The preset leveling is maybe the most important aspect one can deal with. I especially notice it when getting a preset from someone else, Their Gained scenes just about floored me, the level was so high. Now I know what they meant when someone said the sound man would be in SHOCK. I was using the output block but with have to try the preset leveling tool. I do notice that after a couple hours playing, your ears are starting to play tricks on oneself, so it would be best to do leveling while on a fresh set of ears. The Goal is unity gain, no monstrous changes. This is a GREAT VIDEO for sure!!!! Thanks a MILLION, now a subscriber. It is unreal 2.4K views and only 81 likes, HUH??? That Stinks.
Thank you! I’m really glad this was helpful for you ^_^ Preset Leveling eluded me for about a year (putting in 40hrs/wk into the Fractal), & NO ONE talked about it 😆 Hoping this will save other users a lot of hours of note taking, trial/error, etc.
Thanks for this. Ive been working in levelling a large set list over last week. I have output three going to an onstage power amp and cab, and of course output 1 to FOH. It takes a lot of work, but after seeing this I’m going back and finding a consistent cab sound
Oh man, overhauling a full setlist of individual presets can be quite the task! Once you switch Cabs, going back & tweaking your Amp tones can be quite the workload…but oh so worth it ^_^ I got the idea from Devin Townsend’s Gift of Tone interview last year. It was the missing piece to the puzzle, & it has made a world of difference (oddly enough, I had been using that tactic at the church I play for & always felt really good about how things sat 😆)
Keeping the Cab the same across Presets has saved me hours of leveling. I really think going through the PA with reference music is the only way to really know. Even loud through my studio monitors, I'm always disappointed once get I'm really live.
I heard Devin Townsend say that (one Cab across Presets) on last year’s Gift of Tone interview, & it reeeeaaaaally helped solidify my decision for trying it out in the 2023 gig season! Very smart man, that Heavy Devvy. So you’re playing studio audio thru your monitors, then setting up your FRFR in between them (at approximate height)? The PA is the ultimate solution finder, but I know that can be super difficult to make happen for some people’s situations. What happens to your guitar tone(s) between studio & live? *If you have a sound engineer who records multitracks of your shows, then uses that playback to set general monitor levels (this blew my mind the first time I experienced it), have them play back everything but guitar & see how it sits in the mix.
@@guitarguru186 lows are too low or the highs are too high or I know I'm in the mix and there is no definition. I'm lucky enough that I have a PA in my rehearsal space and can/should test. I get lazy and don't. Serves me right. ;)
Hmm 🤔 how’s your low cut & high cut on your Amp and/or Cab? At live volumes, I find (depending on the amp) low cutting 40-100Hz (usually around 80Hz) & high cutting 8500-10KHz works really well. It’s not lazy, it’s just a lot of work 😂 But once you do it, the power of the digital save is upon you & that shit is SET 😍
I’ve doubled up with the Amp & Cab low/high cuts (when necessary). We’re all tweakers 😂 One thing I did when I bought my Axe-FX III was not buy or use an editor or foot controller for the first month I owned it. Really helped me figure it out…and despite forum gatekeepers, you will use this stuff on gigs quite regularly & you won’t always “just have your laptop” 😆
Great vid as usual Alex! Two queries - I wouldn't need to worry about Scene levelling in the Output 2 block if in the I/O menu, I'm using Output 2 Echo Output 1 would I? Also, If I am using Echoing, I wouldn't need the Output 2 block in my preset like you, would I? Thx in advance for all your help!
Thank you! I’m glad it was helpful ^_^ If you’re not utilizing the Output 2 Block (as it’s just mirroring Output 1), you wouldn’t need to adjust anything in the Block, nor would you need it on the grid. If you discover that’s not the case, let me know!
@guitarguru186 Hey Alex forgive this rookie question but why do you always have your reverb and delay blocks on parallel paths? I've never seen this when just running them in line would be an option before.
“Rookie questions” welcome! We all start in the same place (the beginning!) ^_^ I run them in parallel for a few reasons: • Being able to separate my Reverb & Delays as I would in a DAW mix (ex. Not adding reverb to my delays) • Dry/Wet rig configurations & keeping my dry signal unprocessed (although the Mix feature in Fractals allows for that) I hope that helps! I’ll likely be shooting a video on the topic in the next week or so, which will hopefully articulate those points better (with audio examples).
The preset leveling is maybe the most important aspect one can deal with. I especially notice it when getting a preset from someone else, Their Gained scenes just about floored me, the level was so high. Now I know what they meant when someone said the sound man would be in SHOCK. I was using the output block but with have to try the preset leveling tool. I do notice that after a couple hours playing, your ears are starting to play tricks on oneself, so it would be best to do leveling while on a fresh set of ears. The Goal is unity gain, no monstrous changes. This is a GREAT VIDEO for sure!!!! Thanks a MILLION, now a subscriber. It is unreal 2.4K views and only 81 likes, HUH??? That Stinks.
Thank you!
Gotta start somewhere ^_^
Great tutorial. A very structured way of providing information. Will try this with my FM9.
Thank you! I’m really glad this was helpful for you ^_^
Preset Leveling eluded me for about a year (putting in 40hrs/wk into the Fractal), & NO ONE talked about it 😆 Hoping this will save other users a lot of hours of note taking, trial/error, etc.
You explained it perfectly. You're voice is pleasing to the ear - subscribed!
Thank you! I’m so glad it was helpful to you. Unity gain is crucial for keeping the sound crew, bandmates, & audience happy ^_^
Thanks for this. Ive been working in levelling a large set list over last week. I have output three going to an onstage power amp and cab, and of course output 1 to FOH. It takes a lot of work, but after seeing this I’m going back and finding a consistent cab sound
Oh man, overhauling a full setlist of individual presets can be quite the task! Once you switch Cabs, going back & tweaking your Amp tones can be quite the workload…but oh so worth it ^_^
I got the idea from Devin Townsend’s Gift of Tone interview last year. It was the missing piece to the puzzle, & it has made a world of difference (oddly enough, I had been using that tactic at the church I play for & always felt really good about how things sat 😆)
Keeping the Cab the same across Presets has saved me hours of leveling. I really think going through the PA with reference music is the only way to really know. Even loud through my studio monitors, I'm always disappointed once get I'm really live.
I heard Devin Townsend say that (one Cab across Presets) on last year’s Gift of Tone interview, & it reeeeaaaaally helped solidify my decision for trying it out in the 2023 gig season! Very smart man, that Heavy Devvy.
So you’re playing studio audio thru your monitors, then setting up your FRFR in between them (at approximate height)?
The PA is the ultimate solution finder, but I know that can be super difficult to make happen for some people’s situations.
What happens to your guitar tone(s) between studio & live?
*If you have a sound engineer who records multitracks of your shows, then uses that playback to set general monitor levels (this blew my mind the first time I experienced it), have them play back everything but guitar & see how it sits in the mix.
@@guitarguru186 lows are too low or the highs are too high or I know I'm in the mix and there is no definition. I'm lucky enough that I have a PA in my rehearsal space and can/should test. I get lazy and don't. Serves me right. ;)
Hmm 🤔 how’s your low cut & high cut on your Amp and/or Cab?
At live volumes, I find (depending on the amp) low cutting 40-100Hz (usually around 80Hz) & high cutting 8500-10KHz works really well.
It’s not lazy, it’s just a lot of work 😂 But once you do it, the power of the digital save is upon you & that shit is SET 😍
@@guitarguru186 I use the low/high cut on the Cab. My real problem is I tweak too much and need to get better at using the front panel interface.
I’ve doubled up with the Amp & Cab low/high cuts (when necessary).
We’re all tweakers 😂
One thing I did when I bought my Axe-FX III was not buy or use an editor or foot controller for the first month I owned it. Really helped me figure it out…and despite forum gatekeepers, you will use this stuff on gigs quite regularly & you won’t always “just have your laptop” 😆
Great vid as usual Alex! Two queries - I wouldn't need to worry about Scene levelling in the Output 2 block if in the I/O menu, I'm using Output 2 Echo Output 1 would I? Also, If I am using Echoing, I wouldn't need the Output 2 block in my preset like you, would I?
Thx in advance for all your help!
Thank you! I’m glad it was helpful ^_^
If you’re not utilizing the Output 2 Block (as it’s just mirroring Output 1), you wouldn’t need to adjust anything in the Block, nor would you need it on the grid.
If you discover that’s not the case, let me know!
@guitarguru186 Hey Alex forgive this rookie question but why do you always have your reverb and delay blocks on parallel paths? I've never seen this when just running them in line would be an option before.
“Rookie questions” welcome! We all start in the same place (the beginning!) ^_^
I run them in parallel for a few reasons:
• Being able to separate my Reverb & Delays as I would in a DAW mix (ex. Not adding reverb to my delays)
• Dry/Wet rig configurations & keeping my dry signal unprocessed (although the Mix feature in Fractals allows for that)
I hope that helps! I’ll likely be shooting a video on the topic in the next week or so, which will hopefully articulate those points better (with audio examples).