It's never necessary to reset the Amp block to implement the new firmware. But sometimes, when you change the way the modeling works, you change the way the model reacts to the parameters. When that happens, if you keep the old default parameter values, it won't sound the way people expect it to. So you reset the amp to load the new default values.
People change parameter values to make the amp models sound the way they want. We are given control over those values. We are not forced to accept the new values when new firmware is released. You — the owner and user — decide if an when you will make a wholesale change to reset all those parameters.
Yes, this is my understanding as well, the problem is this previously posted example from the Axe wiki:
“Again, re-read:
15.00
NOTE: This is a major firmware release which has the potential to alter the sounds of presets. The core amp modeling has been improved and most of the amp models have been adjusted accordingly. It is recommended that any existing presets have the amp block reset to ensure that the appropriate parameter values are loaded. This is achieved by deselecting the amp type and then reselecting it, i.e. if the amp type is Deluxe Verb the amp block would be reset by selecting a different model, e.g. Dirty Shirley, and then reselecting Deluxe Verb.
This will reset various internal parameters and certain user parameters. Note that Master Volume, Presence and Depth, among others, are set to default values when selecting an amp model. See below for more information about Presence default values. It may be helpful to note the value of these parameters prior to resetting the block.”
My confusion results from this statement that there are “various internal parameters” as opposed to “user parameters”, which can only be reset by an amp block reset. I simply don’t understand the idea of “internal parameters” which are part of a new firmware, but which cannot be implemented without a block reset. To my mind, a default value is just that, a number which is connected to the firmware/algorithm architecture which makes up the new firmware version one has just installed. I don’t need to know about “internal parameters” beyond the default values, if I can’t access them except through a reset, after installing firmware. I only want to know if what I am hearing is all there is which is “user accessible”.
As someone who moved from a fridge to an Axe, I’m very impressed with many aspects of digital modeling, and particularly the Axe approach to it. But because the range of possibilities is so great, and in some cases actually impossible in the real world, it’s VERY easy to get overwhelmed. Terms like “internal” are not helpful if they are beyond my ability to access. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I want more control, actually I’m looking for boundaries so I can focus on the things that I do have control over. I know there’s lots going on behind the scenes that I can’t or don’t need to understand, which is fine with me...