Practically... How does one do the live thing? Buttons and functions?

Will try to use only one preset with eight scenes and xy on the ax8.
This mainly because in the 8 years I've been giging with my main trio
we haven't once followed a set list. Someone just feels like a certain tune
and just starts it and the rest tags along. The audience might call out a request, or we might even morph into a new song in the middle of another etc.
We also have like a hundred or so songs in our pockets, but we might also have people up on stage for requests and just wing it if at least one of us has heard the song, so presets will be a big nono for my situation.
 
I was prepared to use one preset per song and several scenes for the verse/chorus changes, but now that I've had the chance to experiment with that on an MFC, it still requires some mental tap-dancing. I was planning on settings scenes up like: intro, verse, chorus, etc, but that requires jumping around scenes (to go from a chorus back to a verse), and I can't set them up linearly (each chorus and verse as a separate scene) because there aren't enough scenes. In many of the songs we do, the effect setups change for each verse (for example, verse 1 might not have any delay, while verse 2 is slightly drier version of the really saturated bridge).

What I really want is something that is as comfortable as planting my foot securely on an expression pedal and using that to fade between song sections. That works great with carefully planned modifiers, but only between two sections. I understand (and have tested) smooth fading with Scene Controllers as well, but again - "was I supposed to press Scene 3 or was it Scene 5 for this section??". And there's the whole Ninja Kung Fu required to raise your foot while playing a complex part and hope you stomp on the correct switch. So two settings via expression pedal, combined with IAs for extra sauce, might be my method of choice.

We follow a strict setlist and we do have backing tracks from Ableton, so the other option is just do as suggested above and have my scenes controlled from the tracks.

Scene names would help immensely... =)

Song Mode for the AX8 would also be greatly appreciated so that all presets could be listed in a particular order (alphabetical, for example), while the current setlist can have a different specific order that's easy to program from the board.
 
I use one preset per song and then use scenes for different sounds within the preset. I also have access to the individual effects via the IAs so I can turn things on and off on the fly too.

I load the setlist up into the first range of slots (usually 1-10) and then scroll through the songs as needed.

I try and use the same amp and cab for the whole set so I don't have too many fluctuations in my 'base tone'. I think it makes it a bit easier to get a consistent FOH tone for the whole set.

I also set the amp+cab and overdrive blocks up to be global so any tweaks I make translate across all my presets. Delays and reverbs I leave on a 'per-preset' basis as different songs can call for vastly different delay and reverb setups, so I want to keep them saved individually.
 
philipacamaniac said:
I was prepared to use one preset per song and several scenes for the verse/chorus changes, but now that I've had the chance to experiment with that on an MFC, it still requires some mental tap-dancing. I was planning on settings scenes up like: intro, verse, chorus, etc, but that requires jumping around scenes (to go from a chorus back to a verse), and I can't set them up linearly (each chorus and verse as a separate scene) because there aren't enough scenes. In many of the songs we do, the effect setups change for each verse (for example, verse 1 might not have any delay, while verse 2 is slightly drier version of the really saturated bridge).

What I really want is something that is as comfortable as planting my foot securely on an expression pedal and using that to fade between song sections. That works great with carefully planned modifiers, but only between two sections. I understand (and have tested) smooth fading with Scene Controllers as well, but again - "was I supposed to press Scene 3 or was it Scene 5 for this section??". And there's the whole Ninja Kung Fu required to raise your foot while playing a complex part and hope you stomp on the correct switch. So two settings via expression pedal, combined with IAs for extra sauce, might be my method of choice.

We follow a strict setlist and we do have backing tracks from Ableton, so the other option is just do as suggested above and have my scenes controlled from the tracks.

Scene names would help immensely... =)

Song Mode for the AX8 would also be greatly appreciated so that all presets could be listed in a particular order (alphabetical, for example), while the current setlist can have a different specific order that's easy to program from the board.
Click to expand...

Don't know if this would help, but coming from someone in a similar situation, I've just set my rig up so that I start on scene 1 and I program scenes only for when I need a different tone. I don't try to label them by specific song section. I've found that it's pretty easy to keep straight what scene I need to be on with this system.

That said, I'd also love to have scene names and a song mode where I could sort presets.
 
3dognate said:
Really, you guys deal with that much pre-planning for a song? you guys can't cover most anything with 5-6 presets with maybe a couple of specialties with a weird effect?

When I was using a GR55 with my rig for synth stuff I was operating on almost a patch per song and I found that utterly exhausting to deal with.

I guess if you got nothing better to do... I barely get enough playing time at home to even hook my rig up. (I don't even have kids at home)
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As I wrote, I currently use 5 presets and some specialties with about 4 scenes per preset. That and the tempi is what I use for a regular service. I don't match tones to originals, but I need a wide palette. P&W, so lots of dotted eights, those need to be in sync. Our drummer is reasonably tight, he plays to a metronome in rehearsal, but live we go by ear. Actually he often watches my tempo light for startup tempo.

To prevent exhaustion I was thinking of using the Global blocks feature.
 
PianoMan said:
Don't know if this would help, but coming from someone in a similar situation, I've just set my rig up so that I start on scene 1 and I program scenes only for when I need a different tone. I don't try to label them by specific song section. I've found that it's pretty easy to keep straight what scene I need to be on with this system.

That said, I'd also love to have scene names and a song mode where I could sort presets.
Click to expand...
Well, in the Liquid Foot 12+ I can. And each button has an LCD screen... So going to miss that.
 
Richard Lainegard said:
Will try to use only one preset with eight scenes and xy on the ax8.
This mainly because in the 8 years I've been giging with my main trio
we haven't once followed a set list. Someone just feels like a certain tune
and just starts it and the rest tags along. The audience might call out a request, or we might even morph into a new song in the middle of another etc.
We also have like a hundred or so songs in our pockets, but we might also have people up on stage for requests and just wing it if at least one of us has heard the song, so presets will be a big nono for my situation.
Click to expand...

This EXACTLY ^^^^^^^^
Next time I get together with my gigging band , I'll have to check and make sure you're not my other guitar player.
Any time I have to use a different guitar sound , it has to have been tweaked before hand with the rest of the band , so it will sit right in the mix. This means certain variables must remain consistent within any of my presets for live use.
 
I'm hoping the AX8 finally forced me to utilize scenes. I only use 5 presets and IAs but I wSnt yo do more things like looping live, tap tempo, scenes, etc...
 
Gasp100 said:
I'm hoping the AX8 finally forced me to utilize scenes. I only use 5 presets and IAs but I wSnt yo do more things like looping live, tap tempo, scenes, etc...
Click to expand...

I've never been able to get live looping to work out with the full band... I've had limited success with my duo. I can't do without Tap Tempo... that's how I make my delays work for most conditions. Scenes.. .that's a new concept for me. I look forward to using them and seeing what it can do for a meat and potatoes kinda player like me.
 
So does anyone know exactly what can be programmed on buttons? What is available? How much freedom will it have? Can any function be programmed on any button?
 
If it matters, I'll use mine just like the FX8 (but direct instead of through a guitar amp). Functions are 1: Preset, 2: Tuner, 3: Sticky Scenes.

I have one bank of presets per band (two bands), but about 90% is a single preset that I mostly use in stompbox mode. Within that I also use some generic scenes to access more than one effect at at time (for example solo includes boost and delay). Beyond that, I only use about 2 or 3 other presets for specific songs with particular sounds (example: Rebel Yell preset has four main scenes for quick access to these sounds: 1: rhythm, 2: whammy, 3: ray gun, 4: solo).

With the AX8 I could see this expanding as I try more amps/cabs, but initially I will dial up something as close as possible to my amp rig and do the above. In the end, I try to keep it as simple as possible because I'm not smart enough on a gig to deal with really complicated stuff!
 
pauliusmm said:
I hope song mode is there. Its essential when working with different sets of presets/ multiple bands.
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I basically have a "song" mode on my Gordius Little Giant. But since my show is made up randomly on the spot, stepping up/down through songs doesn't work, and that's how all footswitches are designed.

Xavier programmed a 10-key function into the Gordius. This lets me choose any song in the show at random and I have instant access to it via the 10-key. Typical footswitches let you assign any "song/preset" to any button in a bank, but that isn't random access. That's pre-assignment of a song/preset to a switch.

If the AX8 had a 10-key function, ability to program a stream of midi commands and a few other functions, I'd be tempted. But that isn't how most players use their midi footswitches.
 
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