Living on one preset - is it wrong?

Justincase said:
Great avatar! I'm still following the gasoline additive experiment.
Click to expand...

Thanks! Taryl and his crew are always entertaining.

I've been surprised by that experiment. It appears that none of the fuel additives make any difference relative to straight pump fuel. I thought for sure we would have seen more than one engine fail to start by this point.
 
I used to try to cram my band's whole evening into one preset. These days, I'm branching out more and making individual song presets; I still have my main "meat & potatoes" preset that gets used about 80% of the time, but I'm trying to get away from that for several reasons: 1) I'm trying to make the tones more authentic to the songs we play and 2) I'm trying to make simpler presets that will fit on an FM3 so I can essentially have redundancy (meaning I'm lazy and would rather leave my Axe III + FC6 at home and rehearse/gig with the FM3).

So yeah, no it's not wrong, and I've done it myself, but I'm slowly venturing outside my comfort zone :)
 
decreebass said:
I used to try to cram my band's whole evening into one preset. These days, I'm branching out more and making individual song presets; I still have my main "meat & potatoes" preset that gets used about 80% of the time, but I'm trying to get away from that for several reasons: 1) I'm trying to make the tones more authentic to the songs we play and 2) I'm trying to make simpler presets that will fit on an FM3 so I can essentially have redundancy (meaning I'm lazy and would rather leave my Axe III + FC6 at home and rehearse/gig with the FM3).

So yeah, no it's not wrong, and I've done it myself, but I'm slowly venturing outside my comfort zone :)
Click to expand...
That very much depends on how, where and with who you play I guess.

I pay keys as well - in 2 bands - and I do just that. One pre-set per song, that has all the sounds and splits I need. I think its more "needed" as a keys player because a sting, pad, lead, piano, organ etc are totally different sounds from a different type of distortion sound. BUT the concept is very valid. If I was playing in a band with a list of songs or sets, Id probably do the same.

However, Im not there. I stand in, i do jam sessions, I play along to anything at home. There is no "this song" or "that song" hence a single preset. with a tone I like across varying gain levels, suiting all my guitars - and a set of FX in a psudo pedalboard layout I can switching and out at will.
 
I've got 5 main presets- clean, chime, dirt, crunch, and chunk (thanks LT for the naming scheme), and that gets me everything I need. I'm on the II with only X/Y switching, and I'm sure I could condense to just 3 presets on the III.

Of course I have dozens of other "experimental" presets, or amps I like, and factory presets I want to keep, but 95% of my time is spent in one of my main 5 presets.

I've never been someone to try and copy a tone, or create a preset for every single band or even song I like, I have some general presets and I engage the FX I like, if there's a song I want to learn that has different FX I swap in those, no need to create a new preset for every song. I'm not a gigging musician though, and I can see the appeal in having a preset per song in that setting.
 
So many of the greatest guitarists have/had one signature tone. To find a tone that you can play anything with and one that allows you to express yourself is a blessing. Still looking for mine. Nice to have so many options and unlimited ability to tweak.
 
I have a main preset with global blocks for everything except the amp and cab blocks. I make that main preset into a template and swap out amp and cabs for different use cases. Even if I just stayed on my main preset (which I probably use 80% of the time anyway), the cost of all those components would cost more than the Axe-FX III and definitely weigh a lot more!

Anyway, don't sweat it if you only use one preset. Do whatever you like. If it makes you happy or inspires you, then it's all good.
 
curious said:
So many of the greatest guitarists have/had one signature tone. To find a tone that you can play anything with and one that allows you to express yourself is a blessing. Still looking for mine. Nice to have so many options and unlimited ability to tweak.
Click to expand...
This is a distinct difference between an original artist and a gigging covers musician though.

If you write and record your own stuff either solo or in a band - you use your sound. It may well only be 1 or 2 sounds (with FX) across a whole career. If your covering others compositions though - the audience expects at least a reasonable sonic copy. Im not saying you have to nail every tone perfectly, but you need a few more options that a single tone or two.
 
I have quite a few presets I use, but most are at home. When I play anywhere, especially at church I tend to pick one preset and roll with it for the whole set. I actually have quite a few kitchen sink presets that are nearly the same but with different amps and optimized for those amps. Then I pick the amp I feel like playing that day and then can give the sound tech one baseline tone too
 
paulmapp8306 said:
This is a distinct difference between an original artist and a gigging covers musician though.

If you write and record your own stuff either solo or in a band - you use your sound. It may well only be 1 or 2 sounds (with FX) across a whole career. If your covering others compositions though - the audience expects at least a reasonable sonic copy. Im not saying you have to nail every tone perfectly, but you need a few more options that a single tone or two.
Click to expand...
True.

There is a member here (sleestak) who covers in one band (Bowievision) all the 7? different Bowie guitarists and cop their tones. Phenomenal when you consider who those artists were.

He says the Axefx has been one of the single most important tools and sculpting all those historically well known tones/chops.
 
paulmapp8306 said:
This is a distinct difference between an original artist and a gigging covers musician though.

If you write and record your own stuff either solo or in a band - you use your sound. It may well only be 1 or 2 sounds (with FX) across a whole career. If your covering others compositions though - the audience expects at least a reasonable sonic copy. Im not saying you have to nail every tone perfectly, but you need a few more options that a single tone or two.
Click to expand...
I hear you. I myself play in a cover band too. I get trying to achieve the authentic tone - and I do try :). But, I know guys who play in cover bands where I live that do the whole gig with a 1x12 combo amp and 3 pedals. They nail every tone pretty well.
 
For years, I've worked on the same principle (for live use) as having a real amp - one core tone that stays consistent across songs, as if I was using a real amp. I use one preset that does it all, but have multiple versions of them for different guitars and some specialised dependent on the song. But still, basically, the same preset.

The thing that sells it for me is I know it's going to sound great all the time and, when I get tired of my tone (it happens!) I can easily change out or tweak the amp and it's all new again for me.

Enjoy it dude - you'll not run out of options anytime soon, that's for sure!
 
ZenRigs Man said:
For years, I've worked on the same principle (for live use) as having a real amp - one core tone that stays consistent across songs, as if I was using a real amp. I use one preset that does it all, but have multiple versions of them for different guitars and some specialised dependent on the song. But still, basically, the same preset.

The thing that sells it for me is I know it's going to sound great all the time and, when I get tired of my tone (it happens!) I can easily change out or tweak the amp and it's all new again for me.

Enjoy it dude - you'll not run out of options anytime soon, that's for sure!
Click to expand...
Nodding along in agreement to everything @ZenRigs Man said here. I modeled my old rig with one or two core tones and effects around it I can pull in and out on demand. And then Fractal gear gets me consistency gig-to-gig. Plus, if I want to change the core tones on a night it's super simple. I just change the AMP/CAB and suddenly it's a new set of core sounds.
 
I like the kitchen sink approach. I have one preset for electric, one for electric.

In the electric one, I've got 4 amps, and tons of effects. I can get anything I'd ever need, and some fun stuff just for kicks.
 
As a sound guy, I massively appreciate when it’s one core tone or similar tones. It makes it easier to mix a set. As a player I do enjoying going for all the tones, but I only use one core tone per show, and I’ve already done a few loops of my favorite amps when I feel like a change in tone!
 
@Anthony76 that is where I am headed. I am a recent Axe 3 buyer, coming from the AX8, and with the capabilities I am aiming at a single preset that I can control with scenes and effects. In the planning stages right now. I play in a 10 piece jazz band that covers big band through to party music. We state adamantly that we are not a "cover band", but have our own sound even if playing others' music.
 
I have about twenty different presets I like, with a couple being a variation on the other, but they wander from three I cobbled together to sound like my ToneKing Imperial Mk II and Lone Star Express and my old Mesa-Boogie Mk IIb combos, to ones I never liked enough in "real life" to buy, but enjoy when I'm in a mood, like the 50W Plexi, Trainwreck, some assorted Dumbles, and of course Blackface Deluxe combos (that we had hot-rodded back when Mesa first showed up).

I'm of a mind to occasionally switch up my sound to push a song different ways, like taking a blues song and the 50W Plexi or Dweezil's Bassman and winding it up during the solo then backing it down so it's clean again after the solo. There's definitely something about having that gain and sustain that pushes my thinking in a different direction than it'd normally go.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom