AxeBlock EDIT user guide.

// Start here

AxeBlock EDIT is a real-time editor and controller for supported Fractal Audio processors. It needs no account and no sign-in. Live control needs a compatible unit and a MIDI connection: USB, or a compatible Bluetooth MIDI adapter, depending on the unit.

Try it without hardware. On the greeting screen tap TRY DEMO — EXPLORE WITHOUT HARDWARE. Demo mode loads an Axe-Fx III preset with sample values so you can explore Edit, Grid, Perform, Tuner, Setlists, Connection, Help, Preferences and Bug Report. Demo controls never send MIDI. Demo mode is also in Preferences.

About the screenshots. Every screenshot on this page is from demo mode, not a connected unit, so the preset names and values are sample data. Each one is labeled “Demo”.

// Getting connected, step by step

USB (Axe-Fx III, FM9, VP4, AM4)

1. Use a data USB cable. Some charge-only cables have no data lines.
2. Plug the unit into your iPhone or iPad (USB-B to USB-C, or a camera adapter), power the unit on, and open AxeBlock EDIT. It finds the unit automatically.
3. Check the connection pill at the top right: green means the unit is talking, amber means it is still handshaking, red means no port is selected.
4. On an Axe-Fx III, keep AxeBlock EDIT (or the official editor) running: the III only exposes its USB MIDI port while an app holds it.

Wireless (WIDI Master or Yamaha MD-BT01)

1. Power the unit off, plug the adapter into the unit’s 5-pin MIDI jacks (both take power from the unit’s MIDI OUT), then power the unit back on.
2. Turn Bluetooth on in iPhone or iPad Settings.
3. In AxeBlock EDIT tap the connection pill, choose Bluetooth MIDI, select the adapter and tap Done. These adapters use Bluetooth LE MIDI, so they won’t appear in Settings > Bluetooth.
4. Use Rescan for devices if the unit hasn’t appeared, and MIDI PORTS to choose input and output separately.
5. VP4 and AM4: their MIDI jacks are 3.5 mm Type A, not 5-pin. Use a WIDI Jack with 2.5 mm to 3.5 mm Type A cables, its back slide switch on A, and the unit’s MIDI Thru off.

If the unit doesn’t appear

• Red pill: tap it and pick the port. Amber that never turns green: power-cycle the unit, then relaunch AxeBlock EDIT.
• Check the adapter’s IN and OUT plugs and its power from MIDI OUT. WIDI Master: slow blue blink is ready to pair, steady blue is connected, fast flashing is MIDI activity. MD-BT01: a flashing lamp is waiting, steady means connected.
• Another editor or MIDI app holding the port can block or fight with AxeBlock EDIT. Quit it and try again.
• Switching a WIDI between iPhone and iPad: disconnect it on the device you’re leaving first.

Available controls depend on your unit and firmware. Bluetooth preset loading can be slower than USB, and its speed depends on your adapter and connection. More setups are on the wireless help page. Not sure what your unit supports? See unit status.

// Your first tour

The app opens on a greeting screen with a guided tour. Replay it any time from Connection, Setup, Preferences. The header, left to right, is how you find everything:

• Edit: the blocks in your preset. Grid: your signal chain. Perform: the stage view.
• Tuner and Tap tempo: in the header on every view.
• Setlists: where supported, a header button that opens songs and sections.
• Connection pill: pick your MIDI connection, pair wireless adapters, open Setup and Preferences.
• ?: Help & Support, with Contents and the bug-report form.

Available screens and controls depend on your connected unit. For example, the VP4 and AM4 have no Grid view, and Setlists appear only on supported units.

// Editing blocks

• Select a block. Only the blocks in your preset appear. Preset, Scene and, on units that have channels, Channel (A to D) sit across the top. Tap any to change it.
• Change type and pages. Tap the Type wheel to swap an amp, cab, drive, delay or reverb model. Page tabs down the left split a block into sections. On VP4 and AM4 you choose effects directly from the chain, and the AM4 also has an Amp/Cab tab.
• Turn a knob. Hold a knob briefly, then drag; tap it to type an exact value. A changed knob offers Revert to saved on a long press where available. Drag faders, or tap for exact entry.
• Bypass. Dim blocks are bypassed. Each block has a Bypass control where available.
• Modifiers. Tap a modifier dot to choose or edit a source (LFO, ADSR, envelope follower, sequencer, pedal); hold the dot to open its panel directly.
• Copy and Paste transfer compatible block settings. Expand the mixer rail for level, balance and bypass settings.

Read-only controls.A lock badge, dashes or locked controls mean that block type isn’t hardware-verified yet. It’s deliberate: the app shows those controls read-only and never writes a value it can’t stand behind. Knobs, switches and selectors write to the unit as you move them, into the edit buffer.

// Grid gestures

The grid shows your unit’s routing from input to output, live from the unit. The grid tools are always on, but on units where grid editing isn’t available they are view-only.

• Add a block: tap +, pick a family for its next free instance, then tap an empty cell. Or double-tap an empty cell to open Add Block.
• Choose a numbered instance: in the chooser, press and hold a family to pick Input 1, Input 2, Compressor 1 and so on. Instances already used are disabled.
• Move a block: press and hold it, then drag it to a new cell. Or select it, tap Move, and tap the cell.
• Wire: turn on Wire mode, then tap or drag from the source block to the destination.
• Select: tap a block, and the toolbar offers Edit, Bypass, Move and Delete. Double-tap a block to open it in Edit.
• Zoom and fit: pinch to zoom, scroll to pan, and tap Fit to show the whole grid.
• Delete asks first. There is no undo on the grid, and every edit lands on the unit straight away, in the edit buffer.

The VP4 and AM4 are fixed four-slot chains, not a freeform grid. The FX8 has no grid. On the FM3 and FM9, grid editing is enabled but still being verified, and the FM3 reads the whole grid only over a wired MIDI connection.

// Presets and scenes

• Browse and search. The preset browser opens on the preset you’re already on, with search, sorting and color filters. Press and hold a preset to give it a color tag. Color tags are local labels in the app; they don’t write to the unit.
• Change presets. Choose a preset in the browser, or step with PREV and NEXT in Perform. Loading a preset changes your active sound and discards unsaved edit-buffer changes on the unit.
• Recall scenes from the top bar. Scene availability and names depend on your unit; the Axe-Fx II has scene numbers, not names.
• The EDITED pill. An orange EDITED pill in the header means your edit buffer has unsaved changes. Tap it to choose what to do (see Saving).

Presets load faster with caching; over Bluetooth, loading can still be slower than over USB.

// Saving safely

• Edits live in the edit buffer. Preset parameter edits, grid moves, controllers and tempo normally affect your device’s current edit buffer. Your saved preset is untouched until you save.
• Save (on supported units) writes the edit buffer to the current preset slot. The dialog names the slot.
• Save As opens the preset browser, then asks again before overwriting the destination. The confirmation names what is currently in that slot.
• Revert to Saved discards every edit and reloads the preset as the unit has it stored.
• Changing presets discards unsaved edits. That’s how the hardware works. AxeBlock EDIT follows along and won’t push stale values into a fresh preset.
• There is no automatic save.

Save and Save As appear only on units that can save from the app; see the device table below. Setlist edits and supported content installs have separate confirmations and can write directly to the device.

// Perform mode

Perform is built for the stage. Use PREV and NEXT for presets, the scene buttons where available, and TUNER without leaving the view. Enter a BPM and press Set, or use Tap and the model-specific metronome controls on this screen; scroll the tempo strip if needed. Which controls apply, including the metronome, depends on your unit.

BROWSE PRESETS opens search, sorting and color filters. Connection, Setup, Preferences controls whether scene name, preset number and tempo readouts show.

// Tuner and tempo

Tap TUNER in the header for the unit’s own tuner: note, cents and a strobe that follows the hardware’s pitch engine. Choose your instrument and reference tuning from the menus: guitars with up to 12 strings and basses with up to 6. Use the sharp/flat button to change note spelling; the string indicators follow the detected pitch. The reference tuning guides you; it doesn’t change your instrument’s pitch. Tap TUNER again to close it. The tuner reads the processor’s pitch data; it doesn’t use your microphone.

Over 5-pin MIDI instead of USB or Bluetooth? Turn on Setup, MIDI/Remote, General, “Send Realtime Sysex” on the unit: the Axe-Fx III only broadcasts its pitch stream over 5-pin MIDI when that’s enabled. Over Bluetooth, expect meters and the tuner to update more slowly than on USB.

Tap tempo:tap repeatedly to set the beat. Press and hold TAP to open BPM entry and the model-specific metronome controls, type a tempo and press Set. On the Axe-Fx II, metronome commands need your unit’s CC number and MIDI channel confirmed for this connection.

// Apple Watch

• The Watch companion shows your current preset, scene, tempo and connection. Use PREV and NEXT to change presets; swipe to the tuner to tune.
• Haptic Lock gives an in-tune wrist buzz while the Watch app is active. Swipe back to the rig face to turn the tuner off.
• When the Watch goes inactive, for example when you lower your wrist, Watch updates pause without switching the unit’s tuner off. They resume when it wakes.
• Keep AxeBlock EDIT open on the paired iPhone. watchOS controls sleep and background execution, so the phone app can’t force the Watch to stay awake. To return to the Watch app when you raise your wrist, set Watch Settings, General, Return to Clock, AxeBlock EDIT, Custom, After 1 hour.
• Everything is relayed through AxeBlock EDIT on your connected iPhone. The Watch never talks to the unit itself.

// Setlists

Put your iPad on a mic stand and keep your setlists where you need them. Setlists read the unit’s own sets, songs and sections; they are not something the app invents.

• Browse and recall. Choose one of four sets, then a song and section, and recall its preset and scene. Recall is safe: it affects the preset edit buffer, not the setlist.
• Looking isn’t performing. Viewing another set doesn’t change which set the unit is performing.
• Edit. Unlock editing to rename a song or section (up to 10 characters) or change a section’s preset. Every change asks you to confirm, takes effect immediately on the unit, and has no undo.

Availability: Setlists are enabled on the Axe-Fx III, FM3 and FM9, and need a connected unit. Verification:they are an Axe-Fx III feature first; FM3 and FM9 setlist behavior is still being verified. The VP4, AM4 and older units don’t offer Setlists.

// Cabs, IRs and NAM

• Browse cabs and IRs by name. The IR Player browser shows a bank dropdown and that bank’s slots by name; tap a slot to load it. Search filters the names.
• Install an IR. From the browser you can install an IR from a file, or into a chosen empty slot. Clearing a user slot asks you to confirm first. Check the bank and slot named in the confirmation before you accept: installs and clears can write directly to the device.
• NAM. On an Axe-Fx III with firmware 33 or later the NAM block shows its tone stack, gain, tone and input controls. For now, pick the NAM model on the unit or in Axe-Edit; choosing the slot from the app is still to come.

Which units support IR browsing and installs depends on the unit; the Axe-Fx III is the one documented here.

// Accessibility

AxeBlock EDIT has VoiceOver labels on parameter controls (knobs, faders, switches and selectors) and on the tuner’s pitch detection and string and tuning selection, and supports Dynamic Type up to .accessibility2. With VoiceOver, tap tempo offers an Enter tempo action. Grid routing and the preset browser have more limited support today; that work is ongoing.

// Device differences

One table for what each unit offers. Available means enabled and checked on a real unit by us or a beta tester. Being verifiedmeans the app enables it but we haven’t confirmed it on hardware yet. Read-only means the app shows values but doesn’t write. Not offeredmeans the app doesn’t provide it on that unit.

“Not documented” means we haven’t verified it for that unit. Per-unit detail and tester reports are on unit status.

// Privacy and permissions

• No account, no ads, no tracking.
• Bug reports and calibration captures are sent only when you choose to, through Mail or the share sheet. They can include your contact details, a description, MIDI logs, screenshots and diagnostic information.
• Crash diagnostics stay on your device.
• Bluetooth access is used for Bluetooth MIDI adapters. The tuner does not use the microphone.

Full detail: privacy policy.

// Troubleshooting and bug reports

• Connection drops. Bluetooth LE MIDI has less bandwidth than USB: move the adapter closer. A Bluetooth link that drops while the app is in the background can look connected until you use it. Re-pair the adapter if the pill stays amber.
• Values snap back or jump. Another editor is probably connected. Quit Axe-Edit or any other MIDI app holding the port.
• Missing values or blank knobs. Change presets on the unit once, or relaunch the app, to force a fresh sync. On an Axe-Fx II over Bluetooth, check I/O, MIDI, MFC ECHO TO MIDI OUT on the unit and turn it off.
• A control is unavailable. Available controls depend on your unit and firmware. Dashes or locked controls mean the block isn’t hardware-verified yet; that’s deliberate.
• Slow transfers. Bluetooth is slower than USB, especially loading presets. The FM3 reads its whole grid only over a wired MIDI connection.
• An FM3 won’t connect over USB. It can’t: the FM3 has no USB MIDI. Use Bluetooth MIDI or a 5-pin interface.
• An Axe-Fx II won’t connect over USB. Its USB isn’t compatible with iPhone or iPad.
• AM4 values look off. The AM4 has been connected in beta, but some controls and displayed values still need verification.

Send a useful bug report

1. Open Help (?), and scroll to the bug-report form (below on iPhone, to the right on iPad).
2. Describe what you did, what you expected, and what happened. Include your unit and how it’s connected.
3. Attach a screenshot if it helps. The report adds your app, device and connection details and a log of the app’s MIDI traffic.
4. Nothing is sent until you tap Send. You can also write to john@bloodyfingersoftware.com.

// More help

• Full help page: compatibility, parameters and FAQ.
• Wireless help: Bluetooth MIDI adapters.
• Support and privacy.

AxeBlock EDIT is an independent product of Bloody Finger Software, not affiliated with or endorsed by Fractal Audio Systems. Axe-Fx is a registered trademark of Fractal Audio Systems.