Shredology
Experienced
Here is a way to think about and explain channels that I have used again and again.
The name CHANNEL comes from the world of TV and radio, where different channels would broadcast different content.
Picture a top of the line late 80s rackmount rig. Yes, it was glorious. Resist drooling down memory lane. What you have now is better.
On that old rig, your amp head was a switchable 4-channel preamp. It had four CHANNELS. You'd dial each channel in as desired. Set it and forget it.
You also had a bunch of other gear. You programmed a few different favorite pre-set settings in your Lexicon. Think of these as CHANNELS (though they weren't called this). You had other rackmount effects. Maybe they had their own channel-like settings (SPX90) or maybe they had one setting and a bypass/engage switch (Tri-Stereo-Chorus). You had various pedals with only one setting, but they could be switched in or out.
Now, in this old rig, everything is wired together and a foot controller is used to burst messages to all of the different pieces of connected gear. In the foot controller, these sets of instructions could be saved, allowing you to load up different sound scene presets. We call them SCENES on the Axe-Fx III because a preset is the rig itself. Here are a few examples from the old world:
Tap #1: Clean Chorus
Hey Amp Head! Change to your Clean Channel!
Hey Lexicon! Give me that sweet AMBIENCE sound.
Hey DBX! Hey Tri-Stereo Chorus rack! Engage please.
All Pedals: Bypass please.
Tap #2: Rhythm
Amp Head! Change to your Crunch Channel!
SPX90: Just a little dual detune please.
Everybody else: Bypass please. Let's keep this one pretty raw.
Tap #3: Lead
Amp Head! Change to your Lead Channel!
Hey Lexicon! Gimme Circular Delays.
Boost Pedal: Engage!
Everybody else: Stand down.
Tap #4: Clean Lead
Amp Head! Change to your Clean Channel!
Lexicon! Gimme Circular Delays.
SPX90: Ducked reverb please.
Boost Pedal: Engage!
Everybody else: Bypass.
Notice how scenes #1 and #4 use a shared amp channel but produce totally different sounds because other effects and settings have changed? The Axe-Fx III works on this same principle. A CHANNEL is a unique group of sound settings allowing you to have four times the number of settings from a single block.
In my experience building and supporting pro rigs, I have found that most people find this to be SUPERIOR to the per-parameter snapshot approach, because it behaves more like traditional equipment. What some see as a con (less granularity) becomes a pro when you can change a channel in one place and have it update automatically across all scenes that use it. Wait... You want a truly unique sound setting in just one scene? Use a different channel (or even a different block)! You say want that feature from your Brand-L unit where a parameter can have a different value in every scene? Check out SCENE CONTROLLERS which allows exactly this.
So in short, don't try to correlate Channels A,B,C,D with Scenes 1,2,3,4. Instead, build your first scene, then decide what you need for your second scene and build that, and so on. If you run out (pretty unlikely) get creative and delve into the advanced features.
Remember, in the same way you are always using at least one scene even when you never change scenes, you are likewise always using one channel per block even if you never plan to change channels. Most presets have most effects set to channel A.
I'll also note that the number of top pros who don't use any of this. They just switch presets and no one notices the very short gap. There are obvious exceptions, where everything is "under the microscope" by not only the artist, but others as well.
Thanks Matt, that was helpful