AX8-EDIT RELEASE NOTES - PLEASE REVIEW BEFORE USING THE APPLICATION

In general after updating: If AX8-Edit does not connect to your AX8, manually de-select and re-select the ports under Settings:
Preferences: General. If AX8-Edit does not show new AX8 parameters after a firmware update, do a Block Definitions refresh
under Settings: Preferences: Refresh

Release 1.9.1 September 26, 2019

REQUIRES AX8 Firmware Quantum 6.00 or newer.

Bug Fixes

1. Fixed a bug in the MacOS version in which right-clicking on an occupied grid block quickly
showed and then hid the context menu.

MacOS users please note: If updating from 1.8.7 or earlier, please update directly from the Fractal Audio
website. The auto-update functionality was changed in 1.9.0 to use the now standard installable .dmg
file format. Previous editor versions assumed the .pkg format and will show an error message upon
attempting to auto-update.
RELEASE NOTES FOR OLDER VERSIONS
=============================================
Release 1.9.0 August 19, 2019
=============================================

REQUIRES AX8 Firmware Quantum 6.00 or newer.

Bug Fixes
1. Rebuilt the MacOS verion of AX8-Edit as a 64-bit application. In order to keep the Windows and OSX versions
in lock-step with each other, the version number was incremented and both applications were rebuilt.

MacOS users please note: If updating from 1.8.7 or earlier, please update directly from the Fractal Audio
website. The auto-update functionality was changed in 1.9.0 to use the now standard installable .dmg file
format. Previous editor versions assumed the .pkg format and will show an error message upon attempting to
auto-update.

=============================================
Release 1.8.7 November 6, 2017
=============================================

REQUIRES AX8 Firmware Quantum 6.00 or newer.

Bug Fixes

1. Due to more stringent guidelines in the OSX App Transport Security, the URL to access Axe-Change and Auto-
Update from within the editor application now uses a secure connection via https. This change is incorporated
into both the Windows and OSX builds of the editor.

If running an AX8-Edit version less than 1.8.7 and are experiencing zero results returned from Axe-Change,
please manually download the new version of the editor from the website. Please use the following link to
download the editor:

http://www.fractalaudio.com/ax8-edit-software-editor.php

=============================================
Release 1.8.6 November 6, 2017
=============================================

REQUIRES AX8 Firmware Quantum 6.00 or newer.

Bug Fixes
1. Resigned the OSX version of AX8-Edit with a new code signing certificate (the certificate used to sign
earlier versions had expired). In order to keep the Windows and OSX versions in lock-step with each other, the
version number was incremented and both applications were rebuilt.

=============================================
Release 1.8.5 November 3, 2017
=============================================

REQUIRES AX8 Firmware Quantum 6.00 or newer.

New Features
1. Added support for firmware Quantum 9.01.
a. Added "Speaker Comp" to the AMP block's "Spkr Drv" page.

=============================================
Release 1.8.4 June 5, 2017
=============================================

REQUIRES AX8 Firmware Quantum 6.00 or newer.

New Features
1. Added additional support for firmware Quantum 8.02.
a. Removed the Dry Delay parameter from the Flanger as it has never been functional in the AX8.

=============================================
Release 1.8.3 May 22, 2017
=============================================

REQUIRES AX8 Firmware Quantum 6.00 or newer.

New Features
1. Added support for firmware Quantum 8.02.
a. All types in the Compressor block now support both Filter and Emphasis parameters.
b. Added modifier support to the AMP block parameter “Out Comp Amount” as found on the Dynamics page.

=============================================
Release 1.8.2 April 7, 2017
=============================================

REQUIRES AX8 Firmware Quantum 6.00 or newer.

New Features
1. Added support for firmware Quantum 7.02.
a. Added the new page "Spkr Drive" to the AMP block. This page contains the "Speaker Drive" parameter (moved
from the Speaker page) and the new parameters "Motor Drive" and "Motor Time Const".
b. Added parameters "Input Diffusion" and "Diffusion Time" to the "Master" page of the MULTI-DELAY block's
"Band Delay", "Quad Series", "Plex Delay", "Plex Detune", and "Plex Shift" types.
Bug Fixes
1. When switching presets while Grid Navigation Mode is enabled, Grid Navigation Mode will correctly respond to
keyboard navigation.

=============================================
Release 1.8.1 March 16, 2017
=============================================

REQUIRES AX8 Firmware Quantum 6.00 or newer.

New Features

1. Support for firmware Quantum 7.01

a. Added two new "Optical" types to Compressor block.
b. Added "Input Level" parameter to Pedal and Optical types in Compressor block.

Bug Fixes

1. When a parameter value is changed, dependent parameters are queried only if the changing parameter does not
have a Modifier attached.

=============================================
Release 1.8.0 March 10, 2017
=============================================

REQUIRES AX8 Firmware Quantum 6.00 or newer.

New Features

1. Increased the size of the Auto-Update dialog to allow more space for the current release notes.

2. Added the Learn parameter to the PITCH block's "Cust. Shift" type for firmware Quantum 6.03 or greater.

3. Modified the AMP block's "Power Amp" tab.

a. Added "PI Bias Shift" for connected devices running Quantum 7.00 or greater.
b. Moved "Pwr Tube Grid Bias" from the "Power Sply" page to the "Power Amp" page.
c. Moved "MV Cap" next to the "MV Location" parameter.
d. Added the "Presence Shift" button for the USA PRE LD2 models.

4. Added a small arrowhead symbol next to the "Scene" label. Clicking this arrow displays the scene context
menu. The context menu is still displayed by right-clicking any of the scene buttons.

5. Grid Navigation Mode allows the keyboard up/down/left/right keys to move freely throughout the grid. When
Grid Navigation Mode is enabled, the grid will be highlighted with a dashed yellow rectangle.
a. In Grid Navigation Mode selected blocks will not query and display their associated parameters. However,
keyboard shortcuts such as SPACE and X will allow block states to be toggled.
b. Grid Navigation Mode will remain enabled while blocks are inserted, connected, or scenes are changed (either
by keyboard shortcuts or buttons) for quick preset building.
c. Grid Navigation Mode also remains enabled during preset changing, saving, and other operations until
explicitly turned off.
d. To enter Grid Navigation Mode:
i. SHIFT+CTRL+G (Windows)
ii. SHIFT+CMD+G (OSX)
e. To exit Grid Navigation Mode:
i. ESC will exit without selecting anything.
ii. ENTER will exit causing the currently selected block to query and display its parameters.
iii. Selecting the CONTROLLERS button will exit and display the CONTROLLERS parameters.

6. Removed the confirmation dialog that is displayed before Block Definitions are read in favor of displaying a
bubble message at the top of the editor screen. The message will show for 10 seconds before automatically
disappearing.

Bug Fixes

1. MIDI PCs for scenes 5 through 8 are now correctly displayed upon changing presets.

=============================================
Release 1.7.1 January 4, 2017
=============================================

REQUIRES AX8 Firmware Quantum 6.00 or newer.

Bug Fixes:
1. Top-level menu item “Tools / Export As Text / Preset List…” now queries the preset names, if needed, before
exporting the list. Corrected the exported list's numbering to reflect the bank-preset number of the AX8.
2. Top-level menu item “Tools / Export As Text / Factory Cabs List…” and “Tools / Export As Text / User Cabs
List…” now queries the desired cabinet names, if needed, before exporting the list. Updated the exported list's
numbering to include either the prefix “U” or “F” to reflect the cabinet category.

=============================================
Release 1.7.0 December 16, 2016
=============================================

REQUIRES AX8 Firmware Quantum 6.00 or newer.

New Features:
1. Added new page “Scenes” to the OUTPUT and FX LOOP blocks. This page displays the MAIN level for each of the
scenes. The original page “Output” and “FX Loop” only showed the MAIN level for the selected scene.
2. AxeManage::CABS now supports the importing of .wav IR files. WAV files must be imported using the Browser
window. Importing a stereo WAV file will produce two entries in the Browser, one entry for the left and one
entry for the right channel.

=============================================
Release 1.6.1 December 2, 2016
=============================================

REQUIRES AX8 Firmware Quantum 6.00 or newer.

Bug Fixes:
1. Removed the "Pick Attack" parameter from the Amp block. This parameter was mistakenly added back into AX8-
Edit 1.6.0. Please note: “Pick Attack” is not part of the AX8 AMP block.

=============================================
Release 1.6.0 December 1, 2016
=============================================

REQUIRES AX8 Firmware Quantum 6.00 or newer.

New Features:
1. Added support for new Quantum 6.01 firmware.
a. The WAH block now includes a “Coil Bias” and “Low Cut Frequency” control when connected to Quantum 6.01 or
greater devices.
b. Added “EXIT” to the Function Footswitches. This allows the Function Footswitches to act like the <EXIT>
Button. This has primarily been added to allow the user to toggle the LARGE PRESET DISPLAY when it is set to
ALWAYS.
2. Updated the layout of the AMP block’s Dynamics page.
a. Parameters are now clearly grouped together with additional information in their labels.
b. Moved the “Comp Type” and “CF Comp” from the Preamp page to the Dynamics page.
3. On the AMP block’s “Power Sply” page, changed "Pwr Amp Grid Bias" to "Pwr Tube Grid Bias".
Bug Fixes:
1. Corrected the displaying of tooltips for Windows 10 builds.
2. Corrected the “Export preset to CSV…” to replace any newline characters in the parameter name with a space.

=============================================
Release 1.5.0 October 28, 2016
=============================================

REQUIRES AX8 Firmware Quantum 4.00 or newer.

New Features:
1. Added support for new Quantum 5.0 firmware. The AMP block Dynamics page now includes a “Preamp CF Hardness”
control when connected to Quantum 5.0 or greater devices.

Bug Fixes:
1. Corrected a bug in Save To New Location in which the Preset picker showed the name of the newly saved preset
in the wrong location. This bug only affected the editor’s display and not the AX8.

=============================================
Release 1.4.2 September 26, 2016
=============================================

REQUIRES AX8 Firmware Quantum 4.00 or newer.

Bug Fixes:
1. Fixed a bug in which the SAVE PRESET-CAB BUNDLE dialog was not shown after importing a Preset-Cab bundle
file and clicking the SAVE button.

=============================================
Release 1.4.1 September 16, 2016
=============================================

REQUIRES AX8 Firmware Quantum 4.00 or newer.

New Features:
1. Removed restriction from “Preset Footswitches” and “Global Footswitches” to allow the same block to be
reused in the grid. This allows for the same block to be both a Momentary footswitch as well as a Latching
footswitch.
2.Removed the command “Change to the AX8 FS screen” from the Tools menu. Removed Preferences option “Change the
AX8 to the FS page when pausing communications”. These features are no longer applicable with the firmware 4.00
changes.

Bug Fixes:
1. Fixed a bug in the Block menu “All Scenes” in which any of the actions (Bypass, Engage, Set to X, Set to Y)
would return the device to scene 1 upon completion but leave the editor at the last selected scene. Now both
the device and the editor are returned to the last selected scene upon the completion of an “All Scenes”
action.
2. Added missing Drive parameter to Multi-Delay types Quad-Tap, Plex Delay, and Quad Tape Dly.
3. Removed the "Pick Attack" parameter from the Amp block. The parameter, while included in the AX8 user
interface, was not functional in the Amp calculation.
4. Removed the "Sidechain Select" parameter from the Gate block. The parameter, while included in the AX8 user
interface, was not functional in the Gate calculation.
5. Modified the Phaser's "Bulb Bias" parameter to show or hide based on the selection of the Phaser's Mode
parameter (it was incorrectly showing/hiding based on the Phaser's Type).
6. Fixed a bug in the updating of the editor’s local list of preset names. Immediately after saving a preset,
the editor now queries the saved preset’s name so that the editor and the device stay in sync.
7. In the AMP block, the “Saturation Switch” parameter now responds to the Modifier shortcut key ‘M’.
8. Corrected “Export Preset to CSV” such that only the blocks that are currently in the preset are exported
(including the Input/Output Gates, and Controllers). The previous version would incorrectly export blocks that
were deleted from the preset during an editing session.
9. Removed the “LFO1 Master” parameter from the Multi-Delay type "Quad Tape Dly". This parameter appeared in
the editor but not on the device.
10. In AxeManage:Presets, auditioning a preset from the Browser pane no longer moves the keyboard focus to the
right-hand memory pane.

=============================================
Release 1.4.0 July 13, 2016
=============================================

REQUIRES AX8 Firmware Quantum 3.50 or newer.

New Features:
1. Axe-Change is now accessible from AX8-Edit. Choose Axe-Change from the Tools menu. This will open an Axe-
Change browser in a separate window to allow quick modifications to a newly downloaded Axe-Change Preset or
Cab. (NOTE: Download functionality is only supported at this time.)
2. Cab IR files can now be imported via Axe-Manage:Cabs. IR files ship with the Fractal Audio Cab Packs and
have a .ir extension. The Axe-Manage:Cabs Browser menu has two new sub-menus whose selection is saved in the
global settings:
a. IR Processing Mode: Choose between None, Auto Trim, and Min Phase. Default is set to None.
b. IR Output Mode: Choose between Normal and UltraRes. Default is Normal.

Bug Fixes:
1. Fixed a bug in the Copy/Swap XY functionality in which the “Preamp Tube Type” was being reset to its default
value for the selected Amp and was not the user’s changed value.
2. Changed the thread in which the operating system’s MIDI devices are queried to address connectivity issues
in OSX.

=============================================
Release 1.3.1 June 14, 2016
=============================================

REQUIRES AX8 Firmware Quantum 3.50 or newer.

New Features:
1. Added support for firmware 3.50.
a. The Preset and Global footswitch pages now support Momentary or Latching mode.
b. Control Switch 1 and 2 were added to Preset and Global Footswitch context menu.
c. Per-Scene default Control Switch values can be set in the Controllers view by clicking on “Ctrl Switch”
page.
2. The currently selected scene’s values for Scene Controller 1, Scene Controller 2, Ctrl Switch 1, and Ctrl
Switch 2 are now included in “Copy Current Scene”, “Paste to Current Scene”, “Paste to All Scenes”, and the
Scene Swap functions.
3. Added the “Setup” button which will include the Global and I/O parameters. Currently only Global “Out 1”
and “Out 2” are provided but more parameters will be added in the coming releases.

=============================================
Release 1.3.0 May 18, 2016
=============================================

New Features:
1. Added new Block menu command "Reset Current Effect Type". This command is an expansion of the existing Block
Reset command.
a. "Reset Current Effect Type" saves the block's current effect type (if applicable), resets the block to its
defaults, and then changes the block's effect type back to the saved value.
b. The hot-key CTRL+I (Windows) CMD+I (MAC) was removed from the existing Block Reset and moved to the new
"Reset Current Effect Type". The existing Block Reset no longer has a hot-key associated with it.
2. Modified the formatting of the "Save to new Preset Number" confirmation dialog with name of the new preset.
Example: Are you sure you want to replace preset (305) "Morgan AC20 Dlx Trbl 12AX7" with "Marshall JMP-1
Preamp"?
3. The Pause Communications dialog overlay has now been made semi-transparent allowing the grid to be partially
visible.

Bug Fixes:
1. In the AMP block, changing the “Preamp Tube Type” now refreshes the “Preamp Hardness” parameter.
2. In the AMP block, changing the “Power Tube Type” now refreshes the “Pwr Amp Hardness” parameter.
3. The "Save Preset-Cab Bundle" dialog was incorrectly ignoring the user cabinets in an imported preset whose
CAB blocks were set to the Y-state. The editor was not refreshing the XY state of the imported preset before
fetching the cabinet names.
4. In the PHASER block, changed the "Vibe Mode" toggle switch to "Phaser Mode" dropdown.
5. Fixed a communication issue in which a pending communication could be interrupted midstream by a higher
priority communication resulting in data collisions. This was discovered by rapidly clicking on a preset button
or any of the blocks during the loading of a preset.

=============================================
Release 1.2.2 May 2, 2016
=============================================

Bug Fixes:
1. Modified the Pause-Communications feature to query the currently selected preset and scene of the AX8 when
enabling communications.
2. Moved the Picker’s multiple-selection control, labeled ‘M’, next to the pushpin control. Toggling ‘M’ will
now also toggle the pushpin’s state. The pushpin can still be toggled independently of ‘M’. (Please note that
‘M’ is shown only in the AMP and CAB picker.)
3. Renamed the label “Indigo” to “Purple” in the “Filter By Color” Picker control and “Assign Color” menu.

=============================================
Release 1.2.1 April 29, 2016
=============================================

Bug Fixes:
1. Fixed a bug in the OSX build that prevented the context menu from being displayed on occupied blocks. The
Windows version was rebuilt to reflect the version change.

=============================================
Release 1.2.0 April 29, 2016
=============================================

REQUIRES AX8 Firmware Quantum 3.00 or newer.

New Features:
1. Added support for AX8 firmware Quantum 3.00. The new AMP block parameter "Xformer Grind" can be found on the
AMP block Speaker page.
2. Added new feature to the AMP and CAB picker called “Filter by Color”. This consists of two controls a button
labeled ‘M’ to enable multiple-selection and a dropdown menu labeled “Filter by Color”.
• To assign a color to an item in the AMP or CAB picker, right-click the item to show the “Assign Color” menu.
Selecting a color from this menu will mark the item's number field with the chosen color. Select “None” from
the “Assign Color” menu to clear the assigned color.
• To assign a color to more than one item at a time, select the ‘M’ button to enable multiple-selection. Use
the keyboard keys SHIFT or CMD to select groupings of items and then right-click the selection to show the
“Assign Color” menu. By default, the list always opens in single-selection mode.
• Please note: When multiple-selection is enabled, the AMP or CAB picker requires a double-click to make the
selection. In addition, enabling multiple-selection will also enable the Pushpin in the top-right of the picker
window. This will prevent the picker from closing during multiple-selection if accidentally double-clicking.
• Use the "Filter by Color" dropdown control at the top of the AMP or CAB picker to display only those items
marked with a given color. "Filter by Color" supersedes the textual search filter box.
• All assigned colors are saved to a file located in the same directory as the global settings (Mac:
<user>/Application Support/Fractal Audio/AX8-Edit/color-assignments.dat ; Windows:
C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Roaming\Fractal Audio\AX8-Edit\color-assignments.dat)
3. Added an “All Scenes” sub-menu to the top-level Blocks menu. These “All Scene” operations allow for setting
the bypass state or XY state of the selected block in all scenes.
4. Added a "Bypass All Blocks" option to the Scene widget's context menu. Selecting the operation will bypass
all the blocks in the current scene.
5. Added the command “Change to the AX8 FS screen” to the Tools menu. The keyboard shortcut is SHIFT+CTRL/CMD+H
where ‘H’ is for HOME screen. (AX8 must be running firmware 3.00 or greater to use this feature.)
6. Added new Preferences option “Change the AX8 to the FS page when pausing communications.” When checked,
pressing F8 while change the AX8 to the FS page and then pause the communications. (AX8 must be running
firmware 3.00 or greater to use this feature.)
7. Added new Preferences option “Automatically pause the communications when an AX8 front-panel change is
detected." These front panel changes include: scenes, presets, block enable states from the footswitches, and
parameter changes from the ABCDE quick controls.
8. Snapshot entries are now numbered in the “Load Snapshot” menu.
9. Updated tooltips to show their hotkey sequences.
10. Added hot keys for bank and preset navigation:
• Next Bank: CTRL/CMD + PageUp
• Previous Bank: CTRL/CMD + PageDown
• Go To Bank and Preset: CTRL/CMD + G

Typing a Bank and Preset Number:

1. Entering a single digit between 1 and 8 will jump to that preset within bank 1.
2. Entering a two digit number between 01 and 64 will jump to preset 1 in the typed bank.
3. Entering a single digit, punctuation, single digit will jump to the given bank and preset.
a. Example: Type "4.7" and hit enter. The preset will change to bank 4 preset 7.
4. Entering two digits, punctuation, single digit will jump to the given bank and preset.
a. Example: Type "18.7" and hit enter. The preset will change to bank 18 preset 7.
5. Valid punctuation characters: -*+/,.;:

Bug Fixes:
1. Importing an AX8 bank file no longer shows the preset names as EMPTY.
2. Replaced the Mic parameter in the CAB block with Proximity Effect.
3. Modified the Browser pane in AxeManage:CABS such that it displays EMPTY cabs when Cab Bank files are opened
from the Browser menu or dragged and dropped. Previously EMPTY Cabs were ignored which could cause confusion
when opening a bank containing all EMPTY Cabs as the Browser displayed “0 User Cabs Found”.
4. AxeManage:CABS and AMPS now prepends the location to the suggested exported file name.
5. In the block parameter view, SPACEBAR support was removed from the SWITCH controls. This reserves the
SPACEBAR for toggling the selected block’s enable state. The SWITCH can still be toggled from the keyboard
using ENTER/RETURN or UP/DOWN keys.
6. Modified the editor to query all the tempo controlled parameters within the preset when a new tempo is set
in the TEMPO widget.
7. Swapping scenes now queries the state of the EDITED flag.

=============================================
Release 1.1.0 March 11, 2016
=============================================
New Features:
1. Full support for AX8 firmware 2.02.
2. Added "View Release Notes..." to the Help menu.

Bug Fixes:
1. Importing an Input Noise Gate block, which was saved from Axe-Edit, now correctly sets the block's Level
parameter to its default value. The Axe-Fx and the AX8 use different tapers for the Level parameter making the
raw parameter values incompatible.
2. Turning the SYNTH block’s “Shift” parameter knob (one for each voice) sends the correct value for each
interval.
3. Fixed a bug that disabled the editor’s preset navigation controls when the block enabled states were queried
due to a modifier being attached to any block’s Bypass Mode parameter.
4. The Block states are now queried when a block is deleted. This will update the disabled block states and the
CPU percentage.
5. Removed “Axe-Fx II” from the Block Definitions prompt.
6. Corrected the COMPRESSOR block to show the “Filter” parameter when the type is set to “Dynamics”.

=============================================
Release 1.0.2 February 1, 2016
=============================================

New Features:
1. Full support for AX8 firmware 1.01.

Bug Fixes:

1. AX8-Edit no longer changes the block focus on the AX8 in response to a Resync message.
2. On the Preset Footswitches page, the context menu is no longer shown for a footswitch set to Global.
Instead, a message box informs that Global mode must be turned off for the selected footswitch before setting
the Preset effect.
3. Importing an Amp block, which was saved from Axe-Edit, now correctly sets the Amp block's Level parameter to
its default value in both the X and Y states. The Axe-Fx and the AX8 use different tapers for the Level
parameter making the raw parameter values incompatible.
4. The Save Preset-Cab Bundle dialog now displays the User cab names in the picker instead of the Factory cab
names.
=============================================
Release 1.0.1 December 18, 2015
=============================================

Bug Fixes:

1. Improved the performance and responsiveness of the rotary knob and slider controls.

=============================================
Initial Release 1.0.0 December 14, 2015
=============================================

NOTES:
* AX8-Edit requires an AX8 running Firmware version 1.0 or newer.
* The AX8 requires NO DRIVER. Simply connect it to your computer with a USB Cable and launch AX8-Edit.
* AX8-Edit works in tandem with the AX8 in a client-server type relationship, AX8-Edit requires an AX8 to be
connected for all operations. "Offline editing" is not supported and will not be added to any future version.
* It is normal for the display of the AX8 to change screens automatically while AX8-Edit is in use. To avoid
confusion, it is strongly recommended that you avoid using the AX8 hardware while AX8-Edit is running. If you
want to test footswitches or edit from the AX8 itself, please pause AX8-Edit using the pause button (top left
corner).
* AX8-Edit currently requires default CC# assignments for Tuner and Tempo functions.
* There are no known bugs in AX8-Edit.