Scenes or Presets?

i do it via scenes. I'll tell you why.

With scenes, each preset is a song, and each 'scene' is the intro verse, chorus, outro, solo, whatever it is within that song. Verses are usually quieter than choruses, solos are obviously boosted etc. So i'll have the verse be a -2 or -3db against the chorus, and the solo be a +2 or 3db for example. Not including the fact that some certain songs have effects in certain verses only and/or clean vs distorted and so on, so you're able to X/Y amps between scenes.

I have disabled sticky ANYTHING. The reason for this is, as dumb as this sounds, if i slip, or if i'm wearing heavy boots etc. And i step on the wrong switch at the wrong time or for too long...even worse, if your SINGER STEPS ON A SWITCH ON YOUR AX8 AS LONG AS THE HIGH NOTE HE'S SINGING! it's a nightmare to switch that back! Sad..but true..this has happened....

It is true though preset switching is faster and I have tried many times to make it work, haven't come up with a solution as of yet.

Thanks for this - I’m still thinking about using scenes for songs, though none of the songs we cover would need 8 unique sounds or levels, it makes it easy knowing each back was for one song, and many sounds could work for multiple tunes. If there is less of a gap in switching between scenes over presets, I’ll go with scenes since I noticed a delay gap switching between presets. I could also try amp X/Y switching if that’s faster. Lots of options!
 
No, I did "by ear" thus far, and the levels are pretty consistent with how I want them, but it's more of quick spike, then reverts to "normal" upon the preset change.

Do you hear the differences between clean and dirty presets or is that not the case?
 
No, I did "by ear" thus far, and the levels are pretty consistent with how I want them, but it's more of quick spike, then reverts to "normal" upon the preset change.
I've had this happen also. By process of elimination, I tracked it down to a compressor block. So I removed it (or turned down its mix to 50% - I forget). I have compressors in a lot of presets, but this preset was giving me that big jump in volume for about 1/4 second while I switched from a louder scene to a quieter scene. Obvious enough that I couldn't live with it live.
 
I've had this happen also. By process of elimination, I tracked it down to a compressor block. So I removed it (or turned down its mix to 50% - I forget). I have compressors in a lot of presets, but this preset was giving me that big jump in volume for about 1/4 second while I switched from a louder scene to a quieter scene. Obvious enough that I couldn't live with it live.


this but it also relates to all other effects you'll have in the previous preset. In one tune, before i X/Y from a clean to dirty i had all these effects on the clean channel (delay, reverb, comp etc) and switching to the dirty amp with no effects on it always resulted in a huge weird sound jump before transitioning in.

The big culprit was reverb. But i had to have it in the clean sound, so I ended up practicing the technique of literally not playing for half a beat or less, turning the volume on my guitar down REAL QUICK, switching to the dirty and swelling the volume back up in order to make a smooth change with no hiccups.

Oh and for getting the same levels for each preset: I use both my ears and i also check the VU meter, I palm mute, make sure those are not clipping for me and whatever they end up being (let's say -2db) i make sure each preset is the same when i palm mute. I feel like this is the right way to do it.
 
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Since I bought my AX8 I've been using scenes because of the gaps from switching presets. But the preset changes have gotten faster since v10. I now use scenes out of habit but it seems that changing presets now has no more of a gap than changing scenes.

BTW, if it hasn't already been said, you can assign any footswitch to jump to a preset, as long as it's in the same bank so you CAN have the best of both worlds to a degree. I find THAT jump to be just as fast as scene switching.
 
i do it via scenes. I'll tell you why.

With scenes, each preset is a song, and each 'scene' is the intro verse, chorus, outro, solo, whatever it is within that song. Verses are usually quieter than choruses, solos are obviously boosted etc. So i'll have the verse be a -2 or -3db against the chorus, and the solo be a +2 or 3db for example. Not including the fact that some certain songs have effects in certain verses only and/or clean vs distorted and so on, so you're able to X/Y amps between scenes.

I have disabled sticky ANYTHING. The reason for this is, as dumb as this sounds, if i slip, or if i'm wearing heavy boots etc. And i step on the wrong switch at the wrong time or for too long...even worse, if your SINGER STEPS ON A SWITCH ON YOUR AX8 AS LONG AS THE HIGH NOTE HE'S SINGING! it's a nightmare to switch that back! Sad..but true..this has happened....

It is true though preset switching is faster and I have tried many times to make it work, haven't come up with a solution as of yet.

When you are playing 40 songs per gig, i can't conceive wanting a a scene per song, not only from the amount of time it would take to set up but also the difficulty of jumping between songs if the order changes or someone makes a request. I also use presets and have 3 banks which cover all the different sounds i need. Each bank has a clean, rhythm, lead and custom preset for that bank so I know which ones i need for which songs. I use buttons 5-8 for additional effects like chorus, delay, boost and wah as well.
 
Bottom row changes presets. Clean to dirty. Top row for effects. X/y switching for variations on the effects. One bank covers all I need for my top 40 band.
 
I've always used scenes within songs and presets per song. I came from the FX8 which I used the same way. I've never really subscribed to presets within a song anyway, this usually meant changing amps which is something I've never really understood. My opinion I know but still somewhat baffling to me.

With the obvious ability to control the on/off and x/y states of the effects plus scene controllers and control switch options, there's really no need to switch amps during a song. If you simply must change amps, the vast improvement in the amp's x/y switching no longer makes the 'gap' an issue. However, I suppose then it could depend upon how effect-laden the preset is.

In a lot of cases I could get away with using additional scenes for other songs when the same tone is required but I like not having to worry about tempo from song to song. I also don't have that many to catalog and it's much easier to drag and drop setlists rather than edit scenes each week.

My approach is almost the same as when I used amps and a pedalboard; same amp per song. Scenes have eliminated the tap-dance within songs for different parts. I will say that it is nice to be able to achieve the right tone for any given song so switching amps, therefore presets, from song to song with different amps was a obvious progression for me.

Bottom line is use what works best for your situation. Like anything in life, read the advice with an open mind, try the things that appear to be a solution. Whatever ends up working, figure out how it fits into your workflow and disregard the rest.
 
When you are playing 40 songs per gig, i can't conceive wanting a a scene per song, not only from the amount of time it would take to set up but also the difficulty of jumping between songs if the order changes or someone makes a request. I also use presets and have 3 banks which cover all the different sounds i need. Each bank has a clean, rhythm, lead and custom preset for that bank so I know which ones i need for which songs. I use buttons 5-8 for additional effects like chorus, delay, boost and wah as well.

apologies, and to to LerxstFan as well, I've further confused the issue here. I may not have explained myself clearly:

I do around 30 songs a gig, we do 2 sets a show. It's not a scene per song. It's 3-4 scenes within a preset bank. Each bank is TITLED with the song name. So switching between songs is hella easy. Use the F1 switch to access the bank menu, and the other F switches to scroll through the menu of TITLED preset banks, hit the corresponding number to call up the preset bank. This takes milliseconds and works well especially for a situation like when a request is made. I also have way more sounds than you seem to have.

So looking at it from my view when I'm clicking through for example:

i'll see "Killing In the name" that i've titled, and stomp into it, of which then there'll be 3 scenes available. S1 will be the intro, S2 will be the verse, S3 chorus, S3 solo or outro etc. What part of the song that's called for. With all the proper effects, sounds and volume changes already inputted.

But yes your'e right, LOTS of prep required for all this to work. I've definitely put the time into my AX8!
 
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