I’ve been following you for a while now. And I just wanted to say… Your opening jam sessions have inspired me to stop just noodling, which I do frequently because I get so busy in life… and start actually playing. Last night I threw together a simple loop in Ableton and before I knew it an hour had passed. Going to start doing that regularly, and recording everything. Anyway, just wanted to say thanks. Love your videos and your playing.
Your channel is an inspiration to me. Wood paneling background and some random lamp that's not even on. Sometimes it's well lit, sometimes washed out, sometimes hard lit with little fill... And the substance carries the day.
On Helix, I have the top 4 switches set to presets. They are the amp rigs I use all the time (Matchless, Gramm GSG, Marshall, and Twin Reverb). The bottom 4 switches are set to snapshots for each rig (Clean, Rhythm, OD, and Lead). So far, this setup covers everything I need; however, I have started playing with assigning delay to the expression pedal and it works great. I’m very satisfied with this setup, but would appreciate hearing how others are doing theirs. Great topic for discussion. Thanks, John!
a few presets on tonex, about 90% of time i use only 3, dumble clean, purple plexi low gain, 5150 for hi gain,... compressor, boost, chorus, phaser, delay from Boss multieffect, ...simple but works well in cover band with 200+ songs
I play worship in churches. Need loads of atmospherics. Huge delays and reverbs at the correct tempo. Our drummer counts off on my tempo light. I do run a preset per song which I switch through my iPad music reader app. All of them use the same cab and most the same amp block. On each song I have 3 to 4 scenes intro, verse, chorus and bridge/lead. I don''t have to think about anything but playing and switching at the right time.
Hey John. Great video as usual. Completely agree regarding useful ways you can set up modelling rig for live use. A few years back during my Kemper years I did have a preset for each song in my set. I’d also set up a basic preset with clean / crunch / lead all based on two amps. I then used stomps for modulation, filters etc. Since changing over to the Quad Cortex I have spent the last year touring using 2 Scenes based on two amps. My own Divided by 13 FTR37 capture for my cleans and a Bogner or Super Champ capture for leads. I have pedals setup as stomps for crunch or mid lead / boost tones. Phaser / filter pre amp and stereo chorus post amp Both scenes have reverb and delay on all the time but mix controlled with an expression pedal which is set so trails continue even after I back off the mix pedal. Kind of feels like I have an amp with stomps in front of it and studio style time effects post. All coming out of outs 1 +2 to FOH and outs 3+4 to two FRFR cabs on stage which I eq separately from 1+2. For me it’s definitely the like I have a more traditional amp , cab , pedalboard rig onstage. Getting better all the time too.
Our pop cover band has 100+ songs and I do everything in one preset loaded with effects on the FM9. It also has an acoustic scene for my piezo guitars. I seriously couldn't imagine managing 100+ presets. Maybe if the FM9 had global blocks like the AA3, it might make it feasible but it still seems to be more trouble than its worth. I need to be learning songs, not twiddling with settings.
@@benoitquinton I have noodled with it to see how it worked but it didn't seem useful to me as it relies on using individual presets per song which I haven't found worked well for me. The gapless switching will be a nice addition. My preset is essentially gapless already. Other than the acoustic scene, I'm not changing amps or cabinets so there's no audible gap. I rely mostly on effects just like you'd have on a pedalboard.
@lanceholland You can in fact use any scene from any preset for any given song section. But hey, that's why modelers are fun (especially Fractal products). You can set it up any way you want it and it'll serves your needs. I also have a FC-12 connected to my FM3 for the exact same reason you mentioned 😀. Different gigs, different needs. Have yourself a great day mate!
@@benoitquinton Yeah...I get how it's used but I haven't found the need for it at this time. So far, I get everything I need for the 100+ songs in one preset. But, I won't say never....I will probably branch into a second (or third) copy of my all-in-one preset as we add more songs and will likely then migrate to multiple presets. When I had an FM3, I didn't have the luxury of the CPU that the FM9 affords. Back then, I had many presets and those were MIDI switched by my iPad music app. I was more to adjust as I needed to copy any changes to each preset and keep track of them. What's more important is the Global Blocks feature of the AA3 as that would make the process trivial.
Our band plays 30 hits from Kenny Chesney every night - as the only guitarist, I have songs that interchange acoustic intros, acoustic and fender rhythm, marshall plexi rhythm and lead tones, timed echoes, harmony guitar parts, even a patch that is pitch transposed a half step up, and I do it all with five patches on an HX Stomp. Each song fits into a certain style template and each patch is set up for one of these styles. Laying out all the sounds you need and then organizing the most efficient way to access and change between them is the way to go.
I found myself getting overwhelmed with all of the virtual equipment at my fingertips on the helix and all the tweaking it takes to kind of get it sounding right. John, watching you develop tones has really helped me in my development. I started taking the pedalboard approach. It has simplified my learning curve to treat it like an amp and some pedals instead of a very powerful machine. So I’ve focussed on one amp and cabinet model using Fullerton jump as a Deluxe Reverb rig. I’ve set up all my effects around that and learned some tricks from you too John. I play at church as well, but we have tended in the last number of months to show up and learn the songs on Sunday morning and try not to sound stupid. The pedalboard set up really helps on the fly like that. That said, I will program some snapshots to get multiple effects and spaces set up quickly between songs. I’ve assigned EXP1 to Volume/Wah, EXP2 to Delay Mixes, and EXP3 to Reverb mixes. I like how you assigned toe Verbs and Delay pedals to Inputs instead of Mixes. I’m going to try that.
For my cover band, I keep the HX stomp XL on a single amp and then have delay and reverb built in. One thing I found I like is having a switch that tweaks the amp, adding in more gain and adjusting the eq a bit, so it goes from being quite clean to edge of brake-up. I think this is the best feature of something like a modeler, it allows for tweaking the amp in a footswitch and that's something that real amps just can't replicate easily. Then I have delay, reverb and a KOT (because I don't have a real one). I also have effects pedals that include wah, fuzz and OD that I can mix and match as desired. This can cover just about everything from clean to punk/hard rock pretty well. No one in the audience will notice. I do miss moving air, so I would like to experiment with adding either FR/FR or maybe even an amp where I just use the power amp of the amp and the pre-amp is HX with no cab sim.
Gigged with an Axe FX2 for 10 years. Very early on I realised just using one amp and speaker model was the best way to go. Ended up using a Marshall model set super clean and then used the Axe FX’s various drives for gain stages. Certainly wasn’t how I envisaged using it when I first bought it, but it worked for me. Gives a consistent sound similar to a real amp.
100% I’ve used a fractal in live settings for 10+ years and have found that darker sounding presets translate better live. I also tend to use a single preset for most of the gig with only two others dedicated to specific songs.
Totally agree John. I recently upgraded my AX8 to FM9 (the waiting list is long here in NZ). And couldn’t get the lead tone I liked. So thought what do I like in the real world - fender amp (bassman or deluxe) and either a dude or BB preamp into it. So set that up in fractal world and boom, there it is. Everything I was trying beforehand was complicated, I pretty much just use one preset with one amp /cab and switch pedals in and out. Easy… so far the sound guys seem happy.
I think it depends on what are you playing. If you are in a looser more improvisational situation it makes sense to have a global preset that you tweak accordingly during the set. Personally, since my early days of modeller use, I've been in bands that heavily rely on sequences and backing tracks (industrial rock, new wave, that stuff) so to me it always made sense to have a preset per song set to correct tempo. The main reason is that I don't have faith in my tap tempo abilities during a show and that I prefer to have a certain control of the rig instead of tucking the device in the a rack and letting it being controlled by a computer. That said I essentially use one preset, copy pasted and tempo set for each song, with minor tweaks in the snapshots (which FX i want in the clean and wether I prefer a phase or a wah for the lead); and that main preset has been tested and set in rehearsal in order to sit well with all the other things going on in the mix before getting that Copy/Paste treatment.
I set my gx-100 up by guitar used. Since each guitar has a different output, I have a Les Paul set, a Strat set, and a 335 set. Each set has it's amp and effects board, each effect switchable off and on with certain parameters assigned to expressions. When I step on a button, it just switches to another amp/pedalboard combo without it being "pre-set" to one particular combination of sounds; I'm just basically switching amps and pedalboards with outputs set for each guitar. That way, I have maximum flexibility live with multiple guitars. 3 setups, 3 guitars, can cover pretty much any song without having a million different presets. Works great for me.
I use a GX100 live, either into PA or into my amp. I have set it up as 4 pedal boards and play country rock, rockabilly, rock mostly, so no need for high gain. I use a Tele and Gretsch, and use the same fx for all of them. Overdrive/Boost/Tremelo/Slap Dly/ Medium Dly/Reverb/Boost solo. One patch for Tele into amp, one patch for Gretsch into amp, one patch for Tele into PA using Dlx Reverb amp sim, and one for Gretsch into PA with Twin Reverb amp sim. Once I set the basic tone through the GX100 to closely match the straight bypassed guitar tones it all sounded great.
I absolutely incorporate on my headrush the delay and reverb into the external expression pedal, and use the volume pedal for volume. That's a great idea. I do have where I can turn the reverb off and just use the delay on the pedal if needed.....However when playing in Church I have a whole set of tones for that and I have set up a second set list for my '70s and '80s band. Definitely good ideas in here. They're just totally different tones. The headrush is great for that.
totally agree, i believe when we 1st get a modeler we think oooh i have all these amps and sounds i can use, i use the quad cortex and i now have just 2 presets, 1 is what i call my multi purpose clean to crunch scenes on the top row then add in effects in stomp mode on the bottom row. my other preset is my metal one, all high gain with also a clean in the same set up
Great video. I was gifted a Headrush Gigboard, and I’ve incorporated it into my pedalboard for use with an amplifier or for silent stage. The Gigboard is basically there for modulation and delays, controlled by an expression pedal, I’m still using my stomp boxes for my drives. When I use the amp, there’s no amp or cab simulator patches, and another bank set up for amp less gigs
I am one of those psychos that have a preset per song on my Helix🤣 I like being able to use all the different amps/cabs, like the challenge of making the different tones and keeping them same volumes, and also I run the band’s lights via snapshots and MIDI
I’m a church player live and I have two presets: one when I’m the only electric or I’m playing lead and one for when I’m the 2nd/rhythm electric. The difference is the rhythm patch has darker cabinets so it’s got its own EQ space. Variety comes from different drives, effects, and of course the parts. But the amp/cab are always the same. I tend to pick one guitar for the set and lately I’ve used a Drop pedal if there are wild swings in key/vibe or specific parts have to be in a lower range. For recording or playing around at home, I’ll do a lot more different sounds.
I have a Quad Cortex I’m happy with, but this sounds really lush. Those effects are beautiful. I had three presets for playing live. A 40 song set list. All but two songs were done with eight scenes in the same preset. Two songs required their own preset.
Interesting....sort of yes and no from me. I do tend to have different presets for different songs (or groups of) but this is mainly because I'm controlling the patches on a couple of other pedals in this way from the HX Stomp (guitar synth and Cloudburst). The standard rig on the Stomp is, however, almost exactly the same so the basic sound stays the same. Absolutely agree on the value of having reverb and delay mix on an expression pedal, that was a big game changer for me.
Absolutely agree - I go with a 4 snapshot thing using basically 1 preset for a whole 2 hour covers/function band thing. Expression pedal controlling delay mix, snapshot 1: clean (ish), 2: crunchy/breakup, 3: full drive, 4: full drive but louder for solos. So so easy and 1 IR for everything! Pod Go BTW.
When I first got a Kemper, I made presets for every song. That eventually changed reusing previously-made presets. After a couple of years of playing live a couple of times a week, I discovered that I really only use 4-5 presets: Clean, crunch, drive, lead, and one that is setup for dotted eighth note stuff.
When I first got a Kemper, I did something similar, as I had delay set up with the BPM - but that was an originals band so the sets were normally only like 5 or 6 songs so it was manageable ha!
Interesting video. I completely agree with the "less is more" approach. Live you only need a few sounds to get through 99,99% of the gigs (if you are playing 1-2 genre of music). I find out that more than a mix for the reverb-delay, for me, a volume pedal (linear, not log, to have fine control over the volume, I don't do swells) is a must, after the drive section to control the overall volume, leaving the volume pot on the guitar to control the overall gain of the drive section. An other essential pedal for me, is a simple boss ge-7: I use to find my place in the mix and/or to tame unruly amps.
Thanks for the video. As someone who is looking to take the plunge from amps to modelers (HX Stomp) for live use, but hasn't quite worked up the courage yet, I find these very helpful.
I have no option but to run a preset per song on my Quad Cortex. The reason being we have to play a lot of cover songs and the entire band (, two guitars and a bass) are running of lf one QC. 8 scenes are used to control sound for different sections in the songs.
I had the best result live by having basic reverb, chorus, and delay, both individually switchable (on and off), and feeding into a stereo volume pedal( in full wet mix) returning to a separate amp, and by working the pedal could easily adjust the amount of effect return in real time. Now all I have to figure out is how to have a pedal carrying out a "balance" function from two separate inputs (one clean, the other distorted). Initial experiments allowed me to have any degree of either input delivered to the final amp and speakers... clean moving to edge of breakup, and with the pedal down getting full driven sound. I was sort of able to get continuous degrees of breakup or clean by using a volume pedal, but ideally I would need to have an actual virtual balance knob from a suitable pot in a modified volume pedal. Having this would mean any degree of clean to driven, and continuous degree of effect wet/dry mix. I have been able to sort of get this going but would need the proper set up in the altered volume pedal to have it exactly as I wanted. Experiments continue in basic analog form to this end, but some initial results are exciting🎸
Working as a covers duo with backing tracks for drums bass and sometimes keyboards doing mainly 70’s to 90’s I find it no stress having a preset for each song. Had a Helix for the last six years and currently working on my just received FM9. Jumping from 3 Doors Down “Here Without You” to Led Zeplin “Rock & Roll or Bryan Adam’s Run to You I think it worth the effort recreating the essence of the song. Until I got my Helix only a few people would comment on our sound, now after most night managers come up along with many of the audience saying how great we sound. So I think it’s well worth the effort. I just wish the FM9 could bank up and down each preset and have scenes for that song loaded. I know it can do it but it’s not one of the options on the standard layout. If you could show me in a video the FM9 switches set up as the Helix it would save two foot taps ant the end of each song and 3 when you get to the end of the 5 patches. Thanks for your videos you are a magnificent player. Luckily I just play covers ha ha. Mike
I agree your live presets should be as minimalistic as possible. Unfortunately as I am playing covers, where I am often covering keyboard parts as well as guitar my set up can never be simple. So I have a mixture of presets some purely song related others which can cover a wide variation of scenarios. I try to maintain a limited number of amps and only one stereo cab mix to minimise issues for front of house though.
One thing that people forget about sometimes is that if you use your full-blown helix. You can press the edit button on your foot switch and then pick your fact and use the values button and the volume pedal to quickly adjust your sound. So if you don’t have all your presets, set up with the foot switch on the reverb ideas. Who cares just hit the edit mode and that way and then hold it down and it’ll save it
If I was playing in a wedding band or a cover band (I'm not), I'd need many more tones depending on the variety and range of music covered. For classic rock, I prefer single channel tube amps; I set it to where I can dial back the guitar volume to clean it up, and I use a Source Audio EQ2 pedal in front for a lead tone. For my multi channel amps, for prog, fusion, thrash/metal, I usually use my HX-FX in 4CM and also control the amp channels. My multi channel amps have at least three channels: clean, rhythm and lead; and I have a patch in the HX-FX for each that lets me change the amp channel when I change the HX-FX patch. For cleans, I usually have comp, pitch, clean boost, chorus, and delay; rhythm is dry, but I usually have comp, EQ, OD, an delay; the lead channel usually has dist, chorus, phaser, and a few different delays. I rarely use reverb.
Really great video John. I too thought at first the Schon patch was a bit dark, but that tone will definitely come off brighter at concert levels, especially at the giant venues hes playing. Thats always something to remember when building patches, your fletcher mundson affect.... louder always is perceived as brighter. As for using presets PER SONG.... I have done this for years, on Helix that is. Im a church player so typically 5 songs a service. Since I like to change things up often, Ill play an AC30 ish tone one week, and go to a Plexi the next, I will copy/paste my AC30 preset to 5 slots in chronological order, rename them to the songs names, and set the tempos. Then as Im working through the set at home during the week I can adjust amp gain, tone stack, wet effects on an as needed basis, but maintain the core tone for each song. I have about a dozen different core amp tones all saved this way so I can literally change week to week what amp/cab I want, but my core rig is intact for each and all im having to "program" is song name and tempo. Im one of those guys who likes to really dial in each song but I do agree it can be a pain sometimes if you dont have a great workflow setup, but I dont like tap dancing live. I like to tap one switch and the next song loads, all verb, delay, and drives recalled for the intro of the next song. I also fully understand why many folks like to just tap dance and play THEIR rig as it is each week. Value in that as well....
When I was using a Helix, I have not even once been switching presets live. And yes, I'm doing functional gigs (requiring at least a good assortment of sounds), too.
Yup. Simple, flexible preset for the win! I choose between several presets (what amp I feel like playing that night with whatever guitar I pick), but then just use that one preset for the whole gig.
In my cover band (Beatles, Stones, Fleetwood Mac, SRV type songs), I'm using a Line 6 Helix LT with one preset. I'm using two amps (Soldano Clean and the new Marshall 2203 for OD's) both into one cabinet block - Mesa 4x12 Vintage 30 and Marshall 4x12 Greenback. My top row are four snapshots: two clean / two OD. The bottom are effects: solo / volume boost, OCD pedal, octave fuzz, and harmonizer. I have compressor, EQ, reverb, delay, and chorus that are not switchable and assigned to the snapshots. I would loose my mind if I had a preset for each song! Like John said, if you're playing 30-40 songs per gig, that way to complex for me. Here's my approach - KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid)! Thanks John!
It’s been YEARS since I played live, but when I did it was in a church band context. It was in the earlier days of modeling. So I was using a Pod XT Live and later a Pod HD400. Back then I had a separate preset for every song. Partially because I was trying to cover multiple styles depending on what song we were playing. But if I had to do it all over again I’d just treat the modeler like a pedal board. Roll with one preset with a defined sound… Just like you would in a real amp and pedalboard scenario.
Jon, really interesting video. I have experimented with both global presets to do everything and recently the preset-per-song approach too. Just to say that I think there is a place for both. I think it depends on what role you are playing in the band as to which one works best. If I am leading the band and singing particularly if I have other things to think about like triggering backing tracks and pads etc then having scenes/snapshots for verse chorus bridge can really give me less to think about at my feet and help me to multi-task better. Other scenarios where this approach can work well are if you have a very defined show night after night where it’s possible to dial in the tone changes for specific parts you are playing so that they are always consistent. However , I find that the one-patch-for-all approach is much better if I am a side man guitarist with more flexibility over what I am playing or more in a more improvisational context. However even here I tend to find I might need a couple of patches as I run out of processing power to have all the options I would need on one patch alone.
I run a pretty simple setup. Iridium stays on the same settings unless I need a completely crystal clean, then I have a Fender loaded up on the favorite switch. I turn on auxiliary delays and effects from a stomp as the song demands. I have a preset per song, but mostly that's for bpm, sometimes special effects if called for.
I use a Helix in a David Bowie tribute act...so I need a wide range of different sounds. Therefore I find it easier to use presets with snapshots for songs that require their own unique sounds. Saying that, I've only got 8 presets for the whole 2 hrs show, as all the early stuff that had Mick Ronson, just needs the one preset. Works for me .
For me a mixture of approach works best. For most of a gig, 1 preset that looks like a main pedalboard + clean/dirty/solo snapshots will do. However, some songs are so different and/or have loads of changes that they need a preset to themselves and several snapshots too. Overall though I only use a few different amps throughout and more important stick to the same IR for everything. It makes mixing so much simpler.
Thanks for the helpful video. I’ve used a Helix Floor at church for years and had generally (if I had the time) programmed a separate Preset for each song with Snapshots for each section - usually because things were so specific to each song. However lately I’ve had some success with a single Marshal Preset with clean and overdriven Snapshots and additional effects to use in pedalboard mode. Also I just sold my usual “club gig” amp and removed nearly all my individual pedals from my board and put a HX Stomp XL on my it. I was already using EIMs so having the stage amp was counterproductive. Using the HX Stomp pedalboard for first time live this weekend. Should be quite interesting.
On my zoom g3n and g3xn I make up 3 presets per guitar. Every so often I will create a preset for a song or when the unit is being fed from an external pedal like the EHX B9.
I never understood why just because you can use everything in the box why would you make it so complicated. I run my modeller as simple and as close to how a normal live guitar rig would be run. For the past 50 or so years you didnt see great bands swap an amp every song or completely change everything on the fly. No. You get a good live sound and just use it. More playing and less tinkering.
What a small world, I was just reading about how Page used an ARP into wah for Custard Pie and wondering if it could be done with AxeFXIII and bam, your showing a Govan synth into wah. I wonder if the synth module gives you envelope filter control. Also just want to say this sold me on Fractal, the bar has been raised!
Hey Jonathan. Interesting video. Not something people talk about enough I reckon. IE how to use modelers in a practical way when you leave the bedroom. I play originals and covers in two totally different bands. The covers band is a Naughties Tribute and I can set up like this no problem. But for the originals band, where I’m the songwriter, only guitar player and singer in a 3 piece alternative band it has to be a preset per song and snapshots for each song part. The reason I say that is I think originals may require more creativity in certain genres. Lastly, I actually think a midi loop switching pedal board with an amp sim pedal as an alternative to a modeler is actually a better solution to the setup that you’re going for here. You get the same simplicity but with knobs for everything right there on the floor. Just a thought. Really enjoy your vids. Completely unaffected and straight to the point. And you are some player
When I first got started with my HX Stomp, I was building presets for Fender, Vox and Marshall amps, and for each, I had variations based upon which modulation I might need. I ended up with a lot of presets to manage. And, during a gig, I would sometimes select the wrong preset for the song. Very frustrating. For a while, I seperated the amps from the HX Stomp by using a ToneX in the fx loop of the Stomp. This allowed me to have presets per modulation without regard for the amp. But I got alittle burned out by the endless searching for the "best" amp captures for my needs, and have (for now) removed the ToneX form my board. Now, I have the amps back in the HX Stomp, and my modulations are seperated from the HX Stomp presets - they are in an HX One. I am enjoying the amps in the Stomp, managing fewer presets, and less likely that I might select the wrong preset. I use a MIDI controller to select amps (presets) in the Stomp, to select modulations in the HX One, and to switch between levels of reverb, turn delaye on/off, etc.
The only time I've been able to get a preset per song to work is when I basically use the same preset and just make small tweaks and use Set List just makes the song section easier to navigate.
thats exactly the way it should be done imho. Same core tone each preset with minor adjustments to tone stack and wet effects as needed. Keeps level consistent and keeps your core tone congruent throughout a set.
I do set up per song patches on Helix due to tempos of delays, and also idiot proofing my snapshots. But I do it all based on one preset. So a base tone, that gets fitted to a song.
Kurt Ballou of Converge, and GodCity studios uses Helix preamps for high gain. If its good enough for him, its good enough for me. Loved your video of the helix keeping up with the fridman ir x(tube preamp). Its gonna have to sound super extra good for me to spend anymore money
I saw on a gig rundown I watched yesterday him briefly showing it - turns out I had the same instinct a few years back when I tried to figure out how to play it!
@@johnnathancordy That one’s dogged me since the early eighties. But for the cracking the code stuff it would still be an impossibility. Happy New Year, brother! 🕊
We do covers so having one preset per song is kinda necessary to get close to the original tones. I find it quite easy to setup a preset for each song which can easily bring in a boost, modulation or anything else. I’ve never felt that I had too much or too little reverb or delay at a gig. I do agree with the premise though, keep it as simple as possible.
Hahahaha KISS!!! Analog forever man. An amp, 5 pedals and fingers is all you need. I do more tones with my tone and volume knobs and pickup switch than most modelers in a given night and no high cut because the speakers do it naturally.
I run a preset per song on my Helix but the core amp, cab and drives are always the same. I do a lot of different pitch shifting that changes a lot but I also have things tweaked to optimise for different instruments and tunings
I'm not a pro and am only doing 10-14 song sets of originals with the occasional cover, but I have done loads of gigs in my life and I'd say I'm sort of middle ground on this. I usually build a preset per song, but I only use two amp models and tend to use the same couple of drive models. Usually the biggest differences are specific delay and reverb settings. I also like to have the names of the songs as presets so when I'm calling off songs at rehearsal I can just step through presets if I get stuck on what to play next.
Thanks a lot for this video. Very enlightening How about you implement some of these ideas in your helix live cover presets folder ? That would be lovely ;-)
I used to program a preset per song with my kemper, but it was a church gig so 5 or 6 songs per Sunday. I liked doing that to program the tempo of the delays to the tempo of the song, but I got bored of having the delay match the tempo of the song 😂
I have presets that can do multiple songs and I have presets for specific songs. In a cover band that do about 45 songs a night and use maybe 30 presets. Most of those are based off the same building blocks with slight tweaks. Management is not difficult at all since we use bandhelper and as a song is called midi pulls up the correct preset.
I think the thing that is scaring me from switching to a full modeler is the absence of stage sound. I played a gig with a couple of bands from out of town at a local venue that seats about 200-300 people and they all use some sort of modelers and had all their bass guitar on tracks and while it sounded “ok” It felt like something was off when they played. Is there a case to be made for running a real cab with the modeler or an frfr cab and which one would you use?
I tried doing a 'one preset to rule them to all' on my FM3 and I've tried individual presents per song. I much prefer the latter. It's way more fun to dial in, I never run out of CPU, I never have issues with drops in signal, and I can have whatever amp or effect I want based on the song. If I'm covering a massive variety of bands in an evening and I have a massive variety of amps and gear to choose from-which to me is the whole point of a digital unit-why would I not use them? They're never perfectly dialed in, but neither would a single preset. If I were playing a blues gig or a jazz gig or a pop gig, yeah, that makes sense. But if I need virtually every tone from every era and even genre, one preset on an FM3 is not gonna be enough. I'm gonna have to make a load of compromises for no reason other than... it's inconvenient.
Always interesting to see other people's signal chains especially professionals. Cool to see a lot of players keeping things relatively simple...except Guthrie lolol. Of course he's gonna be out in left field. Bet it sounds great though.
I heard you mention that you had a specific Preset for “Shut Up and Dance”. I have access to all your Google Drive Helix Presets. Is that in there somewhere? Thanks!
John - killer tone and playing. Neil Schon is one of my fave solo guitar players. Can you transfer this Neil Scho patch into a Helix patch so we too can use it and love it? And then put it in the folder online? Thanks for all you do. Keep it up. Love all your videos mate
Dang….12K seems high on that cab hi/low pass filter to me…I usually run an 80/6K filter on the cab. I also only use 2 presets for a 4 hour gig. 1 preset for all but 3 songs.
I find that most of us shouldn't need 5+ blocks just to get a decent base tone. People love to go nuts with pre and post EQs, end-of-chain compressors, stacking drives, barely noticeable room reverbs, etc but IME it's really not necessary for live. Spend your time getting the right amp + cab/IR set as close to your ideal sound as possible, then make very small adjustments from there if you need to. Especially for live use, this more closely approximates what you'd get from a real mic'ed amp on a stage.
I always look forward to your videos. I learn a lot and love hearing you play! The topic of this video is timely for me. I’m new to the FM9 / Axe-FX iii. I setup an expression pedal to control the input gain for reverb / delays. What a great way to control and shape your sound! What PRS guitar are you playing in this video?
So quick dumb question since I don't own an AXE "yet"... Normally presets are COMPLETELY FN USELESS unless you got the correct impulse response tied to them as that is the majority of the tone. Do these presets come with the correct cabs? Or is that that something that the artists didn't bother to include?
if one is switching presets song after song, the work it requires to level set to each one would be a pain in the ass. In the heat of a gig, there isn't a lot of time to be twirling knobs and lowering and raising levels unless they are minimal adjustments after setup
I was surprised to find out how much Distortion Guthrie had on his rhythm preset considering he doesnt sound so heavy live. I guess he controls is a lot more with the volume control on the guitar.
My approach as well. Just because you can have insanely complex presets doesn’t mean you should. Less is more live. This is why the digs on TMP I don’t get.
I think because the marketing pitch talks about it being the most powerful etc but it doesn't really shake out that way? Other serious questions have been raised about the accuracy of the modeling too I suppose
@@johnnathancordy@johnnathancordy I'ver found that if my patches get too complex they are much harder to adjust live if something isn't sounding right. How many times do you get everything dialed in at home and when you get to the gig you're standing there scratching your head wondering why you sound like ... lol
The effect of volume on perception of "tone" is incredibly important.
Absolutely, our ears have different frequency response at different volume levels .....
I’ve been following you for a while now. And I just wanted to say… Your opening jam sessions have inspired me to stop just noodling, which I do frequently because I get so busy in life… and start actually playing. Last night I threw together a simple loop in Ableton and before I knew it an hour had passed. Going to start doing that regularly, and recording everything. Anyway, just wanted to say thanks. Love your videos and your playing.
Your channel is an inspiration to me. Wood paneling background and some random lamp that's not even on. Sometimes it's well lit, sometimes washed out, sometimes hard lit with little fill... And the substance carries the day.
On Helix, I have the top 4 switches set to presets. They are the amp rigs I use all the time (Matchless, Gramm GSG, Marshall, and Twin Reverb). The bottom 4 switches are set to snapshots for each rig (Clean, Rhythm, OD, and Lead). So far, this setup covers everything I need; however, I have started playing with assigning delay to the expression pedal and it works great. I’m very satisfied with this setup, but would appreciate hearing how others are doing theirs. Great topic for discussion. Thanks, John!
Sounds like a perfect idea
Congrats on going over 100k mate - I only just noticed!
a few presets on tonex, about 90% of time i use only 3, dumble clean, purple plexi low gain, 5150 for hi gain,... compressor, boost, chorus, phaser, delay from Boss multieffect, ...simple but works well in cover band with 200+ songs
I play worship in churches. Need loads of atmospherics. Huge delays and reverbs at the correct tempo. Our drummer counts off on my tempo light.
I do run a preset per song which I switch through my iPad music reader app. All of them use the same cab and most the same amp block. On each song I have 3 to 4 scenes intro, verse, chorus and bridge/lead. I don''t have to think about anything but playing and switching at the right time.
Hey John. Great video as usual. Completely agree regarding useful ways you can set up modelling rig for live use. A few years back during my Kemper years I did have a preset for each song in my set. I’d also set up a basic preset with clean / crunch / lead all based on two amps. I then used stomps for modulation, filters etc. Since changing over to the Quad Cortex I have spent the last year touring using 2 Scenes based on two amps. My own Divided by 13 FTR37 capture for my cleans and a Bogner or Super Champ capture for leads.
I have pedals setup as stomps for crunch or mid lead / boost tones. Phaser / filter pre amp and stereo chorus post amp
Both scenes have reverb and delay on all the time but mix controlled with an expression pedal which is set so trails continue even after I back off the mix pedal. Kind of feels like I have an amp with stomps in front of it and studio style time effects post. All coming out of outs 1 +2 to FOH and outs 3+4 to two FRFR cabs on stage which I eq separately from 1+2. For me it’s definitely the like I have a more traditional amp , cab , pedalboard rig onstage. Getting better all the time too.
Our pop cover band has 100+ songs and I do everything in one preset loaded with effects on the FM9. It also has an acoustic scene for my piezo guitars. I seriously couldn't imagine managing 100+ presets. Maybe if the FM9 had global blocks like the AA3, it might make it feasible but it still seems to be more trouble than its worth. I need to be learning songs, not twiddling with settings.
Have you tried the song/set feature? Seems pretty straightforward. Can't wait for gapless switching on FM9 like on the AX3 though.
@@benoitquinton I have noodled with it to see how it worked but it didn't seem useful to me as it relies on using individual presets per song which I haven't found worked well for me. The gapless switching will be a nice addition. My preset is essentially gapless already. Other than the acoustic scene, I'm not changing amps or cabinets so there's no audible gap. I rely mostly on effects just like you'd have on a pedalboard.
@lanceholland You can in fact use any scene from any preset for any given song section. But hey, that's why modelers are fun (especially Fractal products). You can set it up any way you want it and it'll serves your needs. I also have a FC-12 connected to my FM3 for the exact same reason you mentioned 😀. Different gigs, different needs. Have yourself a great day mate!
@@benoitquinton Yeah...I get how it's used but I haven't found the need for it at this time. So far, I get everything I need for the 100+ songs in one preset. But, I won't say never....I will probably branch into a second (or third) copy of my all-in-one preset as we add more songs and will likely then migrate to multiple presets. When I had an FM3, I didn't have the luxury of the CPU that the FM9 affords. Back then, I had many presets and those were MIDI switched by my iPad music app. I was more to adjust as I needed to copy any changes to each preset and keep track of them. What's more important is the Global Blocks feature of the AA3 as that would make the process trivial.
You can do batch changes like global blocks within FM9 edit by right clicking on the parameter and holding shift.
Our band plays 30 hits from Kenny Chesney every night - as the only guitarist, I have songs that interchange acoustic intros, acoustic and fender rhythm, marshall plexi rhythm and lead tones, timed echoes, harmony guitar parts, even a patch that is pitch transposed a half step up, and I do it all with five patches on an HX Stomp. Each song fits into a certain style template and each patch is set up for one of these styles. Laying out all the sounds you need and then organizing the most efficient way to access and change between them is the way to go.
I found myself getting overwhelmed with all of the virtual equipment at my fingertips on the helix and all the tweaking it takes to kind of get it sounding right. John, watching you develop tones has really helped me in my development. I started taking the pedalboard approach. It has simplified my learning curve to treat it like an amp and some pedals instead of a very powerful machine. So I’ve focussed on one amp and cabinet model using Fullerton jump as a Deluxe Reverb rig. I’ve set up all my effects around that and learned some tricks from you too John. I play at church as well, but we have tended in the last number of months to show up and learn the songs on Sunday morning and try not to sound stupid. The pedalboard set up really helps on the fly like that. That said, I will program some snapshots to get multiple effects and spaces set up quickly between songs. I’ve assigned EXP1 to Volume/Wah, EXP2 to Delay Mixes, and EXP3 to Reverb mixes. I like how you assigned toe Verbs and Delay pedals to Inputs instead of Mixes. I’m going to try that.
For my cover band, I keep the HX stomp XL on a single amp and then have delay and reverb built in. One thing I found I like is having a switch that tweaks the amp, adding in more gain and adjusting the eq a bit, so it goes from being quite clean to edge of brake-up. I think this is the best feature of something like a modeler, it allows for tweaking the amp in a footswitch and that's something that real amps just can't replicate easily. Then I have delay, reverb and a KOT (because I don't have a real one). I also have effects pedals that include wah, fuzz and OD that I can mix and match as desired. This can cover just about everything from clean to punk/hard rock pretty well. No one in the audience will notice. I do miss moving air, so I would like to experiment with adding either FR/FR or maybe even an amp where I just use the power amp of the amp and the pre-amp is HX with no cab sim.
thats what i use snapshots for in the preset. to adjust the amp parameters just like having a channel switch.
Gigged with an Axe FX2 for 10 years. Very early on I realised just using one amp and speaker model was the best way to go. Ended up using a Marshall model set super clean and then used the Axe FX’s various drives for gain stages. Certainly wasn’t how I envisaged using it when I first bought it, but it worked for me. Gives a consistent sound similar to a real amp.
100% I’ve used a fractal in live settings for 10+ years and have found that darker sounding presets translate better live. I also tend to use a single preset for most of the gig with only two others dedicated to specific songs.
Totally agree John. I recently upgraded my AX8 to FM9 (the waiting list is long here in NZ). And couldn’t get the lead tone I liked. So thought what do I like in the real world - fender amp (bassman or deluxe) and either a dude or BB preamp into it. So set that up in fractal world and boom, there it is. Everything I was trying beforehand was complicated, I pretty much just use one preset with one amp /cab and switch pedals in and out. Easy… so far the sound guys seem happy.
I think it depends on what are you playing. If you are in a looser more improvisational situation it makes sense to have a global preset that you tweak accordingly during the set. Personally, since my early days of modeller use, I've been in bands that heavily rely on sequences and backing tracks (industrial rock, new wave, that stuff) so to me it always made sense to have a preset per song set to correct tempo. The main reason is that I don't have faith in my tap tempo abilities during a show and that I prefer to have a certain control of the rig instead of tucking the device in the a rack and letting it being controlled by a computer. That said I essentially use one preset, copy pasted and tempo set for each song, with minor tweaks in the snapshots (which FX i want in the clean and wether I prefer a phase or a wah for the lead); and that main preset has been tested and set in rehearsal in order to sit well with all the other things going on in the mix before getting that Copy/Paste treatment.
I set my gx-100 up by guitar used. Since each guitar has a different output, I have a Les Paul set, a Strat set, and a 335 set. Each set has it's amp and effects board, each effect switchable off and on with certain parameters assigned to expressions. When I step on a button, it just switches to another amp/pedalboard combo without it being "pre-set" to one particular combination of sounds; I'm just basically switching amps and pedalboards with outputs set for each guitar. That way, I have maximum flexibility live with multiple guitars. 3 setups, 3 guitars, can cover pretty much any song without having a million different presets. Works great for me.
I use a GX100 live, either into PA or into my amp. I have set it up as 4 pedal boards and play country rock, rockabilly, rock mostly, so no need for high gain. I use a Tele and Gretsch, and use the same fx for all of them. Overdrive/Boost/Tremelo/Slap Dly/ Medium Dly/Reverb/Boost solo. One patch for Tele into amp, one patch for Gretsch into amp, one patch for Tele into PA using Dlx Reverb amp sim, and one for Gretsch into PA with Twin Reverb amp sim. Once I set the basic tone through the GX100 to closely match the straight bypassed guitar tones it all sounded great.
I absolutely incorporate on my headrush the delay and reverb into the external expression pedal, and use the volume pedal for volume. That's a great idea. I do have where I can turn the reverb off and just use the delay on the pedal if needed.....However when playing in Church I have a whole set of tones for that and I have set up a second set list for my '70s and '80s band. Definitely good ideas in here. They're just totally different tones. The headrush is great for that.
totally agree, i believe when we 1st get a modeler we think oooh i have all these amps and sounds i can use, i use the quad cortex and i now have just 2 presets, 1 is what i call my multi purpose clean to crunch scenes on the top row then add in effects in stomp mode on the bottom row. my other preset is my metal one, all high gain with also a clean in the same set up
Great video. I was gifted a Headrush Gigboard, and I’ve incorporated it into my pedalboard for use with an amplifier or for silent stage. The Gigboard is basically there for modulation and delays, controlled by an expression pedal, I’m still using my stomp boxes for my drives. When I use the amp, there’s no amp or cab simulator patches, and another bank set up for amp less gigs
I am one of those psychos that have a preset per song on my Helix🤣 I like being able to use all the different amps/cabs, like the challenge of making the different tones and keeping them same volumes, and also I run the band’s lights via snapshots and MIDI
not all heroes wear capes
I’m a church player live and I have two presets: one when I’m the only electric or I’m playing lead and one for when I’m the 2nd/rhythm electric. The difference is the rhythm patch has darker cabinets so it’s got its own EQ space. Variety comes from different drives, effects, and of course the parts. But the amp/cab are always the same. I tend to pick one guitar for the set and lately I’ve used a Drop pedal if there are wild swings in key/vibe or specific parts have to be in a lower range.
For recording or playing around at home, I’ll do a lot more different sounds.
I have a Quad Cortex I’m happy with, but this sounds really lush. Those effects are beautiful. I had three presets for playing live. A 40 song set list. All but two songs were done with eight scenes in the same preset. Two songs required their own preset.
Interesting....sort of yes and no from me.
I do tend to have different presets for different songs (or groups of) but this is mainly because I'm controlling the patches on a couple of other pedals in this way from the HX Stomp (guitar synth and Cloudburst). The standard rig on the Stomp is, however, almost exactly the same so the basic sound stays the same.
Absolutely agree on the value of having reverb and delay mix on an expression pedal, that was a big game changer for me.
Awesome playing and appreciated the little nod to the intro of Don’t Stop Believing. That guitar fits you , it’s like an extension of you
Absolutely agree - I go with a 4 snapshot thing using basically 1 preset for a whole 2 hour covers/function band thing. Expression pedal controlling delay mix, snapshot 1: clean (ish), 2: crunchy/breakup, 3: full drive, 4: full drive but louder for solos. So so easy and 1 IR for everything! Pod Go BTW.
John I REALLY APPRECIATE those nuggets. And it makes so much sense.
When I first got a Kemper, I made presets for every song. That eventually changed reusing previously-made presets. After a couple of years of playing live a couple of times a week, I discovered that I really only use 4-5 presets: Clean, crunch, drive, lead, and one that is setup for dotted eighth note stuff.
When I first got a Kemper, I did something similar, as I had delay set up with the BPM - but that was an originals band so the sets were normally only like 5 or 6 songs so it was manageable ha!
Interesting video. I completely agree with the "less is more" approach. Live you only need a few sounds to get through 99,99% of the gigs (if you are playing 1-2 genre of music).
I find out that more than a mix for the reverb-delay, for me, a volume pedal (linear, not log, to have fine control over the volume, I don't do swells) is a must, after the drive section to control the overall volume, leaving the volume pot on the guitar to control the overall gain of the drive section.
An other essential pedal for me, is a simple boss ge-7: I use to find my place in the mix and/or to tame unruly amps.
Thanks for the video. As someone who is looking to take the plunge from amps to modelers (HX Stomp) for live use, but hasn't quite worked up the courage yet, I find these very helpful.
Analogue drives in front of hx stomp is what made it work for me
I have no option but to run a preset per song on my Quad Cortex. The reason being we have to play a lot of cover songs and the entire band (, two guitars and a bass) are running of lf one QC. 8 scenes are used to control sound for different sections in the songs.
I had the best result live by having basic reverb, chorus, and delay, both individually switchable (on and off), and feeding into a stereo volume pedal( in full wet mix) returning to a separate amp, and by working the pedal could easily adjust the amount of effect return in real time. Now all I have to figure out is how to have a pedal carrying out a "balance" function from two separate inputs (one clean, the other distorted). Initial experiments allowed me to have any degree of either input delivered to the final amp and speakers... clean moving to edge of breakup, and with the pedal down getting full driven sound. I was sort of able to get continuous degrees of breakup or clean by using a volume pedal, but ideally I would need to have an actual virtual balance knob from a suitable pot in a modified volume pedal. Having this would mean any degree of clean to driven, and continuous degree of effect wet/dry mix. I have been able to sort of get this going but would need the proper set up in the altered volume pedal to have it exactly as I wanted. Experiments continue in basic analog form to this end, but some initial results are exciting🎸
Working as a covers duo with backing tracks for drums bass and sometimes keyboards doing mainly 70’s to 90’s I find it no stress having a preset for each song. Had a Helix for the last six years and currently working on my just received FM9. Jumping from 3 Doors Down “Here Without You” to Led Zeplin “Rock & Roll or Bryan Adam’s Run to You I think it worth the effort recreating the essence of the song. Until I got my Helix only a few people would comment on our sound, now after most night managers come up along with many of the audience saying how great we sound. So I think it’s well worth the effort. I just wish the FM9 could bank up and down each preset and have scenes for that song loaded. I know it can do it but it’s not one of the options on the standard layout. If you could show me in a video the FM9 switches set up as the Helix it would save two foot taps ant the end of each song and 3 when you get to the end of the 5 patches. Thanks for your videos you are a magnificent player. Luckily I just play covers ha ha. Mike
I agree your live presets should be as minimalistic as possible. Unfortunately as I am playing covers, where I am often covering keyboard parts as well as guitar my set up can never be simple. So I have a mixture of presets some purely song related others which can cover a wide variation of scenarios. I try to maintain a limited number of amps and only one stereo cab mix to minimise issues for front of house though.
Yeh - agreed - presumably you keep core chunks of the presets the same sort of like a template and then have a few song specific versions of those?
@@johnnathancordy yes I have templates and then vary them according to needs.
Excellent video. I've only played by Ax Fx3 at home. But definitely expecting to make a cut at 5 & 7k when trying it direct to PA!
yeah every one of my Helix patches are hi cut down to 5khz, maybe 6khz on one or two clean patches. But imho that filter is needed.
One thing that people forget about sometimes is that if you use your full-blown helix. You can press the edit button on your foot switch and then pick your fact and use the values button and the volume pedal to quickly adjust your sound. So if you don’t have all your presets, set up with the foot switch on the reverb ideas. Who cares just hit the edit mode and that way and then hold it down and it’ll save it
If I was playing in a wedding band or a cover band (I'm not), I'd need many more tones depending on the variety and range of music covered.
For classic rock, I prefer single channel tube amps; I set it to where I can dial back the guitar volume to clean it up, and I use a Source Audio EQ2 pedal in front for a lead tone.
For my multi channel amps, for prog, fusion, thrash/metal, I usually use my HX-FX in 4CM and also control the amp channels. My multi channel amps have at least three channels: clean, rhythm and lead; and I have a patch in the HX-FX for each that lets me change the amp channel when I change the HX-FX patch.
For cleans, I usually have comp, pitch, clean boost, chorus, and delay; rhythm is dry, but I usually have comp, EQ, OD, an delay; the lead channel usually has dist, chorus, phaser, and a few different delays. I rarely use reverb.
Really great video John. I too thought at first the Schon patch was a bit dark, but that tone will definitely come off brighter at concert levels, especially at the giant venues hes playing. Thats always something to remember when building patches, your fletcher mundson affect.... louder always is perceived as brighter.
As for using presets PER SONG.... I have done this for years, on Helix that is. Im a church player so typically 5 songs a service. Since I like to change things up often, Ill play an AC30 ish tone one week, and go to a Plexi the next, I will copy/paste my AC30 preset to 5 slots in chronological order, rename them to the songs names, and set the tempos. Then as Im working through the set at home during the week I can adjust amp gain, tone stack, wet effects on an as needed basis, but maintain the core tone for each song. I have about a dozen different core amp tones all saved this way so I can literally change week to week what amp/cab I want, but my core rig is intact for each and all im having to "program" is song name and tempo.
Im one of those guys who likes to really dial in each song but I do agree it can be a pain sometimes if you dont have a great workflow setup, but I dont like tap dancing live. I like to tap one switch and the next song loads, all verb, delay, and drives recalled for the intro of the next song. I also fully understand why many folks like to just tap dance and play THEIR rig as it is each week. Value in that as well....
When I was using a Helix, I have not even once been switching presets live. And yes, I'm doing functional gigs (requiring at least a good assortment of sounds), too.
That expression pedal controlling the wetness of the signal is a great idea!
Yup. Simple, flexible preset for the win! I choose between several presets (what amp I feel like playing that night with whatever guitar I pick), but then just use that one preset for the whole gig.
In my cover band (Beatles, Stones, Fleetwood Mac, SRV type songs), I'm using a Line 6 Helix LT with one preset. I'm using two amps (Soldano Clean and the new Marshall 2203 for OD's) both into one cabinet block - Mesa 4x12 Vintage 30 and Marshall 4x12 Greenback. My top row are four snapshots: two clean / two OD. The bottom are effects: solo / volume boost, OCD pedal, octave fuzz, and harmonizer. I have compressor, EQ, reverb, delay, and chorus that are not switchable and assigned to the snapshots. I would loose my mind if I had a preset for each song! Like John said, if you're playing 30-40 songs per gig, that way to complex for me. Here's my approach - KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid)! Thanks John!
It’s been YEARS since I played live, but when I did it was in a church band context. It was in the earlier days of modeling. So I was using a Pod XT Live and later a Pod HD400. Back then I had a separate preset for every song. Partially because I was trying to cover multiple styles depending on what song we were playing. But if I had to do it all over again I’d just treat the modeler like a pedal board. Roll with one preset with a defined sound… Just like you would in a real amp and pedalboard scenario.
Jon, really interesting video. I have experimented with both global presets to do everything and recently the preset-per-song approach too. Just to say that I think there is a place for both. I think it depends on what role you are playing in the band as to which one works best. If I am leading the band and singing particularly if I have other things to think about like triggering backing tracks and pads etc then having scenes/snapshots for verse chorus bridge can really give me less to think about at my feet and help me to multi-task better. Other scenarios where this approach can work well are if you have a very defined show night after night where it’s possible to dial in the tone changes for specific parts you are playing so that they are always consistent. However , I find that the one-patch-for-all approach is much better if I am a side man guitarist with more flexibility over what I am playing or more in a more improvisational context. However even here I tend to find I might need a couple of patches as I run out of processing power to have all the options I would need on one patch alone.
I run a pretty simple setup. Iridium stays on the same settings unless I need a completely crystal clean, then I have a Fender loaded up on the favorite switch. I turn on auxiliary delays and effects from a stomp as the song demands. I have a preset per song, but mostly that's for bpm, sometimes special effects if called for.
I enjoy these longer videos! And that prs sounds so good when you play it, cheers and happy new years from TX
I use a Helix in a David Bowie tribute act...so I need a wide range of different sounds. Therefore I find it easier to use presets with snapshots for songs that require their own unique sounds. Saying that, I've only got 8 presets for the whole 2 hrs show, as all the early stuff that had Mick Ronson, just needs the one preset. Works for me .
Very nice to hear you shred a bit 🤘🏻
You're channel is pure gold btw 🙏🏻
"Hey I know that melody"
"Hey I know that little riff"
Awesome playing as always 🙌
For me a mixture of approach works best. For most of a gig, 1 preset that looks like a main pedalboard + clean/dirty/solo snapshots will do.
However, some songs are so different and/or have loads of changes that they need a preset to themselves and several snapshots too.
Overall though I only use a few different amps throughout and more important stick to the same IR for everything. It makes mixing so much simpler.
Thanks for the helpful video. I’ve used a Helix Floor at church for years and had generally (if I had the time) programmed a separate Preset for each song with Snapshots for each section - usually because things were so specific to each song. However lately I’ve had some success with a single Marshal Preset with clean and overdriven Snapshots and additional effects to use in pedalboard mode. Also I just sold my usual “club gig” amp and removed nearly all my individual pedals from my board and put a HX Stomp XL on my it. I was already using EIMs so having the stage amp was counterproductive. Using the HX Stomp pedalboard for first time live this weekend. Should be quite interesting.
Nice, this JVM scene setup would be awesome to have on the helix. Sounds wonderful!
On my zoom g3n and g3xn I make up 3 presets per guitar.
Every so often I will create a preset for a song or when the unit is being fed from an external pedal like the EHX B9.
Production Quality of the backing tracks a lot better now... 🔥🔥🔥
I never understood why just because you can use everything in the box why would you make it so complicated. I run my modeller as simple and as close to how a normal live guitar rig would be run. For the past 50 or so years you didnt see great bands swap an amp every song or completely change everything on the fly. No. You get a good live sound and just use it. More playing and less tinkering.
I have one main kitchen sink preset, one similar one dialled in for 7 strings, and then a couple for songs that have super specific tones/effects!
Lol at the Christmas shirt still popping through under the sweater. I hope you've just been wearing them for a week
What a small world, I was just reading about how Page used an ARP into wah for Custard Pie and wondering if it could be done with AxeFXIII and bam, your showing a Govan synth into wah. I wonder if the synth module gives you envelope filter control. Also just want to say this sold me on Fractal, the bar has been raised!
Hey Jonathan. Interesting video. Not something people talk about enough I reckon. IE how to use modelers in a practical way when you leave the bedroom.
I play originals and covers in two totally different bands. The covers band is a Naughties Tribute and I can set up like this no problem. But for the originals band, where I’m the songwriter, only guitar player and singer in a 3 piece alternative band it has to be a preset per song and snapshots for each song part. The reason I say that is I think originals may require more creativity in certain genres.
Lastly, I actually think a midi loop switching pedal board with an amp sim pedal as an alternative to a modeler is actually a better solution to the setup that you’re going for here. You get the same simplicity but with knobs for everything right there on the floor. Just a thought.
Really enjoy your vids. Completely unaffected and straight to the point. And you are some player
When I first got started with my HX Stomp, I was building presets for Fender, Vox and Marshall amps, and for each, I had variations based upon which modulation I might need. I ended up with a lot of presets to manage. And, during a gig, I would sometimes select the wrong preset for the song. Very frustrating. For a while, I seperated the amps from the HX Stomp by using a ToneX in the fx loop of the Stomp. This allowed me to have presets per modulation without regard for the amp. But I got alittle burned out by the endless searching for the "best" amp captures for my needs, and have (for now) removed the ToneX form my board. Now, I have the amps back in the HX Stomp, and my modulations are seperated from the HX Stomp presets - they are in an HX One. I am enjoying the amps in the Stomp, managing fewer presets, and less likely that I might select the wrong preset. I use a MIDI controller to select amps (presets) in the Stomp, to select modulations in the HX One, and to switch between levels of reverb, turn delaye on/off, etc.
The only time I've been able to get a preset per song to work is when I basically use the same preset and just make small tweaks and use Set List just makes the song section easier to navigate.
thats exactly the way it should be done imho. Same core tone each preset with minor adjustments to tone stack and wet effects as needed. Keeps level consistent and keeps your core tone congruent throughout a set.
My dream in 2024 is you'll try the Valeton GP-200 range. I sold my HX Stomp and the thing I miss the most about it is your Lonestar lead preset.
I do set up per song patches on Helix due to tempos of delays, and also idiot proofing my snapshots. But I do it all based on one preset. So a base tone, that gets fitted to a song.
Kurt Ballou of Converge, and GodCity studios uses Helix preamps for high gain. If its good enough for him, its good enough for me.
Loved your video of the helix keeping up with the fridman ir x(tube preamp).
Its gonna have to sound super extra good for me to spend anymore money
Nice Schon DSB intro quote. Was pretty psyched for the GOT. 🤙🏼
I saw on a gig rundown I watched yesterday him briefly showing it - turns out I had the same instinct a few years back when I tried to figure out how to play it!
@@johnnathancordy That one’s dogged me since the early eighties. But for the cracking the code stuff it would still be an impossibility. Happy New Year, brother! 🕊
Excellent episode!
Expression pedal for delay/reverb is a must for playing live
We do covers so having one preset per song is kinda necessary to get close to the original tones. I find it quite easy to setup a preset for each song which can easily bring in a boost, modulation or anything else. I’ve never felt that I had too much or too little reverb or delay at a gig. I do agree with the premise though, keep it as simple as possible.
Hahahaha KISS!!! Analog forever man. An amp, 5 pedals and fingers is all you need. I do more tones with my tone and volume knobs and pickup switch than most modelers in a given night and no high cut because the speakers do it naturally.
I run a preset per song on my Helix but the core amp, cab and drives are always the same. I do a lot of different pitch shifting that changes a lot but I also have things tweaked to optimise for different instruments and tunings
I'm not a pro and am only doing 10-14 song sets of originals with the occasional cover, but I have done loads of gigs in my life and I'd say I'm sort of middle ground on this. I usually build a preset per song, but I only use two amp models and tend to use the same couple of drive models. Usually the biggest differences are specific delay and reverb settings. I also like to have the names of the songs as presets so when I'm calling off songs at rehearsal I can just step through presets if I get stuck on what to play next.
Thanks a lot for this video. Very enlightening How about you implement some of these ideas in your helix live cover presets folder ? That would be lovely ;-)
I used to program a preset per song with my kemper, but it was a church gig so 5 or 6 songs per Sunday. I liked doing that to program the tempo of the delays to the tempo of the song, but I got bored of having the delay match the tempo of the song 😂
I have presets that can do multiple songs and I have presets for specific songs. In a cover band that do about 45 songs a night and use maybe 30 presets. Most of those are based off the same building blocks with slight tweaks. Management is not difficult at all since we use bandhelper and as a song is called midi pulls up the correct preset.
Liked the Neal Schon quadruplet.
I think the thing that is scaring me from switching to a full modeler is the absence of stage sound. I played a gig with a couple of bands from out of town at a local venue that seats about 200-300 people and they all use some sort of modelers and had all their bass guitar on tracks and while it sounded “ok” It felt like something was off when they played. Is there a case to be made for running a real cab with the modeler or an frfr cab and which one would you use?
Gorgeous guitar there mate 😍
Let’s all pull together and get John some lighting. 😆
I tried doing a 'one preset to rule them to all' on my FM3 and I've tried individual presents per song. I much prefer the latter. It's way more fun to dial in, I never run out of CPU, I never have issues with drops in signal, and I can have whatever amp or effect I want based on the song. If I'm covering a massive variety of bands in an evening and I have a massive variety of amps and gear to choose from-which to me is the whole point of a digital unit-why would I not use them? They're never perfectly dialed in, but neither would a single preset. If I were playing a blues gig or a jazz gig or a pop gig, yeah, that makes sense. But if I need virtually every tone from every era and even genre, one preset on an FM3 is not gonna be enough. I'm gonna have to make a load of compromises for no reason other than... it's inconvenient.
Always interesting to see other people's signal chains especially professionals. Cool to see a lot of players keeping things relatively simple...except Guthrie lolol. Of course he's gonna be out in left field. Bet it sounds great though.
I heard you mention that you had a specific Preset for “Shut Up and Dance”. I have access to all your Google Drive Helix Presets. Is that in there somewhere? Thanks!
Can you explain further about the Global eq setting? I have it off in my boss gx100 bec i dont know what it is
Sounds like Mateus 😮😮 killin it Jon
John - killer tone and playing. Neil Schon is one of my fave solo guitar players. Can you transfer this Neil Scho patch into a Helix patch so we too can use it and love it? And then put it in the folder online? Thanks for all you do. Keep it up. Love all your videos mate
Dang….12K seems high on that cab hi/low pass filter to me…I usually run an 80/6K filter on the cab. I also only use 2 presets for a 4 hour gig. 1 preset for all but 3 songs.
I just use my Boss Katana.
I find that most of us shouldn't need 5+ blocks just to get a decent base tone.
People love to go nuts with pre and post EQs, end-of-chain compressors, stacking drives, barely noticeable room reverbs, etc but IME it's really not necessary for live.
Spend your time getting the right amp + cab/IR set as close to your ideal sound as possible, then make very small adjustments from there if you need to. Especially for live use, this more closely approximates what you'd get from a real mic'ed amp on a stage.
John, in general, could I apply similar models with the same concepts and settings with my HX Stomp? Or is it vastly different?
I always look forward to your videos. I learn a lot and love hearing you play! The topic of this video is timely for me. I’m new to the FM9 / Axe-FX iii. I setup an expression pedal to control the input gain for reverb / delays. What a great way to control and shape your sound! What PRS guitar are you playing in this video?
I’m assuming this is all designed to feed the PA/Front of house?
So quick dumb question since I don't own an AXE "yet"... Normally presets are COMPLETELY FN USELESS unless you got the correct impulse response tied to them as that is the majority of the tone. Do these presets come with the correct cabs? Or is that that something that the artists didn't bother to include?
The Gift of Tone presets include was is needed yeh!
yup! I couldn't agree more!
if one is switching presets song after song, the work it requires to level set to each one would be a pain in the ass. In the heat of a gig, there isn't a lot of time to be twirling knobs and lowering and raising levels unless they are minimal adjustments after setup
Great playing as always ("that" riff :))
What reverb was he using?
Uncomfortable with the tag of ‘RUclipsr’ John prefers to see himself as a chilled out entertainer.
Lol😂
He actually prefers “RUclips-bro”
Has he passed his modeler programming test? He gives the test
I was surprised to find out how much Distortion Guthrie had on his rhythm preset considering he doesnt sound so heavy live. I guess he controls is a lot more with the volume control on the guitar.
My approach as well. Just because you can have insanely complex presets doesn’t mean you should. Less is more live. This is why the digs on TMP I don’t get.
I think because the marketing pitch talks about it being the most powerful etc but it doesn't really shake out that way? Other serious questions have been raised about the accuracy of the modeling too I suppose
@@johnnathancordy@johnnathancordy I'ver found that if my patches get too complex they are much harder to adjust live if something isn't sounding right. How many times do you get everything dialed in at home and when you get to the gig you're standing there scratching your head wondering why you sound like ... lol
On my helix I stick with one amp/cab patch multiple snapshots.
Nice Neal Schon riff!