Easy guitar swapping during a gig

Fotukito

Fotukito

Inspired
As a new AF3 owner, after some overly complicated false starts, below is what I’ve settled on for simplifying guitar swaps during a gig, posted to get critiques from veteran users and in case it is useful for others with similar objectives.

I play in a small cover band using backing tracks with synchronized MIDI for controlling preset/scene/fx selections (so no need for pedals beyond expression and volume), managed by the BandHelper app on iPads. With a wide range of styles to cover, I swap between a Strat and Les Paul depending on the song. In integrating the Axe, some objectives included:
  • One-button push on the iPad to indicate to the Axe via MIDI that I’m now playing the Strat vs Les Paul. Needs to persist across preset/scene changes; i.e. only needs to be pressed once per guitar change.
  • No need to change cabling when swapping guitars (both continuously plugged in).
  • No need to view or access the Axe panel.
  • Though presets/scenes used for a given song are optimized for whichever guitar I usually use for that song, if I need to use the other guitar the same presets still work ‘well enough’ even with the PUP signal strength differences.
  • Direct connection from the guitars to the Axe, eliminating intermediate switches, pedals, etc.
  • Can still use my tuner on the pedal board.
To meet these objectives each of my gigging presets starts with the blocks shown below:
Input Blocks.png
  • The Strat stays connected to Input 1; the Les Paul to Input 2.
  • Input 1 Gain (newly added global in FW 12.12) set to +3.5 dB to roughly account for Strat vs Les Paul PUP signal strength.
  • The M-Plex selects (by row) between blocks In 1 and In 2 using a Modifier sourced by an External Controller linked to a MIDI CC. CC value 0 selects the Les Paul; 127 selects the Strat. Critically, instances of this M-Plex will persist the most recent source selection when changing presets. (PC Reset = Off)
  • The VolPan block is only needed for scenes that are built for single-coil / Strat input. It simply reduces gain by -3.5 dB. If the Strat is in use, this nets to 0 gain by counteracting the pre-boost added by Input 1 Gain. If the Les Paul is in use, it reduces the signal by -3.5 dB from the hotter pickups..
  • For scenes built for the Les Paul, VolPan is bypassed or omitted and the Input 1 Gain boost gives the Strat a fighting chance to use the preset.
  • The Output 3 block sends the raw guitar signal to physical Output 3 which is cabled to my tuner on my pedal board.
When I need to change guitars, I press a button labeled Strat or Les Paul on my iPad, and BandHelper sends the corresponding MIDI CC to the Axe which flips the M-Plex source selection. Once a song is playing, BandHelper sends preset/scene/fx bypass-engage messages to the Axe synchronized to the backing tracks.

So far, very happy with this direction, but always open to better ideas!
 
Fotukito said:
  • The M-Plex selects (by row) between blocks In 1 and In 2 using a Modifier sourced by an External Controller linked to a MIDI CC. CC value 0 selects the Les Paul; 127 selects the Strat. Critically, instances of this M-Plex will persist the most recent source selection when changing presets. (PC Reset = Off)

So far, very happy with this direction, but always open to better ideas!
Click to expand...

Cool solution for what you need! I never even though about having two guitars plugged in for ease of switching but I thought that Input 1 had some 'special sauce' as I've seen it referred to on it that was different than In 2 - or, does that apply to Out 1 and Out 2? Not sure.

The other question - if not using an external controller, I would imagine one could just turn the volume down on guitar 1 (input 1) and grab guitar 2 (input 2) without any negative impact correct?

Definitely going to mess around with this before my next gig....so, like maybe 2024. haha. Actually I have some coming up this month so it'd be fun to try this out.
 
Brian Coonan said:
Cool solution for what you need! I never even though about having two guitars plugged in for ease of switching but I thought that Input 1 had some 'special sauce' as I've seen it referred to on it that was different than In 2 - or, does that apply to Out 1 and Out 2? Not sure.
Click to expand...
Not sure, but I'd seen a number of references to using In 2 for a guitar on this forum that led me to believe it should work OK. (In 1 does have the unique (new) Input Gain control, which I use to dial in the delta between guitars.)
Brian Coonan said:
The other question - if not using an external controller, I would imagine one could just turn the volume down on guitar 1 (input 1) and grab guitar 2 (input 2) without any negative impact correct?
Click to expand...
I think you'd need to substitute a Mixer for the M-Plex if you had no external controller, since the M-Plex can only select one source at a time. (I like the 'goof proof' hard switch... I can imagine forgetting to turn down a guitar and have it start resonating on the stand in the middle of a song :p)
 
Cant a button say on the FC-12 be programmed to do this instead of an Ipad? not every one has an Ipad nor want to use one. The less computers I have to deal with the better. I know a guy that was fired out of his band for using and Ipad because he could not stop messing with it during practice and live shows.

Fotukito said:
As a new AF3 owner, after some overly complicated false starts, below is what I’ve settled on for simplifying guitar swaps during a gig, posted to get critiques from veteran users and in case it is useful for others with similar objectives.

I play in a small cover band using backing tracks with synchronized MIDI for controlling preset/scene/fx selections (so no need for pedals beyond expression and volume), managed by the BandHelper app on iPads. With a wide range of styles to cover, I swap between a Strat and Les Paul depending on the song. In integrating the Axe, some objectives included:
  • One-button push on the iPad to indicate to the Axe via MIDI that I’m now playing the Strat vs Les Paul. Needs to persist across preset/scene changes; i.e. only needs to be pressed once per guitar change.
  • No need to change cabling when swapping guitars (both continuously plugged in).
  • No need to view or access the Axe panel.
  • Though presets/scenes used for a given song are optimized for whichever guitar I usually use for that song, if I need to use the other guitar the same presets still work ‘well enough’ even with the PUP signal strength differences.
  • Direct connection from the guitars to the Axe, eliminating intermediate switches, pedals, etc.
  • Can still use my tuner on the pedal board.
To meet these objectives each of my gigging presets starts with the blocks shown below:
View attachment 70748
  • The Strat stays connected to Input 1; the Les Paul to Input 2.
  • Input 1 Gain (newly added global in FW 12.12) set to +3.5 dB to roughly account for Strat vs Les Paul PUP signal strength.
  • The M-Plex selects (by row) between blocks In 1 and In 2 using a Modifier sourced by an External Controller linked to a MIDI CC. CC value 0 selects the Les Paul; 127 selects the Strat. Critically, instances of this M-Plex will persist the most recent source selection when changing presets. (PC Reset = Off)
  • The VolPan block is only needed for scenes that are built for single-coil / Strat input. It simply reduces gain by -3.5 dB. If the Strat is in use, this nets to 0 gain by counteracting the pre-boost added by Input 1 Gain. If the Les Paul is in use, it reduces the signal by -3.5 dB from the hotter pickups..
  • For scenes built for the Les Paul, VolPan is bypassed or omitted and the Input 1 Gain boost gives the Strat a fighting chance to use the preset.
  • The Output 3 block sends the raw guitar signal to physical Output 3 which is cabled to my tuner on my pedal board.
When I need to change guitars, I press a button labeled Strat or Les Paul on my iPad, and BandHelper sends the corresponding MIDI CC to the Axe which flips the M-Plex source selection. Once a song is playing, BandHelper sends preset/scene/fx bypass-engage messages to the Axe synchronized to the backing tracks.

So far, very happy with this direction, but always open to better ideas!
Click to expand...
 
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rickster71 said:
Cant a button say on the FC-12 be programmed to do this instead of an Ipad? not every one has an Ipad nor want to use one.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I would bet it would be very easy to do - just make a button toggle between input 1 and input 2 maybe?

Fotukito said:
Not sure, but I'd seen a number of references to using In 2 for a guitar on this forum that led me to believe it should work OK. (In 1 does have the unique (new) Input Gain control, which I use to dial in the delta between guitars.)

I think you'd need to substitute a Mixer for the M-Plex if you had no external controller, since the M-Plex can only select one source at a time. (I like the 'goof proof' hard switch... I can imagine forgetting to turn down a guitar and have it start resonating on the stand in the middle of a song :p)
Click to expand...

Yeah, input 2 can definitely be used for guitar with no issues. I could totally see myself forgetting to turn down the volume on the not-being-used guitar too and then blaming the sound tech for the feedback.

A long time ago when I was much less experienced, I was on stage and not getting any sound out of my guitar and gesturing wildly to the sound tech to get me in the mix. He came across the monitors in a very calm and controlled voice and said "You need to plug it in before I can put you out front" Ever since then, I've always assumed any issue like that is mine to fix first. 😳
 
rickster71 said:
Cant a button say on the FC-12 be programmed to do this instead of an Ipad? not every one has an Ipad nor want to use one.
Click to expand...
Well, to be clear I'm certainly not promoting adding an iPad for this capability. We already use it as a central part of our setup (see summary above), so my solution focuses on adding a button to what's already in front of me. I don't use any FAS pedals other than expression (and don't want more pedals just like you don't want more computers). But I'd imagine the pedals could be programmed to do the same thing I do with my iPad button for switching guitar sources.
 
It's a good concept that way you can have a spare on hand or have one that is in different tuning or if you have a JP-15 like I have you can run the guitar itself separate. .
 
I forgot to add, I keep my wireless plugged into the back, input 1, and keep a cable ready to use for the front input
If you wanted something physical, you can just unplug the cable from the front and the back input becomes active.
 
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Is it possible to control the output of the Input Block as like a global block so when I press an external switch, I can have a 2db boost on the Input 1 Block across the input of all of my presets, that stays on until I switch it off again ? This would allow me to switch guitars and make up for the loss in pickups from going from active to passive and not have to worry about anything until I switch it off ?

Is that possible ?
 
bread said:
Is it possible to control the output of the Input Block as like a global block so when I press an external switch, I can have a 2db boost on the Input 1 Block across the input of all of my presets, that stays on until I switch it off again ? This would allow me to switch guitars and make up for the loss in pickups from going from active to passive and not have to worry about anything until I switch it off ?

Is that possible ?
Click to expand...
EDIT: Corrected after Bakerman pointed out no Global Block is needed.
You can link an Input Block to a Global Block, with the Output Level associated with an External controller to accomplish this. (Note that the External controller must be associated with every use of the Input Block in every preset where you use it, since the controller associations do not propogate to the Global Block.)

A couple of disadvantage to this approach (compared to burning some other block like a Filter or VolPan for the boost):

1. If you want different gate settings (which are managed in the Input Blocks) for different presets / scenes, it complicates the boost management since they'll also inherit these settings from the Global Block. You can use different channels, but it's still more complicated than a dedicated boost block.

2. My experience was increasing the Output Level in the Input Block was not the same audibly as increasing the gain by the same amount in an immediately following Filter or VolPan block. I don't know why; perhaps has to do with the machinations of gain staging within the Input Block.

Try this experiement: put in a back-to-back Filter and/or VolPan, and set them to equal but opposite gains, and try some bypass/engage experiements while listening... e.g., engage them both, and bypass them both... sounds the same to me). Now do the same with Input 1 / Output Level and a subsequent Filter or VolPan block... e.g. set Output Level to +3, Filter to -3; then Output Leve to +0, Filter to +0... sounds different to me! I hear neutrality in the first experiements, but a difference in the second. I also found that the new Input Trim works properly against a Filter or VolPan adjustment.
 
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Fotukito said:
You can link an Input Block to a Global Block, with the Output Level associated with an External controller to accomplish this.
Click to expand...

A global block isn't required for this. Just add the level modifier to each preset.

There shouldn't be any difference between this approach and a vol/pan or filter immediately after input block, but I don't have an Axe-FX III here to verify it's working as expected.
 
Bakerman said:
A global block isn't required for this. Just add the level modifier to each preset.
Click to expand...
Good point, thanks for the correction... I'll update my post above to fix this.

Bakerman said:
There shouldn't be any difference between this approach and a vol/pan or filter immediately after input block, but I don't have an Axe-FX III here to verify it's working as expected.
Click to expand...
I just tried this again, using a scene that's fairly sensitive to input signal strength (e.g. just breaking / dirty). With a Filter (with no EQ; only Level changes) following the In 1 Block, I still hear a difference between (for example):
1. Input 1 / Output Level = +5db, Filter / Level = -5dB
2. Input 1 / Output Level = 0db, Filter / Level = 0dB
3. Input 1 / Output Level = 0db, Filter Bypassed

2 and 3 sound the same, but 1 sounds like there is more overdrive / dirtier, as if 5 dB in Input 1 is a bit more than -5dB in the filter.

This makes no difference if you're only using Input 1 to add a boost, but if elsewhere you want to switch in an optional counteracting cut with a Filter or VolPan, it makes it hard to know how to set it to get a truely neutral net zero gain.

In contrast these all sound the same to me, leaving Input 1 / Output Level = 0, and following with a Filter then a VolPan (or another Filter):
1. Filter / Level = +5dB, VolPan / Level = -5dB
2. Filter / Level = 0dB, VolPan / Level = 0dB
3. Filter Bypassed, VolPan Bypassed

And finally, these sound the same to me:
1. Input Gain (Trim) = +5dB, VolPan / Level = -5dB
2. Input Gain (Trim) = 0dB, VolPan / Level = 0dB
3. Input Gain (Trim) = 0dB, Filter Bypassed

Hence I'm using that last approach for switching between boosted and neutral.
 
As with most things, the simplest solution is usually the best. I can't believe I never thought of this before. For my rig I'd just have a button on the FC set so that a long press switches the Matrix block.
 
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