Considering switching strategies to multiple presets in lieu of one preset and many scenes

[StickMan]

... we Segway songs together seamlessly in many occasions and is awkward to try to switch...

I know that the poster meant "segue", but now I have this ridiculous image stuck in my head of a whole band on two wheeled scooters moving around on stage while playing instruments and getting in each other's way as they rush to get back to their pedalboards to stomp on a button. Kind of like Whoville at Christmas.

 

[StickMan]

You're describing a need for instant random access to any preset/bank. That's a non-linear concept. Unfortunately, from what I've seen, all the foot switches out there are locked into a linear system.

I'm fairly convinced that all the midi foot controllers out there are compromises when it comes to use with the AxeFX. Even the MFC101 seems to be a compromise.

 

[clarky]

I'm fairly convinced that all the midi foot controllers out there are compromises when it comes to use with the AxeFX. Even the MFC101 seems to be a compromise.

in all honesty.. the MFC is a great controller..
ok so out of the box it didn't behave 100% as I wanted it to..
but with a little creative thinking and config I've managed to get my scenes on the front row switches and presets on the rear..
which is everything I need for live performances..

 

[mwd]

Does the Ultra have seamless patch changes?
Does it have Delay Spillover between Presets?

Patch changes are 100% seamless. At one time we used computer based MIDI to dish out PC messages to 8 or more devices at once and the Ultra was faster and more transparent that any device we had plugged in (Eventide, Prophesy, GR55, Voicelive, Marshall Head, Kurzweil Rumour, etc.)

I'm sure it has spillover but I may be thinking about my XL. I do not use reverbs on Ultra. I switch them all off and run thru a Strymon Big Sky. It sounds super delicious and I find it easier to manage as well as being more versatile.

 

[Rex]

The Ultra has a preset-switching gap of a few tens of milliseconds, which sounds just like seamless. And it is capable of spillover.

 

[Tahoebrian5]

I know that the poster meant "segue", but now I have this ridiculous image stuck in my head of a whole band on two wheeled scooters moving around on stage while playing instruments and getting in each other's way as they rush to get back to their pedalboards to stomp on a button. Kind of like Whoville at Christmas.

Oh you got me. This would be kind of like Rob Halford rolling onto stage on his Harley except not metal at all. Maybe I'll just skip straight to the wheel chair.

 

[mjlongo]

I run a single patch with scenes. My band is an original metal/punk band so my needs are not overly demanding.
Scene 1 is main dirt rhythm.
Scene 2 is main solo sound with a fixed short delay. Boosted slightly via eq.
Scene 3 is the same as scene 2 but with a different delay that uses tap tempo ability.
Scene 4 is a clean sound with a phaser and tap tempo delay on. (need the effect for a particular tune)
Scene 5 is my standard clean sound.

Then I have individual effects that I can turn on anytime. These would be a flanger and a tremolo. I very very rarely use them. I also have the wah setup to turn on automatically when the expression pedal is moved away from the heel down position.

Some other things of note might be that I use a light compressor on everything. I use just a hint of reverb on everything. And I pretty much always run a light chorus on the clean sounds just because I like that bit of flavor.

I do have this patch duplicated to another patch that I rarely use. The difference is that I turned off all of the extra effects and the Scene 3 is now setup to run as a whammy effect. I go to this just for something fun and different.

 

[mongoose_eyeball]

I could almost get away with using one patch, but I don't try, because I don't have to.

All of my patches use six scenes (the names are how my MFC-101 is labelled):
1. Mild (cleanest)
2. Medium (in-between)
3. Spicy (crunchiest)
4. Dry Mod (usually the "Mild" amp with chorus or vibe, and short delays at most)
5. Wet Mod (general clean and expansive or ethereal)
6. Lead (usually the "Spicy" amp with lead-appropriate compression, delay and reverb)

My MFC is set for one preset per bank. The bottom row are the first five scenes, and the Lead switch (Scene 6) is up at the top, next to the tuner switch. The other switches are all individual effect switches (Comp, Drive, Phaser/Vibe, Filter, Chorus, Tremelo, Wah, Pitch, Delay and Reverb). I started doing that because I used to have a Digitech RP-100, which offered a "pedal board" mode, where you were essentially switching between pedalboards. I'm thinking of changing this, though, since I rarely find myself stepping on the individual on/off switches any more.

I have eight (or, more realistically, four, since they're really just single-coil-voiced and humbucker-voiced versions of the same four) "Workhorse" patches that cover a general, wide range of sounds I can use on almost everything. The main difference between them is in the amps I use as starting points. Though the Fractal is much more consistent night-to-night and room-to-room than my old tube amps were, I play with lots of different groups, and sometimes a Voxy sound sits in the mix better than a Marshally sound. Also, some amps work better in certain rooms. For example, I'm less likely to choose the workhorse patches with the Captain Hook or Mesa amps in a room that's prone to boominess.

But I don't just use the Workhorse patches, though I do follow the same scene structure in most of the patches I use. I have a version of it that I pull out for country tunes, where every scene is clean and more compressed (the spicy version has a bit of grit and a slapback), as well as an 80s version which only cleans up for scene 4 (the Dry Mod, JC120 chorus sound).

I've also got a few song-specific patches ("Hotel California", "Owner of a Lonely Heart") and a few artist-specific patches (Bono, Gilmour, Andy Summers) that break the six-scene-schema somewhat.

 

[touch33]

Enjoyed reading this thread - great suggestions for electronic economy.

My “Inner Producer” would probably suggest that if I couldn’t find an empty eight-count to make my switches I might want to consider if I’m forgetting to “play the silence” in my arrangements...

 

[Burn Witch Burn]

Interesting to hear what people are doing. I have used both scenarios: as few presets as possible & one per song. They both have their advantages/disadvantages. I change my set up from time to time depending on the set list.

Even on the "one preset per song" scenario, I share presets among songs. There's always a few tunes that overlap. If you're also singing lead, every second counts between tunes, and it does take your attention and eye contact away from the audience to change presets with feet or hands plus turning your head to verify on the screen.

The advantage to the Single Preset Show is that you don't have to switch presets - great for segues or for deviating from the set list.
Even my most minimal Single Preset Show included two or three other presets to cover special needs, like a specific delay tempo or a sound that the Single Preset can't easily accommodate.

Currently in one band it's a preset per song, while another band is 4 multi-purpose presets that cover 70% of the show with about 5 or so other presets covering the rest.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

I just got an XL last week.
So far, I have been using 10 presets that are mostly clones of each other.

I am only using my amp's preamp channels for now (using 5CM since the amp is stereo).
The amp is a Rivera S-120 stereo combo.
I'm using an RJM Switch Gizmo to change channels and activate the Boost on the Clean channel.

I use the bottom row of buttons on the MFC for my rhythm sounds.
Button 1 = Clean channel w/Spring Reverb
Button 2 = Clean channel w/Spring Reverb, mild Chorus and Ducking Delay
Button 3 = Clean channel w/Spring Reverb, Timothy Overdrive
Button 4 = Distortion channel w/Spring Reverb
Button 5 = Distortion channel w/Spring Reverb, Graphic EQ in a very mild scoop to thicken the sound a little

The next row of buttons (6-10) are the same preset as the one below each button with added boost, delay, whatever I want for each Lead setting.

Button 6 = Clean channel w/Spring Reverb, amp's "Ninja" Boost & Delay
Button 7 = Clean channel w/Spring Reverb, mild Chorus, amp's "Ninja" Boost & Delay
Button 8 = Clean channel w/Spring Reverb, Timothy Overdrive, amp's "Ninja" Boost & Delay
Button 9 = Distortion channel w/Spring Reverb, Graphic EQ (set to flat, but increased output for a boost) & Delay
Button 10 = Distortion channel w/Spring Reverb, Graphic EQ in a very mild scoop & increased output, and a Delay

This works very well for me with no noticeable glitches or drops in sound.
I have Spillover set to "Both" for Reverb and Delay Spillovers.
All Delays are set to, "FX Input Mute," to allow for proper Spillover.
I use the Spring Reverb on the Axe FX because the Reverb on the amp is not that great.
All Presets have the same exact blocks in the same exact places.

Later on, I will experiment a lot more, but this gives me a solid foundation to work with when playing live.

 

[Max Haze]

I have started to use scenes now and I never thought scenes was something for me. I use the bottom four knobs for scenes and the fifth button for a momentary effect. As you can see in this video. I still use presets but I go up and down with the up and down buttons...