Paid Presets

I like a lot of the presets. I always change some of the stuff, but presets help get you there sooner. As far as amp/cab stuff, I usually edit that stuff myself, but for some of the effects stuff, some of these presets do things that I never thought of. The use of modifiers, parallel paths, etc. I would say that there is some value in commercial presets, especially if it has different effects settings that I normally wouldn't think to use. From the Gift of Tone for Axe III, the Devin Townsend preset with the way the wah is setup is something that I would not think of or design myself.

It depends on what your after. For amp/cab stuff, I think that the looper can help you dial in tones that you normally wouldn't. It allows you to make adjustments without playing. I have found that this is the most effective way to get good tones fast. I usually delete the looper block once I get things dialed in, but it is very helpful in setting EQ and most importantly mic placement with Dyna Cabs.
 
boz52 said:
Is it still worth buying presets? Seems like with all the firmware updates, they have a short self life unless you stay on a particular version.
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I try to answer to your question

I sell my presets on my store since 2016,
By the time I try to understand the needs of the users and these are my guide lines:

1) My Presets offer a template to learn and create your personal knowledge, they are not only "a sound" they are a philosophy. Knowledge means you have to try, to understand, to read the manual, to ask etc
2) Presets don't contain the skill to play!!!!!!! If you buy a preset "Van Halen Sound" you buy a sound, not the Van Halen Playing!!
3) If the seller is a skilled guitar player this is very helpful in my opinion because it is a demonstration of what you can reach!
4) Pay attention how the preset is recorded!!! My presets have no post production! Direct to the audio interface!
5) I design my presets to use on stage for live gig, recording studio and practice, offering different scenes: Lead, Rhythm, Clean, etc
6) I explain my presets with a tutorial you can see on the store. Any preset has its demo video and tutorial
7) On my channel you can find lot of tutorials and you can evaluate what is my skill.
8) I offer support for any user who have problems
9) Any time there is a new firmware I provide to test my presets. in case of significant modifications I send a new upgrade. My store is very efficient, any user who bought a preset receive automatically any update on his inbox.
10) Users can contact me in case of problems with new firmware

I think paid presets could be an importane help for any user if they fulfill these rules.
What do you think?
 
All of this is personal taste and affordability...Let's be honest, if you can get a bunch of presets (or cab IR's) for less than the price of a dozen golf balls then why not. Not all are that distinct from each other but I've learned to tweak a little.
My only "Wishlist" is that FAS would give me more slots for presets and cabs...maybe some kind of external hard drive accessory. I've stated before that given my apparent need of only four hours sleep at night, the fact that my office is right beside where the wife is sleeping I get me a pot or two of coffee and sit down and deep dive into these presets. I've learned a lot about my machine by taking 8 presets and using the channels, mutliplex block, etc. turning them into one preset just to save room.
I've learned more about routing, why things work a certain way, what sounds good together, etc. than I ever did crawling around on the floor (since the early 70's) hooking cables up to different pedals and twisting knobs and then re-doing it all. Do I really need all these presets and cabs? No, but I've spent money on all kinds of stuff that wasn't half as fun!
Alluding to above comment about not sleeping on the Factory stuff...still some of the best presets/cabs I have.
 
Marco Fanton said:
I try to answer to your question

I sell my presets on my store since 2016,
By the time I try to understand the needs of the users and these are my guide lines:

1) My Presets offer a template to learn and create your personal knowledge, they are not only "a sound" they are a philosophy. Knowledge means you have to try, to understand, to read the manual, to ask etc
2) Presets don't contain the skill to play!!!!!!! If you buy a preset "Van Halen Sound" you buy a sound, not the Van Halen Playing!!
3) If the seller is a skilled guitar player this is very helpful in my opinion because it is a demonstration of what you can reach!
4) Pay attention how the preset is recorded!!! My presets have no post production! Direct to the audio interface!
5) I design my presets to use on stage for live gig, recording studio and practice, offering different scenes: Lead, Rhythm, Clean, etc
6) I explain my presets with a tutorial you can see on the store. Any preset has its demo video and tutorial
7) On my channel you can find lot of tutorials and you can evaluate what is my skill.
8) I offer support for any user who have problems
9) Any time there is a new firmware I provide to test my presets. in case of significant modifications I send a new upgrade. My store is very efficient, any user who bought a preset receive automatically any update on his inbox.
10) Users can contact me in case of problems with new firmware

I think paid presets could be an importane help for any user if they fulfill these rules.
What do you think?
Click to expand...
What do I think? You keep making them (and updating them) and I'll keep buying them. Is that the answer you are looking for?
 
Marco Fanton said:
thank you for your support, I appreciate a lot.
I'd like to have your opinion about the points I listed, if you agree, if you have suggestions, etc :)
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I agree 100% especially this " Presets don't contain the skill to play!!!!!!! If you buy a preset "Van Halen Sound" you buy a sound, not the Van Halen Playing!!"
 
stephenclark1 said:
My only "Wishlist" is that FAS would give me more slots for presets and cabs...maybe some kind of external hard drive accessory. I've stated before that given my apparent need of only four hours sleep at night, the fact that my office is right beside where the wife is sleeping I get me a pot or two of coffee and sit down and deep dive into these presets. I've learned a lot about my machine by taking 8 presets and using the channels, mutliplex block, etc. turning them into one preset just to save room.
Click to expand...
Like a Pc attached via AxeEdit? 😉
 
boardwlk17 said:
I think it's worth it to buy some presets because you can learn a lot from them find the one you like and study them and learn how to set the apps and different things
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Yah thats about it - finding most dont sound good at all - sound like am radio instead of a large stereo sound like my personal ones - drives me crazy - think I'm all done buying them waste of money

Just pick up Leons presets they are excellent
 
boz52 said:
Is it still worth buying presets? Seems like with all the firmware updates, they have a short self life unless you stay on a particular version.
Click to expand...
Not at all in my experience. I have a buddy that has spent major loot on a bunch of preset packs back when he first got his III. Those preset packs have never been updated, so they sound off and have to be adjusted according to the changes made with each update. To re-download them you have to email their 'support' and pray you get a reply. The only ones partially worth it IMO are cabinet packs (e.g. OwnHammer, ML Sound Lab, Redwire), but that's if you're looking for very specific sound profiles that are outside of the realm of what is easily obtainable with the stock cabs. To be fair, just about any sound is possible with stock, but sometimes Cabinet IRs help get from point A to B faster and easier.

What I've found works better sound design wise is starting from scratch and replicating the signal chain of artists and producers I like. Most of the magic happens in the hands of the producer such as serial compression (1176 into a LA-2A), preamp equalization/saturation, ducking compression, and stereo widening. Try out the preamp section in the cabinet block if you haven't, the equalizer and types of preamps can drastically refine your sound. I typically use the FET or tape preamps then tweak the drive and saturation until I get a good bit of 'analogy' clipping. Think of it as clipping the preamps on old analog mixers/pres. Then the three band EQ being standard mixer EQ controls.
 
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