How to do this in Axe-Fx III?

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lwknives

Power User
So I’m considering going from my Ax8 to the Axe FX iii, I am wanting to get away from building a different preset for every song and start using a big kitchen sink preset with all the tones I need.
Anyway, this is the setup I am wanting.
I need to have 5 levels of gain, clean with a comp, gritty amp, gritty amp with a boost, distorted amp, distorted amp with a boost.
I want to be able to access all these drive levels with 5 different footswitches (I’m hopping the FC12 can do this).
I also need to have 5 different Time based FX that operate independently from the 5 gain stages.
For example, I would like to be able to turn on a slap back delay and keep that delay on while using different levels of gain and also change to a 1/4 note delay without changing the gain level.
Any ideas on how to accomplish this using an Axe FX iii and an FC12.
How would y’all go about accessing these tones?
 
If it were me, I'd have five of the bottom row of switches set as direct access to five scenes for your different gain levels, which could be same amp or different amps, or a combo of both. The sixth switch could change channels of the delay block.

Then five of the top row would be your five effects blocks that you could turn on and off at will. That still leaves you with one more switch for the tuner or whatever. Then you still have the hold function available for all twelve switches as well.......
 
The problem with using scenes is that scenes would also change my time based FX. I want to be able to control them separately.
 
Well if I am on a song that needs a slap back delay throughout and uses all 5 gain stages and then the next song requires a dot 1/8 delay throughout all 5 gain stages are used I would have to change over to the dot 1/8 on every scene change.
 
If you're using all 5 gain settings with one type of delay, then all 5 again with another type, then it might be better to go with a preset per song. There's also different ways of controlling things like amp gain....like using an expression pedal, and letting the delay type be per scene. Lots of different ways to do this.
 
Like I said, I’m trying to get away from per song presets.
I’ve been thinking on it for a while and I’m still struggling to figure out how to do it the way I mentioned in my first post.
 
Like I said, I’m trying to get away from per song presets.
I’ve been thinking on it for a while and I’m still struggling to figure out how to do it the way I mentioned in my first post.
Well, if you don't want to use scenes or presets, I'm afraid I'm out of ideas too. :)
 
Be carefull not to make things too complicated. At some point you will get lost and/or out of options. Just make a few more presets, not necessarily a preset per song, but just a few to cover your set.

Just my 2 cent :)
 
Maybe just a few presets that are time-based (dotted 1/8, slapback, etc...), then you can control the different levels of gain on each, as suggested above??
 
Probably great advice, I may just stick with the Ax8 if the iii can’t do this.
I'm not sure why you would say this. Beyond the firmware improvements of the III over the AX8 & the additional CPU power, unless you need a seamless transition between all your songs, there's no real advantage to trying to make a kitchen sink preset to accomplish this. You are still going to have to hit a button somewhere to get any changes. What difference does it make if it's a scene change or a preset change? Just curious.
 
I'm not sure why you would say this. Beyond the firmware improvements of the III over the AX8 & the additional CPU power, unless you need a seamless transition between all your songs, there's no real advantage to trying to make a kitchen sink preset to accomplish this. You are still going to have to hit a button somewhere to get any changes. What difference does it make if it's a scene change or a preset change? Just curious.
The firmware improvements alone are not enough to make me want to carry the extra weight every time I gig. I like the grab and go aspect of the Ax8 and it sounds freaking awesome. The extra CPU doesnt do me much good if the switching capability isnt good enough to utilize the extra FX.
The main thing is I want seamless switching between delay sounds, I dont like the dropout between presets. The band I am playing in does not stop between songs so the preset change is usually audible.

Then there is the part where the cost is about double! :)
 
You can use the Controllers to switch drive in/out and boost amp gain, and kick in the amp model's built-in boost on the preamp tab of the amp model.

Controllers are not attached to scenes like effect bypass and channels are, so you could get different gain levels within a single scene.
 
I use an expression pedal to bled the( 2 amp and 2 cab blocks, Each set in parallel) I get a huge variation between super clean and Dirty. I also use a Drive Block for more variation. I almost never leave my main patch. you could use scenes to get your 5 time based effects :)
 
The firmware improvements alone are not enough to make me want to carry the extra weight every time I gig. I like the grab and go aspect of the Ax8 and it sounds freaking awesome. The extra CPU doesnt do me much good if the switching capability isnt good enough to utilize the extra FX.
The main thing is I want seamless switching between delay sounds, I dont like the dropout between presets. The band I am playing in does not stop between songs so the preset change is usually audible.

Then there is the part where the cost is about double! :)
There is a way to do what you want, using 2 delays, the Mux or Mixer block & having the delays switch channels using a separate button from the scene change buttons. You could potentially have 8 different delay settings. Probably other ways to do this as Joe & GuitarNut mention. I don't have an FC (yet) but from what people have posted, it's very powerful.
 
Are you trying to talk yourself into or out of the Axe-Fx III? What you are asking can be done. Problem is, there are several ways to accomplish it and it takes a lot to explain any of them.

Tagging onto what everyone has said, each block has 4 channels and there are functions that allow you to toggle between 2 channels or cycle through all 4. There are 6 Control Switches that can be used to turn the Amp boost on, increase or decrease gain, activate the Drive block and/or Compressor block. You can control anything in the preset that has a modifier with one switch. The FC-12 has 8 layouts (9 if you count the Master Layout Menu) that can be linked to any switch and any switch can perform any function. You can select your crunchy stage and instantly jump to the layout that has the drive(s) and other effects you want access to with that tone.

What you're wanting to do with the gain stages can be done with as little as 3 switches. Same for the delays. The Axe III combined with the FC-12 is incredibly versatile and powerful, it's just not easy to say "this is how you'd do that" when there's so many options available. This is not even mentioning the tone; the Axe III simply sounds and feels better than the AX8. Yes, the AX8 sounds great and I was very happy using it. The Axe III's new Reverb algorithms is what caught my attention, but when I heard the Axe III next to the AX8, I jumped on the FM3 waitlist and sold the AX8.
 
I’m not trying to talk myself in or out of anything, just trying to find the most effective solution for my guitar playing rig.

I can easily figure out how to get all the gain staging I want, the hard part is having it organized so that I have 5 switches that go sequentially from low to high gain.
 
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