Question about presets

[sandmannn69]

Standard owner here, was wondering if the presets that come with the Axe-fx are set up/optimized for gig-level volumes or lower studio-level volumes? I'm still working my way thru the presets on a set of studio monitors and seems some sound good at any level while others only at cranked volumes.

 

[electronpirate]

The presets are made to showcase the abilities of the Axe-FX. The guitars vary, the levels vary, the usability varies wildly.

They are NOT designed for any purpose besides this. They encourage reading the manual and research here to figure out how to tweak and/or use some of them for everyday use...in which case various levels (gain, volume, reverb input, whatever twirls your beanie) need to be adjusted.

...soapbox mounting....
I have campaigned for a 'gig ready' patch for each of the amps; in the spirit of getting one of these on every backline in various bars...to no avail. Rather than learn the ins and outs completely, would be nice to have a preset with all the amps and requisite cabs set up for those who are traveling and don't want to scroll the display. Some folks flat out do have time or inclination to tweak...but "need to gig in 22 minutes...get me a standard Recto clean and dirty, a 4x12, a Wah pedal, boost, and bit if Reverb."
(Yes, I know someone did SOMETHING like that...with only the Brit 4x12 cab and the amps, con reverb... doesn't count for me...)
...down off soapbox...

Presets are great. I use variations of a few of them to show friends just how freaky I can get.

Ron

 

[sandmannn69]

The presets are made to showcase the abilities of the Axe-FX. The guitars vary, the levels vary, the usability varies wildly.


Presets are great. I use variations of a few of them to show friends just how freaky I can get.

Ron

Yes, a lot of the presets on the axe-fx are very usable, and the over-the-top ones really showcase the quality of the fx on this box-(sound orchestral-is that a word?). This is a rare thing as in other digital gear I've used (Line6, Digitech), the presets usually suck, for the most part. On the axe-fx, most of the straight amp presets (with minimal effects) sound best at higher volumes, which makes me think they are eq'ed/setup for that application.

 

[Virtuoso]

soapbox...

+1000

I would happily pay for a set of ready to go presets that cover classic amp/cab/effect combinations or classic song tones. I don't need the wild out-there sounds at all, but would kill for a set of polished classic in-the-room tones.

 

[s0c9]

soapbox...

+1000

I would happily pay for a set of ready to go presets that cover classic amp/cab/effect combinations or classic song tones. I don't need the wild out-there sounds at all, but would kill for a set of polished classic in-the-room tones.

Isn't that something that most gigging players really need ?

 

[xmentalpilot]

Canned presets to-go sounds like a great idea. But here is what I have learned in the last couple of months. I started out downloading presets from the forum and on axe-change via the Axe-Edit GUI (thank you for the great interface!!). In most cases the sample recording(s) sounded exactly like the sound/tone I was going for.. In practice unless everyone settled on a standard set of speakers... ie.. guitar cabs w/ ss amp, guitar cab w/ tube power, or one of the many FRFR choices out there.... then there is the variation in type of guitar used by the creator of the preset. What you get is a preset that might get you into the ballpark, but still requires some "fine tuning" to get you the rest of the way there. The biggest thing I gained from looking at those presets is an undersanding of how the routing of the signal chain within the various presets work and distilled MY basic signal chain from that. With the newest firmware upgrade, I tossed out all of my borrowed presets.. (Thanks to everyone that shares!) The latest firmware amp model default settings are amazingly close to what one would expect.. and unless you really want to get in "deep" it isn't necessary to over tweek to get "that" basic amp tone. If you are FRFR then cab sim selection really can make or break your preset. I haven't purchased any of the 3rd party speaker IR's. (Redwirez) But, from everything I hear in the community for certain amp/speaker combos it is the way to go. Bottom line is that in the amount of time required to fine tune any preset you may download to your Axe-FX, with a little bit of research (routing) you can very quickly build your own tool kit with as many classic amp combinations as you need.
The one theme I keep coming across here on the forum is "keep it simple", get your basis for the sound you are after... then add effects. There is "My story... and I am sticking to it!!" XmP

(sorry for the long rambling post)

 

[Sixstring]

soapbox...

+1000

I would happily pay for a set of ready to go presets that cover classic amp/cab/effect combinations or classic song tones. I don't need the wild out-there sounds at all, but would kill for a set of polished classic in-the-room tones.

I suppose if Cliff were to hard line this issue and create a bank of presets for basic tones to emulate their counter parts, Mesa, Marshall, Fender etc using the Reactor platform as the reference, as cool as that would be they wouldn't translate (quite) the same on other FR systems. They would be pretty close (not to mention would be a great selling tool for the Atomics) but in the end you would still have to "tweek" those presets or create your own the way you want them to sound on any other type of system hence the current way of doing things. :roll: