, ON message: DELAY 1 ON, DELAY 1 X (CC#47:127, CC#106: 127)
    2. IA Switch 1, OFF message: DELAY 1 OFF, DELAY 1 X (CC#47:0, CC#106: 127)
    3. IA Switch 2, OFF message: DELAY 1 ON, DELAY 1 Y (CC#47:127, CC#106: 0)
    4. IA Switch 2, OFF message: DELAY 1 OFF, DELAY 1 Y (CC#47:0, CC#106: 0)
  • Or use a controller's "group" or'"linked switches" feature.
  • On the MFC-101 X is green, Y is red. If you prefer the default state to be green, use Y as the default state.