Axe2 Preset building

clarky

clarky

Axe-Master
ok guys..... now that I'm an owner of a shiny new Axe-II and I've had a lil' play, it's time to start experimenting with a view to creating my own presets..
I figured that some of you may be interested as to how I may approach this
of course I'm a major noob with respect to all FAS technologies.. but I'm not a noob when it comes to signal processing..
so I'm gonna start this thread to document my learning processes, experiments and the path to my final working config..
to be honest this is as much for my own benefit as for anyone else's cos it'll make for handy reference material..
but doing it in here will have many benefits.. namely:
- I can share with all y'all how I go about this
- you guys can chime in with suggestions

so... let's see where this takes us....

my Axe-II arrived a few days ago..
I made up the humbuster cables, and wired it into my studio

output 1 L/R to my mixing desk
output 2 L/R will be wired to my Marshall power amp [when I'm ready for that part of testing]
the intention here is that my final presets will use out1 to the PA and out2 [via a send block] to my backline [pre cab block]

instrument input 1 has a rather pretty Morgan Guitar Works V6 jacked into it
the V6 can bury the reds so I have to reduce the the 'instr in' level in the I/O menu to 30.6%
I may have to reduce it a little more cos the "red tickling" may still prove to be a little too much..

rear input 1 L is connected to a send from my mixer [for reamping]
but I'm thinking this is a mistake and may switch to input 2 L and have a return block included in all my presets
more on that when the time is right..

the Axe-II arrived with fw 5.0.6 and has now been updated to 5.0.7
the MFC arrived with the latest fw.
I've added a Boss FV-500H pedal to the MFC as an EXP pedal [and calibrated it]

looking through the Axe-II I've chosen a preset I'll never use to over-write and experiment with [380: Comb Delays]
this is to get me used to programming both from the front panel and via Axe-Edit

for me... and all y'all that are interested....
let the journey begin...
and I hope this ends up becoming a very useful and informative thread for all of us...
 
Q1 - where do I start?
There are a bunch of ways to go about tone creation:
- you can hear a tone on a recording or at a gig and think "she will be mine", and so you embark on a journey of experiments and tweaks until you find it [or get as close as possible]..
- you can just noodle around with various effects combinations and settings and stumble upon something cool
- you can have a clear idea of what it is that you want and you head straight for it

as a musician playing original music it's this last option I'm going for..
I want a voice that is mine..
so.. know your environment..
the bulk of the music I play is hard / prog rock that occasionally tip toes towards metal tonality..
the band has a singer and most songs are 'up' vibe so riffing is a big thing for me..
there are a few ballads and softer moments within songs that require cleaner and more strongly effected / ambient tones..
I get to play solos from crying ballads to full-on in your face shredding..
there are also moments where I require synth pad like tones..

in this thread I'm going to go through the creation of all of the above.. a bit like a diary I guess.. so it'll contain my failures and successes...
also it'll go through the issues I encounter and how I overcome them..
 
before I start programming anything at all there are some specific decisions I need to make and plan for:

- I do not want to change preset mid-song so all of my presets will be multi-functional

- when I switch from rhythm playing to lead playing or when I need to engage / disengage an effect mid-song I want to do it "heel down".
so no standing on one leg over the second or third row of foot switches

- real time control via EXP pedals is important to my performance. Especially the need to 'morph' between the riffing tone to another.

all this being the case, I need to divide the songs within band's live set into 'song types' and then create a preset for each type..
I have the following types:

Riff / Solo 1
EXP max = riff tone
EXP min = clean tone [like turning down the guitar volume so it's not pure, sparkly clean but will have increased ambience]
Solo = my main soloing tone

Riff / Solo 2
EXP max = riff tone
EXP min = crunch tone [like turning down the guitar volume half way for something gritty but with a few interesting extras]
Solo = my main soloing tone

Riff / Solo 3
EXP max = riff tone
EXP min = synth tone [I need something very ambient like a synth pad]
Solo = my main soloing tone

Clean / Solo 1
a clean sparkly tone for ballads
the EXP will only effect the solo tone
Solo = this will be a variant of my main soloing tone.. it'll not be as loud and the delay will be stronger and longer
 
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Here are Some Preset Collections

This one is "Almost Everything on the Forum" the T.B.B. Collection
http://forum.fractalaudio.com/axe-fx-ii-preset-exchange/39514-[axefx2]-collection-thread.html
Mark Day Patches are Pretty Awesome too. There are some in the T.B.B. Collection

Yek has some High Quality Patches
http://forum.fractalaudio.com/axe-fx-ii-preset-exchange/48514-yeks-preset-collection-axe-fx-ii.html

Smilefan has Good Stuff
http://forum.fractalaudio.com/axe-fx-ii-preset-exchange/45630-part-iii-smilefan-patch-thread.html

You can Connect with Axe Edit, Select a Patch you are not attached to.
Then Point to a Preset Folder and then You can Scroll using Axe Edit to Audition a whole folder worth of Presets.
Example Pics Below
PresetFolder.jpgPresetFolder2.jpgPresetFolder3.jpg

Making one Your Own is starting with a Preset that is close to what you want.
Then Just Start Hacking.
The X/Y Tab also allows you to compare 2 Amps or 2 Cabs for instance.
 
Riff tone:
so I guess my first job will be to go play with the various Axe II amp models to find what will become the mainstay of my riffing tone..
a couple of things I'm looking for:
- tight but fat bottom end
- great definition
- dual mono [either two amps or an amp with two cabs]
- pretty high gain
- it needs to be able to clean up well
- good sensitivity [dynamics are not overly important]

time to experiment and also to get to know the amp and cab block's parms..

I'll be back..
 
Kruegmeister said:
Here are Some Preset Collections

This one is "Almost Everything on the Forum" the T.B.B. Collection
http://forum.fractalaudio.com/axe-fx-ii-preset-exchange/39514-[axefx2]-collection-thread.html
Mark Day Patches are Pretty Awesome too. There are some in the T.B.B. Collection

Yek has some High Quality Patches
http://forum.fractalaudio.com/axe-fx-ii-preset-exchange/48514-yeks-preset-collection-axe-fx-ii.html

Smilefan has Good Stuff
http://forum.fractalaudio.com/axe-fx-ii-preset-exchange/45630-part-iii-smilefan-patch-thread.html

You can Connect with Axe Edit, Select a Patch you are not attached to.
Then Point to a Preset Folder and then You can Scroll using Axe Edit to Audition a whole folder worth of Presets.
Example Pics Below
View attachment 10491View attachment 10492View attachment 10493

Making one Your Own is starting with a Preset that is close to what you want.
Then Just Start Hacking.
The X/Y Tab also allows you to compare 2 Amps or 2 Cabs for instance.
Click to expand...

haaa... thanks for this.... I'll take a look in there at some point...
right now though I'm going to try to start with a clean slate...
the best way to learn a system is to read the manual and get stuck in..
and for my first presets that's what I'll do...
it will be interesting though further down the line to take a look at some of the preset collections you've listed to see how other folk have gone about their business...
 
clarky said:
a couple of things I'm looking for:
- tight but fat bottom end
- great definition
- dual mono [either two amps or an amp with two cabs]
- pretty high gain
- it needs to be able to clean up well
- good sensitivity [dynamics are not overly important]
Click to expand...

Re 'Dual mono' - A stereo cab block will help keep the cpu usage down a bit rather than 2 mono cabs (if your preset uses one amp)

For all the other things - my wife has an unmarried friend I could introduce you to ...... ? ;)
 
Great concept Clarky. Thanks for sharing your diary experience with us and being open to input.
I agree with your clean slate approach as I also play 98% exclusively original music and really have no desire to sound just like "player X". I had major nerve surgery on my fretting arm a few weeks ago, and still have only faint sense of feeling on left hand, so I think am going to ride along with you through this journey as I habilitate my Ulnar nerve function. I will be duplicating what you are doing on my AFXII just to keep my head in this until I am back in the game in a month or two. Please be specific.
 
Yes, keep it coming, Clarky.
Although I'm an Axe-Fx user for nearly four years now (Ultra 2008-2011, Axe II since 2012), it's interesting to see how others think about and create their setup, especially if it's not the typical "virtual huge pedalboard".

I do original music, too, and organize my setup song-based (one bank on my footcontroller per song), but with patches for the different tones, i.e. a separate rhythm patch, a separate clean w/ FX patch, etc.
At first I tried to re-use the same patch (main rhythm, for example) as much as possible (to keep changes persistent to all songs), but that kept me from adding specialised FX, if a song called for that.
Then I created copies of the "core patches", so that each song had its own set of patches and changes could be made on the fly, but it's a major p.i.t.a. to keep all patches up to date, even with global amps.

So now I'm thinking about doing a mixture of both aproaches, where I create additional patches only if necessary, but I'm not sure on that.
Alot of the Axe II features (global blocks for everything, X/Y states, additional processing power) might point into the "one multifunction patch per song", but that would involve more elaborate footcontroller programming, as I want one single press of a button to go from one song section to another... ah, options :)

Seb
 
kerrlehr said:
Great concept Clarky. Thanks for sharing your diary experience with us and being open to input.
I agree with your clean slate approach as I also play 98% exclusively original music and really have no desire to sound just like "player X". I had major nerve surgery on my fretting arm a few weeks ago, and still have only faint sense of feeling on left hand, so I think am going to ride along with you through this journey as I habilitate my Ulnar nerve function. I will be duplicating what you are doing on my AFXII just to keep my head in this until I am back in the game in a month or two. Please be specific.
Click to expand...

best wishes on your recovery bro....
 
the key to the multi-functional preset is to find the amps that have the potential to provide all of the tone types you need..
right now I'm working on Riff/Solo 1
this means that I need to find an amp that can riff like a monster, get real high gain for soloing, and also be able to morph back to a clean tone..

the tick list:
I use a cab block with a 1960b V30 [cos that's the cabs I use] but in the studio I'm monitoring through my KRK's
in the amp block:
- set the master volume to 5.0 so that the power amp is moderately hot but not extreme in either direction
- set all EQ controls to 12 o'clock so that you can have a reasonable comparison
- start with the gain and input trip at 12 o'clock..
- see if you can mess with combinations of the gain, input trim and master vol to get a great riffing tone..
if I can:
- minimise the input trim and reduce the gain to see how well the amp cleans up
- hot up the input trim and gain to see if a viable soloing tone is also available..

I'm working my way through all amp types and making a short list...
 
for my tastes, many of the amp types don't sound that nice with higher gain settings...
the low end has that 'flubby' quality that many folks in here struggle with..
I'm guessing that this happens when these amps have settings that you could consider to be 'beyond the sweet spot'..
I'll be looking at these more when it comes to finding the cleaner tones in my palette..
 
Just a tip for going through the amp sims: it makes a major difference if the tonestack is pre or post (you can check this on the adv. page), especially if you want to judge the overdrive structure and things like "flubby" response.
For example, if you left all tone controls at noon, I doubt you'd give one of the Mesa Mark sims a second chance, because they're pure "flub" with bass above 2-3 (depending on gain). Knowing that the bass control acts like a (pre drive) lo cut makes you handle the amp differently than, let's say, a Recto with post tonestack.
 
here's the amp type short list:
PVH 6160
FAS Modern
Das Metall
Recto Org Modern
Brit JVM
Cali Leggy

I suspect the winners will be PVH 6160 and DAS Metall
in reserve if these guys don't blend right will be FAS Modern and Recto Org Modern

there are some others in a 2nd tier in reserve
Recto New Orange
Euro Uber
Energyball
FAS Lead 2
 
Sebastian said:
Just a tip for going through the amp sims: it makes a major difference if the tonestack is pre or post (you can check this on the adv. page), especially if you want to judge the overdrive structure and things like "flubby" response.
For example, if you left all tone controls at noon, I doubt you'd give one of the Mesa Mark sims a second chance, because they're pure "flub" with bass above 2-3 (depending on gain). Knowing that the bass control acts like a (pre drive) lo cut makes you handle the amp differently than, let's say, a Recto with post tonestack.
Click to expand...

I will heed this great advice and trawl through them all again...
top stuff... thanks
 
Sebastian said:
So now I'm thinking about doing a mixture of both aproaches, where I create additional patches only if necessary, but I'm not sure on that.
Alot of the Axe II features (global blocks for everything, X/Y states, additional processing power) might point into the "one multifunction patch per song", but that would involve more elaborate footcontroller programming, as I want one single press of a button to go from one song section to another... ah, options :)

Seb
Click to expand...

I'm considering setting the MFC to 1 preset / 17 IA

this means that I should be able to have switches 6+ set to MIDI PGM and call up my presets
and then
1 = solo
2 = uni-vibe
3 to 5 = something I've not thought of yet
 
clarky said:
holy crap what a difference that makes....
Click to expand...

;)

Personally, I wouldn't bother going through all amps AND change that setting all around to find "my" amp, but it really helps just to know whether the tonestack is pre or post by design, because you dial them in differently. As I said, a Mesa Mark IV is a good example, where you'd dial down the bass drastically to avoid flub, and add low end back in with the graphic EQ (just like you would on a physical Mark IV). On an amp with post tonestack, you'd rather use the lo cut (adv. page; pretty much the only adv. parameter I use on regular basis) to tighten the bass distortion, and dial in the low end with the bass knob and/or depth.
 
I've had a bit more of a play.. and Das Metall is hitting the spot...
I love the VH4

the jury is still out as to the other amp... 6160 or FAS Modern...
I love both
 
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