GM Arts Firmware for BJ Devices TB-12
User Guide

Basic Operation
Welcome Quick Start • Basic Operation MFC Setup About Effects Advanced Options Overrides Library Tips	This section describes Basic settings in detail. Open the editor program and choose "Basic Operation". There are several tabs for you to select and enter your settings. When finished, use the File menu to save your settings in an "eep" file, then load it into your TB-12. MIDI Settings This tab is used to set the MFC MIDI channel to the same channel as your connected equipment. You can also set MIDI MSB and LSB numbers used for patch selection if your equipment uses them. There is more flexibility with these options in Advanced mode, but this will suit a setup with only one connected device. MFC Patches MFC patches are split into 16 banks. For example, MFC patch A3 means patch 3 in bank A. Each MFC patch can send a MIDI message to select any program on a connected device. This tab is used to set which MIDI programs are called from each MFC patch, along with other program-related settings. The example shows that MFC patch A3 selects MIDI program number 17. You can also set initial effect states for each patch here as well, although that is optional. However, there are many benefits in setting initial effect states. You can read more about that in the About Effects section. This tab also allows you to set bank names. Hint: If you click on the scroll bar to the left or right of the slider, you will move one bank at a time, making it easy to scroll through each bank. You can also set MIDI programs and effect states on the MFC itself, without using the PC editor. So you can choose to NOT save them in the settings file by un-checking "Save Program Numbers and FX". That way, you don't need to keep editor and MFC settings synchronised. Use the dropdown list to select how patches are shown on the MFC. You can choose: MFC Bank & Patch, for example: Patch C4 MIDI Program Number, for example: Prog: 017 Axe-FX Program Number, for example: Axe-FX 017 MFX Patch & Axe-FX Name, for example: C4 RokSolo If you select to show Axe-FX program names on the Other tab, it will replace these selections when and if it is received. Check "Show MIDI program numbers as 1-based" to show MIDI program numbers as 1 to 128 in both the editor and on the MFC. Otherwise, program numbers will show as 0 to 127. Match this setting to the way your connected equipment shows its program numbers. Effects Off & On Settings The word "state" is used often in relation to effects. It simply means whether they are OFF or ON. The TB-12 MFC also has 4 inbuilt relays that can have their states set to OFF or ON. Relays can be used to control external equipment that use footswitches, such as channel switching on an amplifier. MIDI CC messages are sent to turn your effects off and on. Some manufacturers call these "IAs" but they are fully implemented in this firmware and can do much more than just off and on if you wish. Each effect footswitch can send: 2 CC messages, or 1 CC message and set any or all relay states A CC message has a number and a value. The number defines what you want to control. You need to match these numbers with your MIDI equipment. For example, you might have your overdrive effect set to CC number 25, a chorus effect set to CC number 50, etc. The value controls what happens to that effect. The most common settings are 0 for OFF and 127 for ON. This MFC allows you to set any OFF or ON value you wish. This means: You can use the standard 0 for OFF, 127 for ON You can reverse OFF and ON values for reverse operation. For example, you might use an equaliser effect for rhythm playing. This equaliser maybe lowers the volume and cuts some mids. Reversing the values allows the MFC to display ON while you're soloing with the equaliser OFF. You might want the effect to switch between 2 different values. For example, this could be used for a boost effect by switching volume levels, or it could control the level of reverb to switch between a surf reverb and ambient reverb. It could switch between two different speeds for a rotary effect, and so on. You might want to switch between 2 scenes on the Axe-FX. For example, scene 1 needs a value of 0, and scene 4 needs a value of 3 (the values are one less than the scene number). Effect Names and Abbreviations You can give each effect a short name (up to 6 characters). This name will display an the MFC when you press the effect footswitch, also showing whether it's off or on. Effect abbreviations are displayed on the MFC in the same footswitch layout for both unshifted and shifted effects. Footswitch Types Toggle This is the most common type of effect footswitch. It works like a typical stompbox. Press once to turn on, press again to turn off. Persistent Toggle This is the same as a toggle, but it "remembers" its current state when you go to your next patch. For example, if you turn on a persistent chorus effect, then change patches, chorus will still be on, even if it would normally be off in the new patch. Momentary These effects are ON when the footswitch is pressed. Press to turn ON, release to turn OFF. You can reverse this operation if you wish by setting the initial state to ON - this is done on the MFC Patches tab. Select These footswitches are press to turn ON. If you press again, the ON messages will be sent again and the effect will remain on. These are for situations where there is an ON message to make a change, but no off message, such as selecting scenes on the Axe-FX, or selecting actions for a looper. The main use for these footswitches is when you have several Select footswitches in a group. Only one effect can be on at the same time in a group. So if you have 4 footswitches in the same group set for scenes 1, 2, 3 and 4, the currently selected scene will show, and other footswitches in the group will be off. Select effects can only be turned OFF within a group, or by selecting a new patch. Always Send Check "Always Send After a Patch Change" to guarantee that your initial effect states set on the MFC Patches tab will be set when you select a patch. Leave this unchecked if you don't need to force an effect off or on when you select a patch. Groups Effects can belong to a group. There are 7 groups available. When you turn an effect ON in a group, any other effects in the same group are turned OFF first. So groups are used when you only want one effect on at a time. Groups can be used by Toggle, Persistent Toggle and Select effect types, but not for Momentary effects. Pedal X/Y You can use effects to switch a pedal between two different settings, such as between volume and wah control. If you use the X/Y settings, the pedal will use X settings when the effect is off and Y settings when the effect is on. It's not recommended to use more than one effect to control X/Y switching for the same pedal - it might get confusing! Pedal X/Y switching is ideal for when you use the same pedal for different purposes. You can read more about pedal X and Y settings below. Relays Each effect can send 2 x CC messages, or a CC message and set relay states. Here are the options for setting relays. Don't forget to make settings for both Effect ON and Effect OFF. Tap & Tap Effects Use the slider to select each effect. After effect 9, you will find settings for Tap and Tap FX. Tap is fixed as a momentary footswitch and should be set for the CC number your equipment needs to set its tap tempo. Normally only an ON value is required, usually with a value of 127. You could use the second CC message for an additional hold effect, because this is unlikely to affect tap tempo. I use mine for an infinite repeat effect. Tap Effects (shown as Tap FX) are additional effects that you can turn on after a preset number of tap presses after a patch change. The number of presses is set on the Other tab. For example, you can set this so that after 2 tap presses, it turns on your delay effect. Tap FX is fixed as a Select type of footswitch. It is turned on after the preset number of tap presses, and can be turned off only with in a group (by selecting another effect in the same group) or by selecting a patch. You can disable Tap FX by setting the number of Tap presses to "Off" on the Other tab. Heel Effects Heel effects can be used to turn an effect on when the pedal is in use, and off when the pedal is off, in the heel down position. You can buy pedals with a spring return that parks them in the heel down position when you lift your foot from the pedal. This way, you don't need to use a separate effect footswitch, you simply operate the pedal when you need the effect. Heel effects are ideal for a pedal that you only use for a certain effect such as wah or whammy, and otherwise leave off. You'll see in the next section that pedals have 2 groups of settings (X and Y) to allow multiple use of the same pedal. Heel effects work from X settings only. Some Examples A common example is to have a heel effect turn on a wah effect that you control with the pedal. When the pedal is parked in its heel-down position, the wah effect is off. A creative example is to have a pedal set as volume, and use the heel effect to turn a tuner ON at the heel down position. That way, you're automatically muted when tuning and you don't need to use a separate effect footswitch for the tuner. This is done by reversing the off and on values for the tuner, because you want the tuner ON when the heel effect is OFF and vice-versa. Pedal Settings The TB-12 has connections for 2 pedals. Before using the pedals, they should be calibrated on the MFC to ensure they control effects over their full range. See MFC Setup for a guide on this. There are 2 groups of settings available for each pedal, called X settings and Y settings. When you select a patch, X settings are used by default. If set up, turning an effect on can switch a pedal to Y settings. The most important setting is the CC number. This must be matched to the CC number used by your connected device to be able to control your effects, such as volume and wah. That may be all you need, but you can also set a specific reset value and use options to reset the pedal if necessary: Send reset with patch selection: This can be used to ensure that the pedal starts at the same level whenever you select a patch. Send last pedal value with patch: This is useful for maintaining the current setting in a new patch. For example if you have your volume set half-way, the same value will be sent with a new patch to avoid a sudden volume change. Send reset if disabling pedal: There is a pedal disable function you can use quickly in a live situation if your pedal fails. This setting is used to send the reset value if you disable the pedal. Send reset if switching X/Y settings: This can be used to make sure the pedal has the reset value when being turned off to use the other group of pedal settings. Each pedal has some additional settings for the percentage of padding under the toe and heel. Padding is how much sweep you want with no further change to the pedal value. A small value here ensures you will always be able to get the minimum and maximum values at each end of the pedal's travel. You might use a higher number here if you have an under-pedal footswitch to allow you to get the full pedal value without activating the footswitch. It is strongly recommended to calibrate pedals on the MFC itself, however, if you happen to know their range, you can also set that in the editor. Other Settings Tap Settings Set which footswitch you want to use for Tap. If you select a tap footswitch that is both un-shifted and shifted, then F9 will not be available. You can set Tap Effects off, or choose a number of tap presses and a patch change that are required to turn Tap FX on. See above for more information on use of the Tap footswitch. Backtracking Backtracking is a powerful feature that allows you to switch between the current and last patch, optionally with their effect states including Tap FX and even Tap Tempo if you have an Axe-FX. Every time you press a Patch footswitch a snapshot is taken of your previous patch with its effect states. When you press Backtrack, it captures your current patch and effects, then switches to the previous patch. You can even use backtrack to switch between different effects on the same patch by selecting the current patch again and making different effect selections. Normally you would allow backtracking between different banks, but if you use banks for different purposes such as different guitars or different MIDI equipment, you might want to disable this option. Patch Change Settings Modern MIDI equipment will not normally need to wait after a patch change, but some older equipment might need a pause before accepting other MIDI data such as effect reset messages. Set a delay if you find effects are not being reset consistently. The "Turn Shift Off" setting means that if you select a patch, shift will be automatically turned off if it was on. Axe-FX Settings Select your Axe-FX II model from the drop-down list and select the options you want. Axe-FX turned will show automatically on the bottom row of the MFC display whenever the tuner is on, even if you turn it on from the Axe-FX itself. Flash Tap Tempo shows the Axe-FX tempo on the Tap LED once a tempo has been set if you're using Tap Effects, or all the time if you've disabled Tap Effects on the Other tab. Tempo Backtracking is used when you have backtracking enabled. So when you backtrack to a patch that had a tempo set, it will set the same tempo for you automatically. Axe-FX patch names can be shown with patch selections, subject to space limitations on the MFC display. The patch will initially show on the display and will be replaced by the Axe-FX patch name when and if received. Get Block States is used to display Axe-FX effect states on the MFC when you select a patch. Please also read the section on Getting Effect States from the Axe-FX. This option is good for simple effect off/on patches, but will not suit more sophisticated effect options. There are several tips for Axe-FX II owners on the Tips page of this manual. Back to top

Basic Operation

Welcome
Quick Start
• Basic Operation
MFC Setup
About Effects
Advanced Options
Overrides
Library
Tips

This section describes Basic settings in detail. Open the editor program and choose "Basic Operation". There are several tabs for you to select and enter your settings. When finished, use the File menu to save your settings in an "eep" file, then load it into your TB-12.

MIDI Settings

This tab is used to set the MFC MIDI channel to the same channel as your connected equipment. You can also set MIDI MSB and LSB numbers used for patch selection if your equipment uses them. There is more flexibility with these options in Advanced mode, but this will suit a setup with only one connected device.

MFC Patches

MFC patches are split into 16 banks. For example, MFC patch A3 means patch 3 in bank A. Each MFC patch can send a MIDI message to select any program on a connected device.

This tab is used to set which MIDI programs are called from each MFC patch, along with other program-related settings. The example shows that MFC patch A3 selects MIDI program number 17.

You can also set initial effect states for each patch here as well, although that is optional. However, there are many benefits in setting initial effect states. You can read more about that in the About Effects section.

This tab also allows you to set bank names. Hint: If you click on the scroll bar to the left or right of the slider, you will move one bank at a time, making it easy to scroll through each bank.

You can also set MIDI programs and effect states on the MFC itself, without using the PC editor. So you can choose to NOT save them in the settings file by un-checking "Save Program Numbers and FX". That way, you don't need to keep editor and MFC settings synchronised.

Use the dropdown list to select how patches are shown on the MFC. You can choose:

MFC Bank & Patch*, for example: Patch C4
MIDI Program Number*, for example: Prog: 017
Axe-FX Program Number*, for example: Axe-FX 017
MFX Patch & Axe-FX Name, for example: C4 RokSolo

* If you select to show Axe-FX program names on the Other tab, it will replace these selections when and if it is received.

Check "Show MIDI program numbers as 1-based" to show MIDI program numbers as 1 to 128 in both the editor and on the MFC. Otherwise, program numbers will show as 0 to 127. Match this setting to the way your connected equipment shows its program numbers.

Effects

Off & On Settings

The word "state" is used often in relation to effects. It simply means whether they are OFF or ON. The TB-12 MFC also has 4 inbuilt relays that can have their states set to OFF or ON. Relays can be used to control external equipment that use footswitches, such as channel switching on an amplifier.

MIDI CC messages are sent to turn your effects off and on. Some manufacturers call these "IAs" but they are fully implemented in this firmware and can do much more than just off and on if you wish. Each effect footswitch can send:

2 CC messages, or
1 CC message and set any or all relay states

A CC message has a number and a value.

The number defines what you want to control. You need to match these numbers with your MIDI equipment. For example, you might have your overdrive effect set to CC number 25, a chorus effect set to CC number 50, etc.
The value controls what happens to that effect. The most common settings are 0 for OFF and 127 for ON.

This MFC allows you to set any OFF or ON value you wish. This means:

You can use the standard 0 for OFF, 127 for ON
You can reverse OFF and ON values for reverse operation. For example, you might use an equaliser effect for rhythm playing. This equaliser maybe lowers the volume and cuts some mids. Reversing the values allows the MFC to display ON while you're soloing with the equaliser OFF.
You might want the effect to switch between 2 different values. For example, this could be used for a boost effect by switching volume levels, or it could control the level of reverb to switch between a surf reverb and ambient reverb. It could switch between two different speeds for a rotary effect, and so on.
You might want to switch between 2 scenes on the Axe-FX. For example, scene 1 needs a value of 0, and scene 4 needs a value of 3 (the values are one less than the scene number).

Effect Names and Abbreviations

You can give each effect a short name (up to 6 characters). This name will display an the MFC when you press the effect footswitch, also showing whether it's off or on.

Effect abbreviations are displayed on the MFC in the same footswitch layout for both unshifted and shifted effects.

Footswitch Types

Toggle

This is the most common type of effect footswitch. It works like a typical stompbox. Press once to turn on, press again to turn off.

Persistent Toggle

This is the same as a toggle, but it "remembers" its current state when you go to your next patch. For example, if you turn on a persistent chorus effect, then change patches, chorus will still be on, even if it would normally be off in the new patch.

Momentary

These effects are ON when the footswitch is pressed. Press to turn ON, release to turn OFF. You can reverse this operation if you wish by setting the initial state to ON - this is done on the MFC Patches tab.

Select

These footswitches are press to turn ON. If you press again, the ON messages will be sent again and the effect will remain on. These are for situations where there is an ON message to make a change, but no off message, such as selecting scenes on the Axe-FX, or selecting actions for a looper.

The main use for these footswitches is when you have several Select footswitches in a group. Only one effect can be on at the same time in a group. So if you have 4 footswitches in the same group set for scenes 1, 2, 3 and 4, the currently selected scene will show, and other footswitches in the group will be off. Select effects can only be turned OFF within a group, or by selecting a new patch.

Always Send

Check "Always Send After a Patch Change" to guarantee that your initial effect states set on the MFC Patches tab will be set when you select a patch. Leave this unchecked if you don't need to force an effect off or on when you select a patch.

Groups

Effects can belong to a group. There are 7 groups available. When you turn an effect ON in a group, any other effects in the same group are turned OFF first. So groups are used when you only want one effect on at a time. Groups can be used by Toggle, Persistent Toggle and Select effect types, but not for Momentary effects.

Pedal X/Y

You can use effects to switch a pedal between two different settings, such as between volume and wah control. If you use the X/Y settings, the pedal will use X settings when the effect is off and Y settings when the effect is on.

It's not recommended to use more than one effect to control X/Y switching for the same pedal - it might get confusing! Pedal X/Y switching is ideal for when you use the same pedal for different purposes. You can read more about pedal X and Y settings below.

Relays

Each effect can send 2 x CC messages, or a CC message and set relay states. Here are the options for setting relays. Don't forget to make settings for both Effect ON and Effect OFF.

Tap & Tap Effects

Use the slider to select each effect. After effect 9, you will find settings for Tap and Tap FX.

Tap is fixed as a momentary footswitch and should be set for the CC number your equipment needs to set its tap tempo. Normally only an ON value is required, usually with a value of 127. You could use the second CC message for an additional hold effect, because this is unlikely to affect tap tempo. I use mine for an infinite repeat effect.

Tap Effects (shown as Tap FX) are additional effects that you can turn on after a preset number of tap presses after a patch change. The number of presses is set on the Other tab. For example, you can set this so that after 2 tap presses, it turns on your delay effect.

Tap FX is fixed as a Select type of footswitch. It is turned on after the preset number of tap presses, and can be turned off only with in a group (by selecting another effect in the same group) or by selecting a patch. You can disable Tap FX by setting the number of Tap presses to "Off" on the Other tab.

Heel Effects

Heel effects can be used to turn an effect on when the pedal is in use, and off when the pedal is off, in the heel down position. You can buy pedals with a spring return that parks them in the heel down position when you lift your foot from the pedal. This way, you don't need to use a separate effect footswitch, you simply operate the pedal when you need the effect.

Heel effects are ideal for a pedal that you only use for a certain effect such as wah or whammy, and otherwise leave off.

You'll see in the next section that pedals have 2 groups of settings (X and Y) to allow multiple use of the same pedal. Heel effects work from X settings only.

Some Examples

A common example is to have a heel effect turn on a wah effect that you control with the pedal. When the pedal is parked in its heel-down position, the wah effect is off.

A creative example is to have a pedal set as volume, and use the heel effect to turn a tuner ON at the heel down position. That way, you're automatically muted when tuning and you don't need to use a separate effect footswitch for the tuner. This is done by reversing the off and on values for the tuner, because you want the tuner ON when the heel effect is OFF and vice-versa.

Pedal Settings

The TB-12 has connections for 2 pedals. Before using the pedals, they should be calibrated on the MFC to ensure they control effects over their full range. See MFC Setup for a guide on this.

There are 2 groups of settings available for each pedal, called X settings and Y settings. When you select a patch, X settings are used by default. If set up, turning an effect on can switch a pedal to Y settings.

The most important setting is the CC number. This must be matched to the CC number used by your connected device to be able to control your effects, such as volume and wah. That may be all you need, but you can also set a specific reset value and use options to reset the pedal if necessary:

Send reset with patch selection: This can be used to ensure that the pedal starts at the same level whenever you select a patch.
Send last pedal value with patch: This is useful for maintaining the current setting in a new patch. For example if you have your volume set half-way, the same value will be sent with a new patch to avoid a sudden volume change.
Send reset if disabling pedal: There is a pedal disable function you can use quickly in a live situation if your pedal fails. This setting is used to send the reset value if you disable the pedal.
Send reset if switching X/Y settings: This can be used to make sure the pedal has the reset value when being turned off to use the other group of pedal settings.

Each pedal has some additional settings for the percentage of padding under the toe and heel. Padding is how much sweep you want with no further change to the pedal value. A small value here ensures you will always be able to get the minimum and maximum values at each end of the pedal's travel. You might use a higher number here if you have an under-pedal footswitch to allow you to get the full pedal value without activating the footswitch.

It is strongly recommended to calibrate pedals on the MFC itself, however, if you happen to know their range, you can also set that in the editor.

Other Settings

Tap Settings

Set which footswitch you want to use for Tap. If you select a tap footswitch that is both un-shifted and shifted, then F9 will not be available.

You can set Tap Effects off, or choose a number of tap presses and a patch change that are required to turn Tap FX on. See above for more information on use of the Tap footswitch.

Backtracking

Backtracking is a powerful feature that allows you to switch between the current and last patch, optionally with their effect states including Tap FX and even Tap Tempo if you have an Axe-FX.

Every time you press a Patch footswitch a snapshot is taken of your previous patch with its effect states. When you press Backtrack, it captures your current patch and effects, then switches to the previous patch.

You can even use backtrack to switch between different effects on the same patch by selecting the current patch again and making different effect selections.

Normally you would allow backtracking between different banks, but if you use banks for different purposes such as different guitars or different MIDI equipment, you might want to disable this option.

Patch Change Settings

Modern MIDI equipment will not normally need to wait after a patch change, but some older equipment might need a pause before accepting other MIDI data such as effect reset messages. Set a delay if you find effects are not being reset consistently.

The "Turn Shift Off" setting means that if you select a patch, shift will be automatically turned off if it was on.

Axe-FX Settings

Select your Axe-FX II model from the drop-down list and select the options you want.

Axe-FX turned will show automatically on the bottom row of the MFC display whenever the tuner is on, even if you turn it on from the Axe-FX itself.

Flash Tap Tempo shows the Axe-FX tempo on the Tap LED once a tempo has been set if you're using Tap Effects, or all the time if you've disabled Tap Effects on the Other tab.

Tempo Backtracking is used when you have backtracking enabled. So when you backtrack to a patch that had a tempo set, it will set the same tempo for you automatically.

Axe-FX patch names can be shown with patch selections, subject to space limitations on the MFC display. The patch will initially show on the display and will be replaced by the Axe-FX patch name when and if received.

Get Block States is used to display Axe-FX effect states on the MFC when you select a patch. Please also read the section on Getting Effect States from the Axe-FX. This option is good for simple effect off/on patches, but will not suit more sophisticated effect options.

There are several tips for Axe-FX II owners on the Tips page of this manual.

GM Arts Firmware for BJ Devices TB-12 User Guide