Scenes vs presets

Tahoebrian5

Tahoebrian5

Fractal Fanatic
Okay, I know it would be best if I just tried this myself but I'd still like to hear some thoughts before I spend the time to reprogram my mfc to try it. Right now I use a single kitchen sink type preset and then scenes to go from clean, to rhythm, to lead, and then have a few IA's for special effects. The switching is really nice and fast. Using different presets would allow me to use more blocks among a few other benefits. How is the switching speed? Any other thoughts for those that have tried both?
 
I´m playin in a classic rock tribute band, so I use both worlds. It depends on the Song structure, whether I prefer a preset with scenes or a simple preset with for example a driveblock for the lead part. Sometimes I use some different presets in a line for example something like shine on your crazy diamonds. Maybe some guys would do it with scenes, for me works best what is easy to create. The switching speed is always fast enough, sometimes the spillover function (for me always on) causes some noise. The AXE in combination with the MFC has so many solution for every situation so in the end everybody will get what he wants.
 
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You can always do both - use different presets with a consistent scene layout:

Scene 1: clean
Scene 2: crunch
Scene 3: lead
Scene 4: special
Etc...

This is what a lot of people do.

Myself, I have a number of presets that are all modeled off the same template. And they are all the kitchen sink variety. The main difference is the amp flavor they are based on.

Keep in mind that the primary reason for scenes is seamless switching, so you might have one preset that covers one group of songs and a different one for another group. Changing presets between songs doesn't need to be seamless.
 
So, I use about 5 presets each with 5 scenes - they represent a wide range of sounds, much wider than I could achieve with a single preset. While playing in practice or giging settings, i don't notice drop outs or any obvious functional issues. However, there is a certain degree of "operator malfunction".... frequently (more than I'd like) I wind up for a screaming lead break, and hit the "right" switch for the desired scene, only to hear "plink plink"....my acoustic sim. While focusing on singing and playing at the same time, I forgot to hit the reveal button, and thus, I end up switching presets rather than scenes. This results in a dead spot where said screaming lead should be, and unfortunately it is quiet enough to hear the wailing wall of cussing that naturally occurs as I tap dance my way back to now hopelessly late screaming tone. Of course this problem is all mine, and can/should be dealt with by practice and situational awareness. Besides this, I can't imagine not having my range of presets..... couldn't get the job done without them. Depending on your needs, once you get used to it, I think you'll find multiple presets with multiple scenes to add new dimensions relative to a single preset with a few scenes.
 
I've been using the Axe Fx Ultra for many years and recently upgraded to the Axe II MKII. Previously, I would stick with presets for all sounds as it wasn't a choice. With the new options I've chosen to use the Song Setup in the MFC in order to use each "Song" as a "Set", with variations being done in "Scenes" if needed. So SONG 1 is really SET 1. With 15 presets per "song" , it's hard not to be pleased. I only wish I'd had this option when I was playing in my old Coverband and needed so many different tones on demand. Most times I only need one "Song" for a gig. Cheers.
 
I have been using scenes with a smaller number of presets. I suppose it depends on ALL that one must achieve during any given set.
For me, I need basically the same core tone, with a variety of effects changes.
No changing presets mid-tune, usually.
Therefore, my presets have a core amp/cab tone, with 4-5 scenes. Presets may shift for a song or group of songs.
 
I have my Axe set up in the 4 bank size. Rather than using scenes I just made templates of my "go to" tones and used them for each preset. So preset 001-004 is song 1 in our set. Since I have huge feet and don't really need all 4 presets for each song I have duplicate sounds on preset 3 and 4. Bank up and its our next song. So on and so forth.
 
unix-guy said:
You can always do both - use different presets with a consistent scene layout:

Scene 1: clean
Scene 2: crunch
Scene 3: lead
Scene 4: special
Etc...

This is what a lot of people do.

Myself, I have a number of presets that are all modeled off the same template. And they are all the kitchen sink variety. The main difference is the amp flavor they are based on.

Keep in mind that the primary reason for scenes is seamless switching, so you might have one preset that covers one group of songs and a different one for another group. Changing presets between songs doesn't need to be seamless.
Click to expand...


This approach, across 5 scenes for me, and all by amp type (Fender (Twin and Princeton), Class A (15w and 30wTB), Plexi, Boutique 1, CA-OD2, JTM45, Hook) are mainstays with some songs get their own preset e.g. Limelight, and if I change from HBs (PRS) to SCs (Strat) I may alter some of the presets to give me what I want to manage the toans ... not always though - seems like with 7.02 there is a lot of compatibility.

I am often using the scenes for a few input drive changes with scene controllers, although recently have been using an exp. pedal to do this. Getting levels right can be a challenge with the exp pedal singularly managing Input drive while keep levels stable, as not all amps are linear in this regard.

I also tend to build patches for different channels of a give amp - say the Hook or Bogner where S1-S3 may just be different channels of the amp models so I can increase gain left to right. Scene #4 and 5 may be blends of channels for a special effect or lead.

Have fun!
 
I use one preset for every song, while I use the preset scenes for all the sonic changes inside that song. Intro, verses, chorus, bridge, lead, crazy noises, outro. Sometimes I even repeat scenes so I can use the scene up/down switches. This means there is no standard scenes order in my presets, nor do I use any I/A switches. It's kinda complicated, as I don't use the classical clean/crunch/lead setup that most people use, but as I tend to use a lot of effects I find that this works best for me.
 
Tahoebrian5 said:
Okay, I know it would be best if I just tried this myself but I'd still like to hear some thoughts before I spend the time to reprogram my mfc to try it. Right now I use a single kitchen sink type preset and then scenes to go from clean, to rhythm, to lead, and then have a few IA's for special effects. The switching is really nice and fast. Using different presets would allow me to use more blocks among a few other benefits. How is the switching speed? Any other thoughts for those that have tried both?
Click to expand...
Im in a tribute band with a patch per song due to specific tempo delays etc i could get in down to far fewer but I like just moving thru the patches in sequence to the set list.
 
For what it's worth:

To avoid pressing the wrong switch during performance, I've duplicated my 5 main tones.
These are available to me as presets as well as scenes.

Preset #1 is my main preset and has 5 scenes, one scene for each tone.
With my controller in "scene mode", I can press one of the bottom 5 switches to select the sound I want.

These exact same sounds are available as presets: preset #1 to #5.

So whether I'm in Scene mode or Preset mode: pressing one of the 5 bottom row switches will always recall the sound I need.

Having my main tones available as presets, also comes in handy when switching from other presets. It's easier and faster to switching to a specific preset, than to switch to a preset followed by a scene within that preset.
 
Hmm, it seems there are a lot of different strategies being used but none so far what I had in mind. Basically I'm thinking of using one preset for all my clean sounds, one for rhythym, one for lead. One of the benefits would be using the alternate function of the mfc. So if I press the switch for lead, I can then press the same switch to return to the previous preset. For rhythym I'm considering having a dual amp patch with my expression pedal to fade between them so heel is vintage metal, toe is modern. Obviously I would not be able to do this with my kitchen sink preset due to cpu. Anyway that's my vision, I just need time to set it up and see how the switching works.
 
Have you tried setting up scenes , you have 5 or 8 options using scenes basically you would have the same exact preset on each scene , but with each scene your effects would be on or off according to the configuration you have set up . and there is no gap when switching from scene to scene . did this make any sense Always make sure the REVEAL switch is on when using scenes with MFC 101 if its not you will be changing presets
 
Myself, I have one preset per song, and each preset has scenes: rhythm, lead, clean, and "FX", for example if a part uses a harmonizer.
 
Jackp said:
Have you tried setting up scenes , you have 5 or 8 options using scenes basically you would have the same exact preset on each scene , but with each scene your effects would be on or off according to the configuration you have set up . and there is no gap when switching from scene to scene . did this make any sense
Click to expand...
You always have 8 scenes regardless of how many you use.

Always make sure the REVEAL switch is on when using scenes with MFC 101 if its not you will be changing presets
Click to expand...

This is entirely dependant on how you setup your MFC. I never use the reveal mode and I have 8 scenes in all my presets. You may want to take a closer look at the manual.
 
Tahoebrian5 said:
Hmm, it seems there are a lot of different strategies being used but none so far what I had in mind. Basically I'm thinking of using one preset for all my clean sounds, one for rhythym, one for lead. One of the benefits would be using the alternate function of the mfc. So if I press the switch for lead, I can then press the same switch to return to the previous preset. For rhythym I'm considering having a dual amp patch with my expression pedal to fade between them so heel is vintage metal, toe is modern. Obviously I would not be able to do this with my kitchen sink preset due to cpu. Anyway that's my vision, I just need time to set it up and see how the switching works.
Click to expand...
As long as you don't need seamless switching between, say clean and lead, that might work.

However, are you envisioning having something like a basic clean preset with scenes providing "variations" (i.e., clean + delay, clean + flanger, etc)? The challenge becomes how do you change from something like a rhythm preset to the clean preset with the flanger on (if that is not in scene 1)?
 
That's exactly what I was thinking UNIX, on the Mfc I believe there is a way to have a button choose a preset and also send a scene command with CC. This way a button can correspond to a specific scene and preset.
 
About reveal mode, I don't see how anyone would any to use that live. Having to press more than one button to change sounds is using way too much RAM
 
Tahoebrian5 said:
That's exactly what I was thinking UNIX, on the Mfc I believe there is a way to have a button choose a preset and also send a scene command with CC. This way a button can correspond to a specific scene and preset.
Click to expand...
Hmm... Possibly in non-MFC mode? You can do "Preset Mapping" on the Axe Fx but that requires creating a mapping for every single preset+scene combination you want to use.
 
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