TC50 & FX8 Users - Talk Me Down! LOL

Genghis

Power User
OK, I've chatted with a lot of you guys here and on that big more general gear forum some of us know and love about our TC50 and FX8 rigs. I really love mine, but... I'm thinking... about selling the FX8 setup to a buddy who is putting together a rig and wants to have something like what I've put together and...

picking up an Axe-FX II XL+.

OK, I had one before, from when they first came out until around Quantum 1. I liked it overall for recording, but started wanting to go back to an amp, especially for just jamming in the room and for playing live with a band . I'm thinking it would be great to have even more effects routing capabilities for my live setup with an amp. Plus for recording, it really is kinda cool to have something that sounds that good recording direct at 2AM without disturbing anyone else. As long as I don't get lost in the rabbit hole of analysis paralysis.

I may be able to swing the upgrade as I've already sold a few items from the collection that I wasn't using for a while. (The annual gear purge.) And the money from selling the FX8, would bring in the extra $$ to afford it.

So, FX8 and TC50 friends, @X-Mann, @tjontheroad, @Deadpool_25, and the rest of my virtual friends who know and love the setup we have... what do you think? Am I just GASSING bad because it's there, and because of that urge we get to replace things when we sell gear?

Realistically I'm only lacking a couple of extra blocks on the FX8 to be really satisfied, and a few of the little things that set apart the AFX-II from the FX8 would be more synth blocks (fun to experiment, but not huge), Multi-Band Comp, X/Y on EQs and more EQ blocks available, more flexibility for routing chains and more buttons to control the various items you have in the chain via the MFC.
 
OK, I've chatted with a lot of you guys here and on that big more general gear forum some of us know and love about our TC50 and FX8 rigs. I really love mine, but... I'm thinking... about selling the FX8 setup to a buddy who is putting together a rig and wants to have something like what I've put together and...

picking up an Axe-FX II XL+.

OK, I had one before, from when they first came out until around Quantum 1. I liked it overall for recording, but started wanting to go back to an amp, especially for just jamming in the room and for playing live with a band . I'm thinking it would be great to have even more effects routing capabilities for my live setup with an amp. Plus for recording, it really is kinda cool to have something that sounds that good recording direct at 2AM without disturbing anyone else. As long as I don't get lost in the rabbit hole of analysis paralysis.

I may be able to swing the upgrade as I've already sold a few items from the collection that I wasn't using for a while. (The annual gear purge.) And the money from selling the FX8, would bring in the extra $$ to afford it.

So, FX8 and TC50 friends, @X-Mann, @tjontheroad, @Deadpool_25, and the rest of my virtual friends who know and love the setup we have... what do you think? Am I just GASSING bad because it's there, and because of that urge we get to replace things when we sell gear?

Realistically I'm only lacking a couple of extra blocks on the FX8 to be really satisfied, and a few of the little things that set apart the AFX-II from the FX8 would be more synth blocks (fun to experiment, but not huge), Multi-Band Comp, X/Y on EQs and more EQ blocks available, more flexibility for routing chains and more buttons to control the various items you have in the chain via the MFC.
The easy answer is to “Follow the Gas” & see where it takes you buddy! :D

Sometimes that’s how you finally find what you never knew you were always looking for!

I play in a very loud band & need a tube amp for stage volume reasons. The FX8 has given me instant single step amp channel & effects swithing & quality FX like no other.

I had & LOVED the Axe Fx ii XL+, but it was wasted on me as I’m not a deep edit kind of a guy. If you are, then you will love it again like you did before.

Taking it out live requires an FRFR system & a foot controller too.

There’s no right or wrong....just try!!!!

The great thing about the FX8 is that you can change amp heads or combo amps & still use all your presets.

I wish I had a better answer for you, but I personally will never sell my FX8. Other gear may come & go, but not this one!

Good luck! X

Note: I’m having major gas for the new EL34 based EVH 5153 amp & DO NOT NEED IT AT ALL!!!! But....I still want it!!!! :rolleyes:
 
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LOL, thanks @X-Mann , we all have that disease a bit. Yeah, my plan is to use the Axe-FX for effects only with my live rig to add a little more routing and foot switching capabilities and I'm sure I'll use the modeling in my studio some. MFC has a few more options for setting up enough scene buttons and still having room for several I/As so change things on the fly. I have the tendency to try to get large multi-purpose patches with several scenes available, rather than program a patch for each song.

I'm mixed on the deep editing. I like doing it and I'm programmer by day, so digging in and figuring out how to get the most out of it is both a joy and a curse. The only problem I had in the past with the Axe-FX is that I did spend more time trying out a lot of different models to get the different variations of the tones I have in my head. And that is why I went back to a single, fairly versatile amp, and like to use the EQs and or filters to bend the capabilities of the amp in more subtle ways.

Really the only thing I find lacking in FX8 is X/Y on the EQ blocks and the more flexible grid layout that the Axe-FX has. (For my solo and noise patch having dual synth blocks could be cool also.) The way I'm using it I don't generally come close to maxing out the CPU, but I could always use an extra block or three on the layout.

And man, I hear you on that EL34 EVH. One of the other guys in my 3-guitar band just got one a couple of weeks ago and we are scheduled to jam this weekend. (The other guy is following in my footsteps with a TC50, but generally dials things in very differently than me.)

I had the 6L6 EVH prior to getting the TC50, and it had been modded by the previous owner for concentric volume and gain knobs on the green and blue channels, so I was pretty stoked to see that they added that on the new one. I'm gassing a bit for that new one to run a crazy stereo rig, but when you're in a band with 2 other guitarists, there really isn't room for a big stereo setup (although my buddy that just got the new EVH has 2 6505+ heads and 3 EVH 4x12 cabs.)
 
LOL, thanks @X-Mann , we all have that disease a bit. Yeah, my plan is to use the Axe-FX for effects only with my live rig to add a little more routing and foot switching capabilities and I'm sure I'll use the modeling in my studio some. MFC has a few more options for setting up enough scene buttons and still having room for several I/As so change things on the fly. I have the tendency to try to get large multi-purpose patches with several scenes available, rather than program a patch for each song.

I'm mixed on the deep editing. I like doing it and I'm programmer by day, so digging in and figuring out how to get the most out of it is both a joy and a curse. The only problem I had in the past with the Axe-FX is that I did spend more time trying out a lot of different models to get the different variations of the tones I have in my head. And that is why I went back to a single, fairly versatile amp, and like to use the EQs and or filters to bend the capabilities of the amp in more subtle ways.

Really the only thing I find lacking in FX8 is X/Y on the EQ blocks and the more flexible grid layout that the Axe-FX has. (For my solo and noise patch having dual synth blocks could be cool also.) The way I'm using it I don't generally come close to maxing out the CPU, but I could always use an extra block or three on the layout.

And man, I hear you on that EL34 EVH. One of the other guys in my 3-guitar band just got one a couple of weeks ago and we are scheduled to jam this weekend. (The other guy is following in my footsteps with a TC50, but generally dials things in very differently than me.)

I had the 6L6 EVH prior to getting the TC50, and it had been modded by the previous owner for concentric volume and gain knobs on the green and blue channels, so I was pretty stoked to see that they added that on the new one. I'm gassing a bit for that new one to run a crazy stereo rig, but when you're in a band with 2 other guitarists, there really isn't room for a big stereo setup (although my buddy that just got the new EVH has 2 6505+ heads and 3 EVH 4x12 cabs.)

Ok.....I got it & get it now!

Based on EVERYTHING you said here.....& your background........I support your decision 110% & see the benefits for you & your rig.

I was commenting from my "Individual" song based preset mind-set & not being a "Deep Edit" guy (even though I've become one now).

I also had the 50 watt EVH head & LOVED it.....BUT.......It has the volume difference & since I did NOT have the FX8 at the time, I didn't know I could have fixed it. Having said this, the new EL34 based one is PERFECT for me!!!!!

The only problem is I have 3 STELLAR amps right now (Friedman Runt 50, Legacy-3 & Mesa TC-50). I keep the Legacy-3 at my practice location & just bring the FX8 & plug it in. The Mesa is for gigging............& the Runt is for Recording since it really NEEDS a Master volume on it & it would be just perfect!

I will own the new EVH EL34 amp since they created it in "Friedman Gold" & it will match two of my cabinets. ;)

I'm going to wait till they are in stock & there's a 20% discount at one of the big chains I think. :eek:

I wish you well on your tone/FX quest my friend!

Peace! X
 
Thanks X. Yeah, it kind of makes sense in my case.

I know you do a preset with what you need for each song, but my band is kinda different. I've seen some of the videos you do, and really dig what you are doing and appreciate the way you share your knowledge, experience and presets. I'd try to do that too, but my stuff is a little too scattered and might not be as useful for others. LOL

We are doing kind of a guitar-based thing with a lot of improvisation, kind of like they did back in the old days. Not looking to really hit a regular bar gig routine, but we are planning on doing a few gigs late next spring into next summer opening for some of the more established local bands up in the Willamette Valley area of Oregon, kind of in a concert type of situation.

I have to drive up from Southern Oregon and make a weekend of it for any gigs or rehearsals, but it's a fun project with 2 very good old friends I've known since high school and a couple of really cool guys from up around that area on bass and drums. We have a few songs, that are your standard rocked up versions of classics by Foghat, Sabbath, Rush and so on, but we also turn Rockin' in the Free World into a nice rock jam tune, kinda along the lines of a G3 type thing. The guy really coordinating it even said he wants to do one of my old originals from several years ago, which reminds me, I need to put together a decent whammy pedal patch. :sweat::sunglasses:

For this band in particular, I want to set up by board with several scenes for quick access to a few different things, and IAs to turn on a phasor, flanger, or even a ring modulator or something if I just decide I want to stomp on it for a few lines to accent something.

Oh, and I'm not sure what kind of deal my buddy got on his, but he has bought a ton of guitar and PA gear through one guy in particular at his local... well you know, big chain store. He said the guy will often set him up for at least 15% and often 20% discounts on anything he orders.

As always, nice chatting with you. Always good to have someone help me keep feeding the GAS.
 
Hey Genghis! Well, if you're at all like me, once something is in your head you'll probably pull the trigger eventually lol.

Sounds like what you're really looking for is a bit more flexibility than the FX8 gives you. Can the AX8 do the things you want? Admin M@ said he always thought those two would make a killer setup. With that said, maybe the Axe FX + FX8 would be even better? Just ask yourself if you'd be missing anything at all in the FX8. I asked a question about whether to use the FX8 or AX8 for my real amp rig and decided on the FX8 because of a few factors. It's not as flexible as the AFX or AX8 in some ways, but it's better at the through-a-real-amp-in-4CM thing. Of course, you could just run the AFX straight into the power section of your TC-50. :)

I found myself going down the rabbit hole too much, which is why I went from the AFX to the FX8. Now, as you know, I've moved back to a pedalboard with individual stuff with far less menu diving (the BigSky and Mobius do have menus but they're far simpler for my small mind to deal with lol).

I dunno man, I'm just rambling my random thoughts. I guess my overall thought is you may as well think through the best option and go for it. It's like most gas...just feed it. There's not much use in fighting it as it almost always wins. :)
 
Thanks X. Yeah, it kind of makes sense in my case.

I know you do a preset with what you need for each song, but my band is kinda different. I've seen some of the videos you do, and really dig what you are doing and appreciate the way you share your knowledge, experience and presets. I'd try to do that too, but my stuff is a little too scattered and might not be as useful for others. LOL

We are doing kind of a guitar-based thing with a lot of improvisation, kind of like they did back in the old days. Not looking to really hit a regular bar gig routine, but we are planning on doing a few gigs late next spring into next summer opening for some of the more established local bands up in the Willamette Valley area of Oregon, kind of in a concert type of situation.

I have to drive up from Southern Oregon and make a weekend of it for any gigs or rehearsals, but it's a fun project with 2 very good old friends I've known since high school and a couple of really cool guys from up around that area on bass and drums. We have a few songs, that are your standard rocked up versions of classics by Foghat, Sabbath, Rush and so on, but we also turn Rockin' in the Free World into a nice rock jam tune, kinda along the lines of a G3 type thing. The guy really coordinating it even said he wants to do one of my old originals from several years ago, which reminds me, I need to put together a decent whammy pedal patch. :sweat::sunglasses:

For this band in particular, I want to set up by board with several scenes for quick access to a few different things, and IAs to turn on a phasor, flanger, or even a ring modulator or something if I just decide I want to stomp on it for a few lines to accent something.

Oh, and I'm not sure what kind of deal my buddy got on his, but he has bought a ton of guitar and PA gear through one guy in particular at his local... well you know, big chain store. He said the guy will often set him up for at least 15% and often 20% discounts on anything he orders.

As always, nice chatting with you. Always good to have someone help me keep feeding the GAS.
I have no knowledge or class for that matter!!! :p

I get excited when I get a piece of gear to work in my world & like to share an every day users perspective. If I can help, I will.....but there are much better sources to go to at the end of the day.

Your gig sounds like a total blast & it’s a great thing when you find the right musical situation & group of guys.

I have that now.....& still enjoy playing out a lot in my advanced age of 48 as of November 14th.

I’ve got a gig this Saturday & we’ve added more new songs just for my B-Day.

I like that you’ve shared so much here and I always love hearing what guys are doing in their little part of the world. I’m always interested when I see you post on something, you’re on my “A” user list too! :D

Peace! X
 
Good comments there @Deadpool_25. I hear you on the rabbit hole argument, and that is a bit of a concern.

I'm not planning on using the modeling for live, and the better control of more things from one board is what kind of attracts me to the MFC/AFX idea. And my buddy is looking for the FX8, which would probably suit him well, so I can sell that setup to him to raise some of the cash to pay for the new setup.

Yeah, that rabbit hole, though...

Good luck with the B-Day gig @X-Mann. You're still younger than me. I'm 54 now, and still play the harder rock and metal, and listen to stuff far harder than I actually play. (Arch Enemy and that type of thing.)

I enjoy knowing both of you guys and a few others here in our virtual guitar and gear world. Cool stuff!
 
Good comments there @Deadpool_25. I hear you on the rabbit hole argument, and that is a bit of a concern.

I'm not planning on using the modeling for live, and the better control of more things from one board is what kind of attracts me to the MFC/AFX idea. And my buddy is looking for the FX8, which would probably suit him well, so I can sell that setup to him to raise some of the cash to pay for the new setup.

Yeah, that rabbit hole, though...

Good luck with the B-Day gig @X-Mann. You're still younger than me. I'm 54 now, and still play the harder rock and metal, and listen to stuff far harder than I actually play. (Arch Enemy and that type of thing.)

I enjoy knowing both of you guys and a few others here in our virtual guitar and gear world. Cool stuff!
I say you only live once & only play so many gigs out too. My goal has always been to push myself, go as far as I can, make music & have fun in the process!!! That....& document it all!!!! Lol

I’ve learned SO MUCH from SO MANY different people & sharing our gig stories, set-ups & Gear talk really inspires me!

It took me a long time & a lot of testing out gear/trial and error to find out that the FX8 was just what I was looking for. It’s perfect for me, but I totally understand that it may not be perfect for everyone. It’s a great thing when you finally “get there” & can just play more w/ the FX & tones that inspire you. I hope everyone gets there someday too.

Yes, I’m going to be a ripe old 48 soon & when I look at all of great guitar pics on my XMANNROCKS Instagram page, it always makes me smile a bit & get nostalgic.

Never give-up, practice consistently & enjoy every part of the process. The gear building & talk is also a big part of that fun too!

Peace my friends, peace!!!! X
 
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Don’t ask me for advice. I’ll spend all your money and then some :) You want it? Go for it!!!

I’ve been thinking about racking my FX8 and controlling it with my Helix LT in a sorta combo rig. The FX8 would run 4cm with my TC50. The Helix LT would run FRFR. This, among other things, would let me run my Variax acoustic guitar models through the Helix/FRFR rig and then instantly switch lead tones to the FX8/TC50 rig.

That’s just using the stuff I already have.

What I really want to do is sell it all and then rack a TC50 head, FXII, Helix Rack with the controller, plus a Roland Intergra 7 synth controlled by my Fishman TriplePlay, Oh, and don’t forget the FRFR part too. Why? Because I’m nuts :) Why not? Because I can’t seem to find a gig in my area worthy of the investment and/or hassle. If I do find that gig, look out ;)

Moral is, the difference between GAS and pass on gear isn’t about anything but how much you can get out of it IMO. Then again, you only live once. Rock on!!!
 
Hey @tjontheroad, I don't know if we've chatted since I started integrating that Source Audio Kingmaker into my setup, but I'm pretty sure I told you I picked one up, or least had it ordered. A few weeks in and I'm loving it. Jeff hooked me up with a pretty good deal on the Neuro Hub, so I've got my drive settings well dialed in.

And thanks for encouraging my GAS on this thread!

After a crazy week of no real time to play and little time to even look back here to follow up on this thready, I finally had some time to play around tonight, and I couldn't put down the guitar. I was sitting here at the computer, making a few little changes here and there in my effect routing and dialing in the presets better on the Kingmaker. I think I may have things set up well enough that I really don't need the Axe-FX, and frankly memories of the 200+ amps and millions upon millions of IRs and the rabbit hole that you can get stuck in has me re-thinking it and I'm a bit more happy with what I have in the FX8. The biggest things that changed lately:
  • Of course the Kingmaker for drives. There are some good drives in the FX8, but the Kingmaker to my ears is a touch better, especially on the fuzz emulations. Part of this is that you can set it to do two simultaneous drives either in series or parallel, and I really like mixing different drives in parallel.
  • I realized that the extra gate I was putting in the loop really doesn't need to be there as the noise is extremely low with only using the input gate. I was kicking that on for hi-gain and off for cleans, but it is hardly any difference, as the TC is pretty quiet without it.
  • I have migrated from using 2 EQ blocks to fine-tune the different rhythm and lead tones I like to using one filter block since I can take advantage of the X/Y features.
  • I started digging into the Plex Delay. For my hi-gain rhythms it is bypassed, of course, but for lead I dial in a nice setting with soft repeats at different time settings and the diffusion set pretty low, and have little, if any, amp reverb added. For cleans, I set the diffusion up higher and the amp reverb up just enough to blend in the delays that much more and I have a nice wet clean sound that is really growing on me. (Still need to experiment with the balance of that... it might be just a hair wetter than I really need at volume.)
So, in the spirit of @X-Mann, I have finally decided to upload a preset of the way I'm doing things now. I'll probably do a couple of more presets with a similar layout for the scene switching and the filter and Plex delay blocks, but swap in other effects for the Rotary, Ring Mod, Flanger, and Phaser.

I'll kind of describe how the scenes match up with the amp settings and describe what the Kingmaker is doing for each of the first 5 scenes.
  1. Hi-gain rhythm tone. I boost the Blue channel in normal mode of the TC50 with a parallel drive with just enough to tighten it up a bit. I think I'm mixing a Rat and a TS9 if memory serves me, but you can try replacing the compressor with an FX8 drive if you want to dial in something in that range. (Or skip the drive all-together as it's fairly light and tightens things a bit. This amp is also set with loop on, boost off, and reverb very low on Blue if you have it on at all.
  2. Hi-gain lead on the Red channel. Boost and loop are on, reverb is off. Boosting this with another parallel drive, and I think I used a mix of the Kingmaker Germanium Fuzz for some nasty, thick hair, and the Klone for a bit of a cleaner mid-boost. Gain is very low on both of these, and I keep the gain on Red channel around noon, or maybe a touch higher, so it's not too saturated.
  3. Clean sound. Green channel with the loop and reverb on, boost off. I like a wet clean, so I'm mixing in some of the amp reverb with some Plex delay. Kingmaker is bypassed (of course, I want clean. LOL)
  4. Lower gain lead. Blue channel, boost on, loop on, reverb optional, but low if used. Kingmaker is optional, but I ended up setting up a patch to just give it a bit of color more than gain. Hard to explain, but I kind of like what it did on that, and would have to open up the editor to remember what drive or drives I used there. Drive was all the way down and the level control wasn't boosting it to hit the amp any harder.
  5. All-out fuzz destruction lead tone with the Kingmaker going into the Green channel. I think I used the Germanium Fuzz again, but with a lot of drive, in parallel again with the Klone, also with a lot of drive. Levels are set to give me unity gain, and of course for that program I have the amp set with the loop on, boost on, and reverb off. (Partly because I run the knob for the green channel up higher than blue, and red almost off for those occasions when I do use reverb on those channels. That setting for fuzz leads is just way too wet if I hit the reverb on the amp in Green.)
If you end up swapping in a drive block for the compressor to mimic what I'm using the Kingmaker for, you can probably set up something similar by using X as a drive to boost the amp on hi-gain rhythm and lead scenes (1&2), and then switch over to Y for scene 5 and dial in your most insane, dirty, destructive fuzz patch with a lot of big, fat gain and some nasty sizzle and spit on the top. :smilingimp:

The other scenes are somewhat irrelevant, as I have the bottom row of buttons set to trigger the first five scenes, and the top four buttons to toggle on/off individual effects. For insane nastiness, I like the ring mod on my fuzz patch and then started going nuts with the wah. Being after the Fuzz gives a whole different character to the wah, and the ring mod is enough to stunt the growth of small children.

One other note about the filter block, that helped me realize just how much more flexible I could be with just one block than what I was doing with the EQ blocks, which I was just doing some subtle shaping with. I have a modifier attached to the frequency of the filter, and on the X side I boost the lows for my rhythm tone. (I may need to lower that a bit when I turn up, but I'll see.) For leads, I switch it to a very wide mid boost with just I think about 2dbs to thicken up the leads so they cut through and sound a bit thicker.

When I started playing with the fuzz, I found that I wanted a similar mid boost, but at a higher frequency, so I set one of the internal modifiers to switch with the scenes. My amp lead tones are centered around 400 I think and the fuzz lead tone is center maybe around 1200 or 1600 because it was just a little muddy at the lower frequency. Still kind of subtle with the Q as wide as I have it, but it got me where I wanted with it.

Have a great weekend guys. I'm up to Corvallis to jam with the band this weekend!
 

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Hey @tjontheroad, I don't know if we've chatted since I started integrating that Source Audio Kingmaker into my setup, but I'm pretty sure I told you I picked one up, or least had it ordered. A few weeks in and I'm loving it. Jeff hooked me up with a pretty good deal on the Neuro Hub, so I've got my drive settings well dialed in.

And thanks for encouraging my GAS on this thread!

After a crazy week of no real time to play and little time to even look back here to follow up on this thready, I finally had some time to play around tonight, and I couldn't put down the guitar. I was sitting here at the computer, making a few little changes here and there in my effect routing and dialing in the presets better on the Kingmaker. I think I may have things set up well enough that I really don't need the Axe-FX, and frankly memories of the 200+ amps and millions upon millions of IRs and the rabbit hole that you can get stuck in has me re-thinking it and I'm a bit more happy with what I have in the FX8. The biggest things that changed lately:
  • Of course the Kingmaker for drives. There are some good drives in the FX8, but the Kingmaker to my ears is a touch better, especially on the fuzz emulations. Part of this is that you can set it to do two simultaneous drives either in series or parallel, and I really like mixing different drives in parallel.
  • I realized that the extra gate I was putting in the loop really doesn't need to be there as the noise is extremely low with only using the input gate. I was kicking that on for hi-gain and off for cleans, but it is hardly any difference, as the TC is pretty quiet without it.
  • I have migrated from using 2 EQ blocks to fine-tune the different rhythm and lead tones I like to using one filter block since I can take advantage of the X/Y features.
  • I started digging into the Plex Delay. For my hi-gain rhythms it is bypassed, of course, but for lead I dial in a nice setting with soft repeats at different time settings and the diffusion set pretty low, and have little, if any, amp reverb added. For cleans, I set the diffusion up higher and the amp reverb up just enough to blend in the delays that much more and I have a nice wet clean sound that is really growing on me. (Still need to experiment with the balance of that... it might be just a hair wetter than I really need at volume.)
So, in the spirit of @X-Mann, I have finally decided to upload a preset of the way I'm doing things now. I'll probably do a couple of more presets with a similar layout for the scene switching and the filter and Plex delay blocks, but swap in other effects for the Rotary, Ring Mod, Flanger, and Phaser.

I'll kind of describe how the scenes match up with the amp settings and describe what the Kingmaker is doing for each of the first 5 scenes.
  1. Hi-gain rhythm tone. I boost the Blue channel in normal mode of the TC50 with a parallel drive with just enough to tighten it up a bit. I think I'm mixing a Rat and a TS9 if memory serves me, but you can try replacing the compressor with an FX8 drive if you want to dial in something in that range. (Or skip the drive all-together as it's fairly light and tightens things a bit. This amp is also set with loop on, boost off, and reverb very low on Blue if you have it on at all.
  2. Hi-gain lead on the Red channel. Boost and loop are on, reverb is off. Boosting this with another parallel drive, and I think I used a mix of the Kingmaker Germanium Fuzz for some nasty, thick hair, and the Klone for a bit of a cleaner mid-boost. Gain is very low on both of these, and I keep the gain on Red channel around noon, or maybe a touch higher, so it's not too saturated.
  3. Clean sound. Green channel with the loop and reverb on, boost off. I like a wet clean, so I'm mixing in some of the amp reverb with some Plex delay. Kingmaker is bypassed (of course, I want clean. LOL)
  4. Lower gain lead. Blue channel, boost on, loop on, reverb optional, but low if used. Kingmaker is optional, but I ended up setting up a patch to just give it a bit of color more than gain. Hard to explain, but I kind of like what it did on that, and would have to open up the editor to remember what drive or drives I used there. Drive was all the way down and the level control wasn't boosting it to hit the amp any harder.
  5. All-out fuzz destruction lead tone with the Kingmaker going into the Green channel. I think I used the Germanium Fuzz again, but with a lot of drive, in parallel again with the Klone, also with a lot of drive. Levels are set to give me unity gain, and of course for that program I have the amp set with the loop on, boost on, and reverb off. (Partly because I run the knob for the green channel up higher than blue, and red almost off for those occasions when I do use reverb on those channels. That setting for fuzz leads is just way too wet if I hit the reverb on the amp in Green.)
If you end up swapping in a drive block for the compressor to mimic what I'm using the Kingmaker for, you can probably set up something similar by using X as a drive to boost the amp on hi-gain rhythm and lead scenes (1&2), and then switch over to Y for scene 5 and dial in your most insane, dirty, destructive fuzz patch with a lot of big, fat gain and some nasty sizzle and spit on the top. :smilingimp:

The other scenes are somewhat irrelevant, as I have the bottom row of buttons set to trigger the first five scenes, and the top four buttons to toggle on/off individual effects. For insane nastiness, I like the ring mod on my fuzz patch and then started going nuts with the wah. Being after the Fuzz gives a whole different character to the wah, and the ring mod is enough to stunt the growth of small children.

One other note about the filter block, that helped me realize just how much more flexible I could be with just one block than what I was doing with the EQ blocks, which I was just doing some subtle shaping with. I have a modifier attached to the frequency of the filter, and on the X side I boost the lows for my rhythm tone. (I may need to lower that a bit when I turn up, but I'll see.) For leads, I switch it to a very wide mid boost with just I think about 2dbs to thicken up the leads so they cut through and sound a bit thicker.

When I started playing with the fuzz, I found that I wanted a similar mid boost, but at a higher frequency, so I set one of the internal modifiers to switch with the scenes. My amp lead tones are centered around 400 I think and the fuzz lead tone is center maybe around 1200 or 1600 because it was just a little muddy at the lower frequency. Still kind of subtle with the Q as wide as I have it, but it got me where I wanted with it.

Have a great weekend guys. I'm up to Corvallis to jam with the band this weekend!

The Kingmaker is a step up with ODs and especially fuzz. It’s an amazingly flexible pedal. I haven’t placed it into my rig yet though. The one MIDI PC command per scene limit on the FX8 has me not sure how I best want to work it in. I also don’t have room on my pedalboard for it. This is partly why I’m thinking racking the FX8 with a fx drawers and controlling it with my Helix might be worth a try.

The band I joined last month calls for a lot of clean soloing and acoustic (via Variax) playing along with heavier gain stuff. So, I need to experiment how best to work all that in without hurting my back :)
 
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Yeah, I have that same concern with the MIDI PC limitation, so at this point, I match up what I want the amp to do with a given sound with what I have Kingmaker is doing. All in all I have 8 different MIDI PCs so far to trigger the settings on both in sync with each other, including one that bypasses the Kingmaker. I don't need much more variety than that, but I have to program a couple of extra amp settings to match up with the various drives settings and it can be a bit of a hassle to plan it out.

And of course, I'm a computer and database guy by day. I keep thinking if I just make up an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of what I have going on in each MIDI PC, it may help me remember as the list grows, but I'm too busy playing in what little spare time I can put together to actually do that.
 
Ha, I saw that. Got an email from them today. Tempted again, even though what I have is really working well for me at this point. Looks like I have a couple weeks to think it over...
 
For MIDI you might consider having identical presets on the FX8 that can recall various presets on the Kingmaker. You could also take a look at the Morningstar MC6. @scottburrow turned me onto that one. Sweet little unit with a very small pedalboard footprint. You could have the FX8 change banks on the MC6 and use the MC6 to select presets on the Kingmaker. Could be a cool setup.

Genghis, you and @X-Mann posting presets almost have me wishing I’d kept my FX8. Almost. Lol. I’m enjoying the less-capable-but-still-amazing “normal” pedalboard though. :)
 
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@Deadpool_25, what I'm doing is I have my Program Changes on the Amp set to be in sync with the Program Changes on the Kingmaker. I think that sounds pretty similar to what you suggest, but not sure. Only downside is that I have to save a few extra amp presets that are identical to match up with the various drive settings, but then again, I'm at a point now where once I have a couple of more Program Changes set up for some lo-gain drive settings into clean for tasty solos, I'll have things mapped out pretty good on that front.

I saw that you are keeping your TC50, so that's cool. Let me know if you figure out how to run everything you want to do with that and the Invective together. Sounds complicated, but I bet it would be killer.

I did one more patch similar to the one I uploaded, but with Chorus and Pitch blocks in place of the Rotary and Ring Mod blocks, and then I remembered you could set one of the function switches up to toggle between scene 1 and 2, and thought, "Hey, I had it set up that way once before. I think I'll try it again. I wonder why I switched it to the other way?" Well, when I got to practice I remembered. I had it on the first button, where if you hit it quick it would toggle between the scenes. Unfortunately it does it on the up event when you lift your foot from the pedal and if you linger too long it would go into tuner mode. LOL. I set the hold feature for a longer time, but I like things to switch when you hit the button down, and not when you lift it up, so I may switch things around a hair.

You mention the Morningstar MC6 and I was looking at that for a bit. I'm thinking it might give me quick access to a couple of more main scenes, as well as functionality to send a CC to change the speed on my rotary on certain presets or to have a harmony learn button. I'll have to think about that this month, as I'm still considering the Axe-FX II setup since they are on sale. It would cost me a chunk, but it would also shrink the overall foot print of my board because I could put the MC-101 on my pedal train with 2 expression pedals and move my little Nano board over near the amp. It houses my Kingmaker, Neuro Hub and Shure Wireless receiver. One thing that kind of bothered me at rehearsal this weekend, was that with the Nano set where I have it, I had to stretch the boom stand for my mice to it's limits and still get as close as possible to the board when I was singing.
 
I run a TC50 with an FX8 and love it although I have been looking at an AX8 for rehearsals/smaller gigs. If you do go with the AXE-FX for effects you'll have a backup rig at your fingertips if needed.
 
I run a TC50 with an FX8 and love it although I have been looking at an AX8 for rehearsals/smaller gigs. If you do go with the AXE-FX for effects you'll have a backup rig at your fingertips if needed.
Hmmm... hadn't thought about that. Lol, starting to lean that way, just a bit. It is overkill as far as my regular rig goes, but the added recording benefits and possible backup rig are starting to sound like it could be worth considering.
 
@Genghis
Yeah that’s pretty much what I mean. You should be able to have the FX8 send whatever PC you want which can recall presets on your amp and the Kingmaker.

I have been so busy with work the last couple of days that I haven’t worked on my rig. I think I have an idea in mind, I just need to put the plan on paper and then try it.

That MC6 is a pretty powerful little box. Although it only has 6 buttons, you can have like 11 presets per bank (you can use a few 2-buttons-at-once combinations). It can send a bunch of different kinds of commands and can send a bunch of stuff for each preset. Really cool device. I’m envisioning building song-based banks and having one preset per needed sound in the song. The MIDI would go out to control the TC50, Invective, Mobius, and BigSky. I also just received the Morningstar ML5 loop switcher so the MC6 will also be able to swap in the El Capistan, Dig, and Riverside as needed. That should be more than enough power and control for my needs lol. But then I also have two Strymon mini switches so I can call up favorite settings on two of those last three pedals. This rig seems pretty simple in terms of dialing in tones (just twist a few knobs), but also seems pretty flexible and exceptionally versatile. We will see.
 
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