devices · Axe-Fx III · reference · firmware and backups
firmware and backups
What an update does
it does not erase your presets
Customized presets survive a firmware update.
it can change how they sound
Updates revise amp models. A preset is a list of settings, so a preset built on a model that changed will sound like the new model afterwards. The release notes say which models changed. Read them before you update.
saving after an update can lock a preset to that version
Once you re-save a preset on new firmware, it may no longer load on the old firmware. A backup taken before the update is the only route back, so back up every time you update.
it does not update the factory presets
New factory presets sometimes ship as a separate download. Install them yourself through Fractal-Bot, the same way as firmware. A firmware update on its own leaves them where they were.
Back up first
What to back up
Fractal-Bot's RECEIVE tab automates this, but you choose what it receives. Presets are stored in four banks of 128, so backing up one bank backs up a quarter of your presets. The Axe-Fx III's own interface does not point this out.
- step 01
back up all four preset banks
A is 0–127, B is 128–255, C is 256–383 and D is 384–511. The manual's own bullet misprints the third as "265–383". The banks are contiguous, and 256 is where C starts.
- step 02
back up the SYSTEM
One more file holds every custom setting in the Setup menu: Global, I/O, MIDI/Remote and Tuner. Without it a restore gives you your sounds back with none of your modeler's configuration.
- step 03
back up the User Cabs: both banks
The Axe-Fx III stores User Cabs in two banks, and they are two more files.
- step 04
name the folder by date
Fractal-Bot asks where to put the files, so decide in advance. The convention Fractal recommend, and that touring techs use, is yymmdd (260829), then the modeler's name. Sorting by name then sorts by date.
- step 05
write down the firmware version
Keep a text file next to the backup saying which firmware was installed when it was made. Presets saved on newer firmware may not open on older, so you need the version to know whether a backup will load.
Then update
Doing the update
Fractal-Bot again, and a backup before any major update. You can check the version you are on at any time: press SETUP and read the top left of the menu.
- step 01
quit everything else first
Close the editor, any DAW, and anything else touching audio or MIDI. They will fight Fractal-Bot for the connection.
- step 02
download and unzip, but do not double-click the firmware
The archive holds documents as well as the firmware itself, which is a SysEx (.syx) file. Extract it somewhere you can find again and leave it there. Double-clicking a .syx hands it to whatever else on your machine claims that extension. Fractal-Bot asks you where the file is.
- step 03
read the release notes
They say what changed and warn you about anything you need to know first. You can update from any version to any version. If you skip several, read the notes for the versions in between too. They ship with every release.
- step 04
then run Fractal-Bot
Fractal-Bot walks you through three steps, with the instructions built into the app. Windows needs a driver first, from the downloads page for your modeler. macOS does not.
What goes wrong
restoring is one file at a time
Backing up is automated. To restore, you send each file from the backup set individually, waiting for one to finish before starting the next. If a System file is one of them, reboot the modeler immediately afterwards. Fractal-Bot reminds you.
use USB, not 5-pin MIDI
Backing up and dumping are not supported over MIDI at all. You can send files to the modeler that way, but the transfer rate is too slow to be practical, so use USB.
if an update fails, run it again
If the modeler still boots, repeat the update. If it keeps failing, delete the download and fetch it again. A truncated file looks exactly like broken hardware. A different USB port or cable is the next thing to try.
a backup firmware for recovery
The Axe-Fx III carries a built-in backup firmware for recovery if an update goes wrong mid-flight. It is not for casual use. With it, a failed update on this modeler can be recovered at home, without a trip to a service center.