Dumpster  Reference  Guidev1.0.2,  October  30,  20121

Copyright  © 2012 Lynn  Oliver

   

1 Dumpster and the Dumpster Logo are the property of Lynn Oliver DBA Ryegrass Software

Installation! 3Installation on Windows! 3Installation on OS X! 3

FAQ ! 4What is Dumpster?! 4What is a Dump File?! 4How do I save a Dump File?! 4How do I load a Dump File into my MFC?! 4Isn’t this information in the MFC-101-Owners-Manual from FAS?! 4What are all these fields for?! 4How do I know that the values I input using Dumpster are the same that I could set directly on the MFC?! 5Why won’t it scroll to all the valid entries? It keeps scrolling just through entries starting with...! 5

Editing! 6Entry Validation! 7Dumpster Reference! 8

Edit Presets Window! 9Edit MIDI Window! 10Edit MIDI! 11Edit Songs Window! 12Edit Sets Window! 12Edit Setup Window! 13Edit Maps Window! 14

Program Settings ! 15Logger Settings! 15Enter and Display MIDI As! 15

Troubleshooting! 16Questions! 16Logo Trivia! 16

  Dumpster   2

Installation

Dumpster  works  on  Windows  (WinXP2  and  newer)  and  OS  X   (10.6  and   newer).    On  Windows,  some  non-­‐US   character   sets  may   prevent   the   program  from   running,   so   if   it   doesn’t   work   for   you   that  may   be   the   cause.     If   possible   this   will   be  addressed  in  a  future  release.

Installation on Windows

Dumpster   will   run   on   both   64-­‐bit   and   32-­‐bit  versions   of   Windows.     Once     you   have  downlaoded  the  installaNon  file,  double-­‐click  on   it  to  start  the  install  process.    

For  Windows,    Dumpster  is  supplied  as  a  Windows  installer   package   named   Dumpster.msi.     When  you   double-­‐click  on   this  file   the   installer   will   run  and  preset  this  dialog  window.

Once  you  have  completed  the  installaNon  you  can  delete  the  installaNon  file.

Installation on OS X

For  OS  X,  Dumpster  is  supplied  as  a  disk  image  named   Dumpster_Setup.dmg.     When   you  double-­‐click   on   this   file   a   disk   image   named  Dumpster   will  be  mounted  and  you  will   see  a  

Finder   window   that   looks   something   like   this.  Double-­‐click   on   the   file  Dumpster.pkg   to   run   the  installaNon   program.     When   the   installer  completes,  you  may  eject  the  disk  image.

  Dumpster   3

2 Windows and OS X are the property of Microsoft Corp. and Apple Computer Inc. respectively.

FAQ

What is Dumpster?

Dumpster   is  an   offline  editor  for   the  Fractal  Audio  MFC-­‐1013  that   allows  you   to  edit  the  parameters  in  the  MFC-­‐101   in  a  way  that  allows  you   to  see  many  parameters   at   one  Nme   and  to  make  entries  with   your   computer   keyboard   instead  of  with  mulNple  foot  switch  clicks..    

It  doesn’t  interact  with  the  MFC-­‐101  directly  but  instead  works  with  Dump  Files  that  are  saved    from  the  MFC-­‐101.

What is a Dump File?

A   Dump   File   contains   all   the   data   seUngs   stored   in   the  MFC-­‐101,  organized   as   a   series   of   SysEx   Messages   so   that   it   can   be  transferred  using  a  standard  MIDI  connecNon.

How do I save a Dump File?

On   the   computer,   start   a  uNlity   that   can   capture   incoming  MIDI  messages   to   a   file;   for   OS   X   I   recommend   using  Snoize   SysEx  Librarian;  for  Windows  you  can  use  MIDI-­‐OX.    Set  it  to  record  mulNple  messages.

On  the  MFC,  press  EDIT  and  then  MIDI,  which  will   bring  you  to   the  seUng  for   the  MIDI  Port.    Use   the  UP   and  DOWN  switches   to  select   “USE   PORT   MIDI”   and   then   press   EXIT/SAVE.     At   this   Nme   it   is   not   possible   to   save   a   dump   using   the   expansion   port  connecNon.    

Connect  a  set  of  MIDI  cables  from  the  MFC  to  a  MIDI  interface  on  your  computer.

Next  on  the  MFC,  press  EDIT  again  and  then  SETUP.    Press  PAGE  leb  four  Nmes,  which  brings  you  to  the  SysEx  Data  DUMP!    SeUng.    When  your  uNlity  is  ready  to  receive  messages,  press  ENTER  (flashing  red  light)  on  the  MFC  to  start  the  transfer.

The  Dump  is  complete  when  979  messages  have  been  recorded.    Stop  recording  and  name  the  file  to  something  suitable.    This  is  the  file  you  will  use  with  Dumpster.

How do I load a Dump File into my MFC?

This  is  the  reverse  of  the  procedure  for  saving  a  Dump  File.    When  you  get  to  the  SysEx  Data  DUMP!    screen,  press  the  UP  or  DOWN  bugon   to  change  it   to  SysEx  Data  LOAD!    Press  ENTER  and   then   start   playing  the  Dump   File  from  your   SysEx  Library  uNlity  to   the  MFC.

Isn’t this information in the MFC-101-Owners-Manual from FAS?

Yes  it   is,  and  I  encourage  you   to   refer   to   that  document  whenever    you  have  quesNons  about  how  the  MFC-­‐101  works.    In   other  words,  from  here  on  out  you  are  politely  advised  to  Read  The  Manual.

What are all these fields for?

As  I  wrote  above,  Read  The  Manual.    I  know  you  don’t  want  to   study  it,  but  therein   lies  the  path  to  wisdom.    Or  at   least   success  in    programming  your  MFC-­‐101.     But   feel   free   to   experiment:  although   it   takes  a   ligle  Nme   to   transfer   Dump   Files   back  and   forth,  ediNng  is  much  simpler  on  the  PC  so  it  is  easy  to  try  things  out.

  Dumpster   4

3 MFC-101 and Axe-Fx are the property of Fractal Audio Systems

How do I know that the values I input using Dumpster are the same that I could set directly on the MFC?

You  can  always  compare  the  values  displayed  on  the  MFC  with  those  displayed  by  Dumpster.    In  general  I’ve  made  all  of  the  inputs  exactly  the  same  to   prevent   confusion,  so   if  toggle   is   abbreviated   as  TOG  on  the  MFC,  it  will   display  as  TOG   in  Dumpster.    Not   to  menNon   that   I’ve  done  a  lot   of  tesNng  to   try  and  check  as  many  combinaNons  as   is   feasible.     It’s  somewhat   ironic   that  wriNng  an  editor  for  the  MFC  has  involved  hours  and  hours  of  programming  the  MFC  manually  and  broken  the  switches  in  nicely.

Why won’t it scroll to all the valid entries? It keeps scrolling just through entries starting with...

See  the  next  secNon  on  EdiNng  for  a  tutorial  on  how  ediNng  works.     The  short   answer   is  you  must   delete  any  characters  you  have  typed  if  you  want  to  scroll  through  the  complete  list  of  valid  entries.    Otherwise  Autocomplete  is  going  to  show  you  only  entries  that  will  complete  what  you  started  to  type.

  Dumpster   5

Editing

To  edit  any  of  the  parameters  in  Dumpster  you  move  the  cursor  to  an  entry  either  by  clicking  on  the  entry  or  by  tabbing  to  the  entry.    You  can  then  change  the  entry  by  typing  or  by  scrolling  using  the  UP  and  DOWN  keys.    Anything  you  type  that   is  not  part  of  a  valid  value  for  that  parameter  will  be  ignored.    As  you  type,  Dumpster  will  autocomplete  the  entry  using  valid  values  for  that  entry.

That  sounds  simple  enough,  but   a  ligle  more  explanaNon  may  help  prevent  confusion  since  there  is  a  lot  going  on  when  combining  scrolling  and  autocomplete.    Let’s  take,  for   example,  the  Axe  Block  parameter   from  the  MIDI  Menu.    If  you  tab   into   this  block  you  might  see  this:

Now  if  you  press  the  UP  key,  you  will  see:

Press    the  UP  key  again:

And  so  on  as  it  scrolls  through  the  enNre  list  of  blocks.    Let’s  say  you  want  the  Phaser2  block;  instead  of  scrolling  all  the  way  there,  you  can  type  ‘p’:

NoNce  that  the  leger  you  type,  ‘p’  is  not   selected,  and  autocomplete  has  suggested  the  first  matching  entry  that  starts  with   ‘p’.    If  you  do  nothing  else  before  leaving  this  entry  box,  then  PanTrem1  is  the  seUng.    

Now  type  ‘h’:

Now  the  two  legers  you  typed,  ‘ph’,  are  not  selected,  and  autocomplete  has  suggested  the  first  matching  entry  that  starts  with  ‘ph’.    We’re  geUng  close  to  what  we  want,  so  now  we  can  either  type  the  rest  of  the  name,  

or  hit  the  DOWN  key:

If  you  conNnued  to  hit  the  DOWN  key  you  would  see,  in  order:

NoNce  that  scrolling  only  affects  the  part  of   the  entry  suggested  by  autocomplete,  so   it  will   only  show  you  matches  that  start  with  the  legers  you  have  typed.    If  you  want  to  see  all  possible  entries,  you  need  to  delete  any  characters  you  have  typed.

  Dumpster   6

Entry Validation

The  MFC  controls  what  can  be  entered  for   each  parameter,  so  Dumpster  does  validaNon  checking  to  make  sure  that  any  parameter  that   is  edited  will  sNll  match  what  can  be  entered  on   the  MFC4.    When   you   type  a  character  that  is  not  part   of  a  valid  entry,  then  your  friendly  Dumpster  will  fix  it   for  you  by  removing  the  invalid  character.    If  that  leaves  the  entry  blank,  in  most  cases  the  entry  will  be  reset  to  the  default  value  for  that  entry.

But  Dumpster   knows  that   reseUng  the  Axe-­‐Fx   block  name   to   ‘None’  when   you   accidentally  start   by  typing  the   wrong  character  might  be  annoying,  so  it  leaves  the  entry  blank.    You  can  now  conNnue  by  typing  the  correct  character,  or  you  can  choose  instead  to  leave  it  blank.    In  that  case  Dumpster  will  set  it  to  ‘None’  when  saving.

The  other  case  when  an  entry  can  be  leb  blank  is  when  entering  the  elements  of  a  MIDI  message.    As  described  in  the  below  in  Edit  MIDI,  any  bytes  beyond  the  end  of  a  MIDI  message  must  be  leb  blank  or  they  will  be  sent  as  part  of  the  message.  

If  there  are  any  other   cases  where  you  find   it   parNcularly  annoying  to   have   an   entry  reset   to   the  default  aber   you  have   typed  a  character   that   really  doesn’t  belong,  and  you’d   rather   be   annoyed  at  Dumpster   than  at   yourself,  feel   free.    You  might   even   send  polite  feedback  as  to  why  the  world  would  be  a  beger  place  if  some  parNcular  parameter  was  not  reset  to  default.

  Dumpster   7

4 The exception is the pedal calibration settings. These cannot be directly edited on the MFC but must be determined by calibrating the pedal. For no particular reason Dumpster allows these setting to be edited; I don’t know what happens if you set the min calibration value larger than the max calibration value. Perhaps your MFC will shift in time...

Dumpster ReferenceDumpster   is   intended   to   be   simple   to  use,   so   in   most   cases   you   should   be  able   to   just   start   using   the   program  w i t h o u t   n e e d i n g   a d d i N o n a l  instrucNons.    

Basic   instrucNons   are   shown   in   the  Mini  User  Guide  on  the  home  screen.

When   you   start   up   the   program   the   only  controls   that   are   acNve   are   the   Load  Dump   File   and   Read   Dump   from   MFC  bugons,   and   the   MIDI   Device   controls.    Just   above   the   bugons   is   a   message  staNng  No  Dump  File  Loaded.

Once  you  have  selected  a  Dump  File  and  it  has   passed   verificaNon   it   will   be   loaded  into   memory   and   made   available   for  display  and  ediNng.    The  status  will  update  

to   indicate   the   name   of   the   file   that   has  been  loaded,  or  it  will  say  Dump  Data  Loaded  From  MFC  if  the  data  was  loaded  directly  from  the  MFC-­‐101  via  MIDI.

At   this   point   the  Save  Dump   File   and   Send  Dump   to  MFC   bugons  and   the   six   Edit   Bugons   are    made  acNve,  allowing  you   to   to  display  and  edit  informaNon  related  to  the  equivalent  menus  on  the  MFC.    

As  noted  in   the  Mini  User  Guide,  the     Axe-­‐Fx   Preset   Transmit  Map   and  the  MFC-­‐101  Program  Change  Map   are  broken  out   into  a  separate  menu  that  does  not  exist  on  the  MFC.    The  Save  Dump  File  bugon  is  also  acNve.    If  you  want  to  get  picky,  the  Song  and  Set  menus  are  a  single  menu  on  the  MFC  and  are  split  into  two  menus  for  Dumpster.

  Dumpster   8

Edit Presets Window

I’ve  got  nothing  to  add  here.

  Dumpster   9

Edit MIDI Window

A  Picture's  Meaning  Can  Express  Ten  Thousand  Words.

  Dumpster   10

Edit MIDI

Here  it   is   showing  custom  midi   windows   opened   for   IA#01   and   IA#04.    The  first   Nme   you   click  on   a  midi   bugon,   it   will  open   the  Custom  MIDI   area   for   the  corresponding   IA   switch.    The   second   Nme  you   click  the  bugon,  it  will  close  the  Custom  MIDI  area.    As  you  can   see,   geUng   all   the  r e l a t e d   i n f o rmaN o n  together   in   one   window  can   result   in   a   very   large  and   confusing  window,   so  I   chose   to   make   the  custom  MIDI  areas  hidden  unNl  asked  for.    

It   may   be   useful   to   have  more   than   one   MIDI  window  open   at   the  same  Nme   so   that   you   can  compare   the   seUngs   on  different   switches,   but   if  you   open   too   many   the  enNre  window  will   expand  to   where   it   doesn’t   fit   on  your    computer  screen.     If  that   happens,   just   close   a  few   of   the   Custom   MIDI  a r e a s   t o   s h r i n k   t h e  window   back   to   usable  size.    

When   you   edit   MIDI  fields  on   the  MFC-­‐101,  you  have  to   enter   MIDI   data   in  order;   that   is,   you   can’t  scroll  past  an  empty  entry.    That   is   handled   here   by  filling   any   empty   boxes  that   are   skipped   with  zeros,  which   you   will   see  the   next   Nme   the   MIDI  window  is  opened.

  Dumpster   11

Edit Songs Window

Nope.

Edit Sets Window

Nada.

  Dumpster   12

Edit Setup Window

This  space  intenNonally  leb  blank.

  Dumpster   13

Edit Maps Window

Say  no  more5.

  Dumpster   14

5 Nudge, nudge, wink, wink.

Program Settings There  are  a  few  program  seUngs  that  can  be  changed  by  the  user.    These  are   found   under   OpNons/SeUngs   for   Windows   platorms   and   under  Dumpster/Preferences  for  OSX  systems.    

Logger Settings

The  logger   inserts  status  messages  into  a  log  file,  which  is  a  type  of  text  file.     Each   status  message   has   a   level   associated   with   it,  starNng   with  Debug  and   going  up   to  CriNcal.    With   the  default   seUng  of  Error,  only  messages   of   level   Error   and   CriNcal   are   logged,   but   if   you   are   having  problems  with  Dumpster,  it   can  be  useful   to   set   a   lower   level,  such  as  Debug,  so  that  more  informaNon  is  logged.

Many   log   messages   will   not   be   meaningful   to   the   user   since   they  generally  provide   internal  program  status,  but   they  can   be  invaluable   to  me  in  tracking  down  a  problem.        

The  Maximum  Log  File  Size  seUng  determines  when  the  log  file  is  large  enough   that  it  should  be  erased  and  a  new  log  file  started.    If  the  size  of  the  log  file  exceeds  the  seUng  when  Dumpster  starts  up,  it   will  delete  the  old  file  and  start  a  new  one.    Log  files  are  never  deleted  regardless  of  size   unNl   Dumpster   is   restarted,   so   you   don’t   need   to   be   concerned  about  losing  informaNon  that  has  been  stored  during  the  current  session.

Log   files   are   stored   in   the   appropriate   user   area   based   on   platorm;   on  Windows  (assuming  that  the  boot  drive  is  “C:\”)  :

For  Windows  XP  the  file  isC:\Documents and Settings\user_name\Application Data\Dumpster\Dumpster.log

For  Windows  7  the  file  is:C:\Users\user_name\AppData\Local\Dumpster\Dumpster.log

For  OS  X,  the  file  is  found  on  the  boot  drive  at:/Users/user_name/Library/Logs/Dumpster.log

Enter and Display MIDI As

You  can  select  whether  to  view  the  MIDI  message  bytes  as  Hexadecimal  (00  to  FF)  or  Decimal  (0  to  255).

Note:  if  you  try  to   change  this  value  when  the  Preset  and/or  MIDI  menus  are  displayed,  the  changes  on  those  menus  will   be  saved  and   the  windows  will   close.     This   is   to   prevent   entering   data   in   one  mode   and   the   redefining  the  mode,  which   could   result   in  unintended   changes.     For   example,   hex   10   equals   decimal   16;   if   you   are   in   hex  mode   and   enter   10,   then   change   the   mode   to  decimal,  the  value  will  end  up  as  decimal  10  instead  of  16.

  Dumpster   15

TroubleshootingProblems

If  you  run  into  something  that  does  not  appear  to  work,  the  best  way  to  get  help  is  to:

1. Open  Preferences  and  set  the  Logger  SeUngs  to  Debug  (see  Logger  SeUngs  for  instrucNons).

2. Run  through  the  steps  again  that  you  are  having  problems  with.

3. Email  the  log  file  to  the  address  given  for  feedback  in  the  About  menu.

4. Include  the  version  of  Dumpster  (also  found  in  the  About  menu)  and  the  OS  you  are  using,  such  as  Windows  7  or  OS  X  10.8.2.

Questions

If  you  have  quesNons  about  how  to  use  the  program  aber  reading  through  this  guide,  send  them  to  the  address  given  for  feedback  in  the  About  menu.    SuggesNons  for  improving  this  guide  are  welcomed.    

Logo Trivia

The  pedal  color  in  the  logo  comes  from  the  Fender  Classic  Cream  finish,  while  the  body  color  comes  from  Fender  Surf  Green.

  Dumpster   16