Wow...parsing the presets in the Axe-Exchange is a trip

M

Matt_B

Inspired
I downloaded about 650 presets from the Axe-Exchange and I've just started the process of sorting through them.

I loaded up the first bank of 128 in Axe-Edit and I saw some really crazy stuff. I've seen some things done with presets that are completely wrong/make no sense (parallel routing done incorrectly, using stereo cabs when mono would sound the same,etc.). Admittedly, in the past I've made some of of the same "mistakes" I've seen in some of the presets but when you look at a slew of the Axe-Exchange presets the large amount of "fail" is almost overwhelming. On the up side, I've also seen some patches that might sound really cool.

I'm deleting ones that appear redundant, vanilla, or are just broken in some way. I've also seen some potentially cool sounds. After that, I'll audition what's left, trim them down some more and categorize them.

One thing that drives me nuts is I've run across quite a few presets that use the exact same name as factory presets. For expediency, I assumed that they sound the same or at least very similar to the factory version so I'm just deleting them. Out of a full bank of 128 there are 93 left and I've got 438 to go.
 
Actually, I've been loading up all the presets in the editor and deleting the ones that I don't want for various reasons. At this point in the process, I have culled the original 650 down to 128 presets that I will actually audition and I don't expect all 128 to make the cut.
 
when they have volume control that drives me nuts :(

there is alot from one user that has the controller on everyone so everytime you open the patch silence :(
 
animal said:
when they have volume control that drives me nuts :( there is alot from one user that has the controller on everyone so everytime you open the patch silence :(
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Yeah but that's easy to spot in the editor if the volume is controlled by a volume block.

All in all I'm glad the Axe-Exchange exists but it's a bloody mess. There are tons of simple, basic presets (amp, cab, reverb) that offer nothing special or unique for me. While it's cool that someone took the time to upload it, most of the presets are ones that I could dial in on my own. I'd love to see more "artist/song" and style presets.
 
Matt_B said:
I downloaded about 650 presets from the Axe-Exchange and I've just started the process of sorting through them.

I loaded up the first bank of 128 in Axe-Edit and I saw some really crazy stuff. I've seen some things done with presets that are completely wrong/make no sense (parallel routing done incorrectly, using stereo cabs when mono would sound the same,etc.). Admittedly, in the past I've made some of of the same "mistakes" I've seen in some of the presets but when you look at a slew of the Axe-Exchange presets the large amount of "fail" is almost overwhelming. On the up side, I've also seen some patches that might sound really cool.

I'm deleting ones that appear redundant, vanilla, or are just broken in some way. I've also seen some potentially cool sounds. After that, I'll audition what's left, trim them down some more and categorize them.

One thing that drives me nuts is I've run across quite a few presets that use the exact same name as factory presets. For expediency, I assumed that they sound the same or at least very similar to the factory version so I'm just deleting them. Out of a full bank of 128 there are 93 left and I've got 438 to go.
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Many of those patches were done on earlier firmwares. Which would explain some of that. The orginal axechange site also had explanations on how the patch is supposed to be used. This would include how the external controllers are used. Originally there were no mono cabs, they were just stereo. That is why the early ones are that way. Also, many blocks (like delay, drive, pitch, rotary, vibe, chorus, flanger, reverb, etc.) have significantly changed since the original axe-change started up in firmware 3.x (before the Ultra even existed). Many of the "mistakes" you see are the result of having to do things differently or from incompatibilities of old presets.

The Axe-change site really needs to built up from scratch
 
A reason some of the patches resemble factory presets.....is because some of the factory presets came from the Axechange.
 
Originally there were no mono cabs, they were just stereo. That is why the early ones are that way.
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That I did not know.

Also, many blocks (like delay, drive, pitch, rotary, vibe, chorus, flanger, reverb, etc.) have significantly changed since the original axe-change started up in firmware 3.x (before the Ultra even existed).[quote:37mvnro8]Are the patches in that current Axe-Exchange really that old? If, I didn't know they were.

[quote:37mvnro8]Many of the "mistakes" you see are the result of having to do things differently or from incompatibilities of old presets.
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I can understand a lot of that but I saw crazy things like an amp feeding into an amp (didn't try that for fear of ripping a whole between dimensions!).

The Axe-change site really needs to built up from scratch
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[/quote:37mvnro8][/quote:37mvnro8]Yes, it seems a purge wouldn't necessarily hurt, at least of the really old stuff assuming one can look at dates on the server end.

As I said before, a lot of the patches were "vanilla" (simple patches that were just tweaked for the original user) or I just didn't like the sound. I can see how some people might find them useful.

After processing all of them, I'm keeping 47 patches but I learned a lot about routing and feel deeply in love with the multiband compressor. :) Heck, Dweezil Van Halen patches alone made all the work worth it. ;)
 
Matt_B said:
After processing all of them, I'm keeping 47 patches but I learned a lot about routing and feel deeply in love with the multiband compressor. :) Heck, Dweezil Van Halen patches alone made all the work worth it. ;)
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Just so you know, his early VH patches had an anomaly where the phaser was running in parallel w/ the dry signal. This results in a +6db boost to the front end of the amp and a weaker than normal phaser because of the added dry signal.
 
javajunkie said:
Just so you know, his early VH patches had an anomaly where the phaser was running in parallel w/ the dry signal. This results in a +6db boost to the front end of the amp and a weaker than normal phaser because of the added dry signal.
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Thanks for the info but either I'm missing something (when just looking at the presets) and you were thinking of another effect (e.g. delay or flanger). Here are the layouts of the (2) Dweezil VH patches I kept (I did not change the names). Please advise.

013_dweezil_van_zapp01.gif


016_Eruption_dweezil.gif
 
Nope I think that's it. Look at the mute on those. Unless they are new ones the mute it set to mix=0%. Therefore when the flanger and delay are bypassed your are getting an extra 2x dry signal when the flanger and delay are bypassed. This means not only an overall boost (+12 db) but the phaser mix get more diluted because you have dry+dry+phaser/dry mix.

Further more, because you have 3 signals collapsing to one with no mute on the other ones you will always have a +12db boost going to the front of the amp (unless you compensate by turning levels down somewhere). Not that it can't work but it is something to be aware of.

The second example doesn't have that issue.

Edit, I downloaded the patch. It is the same one. The delay is actually set to mute in rather than mix=0%, but that has the same effect. The flanger is mix=0% on the bypass.
 
Thanks JJ. I have not really played with all the different bypass options but after your explanation and twiddling in Axe-Edit, I understand the problem and will fix it tonight when I get home. I want to do more parallel routing so this knowledge will come in handy.
 
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