Axe2 Preset building

thanks Scott... very cool of you to say so.. and much appreciated..

I guess you could say that my approach to preset building is a little unorthadox....
but it really exposes [more than any other unit I've had] the Axe-II's tonal flexibility..

I'm mean... like... who'd have thought you'd get such a sweet clean tone from a pair of animals like a VH4 and 5153Red, sounding simultaneously...
it still makes me smile in sort of "this is just not possible.. but I love it.." way
 
@clarky... I have become quite adept at hitting the switches on the MFC. They are not hard at all to depress and I can be pretty quick and toss a reverb or delay etc. in mid strum. I have that down. What I miss from an expression pedal is the real time variance. I am working on a couple of things at the moment. One is a similar to a breath controlled unit but uses pressure and I would use a mouthpiece. Another is a product Chris Buono was demoing called a hot hand midi expression controller from Source Audio that uses a ring on your hand and a proximity x/y axis sensor. It's a pretty cool toy. He has his working with the II blazing the trail and I am waiting for them to hit the market this fall to experiment with them.

I have also entertained ideas along your train of thoughts above. I was just playing around with fellow poster Scrutinizer’s Axe for Lemur IPad controller this week. It’s very impressive and quite simple to use. I have my IPad attached to the end of a mike stand so it’s very easy to access. I am an IT guy by profession so I may play around in that arena and create something like an IPad expression pedal. It would be easy to create the switching capabilities. I still will need to follow through with my mouth or ring oriented approach for real time sound manipulation like Wah and volume control.

I am having as much fun learning about all the gear from a techie aspect as I am learning the damn instrument! Go figure. Threads like this are do informative and thought provoking and very much appreciated.
 
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haa... that's the thing with being a technologist... you're always conjuring solutions....
so yes I can see why my style of preset appeals to you...
it's where your engineering brain is guided by your muso brain...

to be honest.. the reason I suggested the FS-6 was injury more than anything...
the MFC switches seem ok for stomping on or programming...
but they seem a little hard on the hands to me..
I'd imagine the FS-6 to be a more pleasant experience..

thinking about your x/y axis thing is interesting...
some synths have something like a joy stick [or ribbon controller] that works in both the x and y axis..
you could set EXP1 to the x axis and EXP2 to the y axis...
this could get real interesting blending various fx types together..

seems to me like you have some fun and interesting experiments heading your way....
I'd love to hear the results when you get them working..
and also to find out how you solved the problems you encountered along the way...

sometimes when I'm experimenting with ideas and I really want to try something different I have to remind myself of my fundamental ethos..

stupidity is a path to innovation... lol...

essentially... anything goes... even what seems to be 'the ridiculous'... lol..

and occasionally it works...
 
It was this video by chris that I stumbled across. I mentioned it to Matt not knowing he is a FAS artist and good friend of his (small world). Chis has been more than accommodating but Source Audio is just now ramping up production for a fall release. Will be a fun toy and give someone like myself more flexibility. I have to say I have found the whole music industry peeps to be an interesting lot. While there are quite a few very opinionated and egotistical types, I for the most part have found most the people I have dealt with to be extremely helpful and very giving of their time and knowledge. I am loving every minute of the ride.

Chris Buono Demonstrates MIDI Hot Hand - YouTube

Sorry for the thread misdirection. My bad! :eek:ops
 
my god... that ring is amazing....
what a really clever idea...
thanks for sharing...

haaa... don't worry about the detour....
I still have a few more presets to work on and describe...
my next preset is one I'll be using for intro's..
it's an ambient synth-like pad one..
I'm going to try a few things I've never done before with this one so I'm heading off into some experimental pastures...
 
as promised guys

here's the ClnSolo2St2 preset

View attachment ClnSolo2 St2 .syx

and here's what it looks like

ClnSolo2St2.jpg
 
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Thanks Again Clarky. I really appreciate your willingness to share.
It has been helpful in my overall learning process.
Thanks for all your doing.
 
the post below I've cut'n'paste from a thread by M@ regarding his very cool drone preset..
I liked it so much that I decided to create a sort of hybrid between his synth preset and my own synth-like lead tone..
I thought I'd copy the preset info in this thread too [cos it's essentially a log of all my fiddling about]
enjoy.... you can lose days noodling away on this one...

from M@'s thread:
here's my take on Matt's preset

AtmoSphere.jpg




from start: EXP1 heel down / EXS1 and EXS2 off: solo guitar tone [amp = 5153Red]
0:26: EXP1 heel down / EXS1 on: activates gate for 'bowing' effect
0:36: EXP1 heel down / EXS1 on / EXS2 on: activates pitch shifter [+ and - 12ve]
0:51: EXP1 toe down
0:54: EXP1 heel down [holds the synth drone]/ EXS1 off / EXS2 off: synth on its own with solo guitar tone
1:27: EXP1 heel down / EXS1 on / EXS2 off: bowing tone over drone
1:52: EXP1 heel down / EXS1 on / EXS2 on: bowing tone plus shifter over drone

Notes:
- all played on an Ibanez RG / bridge pup [DiMarzio Breed]
- although I didn't record it, using the neck pup with EXS1 [bowing] on softens the tone and the lower signal level makes the bowing effect more pronounced
- this preset is ideal for dramatic / cheezee pompous intros [which is what Clarky's do da best.. lol]..
and it's good fun for show-boating with too...
it could certainly make for an interesting / crowd pleasing moment as the sun sets over the 50,000 with their lighters lit and held high in the open air arena at your next show...

to be honest, I could have recorded hours of this, switching bass notes etc etc.. but I think the only person it'd entertain would be me... lol...

View attachment 12158
 
I've now created two variants of the AtmoSphere preset..
one is for ambient soloing [same as the one above] which I re-named AtmoSolo

and another which has my pad tone for ambient music where someone else is soloing and I can play chords and stuff...
which I called AtmoPad

all I need to do now is find a way of getting them into the live set...
sort of... make a cool sound and the song will come later...
or is that the tail wagging the dog.. lol..
 
thinks it's about time for a little preset recap..
here's where I am now

1 - RiffSolo1St2: riffs, solos, both modes morph to clean
2 - RiffSolo2St2: riffs, solos, both modes morph to crunch with a phased delay
3 - ClnSoloSt2: clean tone, solos, clean mode morphs to the synth-like pad, solo mode morphs to clean
4 - RiffSolo5St2: copy of RiffSolo1St2 but with the addition of a gate for synth-like solos
5 - AtmoPadSt2: synth that can 'hold' a bass drone with a synth-like pad tone [for chord work]
6 - RiffSolo3St2: copy of RiffSolo1St2 but with the turned right down and a quieter soloing tone [this is used for one song in the set]
7 - RiffSolo4St2: copy of RiffSolo1St2 but morphs to the synth-like pad tone [used for one song in the set]
8 - ClnSoloSt2: synth that can 'hold' a bass drone with a synth-like pad tone [for chord work]
9 - RiffSolo6St2: copy of RiffSolo2St2 for now, I've not yet determined what 'extra thing' to add to this one
10 - AtmoSoloSt2: synth that can 'hold' a bass drone with my regular solo tone that morphs to a synth-like solo tone

Things to do list:
priority = high
- Rc [Recording] suffix presets need to be created. These are my basic individual rhythm and lead tones broken appart for remaping purposes. For exmaple:
The RiffSolo presets all have the same amps and cabs and there are three basic tones:
riff left
riff right
solo
this means that RiffSolo1 will break apart into 3 presets
each preset will contain all fx block between the input and amp, 1 amp block and 1 cab block [hires]. The will be no ambient / 'other' post amp fx [these will be handled in the DAW]. The morphing capabilities will remain but controlled from the DAW via MIDI automation during reamping.
I expect to end up with around 8 to 10 Rc presets.

Note: once I get into this stage, I'd imagine that this thread will start turning toward recording, reamping mixing subject material.
Also there should be more audio clips of the presets but this time they will be in a musical context.
No doubt there are still good lessons for me to learn, mistakes to make, problems to solve..
So there's still plenty more fun to be had with my lil' voyage of discovery here..


priority = moderate
- Preset mode level balancing: I now need to start practicing along with the live set to ensure the the rhythm and solo modes have the right level differential. Right now the solo mode is only about 3dB [I think - could be 4dB, can't remember right now] louder than the rhythm tone. I suspect that this needs to be neerer to 6dB or maybe even 7dB to be able to step up over the band. Also the Clean presets need level balancing with respect to the Riff presets.

- Lv [Live] suffix presets need to be created. These are copies of the St [Studio] suffix presets that will be tweaked at gig volume through my Marshall backline. [Kinda looking forward to this bit... one whole lot]. The priority of this task will become urgent as soon as I have tour / gig dates.


priority = low
- RiffSolo5St2: still working on that one right now. Just needs a little fine tuning

- RiffSolo6St2: this is a copy of RiffSolo2St2. There's no hurry to add new stuff to this and have no real 'need' to fullfill so this is essentially a 'place holder'


once all this is done, I can get back into the fun stuff..
back to being a song writer, composer, experimentor, pisser off of the street, quaffer dry of bars and de-flowerer of virgins..
 
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Things to do list:
priority = high
- Rc [Recording] suffix presets need to be created. These are my basic individual rhythm and lead tones broken appart for remaping purposes. For exmaple:
The RiffSolo presets all have the same amps and cabs and there are three basic tones:
riff left
riff right
solo

Partially Done:
the three RiffSolo1St2 presets have been created.
RiffLft1Rc2
RiffRgt1Rc2
Solo1Rc2

notes:
each preset has only 1 amp and a mono hires cab [with all the settings copied across from the corresponding cab in the the stereo cab block]
these patches don't sound quite so nice in isolation but I kind of expected that
it's because they are bone dry and in isolation do not interact with each other
also, they seem to be very strong in the high bass / low mid area

when I start reamping with these presets I may make some small alterations:
- reduce the drive a little
- boost the highs
- cut around the 250Hz / 500Hz area

if these changes work well in the mix, I may make an experimental RiffSolo1 preset with these new settings copied in and see how things go..
if this is a raging success it'll give birth to the St3 series of presets..

these suffixes [Stx / Rcx / Lvx] help me to track the evolution of my Studio / Recording / Live presets and match the variants together..
and also helps me know which preset series is most current, which ones I'll practice, record and play live with..
 
Reamping:
I decided that before I got going with recording that I'd see what the Axe's USB interface is like
my plan was
- record the dry guitar via firewire from my Mackie mixer
- play back the dry into the Axe via USB
- record the wet guitar via Mackie's firewire [the Axe is cabled into the Mackie]

so I needed to create an aggregate interface...

prob...
the Axe is 48kHz, the Mackie is 44.1kHz

from the Mac's audio MIDI setup 'help'

"For your aggregate device to work correctly, all devices in the aggregate device need to have the same sample rate."

so... it's looking like I can't create an aggregate interface with the Mackie and Axe

I need a plan B
 
plan B works.....
but for this current song it's a pain in the rear...

the song was originally recorded at 44.1kHz
when I switch the song to 48kHz all the previously recorded audio is now playing back at a higher tempo than the song...

do I really need to re-record everything???
is it possible to freely convert between sample rates without impacting how the audio plays back??

cos if this is the case I may have problems...
the rest of the band are recording at 44.1kHz..

I need to do more experiments..
I'm going to see what happens if I create a new project in Logic, record some audio at 48k and then import that audio into another project that runs at 44.1k and convert the audio file during the import..

the Axe interface only being able to run a 48k is not good.. especially when 44.1k is most common..
but then... it is what it is.. so I got to figure out a way around it..
 
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Plan B:

I have two audio interfaces:
TC Electronics and a Mackie mixer with firewire
the Mackie only runs at 44.1k
the TC has lots of settings up to 96k [I think]

my Mac is on Snow Leopard
if memory serves this will prohibit the use of the Axe's USB for audio [recording at least] because the recorded audio is glitchy.

the plan:
- create an aggregate interface with the TC and Axe [Done]
- create a Logic project with a sample rate of 48k and import a rough mix of the song I'm working on
This assumes that when I import that mp3 of the backing track and convert it's sample rate that it'll play ok

Recording the dry
- guitar jacks into the TC
- Logic records the dry guitar from the TC
- TC uses a 'send' to the Axe rear input so I can monitor the Axe as I play along with the backing track
Note: the Axe don't seem to play nice when connected to a mixer or AI output. It's quite noisy.
I'll experiement with the RedEye to see if it helps things. However, the noise is not overly important at this point. So long as the Axe sounds / feels nice to play so that I can capture a good dry recording.
I've already tried this part of the solution and it's ok.. not perfect but I can work with it..

Reamping
- play back the dry guitar track from Logic to the Axe via USB
- the Axe out1 is connected to the TC line in 1/2
- Logic records the TC line in 1/2 tracks via firewire
already tried this out and it works fine

the only thing left to try is to go back to the original song and import the wet guitar parts whilst doing a rate conversion during the import

if this don't work then I'll be forced to abandon the Axe's USB completely because my audio files must be compatible with the 'master' Logic progects that the band work with all together..
this will therefore force me to connect the Axe's rear in1 to a TC line out... and I really don't want to do that..

fingers crossed that my lil' experiments work..
 
Note for Clarky regardnig sample rate conversion:

from the Logic Manual

You may find that audio files in your project do not match the newly selected sample rate. The playback of files that do not match the project’s sample rate is slower (file’s sample rate is higher) or faster (file’s sample rate is lower) than it should be.
To match a file’s sample rate with the project sample rate

Use the Audio Bin’s Copy/Convert File(s) command (which is also available by Control-clicking the Audio Bin or using the corresponding key command), then replace the file in the project.
Logic Pro performs a real-time, native sample rate conversion. Any sample rate available in Logic Pro (via Audio > Sample Rate) can be used for the conversion—even if your audio hardware does not support the selected sample rate.
 
I'm now wondering if the solution would be something like this..

- create a new audio track
- bounce a mix of the song to it
- mute all tracks but not this new mix-down track
- switch the project to 48k and change to the AI [in my case the aggregate I've set up to run with the Axe at 48k]
- convert the mix-down sample rate to 48k
- record all my Axe parts
- switch the project back to 44.1k
- convert all of the Axe parts to 44.1k
- mix down the song and then go get famous and make millions and groupies and stuff

Note: Thanks Yek for triggering my lil' brain to come up with this..
especially the groupies bit.. don't know how it ended up in the solution but somehow it seems pretty important..
 
Plan B test passed

Objective - simulation of receiving a Logic project from band / client that was recorded at a bit rate of 44.1k and working out a method for recording / reamping the Axe.
basic steps
1 - create a backing track of the song to play along to
2 - convert the Logic project and backing track to 48k
3 - record / reamp the Axe
4 - convert the Logic project and reamps guitar parts back to 44.1k

I created a Logic Project with the following:
- drums track [BFD2]
- bass guitar [EXS24]
- audio riff [recorded at 44.1k via the Mackie]

this little 'song' was bounced down and then dragged into Logic so that it becomes an audio track [named 'song mix']
in Logic preferences I selected the aggregate interface called TCAXE [which is set to 48k]
the Logic project was then switched to 48k via the transport bar
the backing track 'song mix' was then converted to 48k via - Bin->Audio File->Copy/Convert
the backing track was set to solo so that only that played
a new audio track was created called "TCDry"

record dry guitar config:

guitar -> TC input2
TC mixer: channel 2 send -> output3
TC output3 cabled to Axe rear input1 left
Note: this was really noisy [picking up all kinds of computing noise and stuff]
Solution = insert RedEye
TC output3 -> RedEye Expansion in / RedEye Reamp out -> Axe rear input1 left
Axe output1 stereo cabled -> TC input 3/4

in Logic:
Dry guitar channel strip "TCDry": input 2 [TC input2]

recorded a little guitar solo and the dry guitar was recorded to Logic but could monitor the backing track and the guitar solo normally.

reamp from dry guitar in Logic config:
Dry guitar channel strip "TCDry": output 17-18 [Axe input via USB]
created a Logic channel strip to record the wet guitar part called "TCWet" - input 3-4 [TC firewire output 3/4]
played back Logic and recorded the wet guitar

selected Mackey audio interface, changed Logic back to 44.1k, converted wet TCWet audio file to 44.1k

played back and everything sounded fine..
sighs of relief that I've nailed this... this is pretty important stuff to get right...

just out of interest, I decided to try to record the audio directly from the Axe's USB just to see if it'd be ok
played back the dry guitar "TCDry" into the Axe [I can see the input LED's moving and can hear the Axe when I jack into the headphone socket..
selected I/O: Audio: USB/Digi out source = output1 [which is input 17-18 in the Logic agg interface]
and heard / saw nothing at all... no sign of any audio...
I'm really not sure what I'm missing here...

any of you guys use the USB to send audio into a DAW??
if so, could you please let me know what your settings are as I think I may be missing something..
 
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