NOTE: This article contains technical details on how the Mastermind and Axe-Fx III communicate. If you're looking for instructions on how to set up a Mastermind with an Axe-Fx III, the best place to start is your product manual.
Axe-Fx III support works differently than other devices. The Axe-Fx III is actually being controlled by Sysex messages sent from the GT. However, the GT is really designed to work with CCs - the built-in device database only uses CC numbers, for example. What's worse, the Axe-Fx III ships without any CC numbers predefined at all. Using CCs would require you to go in and manually set all of the CC numbers in the Axe-Fx to match the ones defined in the GT.
To get around this, we use fake CC numbers, which are translated by the software into Sysex messages behind the scenes. This allows you to continue using the typical Assign CCs and Set Default Buttons features in the GT without so much configuration needed on the Axe-Fx.
CC Values
CC values are also a bit different than normal. In addition to the standard value 0 for bypass and value 127 for active, there are values that select the effect channel:
Value 0: Bypass effect block
Value 1: Select channel A
Value 2: Select channel B
Value 3: Select channel C
Value 4: Select channel D
Value 5: Select channel E
Value 6: Select channel F
Value 127: Enable effect block
This allows us to use one CC number that can select either effect state or effect channel.
If you look at the default button settings, you can see examples of how all of this works. Each IA button uses the 0 and 127 values to turn an effect block on and off, and the hold function uses values 1-4 to select effect channel.
Get Preset Names with Scenes
Running the Get Preset Namesprocess with Get Scenesturned on will retrieve preset names from the Axe-Fx and will also read the scene names from each preset. Scene names are stored in each GT preset, and they can be edited in the Edit Preset/ Scene Namesmenu. These scene names will automatically be displayed in any Scene buttons you have defined, and also in the lower row of the main screen if Scene Namesis turned on.
Get Preset Names with Scenes and Create Songs
When you run Get Preset Namesand have both Get Scenesand Create Songsturned on, the following things will happen:
- The GT will switch into song and setlist mode
- Each selected Axe-Fx preset name will be written to a GT song
- Scenes within each Axe-Fx preset will have their names written into GT presets. (This can be anywhere from 1 to 8 scenes per Axe-Fx preset, which you can choose using the Scenes / Songparameter)
- Each GT preset will be assigned to the appropriate GT song
- Each GT preset will be set to select the correct Axe-Fx preset and scene.
- The current scene number will be stored in each GT preset. Because each preset selects a single scene, only one scene name is stored per preset.
So, in the end you get one GT song for each Axe-Fx preset, and one GT preset for each Axe-Fx scene. Pressing a GT preset button will select a scene, pressing Bank Up or Bank Down selects an Axe-Fx preset.