Scenes versus pre set mode for live use -which do you prefer

cragginshred

cragginshred

Fractal Fanatic
I was under the impression scenes was seamless switching but it seems to be about the same small gap in switching between them. Which of the two modes do you opt for live and why?
 
Not sure if this is more info than requested, but here goes...

Short answer is that I like presets with scenes. I have a generic preset that works for 90% of what I do, and then a few song presets, each with at least three scenes to use as clean, rhythm, and solo. Most presets I have 5 scenes with similar combinations of effects. In general the idea is that when I hit scene one, I know there'll be no effects, scene 5 will have modulation, 6 will have wah/solo boost, scene 7 will be solo boost and 8 solo boost with delay. That way when I have brain farts (happens a lot) I can hit a button and usually get close to what I want.

Function switches:
A (press) is single preset
B (press/hold) is tuner
C (press) is scene 1/2 toggle (nice to have as an emergency "out" in case my brain locks up)

Top row: effects in stompbox mode - usually autowah, relay (drive), modulation, delay.
Bottom row: scenes 5-8

Here's an example of a song preset:
I fill up the preset with sounds I'll need, for example "Prince" which is for the song "Let's Go Crazy" has, on
switch 1-4: wah, relay (turns on 2nd drive), pitch (octave down), delay. I also have a gate that's always on, a flanger that comes on with one scene, and a volume pedal.

Scene 1 is default and I can return to it with the toggle 1/2. This, and most of the time scene two have no effects on. This song starts with no effects, except for an analog drive that is always on.
Scene 5 is the first effect which is pitch block set to octave down for descending line just before solo 1..
Scene 6 is wah + octave down + solo boost for the first solo.
Scene 7 is wah + zero flanger + delay + solo boost for the end solo.
Scene 8 is delay + solo boost which is alway on #8..
 
cragginshred said:
I was under the impression scenes was seamless switching but it seems to be about the same small gap in switching between them. Which of the two modes do you opt for live and why?
Click to expand...

I have zero gap changing scenes. it's really really seamless on my Mesa Mark IV. If you have gaps, it's likely you amp delaying on the change. Do you use MIDI or relays? I use relays.
 
cragginshred said:
I was under the impression scenes was seamless switching but it seems to be about the same small gap in switching between them. Which of the two modes do you opt for live and why?
Click to expand...

by default, the fx8 activates blocks/scenes/presets when you lift off the footswitch, not when you press it. you might try "Press and hold for X/Y" in global settings if you want the scene/preset to activate faster
 
cragginshred said:
I was under the impression scenes was seamless switching but it seems to be about the same small gap in switching between them. Which of the two modes do you opt for live and why?
Click to expand...
I use the 4CM with my Roadster and Splawn and have noticed no issues with latency or gaps. I prefer scenes to presets but use both. I like scenes because they are generally more seamless and work great most of the time. If I need a delay with longer tails or a more intense reverb, I usually get a quick volume jump from the tails or verb as the new scene loads. It doesn't seem to occur when changing presets but there is more lag so I'll very rarely use a preset in the middle of a song. I've messed with different configurations of fx muting and global spillover but they don't seem to do the trick for me. The main reason I'll use a preset, other than different effects of course, is the ability to set the tempo immediately.
 
flying_walrus said:
by default, the fx8 activates blocks/scenes/presets when you lift off the footswitch, not when you press it. you might try "Press and hold for X/Y" in global settings if you want the scene/preset to activate faster
Click to expand...
I've tried both settings and didn't notice any faster block, scene or preset activation either way. I can see it being an issue if the footswitch is held down for a moment before releasing it but unless you have the hold for X/Y deactivated or the hold time set higher than .75 seconds, the risk of switching the X/Y state instead of the scene is greatly increased.
 
Sonofiam said:
I've tried both settings and didn't notice any faster block, scene or preset activation either way. I can see it being an issue if the footswitch is held down for a moment before releasing it but unless you have the hold for X/Y deactivated or the hold time set higher than .75 seconds, the risk of switching the X/Y state instead of the scene is greatly increased.
Click to expand...

I have X/Y turned off. You can always setup the X/Y selector as a function switch. That's what I do, and I rarely use it. Scenes takes care of the switching between X/Y for me no problem.
 
brads4 said:
I have X/Y turned off. You can always setup the X/Y selector as a function switch. That's what I do, and I rarely use it. Scenes takes care of the switching between X/Y for me no problem.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info but I prefer the X/Y state on. The point of my comment was I personally found no difference in how quickly changes occurred on the downstroke vs. the upstroke of the footswitch.
 
Sonofiam said:
Thanks for the info but I prefer the X/Y state on. The point of my comment was I personally found no difference in how quickly changes occurred on the downstroke vs. the upstroke of the footswitch.
Click to expand...

I noticed in quite a bit. You must tap those switches pretty quickly. My foot must be slower than yours :) I imagine better technique yields better results.
 
Some guys notice it, some don't, Some don't care and others just live with it. It's like most things, if you don't know it's there it's all good but about the time you do notice something it can drive you batty. I'm not sure my technique is any better or my foot any faster. It's possible I'm not as intentional when I step on a footswitch, I just tap it therefore the difference in hearing it or not.
 
Currently using a preset per song or two with anything from 2 to 6 scenes per preset. Might sound overkill but with everything the FX8 has to offer in terms of sounds then why not?!

I switch my amp via Midi and the changes are seamless to my ears.

Also having the change when you take your foot off the button really works for me. I'll often activate the switch several seconds before I need to and then just lift my foot as I go into the solo or whatever.

I could probably condense all my settinns into far less presets to be honest but no need really at the mo.
 
definitely presets. I still don't see the advantage of scenes when presets are around.....scenes are just limited presets as i see it now
 
cragginshred said:
I was under the impression scenes was seamless switching but it seems to be about the same small gap in switching between them. Which of the two modes do you opt for live and why?
Click to expand...
Scenes are seamless but switching between X/Y blocks is not. So you need to take that to account.

I definitely prefer scenes. All the reverb and delay spillovers sound so much better and no gaps anywhere.
 
ML SOUND LAB said:
Scenes are seamless but switching between X/Y blocks is not. So you need to take that to account.

I definitely prefer scenes. All the reverb and delay spillovers sound so much better and no gaps anywhere.
Click to expand...
In the Ax8 scenes are Not seamless, thus I went back to pre sets too.
 
Eduard said:
definitely presets. I still don't see the advantage of scenes when presets are around.....scenes are just limited presets as i see it now
Click to expand...
Not attempting to convert you but thought I'd offer an explanation of their advantage. I look at scenes as presets within a preset. I typically run the FX8 in stompbox mode and if I need to change more than one effect for a part of a song, or a different song, I can set the FX8 to make all of the changes necessary very efficiently. While presets can be used in the same way, I've personally found scenes to be quicker to use as well as easier and faster to set up.
 
I have my FX8 setup so switches 1-4 are presets 1-4 and switches 5-8 are scene 1-4 of each preset (global setting)... This gives me 7 scenes available with just one click and another 9 that are 2 clicks away.
 
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