Axe-Fx II
The previous-generation Fractal rack processor, running the Ares firmware line. Eight scenes per preset, X/Y switching in every block, a Tone Match block the newer devices do not have, and an onboard IR capture utility. Discontinued but very widely gigged.
If your blocks have channels A to D rather than X and Y, you have a current-generation device — read the Axe-Fx III, FM9 or FM3 guide. Presets and firmware do not cross between the two generations.
The pages that exist nowhere else
Scenes and X/Y
Eight scenes and two variants per block — and why everything written about channels describes a different device.
What the effect names really are
Every model Fractal themselves describe — and an honest account of the ones they don't.
Troubleshooting
Symptom, cause, fix — including what is documented behaviour rather than a fault.
Controls
Every front-panel control on an interactive diagram, including the X and Y buttons that define this generation.
Inputs and outputs
Every jack on an interactive rear panel, plus the front jack that needs a menu setting to work.
Specifications
The numbers that answer a question, and what differs between the original, Mark II, XL and XL+.
Scenes and X/Y
Eight scenes and two variants per block — and why everything written about channels describes a different device.
What the effect names really are
Every model Fractal themselves describe — and an honest account of the ones they don't.
Rig setup
Studio, live with an MFC-101, into a real amp, or matching a reference tone.
Questions and answers
Straight answers to the things people actually ask.
Troubleshooting
Symptom, cause, fix — including what is documented behaviour rather than a fault.
Glossary
Scene, X/Y, Tone Match, Humbuster, FASLINK, Ares, Cygnus.