clarky
Axe-Master
In a jam situation, I'll make up a bank of 5 presets with scenes, then dial in by hand anything wild that comes up.
In a covers gig I play, I use one or two presets per song, with 2-3 scenes each max.
The best way to solve this problem is to just do what you can in the time allotted, play some gigs, and make adjustments. Soon, you'll find out what works best. Then you can make things tidy and efficient.
Also, are you using pedals with VOL INCR and VOL DECR? With this power tool, you can adjust levels during a single band rehearsal and get it all right. I use a Boss FS6. (Though I do also sometimes use an EV-1 on CC#11 with a range of 111-127 for fine tuning at a gig.)
When is someone going to make a volume pedal with a "detent" midway? That would be very cool.
if I were in a covers band I'd do pretty much this..
in a single preset, a soloing tone, a riffing / dirty rhythm tone and a clean tone
then make a couple of copies of the preset with different combinations of fx to address some specific moments in some songs that the main preset can't handle
so that'd be around 5 presets for the whole gig and I reckon I'd play the bulk of the set on a single preset..
just because song X has an AC30, song Y a JCM800 and song Z a MkIIC don't actually mean that it'd be wise to do the same..
what I'd go for are generic tones that'll pretty much fit everything..
this means that the levels and apparent 'size' of your tone throughout the gig will be consistent
so you'll fit into the mix exactly the same way in every song
the audience will most likely not notice the details [amp, cab choices etc] of your tone at all..
they're certainly more likely to notice if you're kicking' ass or not
so my take tone wise is..
keep it simple, consistent, sound great, feel great.. then you're more likely to play great..
EDIT: something just occurred to me with respect to the Axe and it's massive tonal capabilities..
maybe you should ask yourself the question when dialling in tones for a covers set..
does 'just because you can' mean that you should??
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