[1]

Is there a quick and dirty way to disable the gain from every channel? I've been going back and forth, and I think that for general playing I'm going to stick with it in effects only mode (in the loop), and use the amp/cab sims for direct recording.

When I'm flipping through patches, I obviously don't want to add gain to a gain channel on the Roadster. Are you guys who do this just editing every patch as you go, or is there a global off switch, so to speak?

The amp/cab sims all sound great, but I'm simple, and I really love the sound of the Roadster through _my_ cab more than anything else.

 

[Professor Squidbeard]

each effect should be put in at unity gain. so you shouldn't have to change the gain at all.

 

[1]

I'm not following you. If I have the AFX in the loop, and I have the Roadster on Channel 3 (high gain), and I switch the loop on, the AFX will recognize that there's a wall of gain coming at it and not add any? For example if I switch to "Screaming Recto", which is a patch with gobs of distortion, it won't double-distort the signal?

[action=Chris]is not in front of it right now[/action]

Edit: Basically, I want to be able to twirl through all of the neat AFX presets, but without any distortion on them since my amp is either supplying it (if I'm on Ch3/4) or is not (If I'm on 1/2). I'd like to be able to apply all of the effects in the presets to any one of the channels on the Roadster, clean or dirty (Like JJ's mom).

 

[1]

JJ got me sorted again. What I'm looking to do is globally turn off the amp models, which it doesn't seem as though I can do.

However :idea: I have a solution full of goodness. I'll just use the MIDI dump to make different builds of how I have my amp cabled up. I can go through each patch once (while drinking), and turn off all of the amp models and voila, I have my "Loop" Build. Then if I want to switch to 4CM, I can just dump the stock build back on with the amp models enabled, and turn the sims back on. :yesway:

 

[Soopahmahn]

Dude, read this for sure - I didn't think about it too hard, but as I recall you do have a MIDI controller and this might present an easier option for you. Specifically, read the section on Control Configuration, especially the Global Bypass option.

Axe-Fx Wiki Manual - I/O Configuration

 

[Professor Squidbeard]

haha, man, the way you describe things is alien to me sometimes. I don't use presets so that is probably why it doesn't make sense to me. Every patch i have i build from a blank screen. So for me, if you don't want an amp or cab block in the patch, you just don't add one. then all you have is the direct signal hitting whatever effects blocks you built.

 

[darren]

I always find it interesting when people uses multi-effect units in "pedal" mode... to me, that almost defeats the purpose of having a multi-effect box. The true power of multi-effects is in patch mode, in my opinion.

 

[Professor Squidbeard]

I always find it interesting when people uses multi-effect units in "pedal" mode... to me, that almost defeats the purpose of having a multi-effect box. The true power of multi-effects is in patch mode, in my opinion.

i prefer the hybrid approach. i have my main patch with all my effects and such and then i have the pedal mode so i can turn my dealy on or off, then other patches after that, that are very different. For me, why have a whole new patch with the delay block turned on or off when that all i need for that single patch. for other stuff, yeah, new patch time.

 

[Soopahmahn]

^ Definitely what I plan to do when I get that part figured out. 5 patches should suffice for all the noise I need to make, with up to 5 on/off switches to modify or add certain things if I feel like being creative or something isn't working right.

 

[Vince]

To be perfectly frank Chris, I'm not a big fan of the stock presets for metal. Most of them like the Master of Puppets one or the Petrucci one have way too many effects on them and sound really odd.

Good rhythm guitar patches should not have phasers, reverb, and exciters on them. OD in front, amp, EQ (if needed), cab. Then tweak it until you sound like God.

You're not losing a whole bunch by killing the amp block in each preset. There are two ways you can do it, either re-assign the amp block as a shunt or you can just bypass the amp block entirely. Just make sure if you're bypassing it, you set the amp block bypass to through instead of mute, otherwise you'll wonder where your sound went.

 

[darren]

i prefer the hybrid approach. i have my main patch with all my effects and such and then i have the pedal mode so i can turn my dealy on or off, then other patches after that, that are very different. For me, why have a whole new patch with the delay block turned on or off when that all i need for that single patch. for other stuff, yeah, new patch time.

True, i guess i use sort of a hybrid approach myself on my GT-6. Almost every patch i write has an "alternate" sound built into it where i use the GT-6's "assign" parameters to change a bunch of stuff in the patch with one step of the "CTL" pedal... turning on a delay, boosting gain, changing the type of distortion box, etc. If i didn't have that ability, i'd have to write twice as many patches as i do.

Can the AFX work like that, where within one patch you can just stomp on one pedal and it changes multiple parameters at once?

 

[22]

Hmmm....sort of. It's real easy to set up an Instant Access button (which are on the majority of MIDI controllers) to turn off one. You just set up the patch with whatever effect you want, but disable it by default. Then you can press whatever IA button, and it turns on. To have multiple effects turn off and on you probably could do, assign a specific IA button to whatever MIDI CC message, then set the message to enable to that specific MIDI CC message. Would take a bit of programming.

The cool thing about the Fractal controller is that when the effect is present, but bypassed, the LED for that IA switch on the controller is red when you select that preset, and when you press on it and enable it, it's green. I can't wait to get it.

 

[Joey]

True, i guess i use sort of a hybrid approach myself on my GT-6. Almost every patch i write has an "alternate" sound built into it where i use the GT-6's "assign" parameters to change a bunch of stuff in the patch with one step of the "CTL" pedal... turning on a delay, boosting gain, changing the type of distortion box, etc. If i didn't have that ability, i'd have to write twice as many patches as i do.

Can the AFX work like that, where within one patch you can just stomp on one pedal and it changes multiple parameters at once?

I loved that CTL pedal on my GT-6 I used to have. I'd program it in a similar fashion. For example, one bank would be for one song or two, and for each patch in the bank, I'd program the CTL pedal to do what I might need to change. For example a delay patch might have a tap tempo, or a solo patch might have a volume boost, a mod patch might add more mod or something.

 

[darren]

I've actually got a couple of patches where i use all eight assigns on my GT-6. :erk:

That's what has me at least considering a GT-10 (TWO CTL pedals! Woo!... but still only eight assigns. :erk: )... it just seems to fit the way my brain works. Either that, or my brain has become so accustomed to thinking the way Roland engineers think over my eight years of using the GT-6 that it's become intuitive to me.

I'm probably going to wait until after January NAMM to see if Roland introduces a successor to the GT-10, which was intro'd in 2008 and likely due for replacement in 2011 or 2012. If they don't, then an AFX is likely going to be even more on my radar.

 

[Professor Squidbeard]

True, i guess i use sort of a hybrid approach myself on my GT-6. Almost every patch i write has an "alternate" sound built into it where i use the GT-6's "assign" parameters to change a bunch of stuff in the patch with one step of the "CTL" pedal... turning on a delay, boosting gain, changing the type of distortion box, etc. If i didn't have that ability, i'd have to write twice as many patches as i do.

Can the AFX work like that, where within one patch you can just stomp on one pedal and it changes multiple parameters at once?

you can to a certain degree and it also depends on what your controller can send as well. if it can send multiple messages per button then yes. also, if you were goign to hit a delay and wanted a small boost for that, each pedal has a boost or gain/level knob built in. I routinely use a small boost with my delays.

 

[darren]

As an example, here's typically what i do on a single patch to engage a "solo" mode:

- boost patch output level by 10%
- turn on a delay
- switch drive from Tube Screamer to Octave fuzz
- boost drive gain from 5% to 40%
- boost drive level from 60% to 75%

So there i'm using a single stomp to change five separate parameters without changing patches.

 

[22]

You could do that, sort of. You couldn't directly change the gain on an amp model, like turn the gain knob from 5 to 7 or anything, but you could set up a boost before your amp model, and to get the level boost you would just use a null filter with the appropriate level. Actually, you probably could set up a second amp block, and set the IA to bypass one, and set the other one up identical except with more gain. This is of course if you aren't blending 2 amps already since you can only have 2 amp blocks.

 

[darren]

So you can't manipulate parameters like that? That's kinda lame.

 

[Professor Squidbeard]

So you can't manipulate parameters like that? That's kinda lame.

is it really? name another unit that can do that without changing patches in a single midi click.

that's what i thought. for stuff like you're doing, another patch is needed for pretty much anything. no big deal.

 

[darren]

My 8-year-old BOSS GT-6 can do exactly what i describe with a single click. Granted, it's not doing that through MIDI, but i'm used to the all-in-one multi-effect paradigm where you aren't limited to the constraints of MIDI to get the pedals to talk to the brain.

I was hoping that the MFC-101 would have used some other method to connect the foot controller to the AFX, but if it's just MIDI, then i may find it somewhat limiting, because i can also manipulate up to 8 parameters simultaneously with the expression pedal on the GT-6. That's one thing i found frustrating with the G-System... only one parameter at a time could be manipulated with an expression pedal.

I guess the "manipulate anything, anywhere, anytime, in real-time" control of the GT-series has really spoiled me (and fueled my madness).