512 Presets?

BaronVonGrim said:
And it has 2200 IR... which confuses me even farther in relation to 2048 cabs. An IR is a cab emulation?
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A Cab is an effect block.

An IR is an Impulse Response, which is a "capture" of a mic'd speaker (or potentiality a "mix" of multiple mic'd speakers).

An IR is loaded into a Cab block. On the Axe Fx III you can load up to 4 IRs in a Cab block.

It's a bit confusing because a lot of people say "cab" when they mean "IR".
 
This is what a "patch" used to look like.


moog_iiic.jpg
 
lqdsnddist said:
I use like 5 cabs and maybe 10 presets.
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I would be willing to bet that this is true for most people. I don't "use" any presets, but rather build a virtual amp / pedalboard combination for each project I'm working on.
If I were gigging, I'd have maybe 5 presets that I used all the time. Maybe 5. But more likely it would be 3 or less.
 
lqdsnddist said:
I’ve seen people call them presets, patches, files, you name it, all one and the same. Maybe originally depended on where the device or manual was from? User manual for a Japanese synth maybe mentioned patch and a German one preset or something. I use both freely.

It’s like with firearms, it’s techncially a “magazine” but tons of people say “clip” and everyone knows what your talking about (though some will correct you if you say clip lol)
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:eek:

LoL ... :)

(Stripper) Clips are distinctly different vs. magazines. :p

I.e. a Garand semi-auto rifle uses clips for quickly loading 30.06 rounds vs. an AR10 uses magazines for .308 :)

But I’m sure you knew that too ‘cuz of your reference to such ;) :D

But presets or patches; Tomato Tomahto ...
 
unix-guy said:
A Cab is an effect block.

An IR is an Impulse Response, which is a "capture" of a mic'd speaker (or potentiality a "mix" of multiple mic'd speakers).

An IR is loaded into a Cab block. On the Axe Fx III you can load up to 4 IRs in a Cab block.

It's a bit confusing because a lot of people say "cab" when they mean
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lqdsnddist said:
I think your totally getting hung up on figures and in reality it’s pretty meaningless as i doubt anyone is using 2000 cabs, 500 presets etc. it’s just about tonal options since everyone has different taste and needs

I use like 5 cabs and maybe 10 presets. As each preset can have 2 amps, and each amp can have 4 channels, one single preset can be 8 unique amp tones or blend of two amps....

Then on top of that you’ve got 8 scenes and scene controllers so you can change parameters of an amp model per scene, so with scene comtrollers, dual amp blocks, and then channels, not to mention 4 drive blocks, which each have 4 channels, you can get a ton of different tones from one single presets.

If you really come up with a need for 500 presets let me know ;)
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I personally would’ve been bummed if all 512 preset slots were pre-made, because I don’t like overwriting them with my own presets. I had the original Axe FX II and that was the only way to do it. I like having the presets around when I’m trying to jump-start some inspiration by pushing myself out of my comfort-zone. You get over a hundred blank ones, and with all the channel and scene options I only need maybe 2-3 presets max per gig, so this is perfect for me!
 
unix-guy said:
A Cab is an effect block.

An IR is an Impulse Response, which is a "capture" of a mic'd speaker (or potentiality a "mix" of multiple mic'd speakers).

An IR is loaded into a Cab block. On the Axe Fx III you can load up to 4 IRs in a Cab block.

It's a bit confusing because a lot of people say "cab" when they mean "IR".
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You can load 4 per channel so 16 per block x2 blocks is 32 IRs per preset. That's crazy.
 
I like to keep the factory presets available; that wipes out the first 384 preset slots. That "only" leaves 128 presets for my experimentation and work.

Unfortunately the way I like to work is to subdivide my presets into categories and then I'll gradually add presets that I worked on, discovered, modified, etc. to the categories. I have had my 2xl+ for about 3 years now. (Birthday at the Amp Show) I haven't had to do much housekeeping to free up slots, but I like it that way, I don't want to have to stop and figure out which presets I should overwrite and which I should keep. That said, I am closing in on blank slot shortages, in some categories and overall. I haven't had to do that on my 2XL+, but I have used many more than 111. I was hoping the new unit would have 1024 slots or more, as it is, I will have to change how I work, and spend more time housekeeping.

I know the coming response: "Well you're just putting the housekeeping off... you'll still have to do it."
That's true I would, after a few years I would spend the necessary time to clear out a number of redundant/unworthy presets. But it would be a long time if there were 1000 presets. And when the time came, I'd free up enough slots to not have to stop and do it again for a long time. With 111 it won't take that long, it now has less than a third as many empty slots.

Worse, 111 will have me choosing between presets I like. "I kind of like both of these, which one do I overwrite?"

That's just how I work, YMMV.

The other disappointment is that there are still only 2 amp blocks. (I know: the channel feature is outstanding.) So and you can't provide amplifiers for three musicians at once, such as two guitars and a bass. Also, you can't model a three amp setup like some people in the real world use. I would like to try that; I guess I could use both Axes and have a 4 amp setup. Wheeeee

And you're right, unlike Carlos Santana I wouldn't be doing that often. But I do like the sounds of 2 amps at once, and I'll be exploring just what that big grid and those amp channels can do.
 
Terry Kack said:
I like to keep the factory presets available
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there's really nothing too special about the Factory Presets, especially since you can just audition and reload them 1 by 1 in the future. so keeping them on when you need more space is a bit wasteful.

The other disappointment is that there are still only 2 amp blocks
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once there are 3 amp blocks, people will want 4, then 5... it's never ending. whatever features are put out, people want 1 more, or 10 more.

consider that a Drive Block into a Cab block or the new IR block might work just as well. there has also been talk of adding a 3rd amp block, but no confirmation on it.[/quote]
 
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Terry Kack said:
The other disappointment is that there are still only 2 amp blocks. (I know: the channel feature is outstanding.) So and you can't provide amplifiers for three musicians at once, such as two guitars and a bass. Also, you can't model a three amp setup like some people in the real world use. I would like to try that; I guess I could use both Axes and have a 4 amp setup. Wheeeee
.
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Watch this space.

https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/three-amp-blocks.141345/
 
chris said:
there's really nothing too special about the Factory Presets, especially since you can just audition and reload them 1 by 1 in the future. so keeping them on when you need more space is a bit wasteful.
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wasteful :rolleyes:

I'm the same way as @Terry Kack . I Like having a substantial reference library of presets on the device.... and then I will modify those in place until they suit my needs and save them to the 'open' area. In fact the first thing I did with my presets was use Fractalbot to shift the factory presets such that they were in the last two banks or so and the front section starting with 1 was 'open' as my empty canvas. A III cannot even hold all of Austinbuddy's highly acclaimed preset pack. I converted most of my Fremen packs and my IIs presets. I have grabbed a number of AxeChange presets and the Preset-a-day presets... So now I have *way* more presets than space. Sure I have done pick and choose on what's there but basically now, I am looking at disk storage/Axe-Edit only for most them and as I add more, I will have to play the data management game due to the storage limitation.

Of course, we pack rats will always use whatever space is given. But the 512 slot allocation which is even smaller than the last Axe II series unit is a bit of a surprise on a unit where everything else feels completely over the top with room for growth. This is supposed to be the very bleeding edge, so scenes or no, this feels like a miss to me.

Anyway, of course we can suffer along with a mere 512 slots. ;) But, it is tiresome to be told your workflow is 'wrong' by apologists. I do not think it is unreasonable at all to say "I am surprised that there are fewer slots on a new super powered unit like the III than the legacy product it replaces and if there were more I would absolutely use them".

Honestly, this may have been the only thing about the III that felt 'wrong' to me when I saw the spec sheet. Everything else looked pretty insane. I love the Monstrous IR allocation bump for example (although I wouldn't complain if it were increased (insert Yngwie more is more meme); it is certainly bleeding edge as is). The block limit bumps and the new IR player block? Killer... you get the idea.
 
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You could likely put several presets from the II or AX8 as separate scenes within one III preset though.

I know that stuff I used to do with maybe 5 or 6 different presents on my AX8 I now have all in just one preset on my III. For example, I used to have a number of BF Fender patches that now all go under one preset called "BF Fenders" and with 4 channels and two amp blocks, I have all those tones readily available.

I don't think its so much saying that any one way of working is "wrong", but simply that as the technology evolves you can do things in a different, and dare I suggest "smarter" way. I don't think of the III as having "only" 512 presets, because for me, its essentially 512 x 8, which equals over 4000 unique signal chains... which to me is a lot...

If we get a third amp block, and each block could have 4 channels, and then we could combine between 1 and 3 amp blocks per scene, and there are 8 scenes...then it kind of boggles the mind of what can be done... Like a mere 10 presets could cover like 99% of what I play
 
It might have been a cool idea to have a dedicated area for just factory presets in addition to four working banks, but that would have bumped the cost a little too?...

With FractalBot and 8 scenes a preset that you can NAME, this to me is all moot. In essence you don't have 512 presets, you have access of up to 4,096 individual tones that can be treated like a single preset; 4096 = 512 presets times 8 scenes each.
 
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austinbuddy said:
It might have been a cool idea to have a dedicated area for just factory presets in addition to four working banks...
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As soon as you do that, you have people wondering why they can't put user presets in the factory preset area. :)
 
zenaxe said:
wasteful :rolleyes:
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it's wasteful if you need those preset slots for something else that you actually use.

nothing wrong with being disappointed about having less slots - i don't see who said that. but keeping the factory presets loaded for "might need" compared to using them for "do need" does seem wasteful to me. i can't see being on a gig and thinking oh wow there was a factory preset that worked for this situation... now where was it.... hmm.... i'd rather load up those spaces with presets i know and use.

factory presets are examples. i always suggest going through them, noting the ones you like, then moving those to a position that makes sense to you. from there, delete the other factory presets and you have a bunch of preset space available. if you want to revisit those in the future, then just load up Axe-Manage Presets and go through them without loading them onto the unit.

again, this is my suggestion. people can do whatever they want for their workflow.

i personally do not like units with permanent factory preset slots. i've never ever used any gear where a factory preset was exactly what i needed. all that wasted memory for no reason.

remember that most gear is sold in a music store, and they need to make the unit seem impressive AND easy for the store staff to keep in "demo mode." so non-erasable factory presets help out with selling the unit for those reasons. just keep in mind that a lot of gear is made to sell, not necessarily function-first.
 
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