Thoughts on a bank of basic presets

The problem with the presets is that other than for a few that are titled fairly obviously it is difficult to understand what the intended use of the patch is. Strat or LP? Etheral Celtic backing noise? Etc. What output envrionment they were designed and/or tested with (QSC, Genelics, VHT 2502 -> Marshall 4x12?

So without that information all you can do is flip through them and see if you like any. And while I think some work could be done on the presets I think they're really good enough as demos. The most value they provide IMO is some insight on creating some interesting block combinations that demonstrate the routing flexibility and the interactions that can occur.

Long ago I realized that presets will never serve me as-is but they're a fun place to start. Just think of them as some examples of what you can accomplish with the gizmo and they are for reference only.

I recently picked up a POD X3 and fired it up for the first time yesterday with a Verve 8ma. Holy shit are the presets terrible! I can't believe anyone would buy one after auditioning the presets. They are much worse than what was on the Vetta or POD XT. After flipping through a handful of presets I just bailed on the idea and started from scratch.

BTW, here's a very cool thing that the X3 has out of the box - a bunch of banks that are just a basic patch - slight crunch JTM style amp - all the effects are off by default but they are set to reasonably useful settings: distortion pedal, simple chorus, analog delay, spring reverb. Obviously this isn't that big of a deal but I was able to create 4 basic patches (heavy, medium crunch, mild crunch, and clean) with some basic useful effects in about 15 minutes. Doing the same thing in the Axe-FX would have been pretty easy as well - I was just glad they already had that there so I didn't have to think much :lol:
 
I have a viewpoint to offer.

When I first heard of the Axe, I was currently using one of the Digitech GNX's. So, understand that when I heard the audio demo page on Fractal's site, it blew my mind to think that those sounds were "digital". That got my interest. But what REALLY got my interest was when I heard all the amazing clips from USERS who made their own patches. Shredi's Mark IV clips were what finally sold me on the unit.

Ergo, when I got my Ultra, I liked a good bit of the presets, but didn't like some, but it didn't worry me because I already heard the capabilities produced by users of the unit. So I found the stock presets that were "unusable" for MY tastes to be no limitation or confusion because I knew what I wanted could be done. And I was not even CLOSE to being able to tweak sounds when I got this unit.

Now? I think any type of guitar tone (and MORE :cool: ) can be realized with the Axe-Fx. The bajillions of user patches have more than shown that. Plenty of these guys like Shredi, Mojave, and Clawfinger make killer high gain tones; javajunkie, rocketmorton, and matman make nutso effects tones; and then you got guys like Scott Peterson, Dweezil, and Pete Thorn making great clean tones and dry amp tones...I mean, gosh, the out-of-the-box presets shouldn't worry anyone!

All you have to do is think a little bit past that point, and then there is no problem.
 
Demolition Man said:
I have a viewpoint to offer.

When I first heard of the Axe, I was currently using one of the Digitech GNX's. So, understand that when I heard the audio demo page on Fractal's site, it blew my mind to think that those sounds were "digital". That got my interest. But what REALLY got my interest was when I heard all the amazing clips from USERS who made their own patches. Shredi's Mark IV clips were what finally sold me on the unit.

Ergo, when I got my Ultra, I liked a good bit of the presets, but didn't like some, but it didn't worry me because I already heard the capabilities produced by users of the unit. So I found the stock presets that were "unusable" for MY tastes to be no limitation or confusion because I knew what I wanted could be done. And I was not even CLOSE to being able to tweak sounds when I got this unit.

Now? I think any type of guitar tone (and MORE :cool: ) can be realized with the Axe-Fx. The bajillions of user patches have more than shown that. Plenty of these guys like Shredi, Mojave, and Clawfinger make killer high gain tones; javajunkie, rocketmorton, and matman make nutso effects tones; and then you got guys like Scott Peterson, Dweezil, and Pete Thorn making great clean tones and dry amp tones...I mean, gosh, the out-of-the-box presets shouldn't worry anyone!

All you have to do is think a little bit past that point, and then there is no problem.
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Nice post. Very good points.
 
Hey guys, my first post on the forum

I sell the axe fx and I spend a great amount of my time each day either talking on the phone with someone who is interested in the axe fx or demoing the unit for someone at the shop. i got to the shop an hour ago, and have already spent the past 30 minutes talking to 3 guys who had alot of questions. But here's what Ive learned so far and what I tell musicians inquiring about the Axe fx.

If its on the phone, I always get asked about the presets as some guys want to just plug in and play believing that the presets are a real indication of how good the unit can sound. What I tell them and try and encourage, Is once they get the unit from either me or Fractal and before just running through the presets is to call me. I will then guide them in recreating their current rig and a sound there happy with. So if he is playing through a soldano with some pedals in front of the amp and a delay in the loop, I will replicate that for them. It really takes all of about 20 to 30 minutes before they are blown away and they now know the operating basics of the unit. And if I am demoing the unit for them in person, I do the same thing. I never get over the looks I see from guys who cant believe I have equaled or surpassed their current rig in a matter of minutes. I find this much more effective than just letting them scroll through the presets. After I demo the unit for them, then I let them scroll through the presets and hear the quality of the effects.

When a client comes in and he has 10 different amps, I have a preset for every amp model and I use a ground control pro to punch effects in and out. It would be difficult for fractal to do 50 stock presets, because so many guys run the Axe Fx in so many different ways. So for my rig, I tell guys that remember this is a fender model going into a VHT power amp. When the Atomic cabs come in, I will do presets created just for those cabs. Im really looking forward to that as I have played the Atomic cabs and they sound incredible. That will be the way to go when their released in the NEAR future. ;)

Rob

Tone Merchants

714-288-9583
 
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