Line 6 AX2 212 MIDI Specification
The AX2 212 MIDI interface allows control over program and bank selection, the use of
controllers for wah, volume, and modulation, and system exclusive commands for
editing and program dumps. Since the AX2 212 is not a sound generator, status
messages for note off (8xH), note on (9xH), poly pressure (AxH), channel pressure
(DxH), and pitch bend (ExH) are ignored when received, and never transmitted.
Controllers (BxH) and program change commands (CxH) are received and transmitted
on the MIDI channel set by the user (or modified via MIDI by using sysex commands). If
the MIDI channel is set to omni, the AX2 212 will receive commands on all channels,
and transmit on channel 1. For additional information on the specific parameters and
features of the AX2 212, please refer to the AX2 212 User Manual.
Volume control
The volume control of the AX2 212 is transmitted as controller 7 any time the volume
footpedal is moved. The volume can be controlled via MIDI with either controller
number 7 or 11 (both are always received). Note that if the current program is set with
the volume pedal disabled, the MIDI controller changes will have no affect.
Wah control
The wah control of the AX2 212 is transmitted as controller 4 any time the wah
footpedal is moved. The wah can be controlled via MIDI with either controller number
3 or 4 (both are always received). Note that if the current program is set with the wah
pedal disabled, or to a non-pedal controlled wah such as auto-wah, the MIDI controller
changes will have no affect. The user can also set the wah pedal to control any one of
most of the parameters instead of functioning as a wah. MIDI control of the selected
parameter is then also possible, via controller 3 or 4.
Bank Select
The AX2 212 will respond to controller 0 or 32 as a bank select command. It will take
the least significant bit of either controller value, and use it to select a program bank. If
the bit is 0, the preset bank is selected. If the bit is 1, the user bank is selected. The
change does not take affect until a program change command is received. Bank select
commands are not transmitted from the AX2 212.
Program Change
The AX2 212 responds to program change values of 0 to 127, and selects the
appropriate program from the current program bank. The AX2 212’s programs are
organized as 32 sets (called Sound Banks, and numbered 01 through 32) of 4 programs
(called Sounds A, B, C, and D). MIDI program number 0 relates to program 01A, MIDI
program number 1 selects program 01B, and so on. MIDI program number 127 will
select program 32D. The AX2 212 will transmit a program change command any time
the user selects a new program from the front panel or the Floor Board foot controller.
Note: The user can select one received program number to be specified as a tuner
Line 6 AX2 212 MIDI Specification, version 2.01.....................................................................Page 1
select command, so that the tuner can be turned on via a MIDI program command.
This can also be edited via MIDI sysex control of the global parameters, described later.
Universal System Inquiry
The AX2 212 will respond to the universal system inquiry command if the channel
received is the same as the AX2 212’s MIDI channel, the channel received is 7F (all
channels), or the AX2 212 is set to omni mode. The received message is in the
following format:
F0 7E <chan> 06 01 F7 System inquiry message
If the channel received is 7F, the AX2 212 will respond with the channel also set to 7F.
If the channel received is not 7F, the AX2 212’s response will contain the same channel
as was received. The response transmitted from the AX2 212 is in the following format:
F0 7E <chan> 06 02 System inquiry response
00 01 0C Line 6 manufacturer's ID
00 00 AX2 212 product family code
00 00 AX2 212 device family member code
xx xx xx xx Software version number (ASCII)
F7 End of system exclusive
The software version is a four digit ASCII code, with an assumed decimal point between
the second and third digit. For example, version 1.05 would be represented by 30H
31H 30H 35H. Note: All received universal system commands are ignored while the
AX2 212 is in tuner mode.
System Exclusive
System exclusive commands are used for sending and receiving programs, global
settings, and for editing specific parameters. All transmitted and received sysex
commands contain the same first five bytes:
F0 Sysex command
00 Line 6 ID msb
01 Line 6 ID mid
0C Line 6 ID lsb
00 AX2 212 ID
The next byte (sixth byte) contains the opcode for the desired sysex command. There
are currently six opcodes supported, and they are summarized here along with their
data format:
00 Program dump
<program #> <83 bytes program data...> F7
01 Edit buffer dump
00 <83 bytes program data...> F7
02 Global buffer dump
<48 bytes global data...> F7
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03 Sysex dump request
<type> {<program #>} F7
{} may be omitted depending on type:
<type>=0 (program), <program #>=0..127
<type>=1 (edit buffer), no <program #>
<type>=2 (global data), no <program #>
<type>=3 (all programs), no <program #>
(responds with 128 programs + global data)
04 Parameter edit
[<parameter #> <dataLSNibble> <dataMSNibble>] F7
Data in [...] can be repeated
05 Store edit buffer
<program #> F7
Note: All received universal system commands are ignored while the AX2 212 is in
tuner mode.
Program and Editing Formats
When sending or receiving a program or edit dump, the data is packed in the following
format so as to minimize the amount of bytes required to transmit the program. For
each 7 consecutive bytes of a program (labeled a through g below), 8 MIDI bytes are
sent, as follows:
Bit #
7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Byte
00 a7 a6 a5 a4 a3 a2 a1 Byte 0
00 a0 b7 b6 b5 b4 b3 b2 Byte 1
00 b1 b0 c7 c6 c5 c4 c3 Byte 2
00 c2 c1 c0 d7 d6 d5 d4 Byte 3
00 d3 d2 d1 d0 e7 e6 e5 Byte 4
00 e4 e3 e2 e1 e0 f7 f6 Byte 5
00 f5 f4 f3 f2 f1 f0 g7 Byte 6
00 g6 g5 g4 g3 g2 g1 g0 Byte 7
Since there are a total of 72 bytes per program (prior to this packing format), 83 bytes
of data are required to be sent out MIDI once converted to this format. When
combined with the sysex header and EOX, the total number of bytes transmitted per
program is 91 bytes.
All parameters are stored as 8-bit values. If the parameter range allows negative
numbers, the parameters is stored as a 2’s compliment 8-bit number. There are 72
bytes stored with each program, each byte representing one parameter. The first 66
bytes relate to the 11 rows of six parameters, in order, starting from the top left-most
parameter as printed on the AX2 212 front panel. For simplicity, the last two
parameters of the first two rows (MIDI Channel, Transmit Sounds, Gate/Hum Per
Sound, Aux Per Sound) are stored with each program, although they are global
parameters and the value stored (or received) within each program will be ignored. The
last six bytes of each program are spare and are reserved for future use. They should
be left unchanged. Currently, the last three bytes of these six are used to represent the
Line 6 AX2 212 MIDI Specification, version 2.01.....................................................................Page 3
software version number in use when the program was last stored. This is encoded
with the first digit range being 32 through 40 (representing “1.” through “9.”), and the
next two digits’ range being 0 through 9 each, to represent the two digit decimal
number after the decimal point. For example, version 1.05 software programs would
have the last three bytes set to 32, 00, 05. A change in version number does not
necessarily mean any change in functionality for a program’s parameters. Since the
program memory could have been loaded with programs from a previous software
version, these bytes cannot be used to determine the software version of the AX2 212
via MIDI. To determine the current version number, use the universal system inquiry
message.
The following list shows the name and range for each parameter of a program. It also
indicates the parameter number to be used when editing a parameter directly via the
parameter edit command (04). The parameter number can be easily determined by
looking at the front panel. The column number is represented in bits 4 through 6 of the
parameter number as column 0 through 5, and the row number is represented in bits 0
through 3 as row 0 through 10 (A).
Parm Description Range
AUX/MIDI
00H Aux Input Mix 0/99
10H Aux Input Bass -50/50
20H Aux Input Treble -50/50
30H Aux Input Reverb 0/99
40H Midi Channel 0/16 0=omni, not stored
50H Transmit Sounds 0/129 128=edit buffer, 129=all, not stored
NOISE GATE
01H Noise Gate On/Off 0/1
11H Noise Gate Threshold0/99
21H Noise Gate Decay 0/99
31H Hum Canceller 0/99 0=off
41H Gate/Hum Per Sound 0/1 0=all, 1=per sound, not stored
51H Aux Per Sound 0/1 0=all, 1=per sound, not stored
COMP/PEDALS
02H Compression Level 0/5 0=off
12H Volume Pedal On/Off 0/3 0=off, 1=pre, 2=dist, 3=post
22H Distortion Box 0/120 See note 1
32H Wah Type 0/28 See note 2
42H Wah Depth 0/99
52H Auto-Volume Attack 0/99 0=off
AMP MODEL
03H Model Select 0/27 See note 3
13H Bass 0/99
23H Mid 0/99
33H Treble 0/99
43H Bright Switch 0/1 0=off
53H Amp Model Out Level0/99
Comments
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GRAPHIC EQ
04H 80Hz -19/19
14H 240Hz -19/19
24H 750Hz -19/19
34H 2200Hz -19/19
44H 6600Hz -19/19
54H Presence 0/99
TREMOLO/CAB
05H Tremolo Type 0/4 Off, mono, stereo 90°, stereo 180°, Ring Mod
15H Tremolo Speed 0/99
25H Tremolo Depth 0/99
35H Tremolo Shape 0/99
45H Cabinet Type 0/15 See note 4
55H Cabinet Stereo Spread 0/1 0=off
DELAY
06H Delay Type 1/14 Mono, stereo, ping-pong, 10 multi-taps, tape echo
16H Main Delay Time 0/99
26H Delay Time Offset 0/99
36H Delay Feedback 0/99
46H Dynamic Delay 0/99
56H Delay Level 0/99
CHORUS
07H Chorus Type 1/6 Chorus, flange, phaser, rotary, vibrato, freq mod
17H Chorus Speed 0/99
27H Chorus Depth 0/99
37H Chorus Feedback 0/99
47H Chorus Shape 1/4 Mono sine, stereo sine, mono sqr, stereo sqr
57H Chorus Level 0/99
REVERB
08H Reverb Type 1/5 Spring; dark, bright room; dark, bright hall
18H Predelay 0/99
28H Reverb Decay 0/99
38H Reverb Tone 0/99
48H Reverb Diffusion 0/99
58H Reverb Level 0/99
FX ON/OFF
09H Distortion Box On/Off0/1 0=off
19H Drive On/Off 0/1 0=off
29H EQ On/Off 0/1 0=off
39H Trem/Chorus On/Off 0/1 0=off
49H Delay On/Off 0/1 0=off
59H Reverb On/Off 0/1 0=off
MAIN
0AH Drive 0/99
13H Bass 0/99
23H Mid 0/99
33H Treble 0/99
4AH Channel Volume 0/99
5AH Delay/Reverb 0/99
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Note 1: The Distortion Box parameter is displayed as OFF when set to 0, and then
displayed for values 1 through 120 as 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, ..., 1.9, 2.0, 2.1, ..., 12.8,12.9. The left
digit determines the distortion box model, and the right digit determines the amount of
distortion. See the user manual for details.
Note 2: The Wah Type can be set to off, wah pedal, auto-wah, rando-wah, and
sample/hold for settings 0 through 4, respectively. For settings 5 through 28, the display
will show 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, ..., 5.9, 5.10, 5.11, ..., 5.24. These settings relate to the 24
possible modulation assignments of the wah pedal. The specific parameters that can be
modulated are detailed in the user manual.
Note 3: The Preamp Type range of 0/27 is displayed with the left most digit
representing the preamp category (eg. 0=Jazz Clean, 1=Small Tweed, 2=Tweed Blues,
3=Black Panel, etc…). The right digit represents the variation of the category. The
specific preamp model names are listed in the user manual.
Note 4: The Cabinet Type can be set to off (0), or any of 15 specific types. The display
of these parameters shows the category in the left digit of the display as 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5,
representing 1x12, 2x10, 2x12, 4x10, and 4x12 cabinets, respectively, and the right digit
displays one of three types for each category. See the user manual for more details on
the cabinet models.
Global Data
The global data consists of 21 parameters that are not stored with each program, and
therefore affect the overall operation of the AX2 212 at all times. The format for
receiving or transmitting the global data is different than the programs, since there is
much less data to be sent. Each parameter is represented by two MIDI bytes, each
containing one nibble (4 bits) of the parameter. The least significant nibble is sent first.
The following list shows the order, name, and range of each global parameter:
Parm Description
00 Global Aux Input Mix 0/99 Has no affect if Aux Per Sound=1
01 Global Aux Input Bass -50/50 Has no affect if Aux Per Sound=1
02 Global Aux Input Treble -50/50 Has no affect if Aux Per Sound=1
03 Global Aux Input Reverb 0/99 Has no affect if Aux Per Sound=1
04 Midi Channel 0/16 0=omni, see note 1
05 Transmit Sounds 0/129 128=edit buffer, 129=all, see note 1
06 Global Noise Gate On/Off 0/1 Has no affect if Gate/Hum Per Sound=1
07 Global Noise Gate Thresh 0/99 Has no affect if Gate/Hum Per Sound=1
08 Global Noise Gate Decay 0/99 Has no affect if Gate/Hum Per Sound=1
09 Global Hum Canceller 0/99 Has no affect if Gate/Hum Per Sound=1
10 Gate/Hum Per Sound 0/1 0=all, 1=per sound, see note 1
11 Aux Per Sound 0/1 0=all, 1=per sound, see note 1
12 Tuner Gain 0/99
13 Tuner Reference -5/5 0=440Hz
14 Tuner Midi Program 0/128 0=off
15 Global Drive -55/55 See note 2
Range
Comments
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16 Global Bass -55/55 See note 2
17 Global Mid -55/55 See note 2
18 Global Treble -55/55 See note 2
19 Global Channel Volume -55/55 See note 2
20 Global Delay/Reverb -55/55 See note 2
Note 1: These parameters can also be edited using the parameter edit command (04),
since they exist in the parameter matrix on the front panel. Also, if Aux Per Sound
and/or Gate/Hum Per Sound are in global mode (0), then the global parameters for aux
and gate will be edited when using the parameter edit command (04) for those program
parameters.
Note 2: The actual range of the last six parameters is displayed as -50 through +50.
Parameter values of -5 through +5 on the global parameters are all treated as 0 (and are
displayed as 0), and are used as a dead zone to make it easy to set a zero value from the
front panel knobs.
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