Wish Consolidate channels / switches to make amp list more usable

luckymethod

luckymethod

Inspired
As a new Axe user, the fact that most amps have different entries based on channels or certain "switch" position ends up making the amp list a lot harder to consume and use. For example the Hook amp has 6 models:
  • (1A) channel 1, EQ Bypass and Boost switches off
  • (1B) channel 1, EQ Bypass engaged, Boost switch on
  • (2A) channel 2, Edge switch off
  • (2B) channel 2, Edge switch on
  • (3A) channel 3, Edge switch off
  • (3B) channel 3, Edge switch on
It would be a lot simpler if it just was

  • Capt Hook
and the channels and switches were a second level control. It would shrink the amp list considerably and make picking the right amp a lot simpler.
 
It’s been suggested but it seems the overall modeling can’t change with just the flip of a virtual switch, so if you want those variations of a given amp you need to have an amp model with all the respective settings.
 
lqdsnddist said:
It’s been suggested but it seems the overall modeling can’t change with just the flip of a virtual switch, so if you want those variations of a given amp you need to have an amp model with all the respective settings.
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I disagree, you don't need to change anything in the models, just "swap them" as the channel selector or switches are manipulated. It would be a UI only thing and granted, it might require a bit of work to make it feasible but I don't believe change in modeling has anything to do with this request.

Now that I think about it even a basic "grouping" in the model selector in the editor would be a great first step.
 
luckymethod said:
and the channels and switches were a second level control. It would shrink the amp list considerably and make picking the right amp a lot simpler.
Click to expand...

Are you talking about selecting the amp model from the AxeFX front panel, or from AxeEdit?
 
Well...for AxeEdit, IMHO the answer is to improve the browser rather than to consolidate amps in a way that isn't meaningful in a digital modeler. There should be a good browser for presets, IRs, amp models, blocks, etc. There are many ways to make it easy to choose one item from a list of 250, especially categorization and filtering.

In other words, if you're looking for a clean amp, do you really want to look through a list of all amps, choose Capt Hook, then choose Channel 1A? Instead it would probably be better to filter the list to show clean amps, then choose Capt Hook channel 1A. Or, even better, with the list filtered to clean amps, it would be easy to step through various clean amps to find one to your liking.

Here's the browser wish thread:
https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/proper-preset-and-ir-browsers.162038/
 
GlennO said:
Well...for AxeEdit, IMHO the answer is to improve the browser rather than to consolidate amps in a way that isn't meaningful in a digital modeler. There should be a good browser for presets, IRs, amp models, blocks, etc. There are many ways to make it easy to choose one item from a list of 250, especially categorization and filtering.

In other words, if you're looking for a clean amp, do you really want to look through a list of all amps, choose Capt Hook, then choose Channel 1A? Instead it would probably be better to filter the list to show clean amps, then choose Capt Hook channel 1A. Or, even better, with the list filtered to clean amps, it would be easy to step through various clean amps to find one to your liking.
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in this case I don’t think about it that way, I don’t want to look for a clean amp, I have in mind a specific model but I might not remember which mode is which channel.
 
Sure, but the answer to your problem is still the same: A browser that is capable of presenting the amps organized the way you want. Simply asking for one organizational scheme probably isn't going to make anybody happy. The next person may want them categorized by clean/high gain. The next person may want them organized by vintage/modern/boutique. The next person may want them categorized by manufacturer. the next person may want them organized by their personal favorites. Another person may want class A/class B. A proper browser is probably the only productive way to proceed on this issue.
 
Yeah, a taxonomy term set would be helpful, as each amp could have multiple ways of being in(ex)cluded, simply by adding a tag or three in search.
?search[]=clean,vintage,british
 
I think amp categorization is a very personal thing. For example, the difference between a clean amp and a dirty amp is often just the twist of a gain knob.
 
Yes
Rex said:
I think amp categorization is a very personal thing. For example, the difference between a clean amp and a dirty amp is often just the twist of a gain knob.
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yes, that’s why I think categorizing by amp makes sense because it’s objective and a good starting point. In any case anything is better than the current mess :)
 
luckymethod said:
Yes

yes, that’s why I think categorizing by amp makes sense because it’s objective and a good starting point. In any case anything is better than the current mess :)
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Makes sense for you ;). You’re right...it needs to be improved, but implementing a single fixed organizational scheme would probably not be an improvement.
 
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+1
I think implementing this in the editor would help most people, without the need to do anything on hardware level. I mean, tags, grouping etc. would be a nice to have, which one can use, but mustn't. And yeah, customization is needed. I dare not to say that my idea of sorting stuff is "the only right way". But then you could also think of customizable, im-/exportable views implemented in the editor. The wish list explodes pretty fast :)
As we transitioned our module interface here in the company to a categorized view, we always kept the "old flat boring" view, because people get used to it.
 
luckymethod said:
...that’s why I think categorizing by amp makes sense because it’s objective and a good starting point.
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It's not objective, though. I have a Plexi preset where scene 1 is clean as a whistle, and scene 3 is dirty as a truck tire on a wet dirt road. How would you categorize that amp? Clean? Dirty? Clirty? :) Categorization is very personal.
 
Rex said:
It's not objective, though. I have a Plexi preset where scene 1 is clean as a whistle, and scene 3 is dirty as a truck tire on a wet dirt road. How would you categorize that amp? Clean? Dirty? Clirty? :) Categorization is very personal.
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The category could be "2 stage preamp" "3 stage preamp" "4+stage preamp".
 
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