Best way to set up Presets / Scenes for Live rig

axedude

Member
My apologize if this has been addressed in the forum already. I did a bunch of searching on this but wasn't able to find the right info.

I understand how presets work, and that each preset has 8 scenes no matter if they are used or not. But Scenes only limit the changes to blocks being bypassed or not per scene.

But how would I set up my Axe FX III so within a given preset , each scene (1 to 8) includes the blocks, amps, cabs and other effects and settings for a completey different song or part of a set list. NOT just on / off per block.

Are the unique channels within a preset the best way to address this ??

EX: Lets say Preset 1 is a Fender Deluxe with Reverb, Drive, Delay etc. And I use Scene 1 for part of a song, and Scene 2 for another part. But then need to change to completely different song, which may have completely unique settings, amp, cab, effects etc ? I tried Channels before but realized this creates another issue. If 2 scenes share the same "Channel" in a given block, when you change ANY settings in that block, the other scenes block will also change since the channels match.

Any good ideas as to how to address this ? Or is it better to simply have presets for a given song or group of songs by a particular artist ?

Trying to think about best way to be organized for set list's etc.
 
My apologize if this has been addressed in the forum already. I did a bunch of searching on this but wasn't able to find the right info.

I understand how presets work, and that each preset has 8 scenes no matter if they are used or not. But Scenes only limit the changes to blocks being bypassed or not per scene.

But how would I set up my Axe FX III so within a given preset , each scene (1 to 8) includes the blocks, amps, cabs and other effects and settings for a completey different song or part of a set list. NOT just on / off per block.

Are the unique channels within a preset the best way to address this ??

EX: Lets say Preset 1 is a Fender Deluxe with Reverb, Drive, Delay etc. And I use Scene 1 for part of a song, and Scene 2 for another part. But then need to change to completely different song, which may have completely unique settings, amp, cab, effects etc ? I tried Channels before but realized this creates another issue. If 2 scenes share the same "Channel" in a given block, when you change ANY settings in that block, the other scenes block will also change since the channels match.

Any good ideas as to how to address this ? Or is it better to simply have presets for a given song or group of songs by a particular artist ?

Trying to think about best way to be organized for set list's etc.
You can also select channels with scenes as well, which could be used to give you a completely different sound. I have my presets set up so that scene1 selects a clean amp on channel1 of the amp block, scene2 selects a dirty amp on channel2, and scene3 selects a heavy amp on channel3. Works beautifully.
 
My apologize if this has been addressed in the forum already. I did a bunch of searching on this but wasn't able to find the right info.

I understand how presets work, and that each preset has 8 scenes no matter if they are used or not. But Scenes only limit the changes to blocks being bypassed or not per scene.

But how would I set up my Axe FX III so within a given preset , each scene (1 to 8) includes the blocks, amps, cabs and other effects and settings for a completey different song or part of a set list. NOT just on / off per block.

Are the unique channels within a preset the best way to address this ??

EX: Lets say Preset 1 is a Fender Deluxe with Reverb, Drive, Delay etc. And I use Scene 1 for part of a song, and Scene 2 for another part. But then need to change to completely different song, which may have completely unique settings, amp, cab, effects etc ? I tried Channels before but realized this creates another issue. If 2 scenes share the same "Channel" in a given block, when you change ANY settings in that block, the other scenes block will also change since the channels match.

Any good ideas as to how to address this ? Or is it better to simply have presets for a given song or group of songs by a particular artist ?

Trying to think about best way to be organized for set list's etc.
a Scene changes the On/Off and Channel of the blocks in a Preset. change Channels as needed for your Scene 2 - different amp, different cab, different delay type, etc.

if you change the settings in a block, yes, those are changed for all Scenes, because a Scene doesn't save different settings - it saves different Channels. so simply don't change settings, just change Channels.

here's an older video that explains Presets vs XY (Channels) vs Scenes. it's long because i walk you through the progression and development of Scenes. it's good to understand where and why things were developed as a foundation for knowing how to use them:

 
You can also select channels with scenes as well, which could be used to give you a completely different sound. I have my presets set up so that scene1 selects a clean amp on channel1 of the amp block, scene2 selects a dirty amp on channel2, and scene3 selects a heavy amp on channel3. Works beautifully.

Thanks. Cool idea !!
 
a Scene changes the On/Off and Channel of the blocks in a Preset. change Channels as needed for your Scene 2 - different amp, different cab, different delay type, etc.

if you change the settings in a block, yes, those are changed for all Scenes, because a Scene doesn't save different settings - it saves different Channels. so simply don't change settings, just change Channels.

here's an older video that explains Presets vs XY (Channels) vs Scenes. it's long because i walk you through the progression and development of Scenes. it's good to understand where and why things were developed as a foundation for knowing how to use them:



CLegend!, Thanks for sharing. I will deffinately check that out !
 
CLegend!, Thanks for sharing. I will deffinately check that out !
i just rewatched some of it. it's from 2014, so it's a bit long winded, somewhat teaching the front panel and axe-edit at the same time. feel free to skip around a bit during the Preset explanation, but definitely be sure to watch at the 20 minute mark where it begins explaining XY (channel) switching.
 
Excellent info so far in this thread! Thanks Chris for the videos!

What midi changes are required to change the scenes in a preset? Trying to setup my Ground Control Pro. I can go through all the patches as desired fine. I would like to do one patch per song.

Just got my FX III this evening and already tired trying to set all this up, but having a lot of fun. Would be better if I didn't have to wake up at 0400...
 
Excellent info so far in this thread! Thanks Chris for the videos!

What midi changes are required to change the scenes in a preset? Trying to setup my Ground Control Pro. I can go through all the patches as desired fine. I would like to do one patch per song.

Just got my FX III this evening and already tired trying to set all this up, but having a lot of fun. Would be better if I didn't have to wake up at 0400...
Read the manual. There's a good section on setting up scenes...

However, the GCP can NOT do scenes the "normal" way.

You need to either use Preset Mapping (again, see the manual) or do a search here for the process @Toopy14 documented for setting up the GCP with the Axe Fx II.
 
a Scene changes the On/Off and Channel of the blocks in a Preset. change Channels as needed for your Scene 2 - different amp, different cab, different delay type, etc.

if you change the settings in a block, yes, those are changed for all Scenes, because a Scene doesn't save different settings - it saves different Channels. so simply don't change settings, just change Channels.

here's an older video that explains Presets vs XY (Channels) vs Scenes. it's long because i walk you through the progression and development of Scenes. it's good to understand where and why things were developed as a foundation for knowing how to use them:



Hey Chris Legend!, Thanks for letting me know to look at the video 20 minutes in.

I was playing around last night with scenes and scene contollers and noticed a couple of things. When setting up a scene contoller to lets say adjust an amps input gain, once this is chosen for Channel A, it seems that ALL other scenes using the same amp and channel ALL adjust to 0% in the scene contoller page. So then I have to then make sure to adjust the scene controller page so they're all at 100% excet for the one I need to lower. I assume this is normal ?

I will also assume that when scene controller 1 has been assigned to the amps input gain for example, that another scene cannot ALSO use scene contolelr 1 since that has now been assigned to SC1 in the other scene already ? I do wish they had labels for these so you can tell them apart, and if they have been assigned or not.
 
Hey Chris Legend!, Thanks for letting me know to look at the video 20 minutes in.

I was playing around last night with scenes and scene contollers and noticed a couple of things. When setting up a scene contoller to lets say adjust an amps input gain, once this is chosen for Channel A, it seems that ALL other scenes using the same amp and channel ALL adjust to 0% in the scene contoller page. So then I have to then make sure to adjust the scene controller page so they're all at 100% excet for the one I need to lower. I assume this is normal ?

I will also assume that when scene controller 1 has been assigned to the amps input gain for example, that another scene cannot ALSO use scene contolelr 1 since that has now been assigned to SC1 in the other scene already ? I do wish they had labels for these so you can tell them apart, and if they have been assigned or not.
Scene Controllers have a unique value for every scene...
 
Scene Controllers have a unique value for every scene...

Unix-Guy, Thanks. I aready knew that scene contollers can have uniue values for each scene. What I didn't know is when you first set up a scene controller, once you choose to "activate" and use a scene controller, all the values on the "controller" screen are by default set to zero value (in the 0% to 100% range) So instead of being able to just select the scene to use, then simply choosing the source and value, you have then make sure ALL of the other scenes are set to 100% otherwise that pararmeter will be 0% for ALL scenes. And you get6 no sound output, at least that was my experience. Unless I'm doing something wrong , but I don't think so.

Also the scenes have no way to label them so it makes even harder to recall which is which, or even which scene conrtollers have been used at all, and in which scene controller slot is being used for what source value (1, 2, 3, or 4)
 
Unix-Guy, Thanks. I aready knew that scene contollers can have uniue values for each scene. What I didn't know is when you first set up a scene controller, once you choose to "activate" and use a scene controller, all the values on the "controller" screen are by default set to zero value (in the 0% to 100% range) So instead of being able to just select the scene to use, then simply choosing the source and value, you have then make sure ALL of the other scenes are set to 100% otherwise that pararmeter will be 0% for ALL scenes. And you get6 no sound output, at least that was my experience. Unless I'm doing something wrong , but I don't think so.

Also the scenes have no way to label them so it makes even harder to recall which is which, or even which scene conrtollers have been used at all, and in which scene controller slot is being used for what source value (1, 2, 3, or 4)
What you set them to is entirely dependant on what you are controlling...

In your case, you want them all to be at 100%... But other cases 0% is better. Other cases 50% makes more sense. It's an arbitrary value, and it needs to be something... So might as well be 0 ;)

By the way, there is no "activating" a Scene Controller - you're either using it as a modifier for one or more controls or you aren't.

I don't follow your last paragraph at all... When you assign a Scene Controller as a modifier, it is shown just like any other modifier. Further, there's Controllers "tab" in Axe-Edit that shows what controllers are used in any given preset.
 
Read the manual. There's a good section on setting up scenes...

However, the GCP can NOT do scenes the "normal" way.

You need to either use Preset Mapping (again, see the manual) or do a search here for the process @Toopy14 documented for setting up the GCP with the Axe Fx II.
NOW I fully understand what you are saying in this thread :)

took a bit of trying different things and watching the results, reading the GCP manual and reading the FX III manual. But NOW I understand what you were saying for sure. thanks!
 
NOW I fully understand what you are saying in this thread :)

took a bit of trying different things and watching the results, reading the GCP manual and reading the FX III manual. But NOW I understand what you were saying for sure. thanks!
Been there... Moved on!

I used the GCP and original Ground Control (plus Ground Link and eventually GCX) for a long time. They are bulletproof and easy to program... But they are old and not flexible.
 
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