tandrewnichols
Well-Known Member
I browsed a bit to see if there was an existing thread for something like this. I'm looking for feedback from other members on how you use your mastermind because I'm in the process of changing some things and kind of . . . uncertain on some approaches. I'll try to summarize what I have now and what I'm going for, but I really want to hear what other cool things people are doing with their pages and presets.
So first, I play at church and at home (and do a bit of recording). Currently, I have Presets on page 1 and Loops on page 2, followed by roughly individual pages for each MIDI device (some are combined because there aren't that many MIDI things to do with that pedal). Pros: organized and relatively easy to find stuff. Cons: similar functions (like device presets) aren't grouped together, so I spend a lot of time moving between pages.
I'm thinking about moving to something more like:
Page 1: Presets
Page 2: Loops
Page 3/4/5: Device preset +/- (plus other common and related actions like engage/bypass and for certain devices "save current preset"). I think this might make exploring combinations of sounds easier.
Pages 6 etc.: Other midi stuff, but not grouped by pedal, but rather by use. So a couple pages that could be used as landing pages for presets, so I can, for example, toggle the A and B sides of the Synesthesia, or maybe increase the Golden Boy gain cycle. And then other pages more for sound exploration during non-live settings, like cycling Iridium amps and cabs. Two possible downsides: 1) maybe too many "live change" buttons to go on one page, so then I have to think about how to group them and maybe end up in a situation where a single preset can easily toggle Synesthesia, but not drive. 2) I'm a little nervous about using alternate pages for presets because it doesn't seem obvious what buttons to replace. Like what if the preset you're customizing is preset 3 on one song but preset 4 on another? You might replace a button you need on one song because of the way the presets are organized. So I considered just using Preset Previous, Preset +, and Preset - on these pages, but then I'm worried I'll forget that I'm on a special page and I'll forget to go back to the main presets page or I'll hit the wrong button and throw on some massive drive in a really quiet section.
Things I'm going for:
1. Flexibility with presets. The Synesthesia only has 32 presets, but it has like 35 engines, so if you use different combinations of effects you run out of real estate quickly. Like right now I have an octave up preset and a separate octave down, because I don't have an easy way to kick them on and off. Also sometimes, I've got Golden Boy gain cycle at 1 and suddenly it doesn't seem like enough (or at 2 and it seems like too much), so I'd like to be able to toggle those on the fly.
2. Ease of experimentation and discovering new sounds. I think the device preset pages probably accomplishes this.
Questions for others:
1. Does anyone use the "Show Page" feature on presets to load an alternate page when presets are engaged? If so, how do you use those pages and do you like this approach? Do you ever forget and then hit a very wrong button?
2. How do you organize buttons for midi devices?
3. What's the coolest thing you've done with your setup? For me, I set up an IA Cycle button for the Golden Boy Gain Cycle stages, so I can change the gain stage quickly (except as mentioned before, those buttons aren't currently easily accessible).
So first, I play at church and at home (and do a bit of recording). Currently, I have Presets on page 1 and Loops on page 2, followed by roughly individual pages for each MIDI device (some are combined because there aren't that many MIDI things to do with that pedal). Pros: organized and relatively easy to find stuff. Cons: similar functions (like device presets) aren't grouped together, so I spend a lot of time moving between pages.
I'm thinking about moving to something more like:
Page 1: Presets
Page 2: Loops
Page 3/4/5: Device preset +/- (plus other common and related actions like engage/bypass and for certain devices "save current preset"). I think this might make exploring combinations of sounds easier.
Pages 6 etc.: Other midi stuff, but not grouped by pedal, but rather by use. So a couple pages that could be used as landing pages for presets, so I can, for example, toggle the A and B sides of the Synesthesia, or maybe increase the Golden Boy gain cycle. And then other pages more for sound exploration during non-live settings, like cycling Iridium amps and cabs. Two possible downsides: 1) maybe too many "live change" buttons to go on one page, so then I have to think about how to group them and maybe end up in a situation where a single preset can easily toggle Synesthesia, but not drive. 2) I'm a little nervous about using alternate pages for presets because it doesn't seem obvious what buttons to replace. Like what if the preset you're customizing is preset 3 on one song but preset 4 on another? You might replace a button you need on one song because of the way the presets are organized. So I considered just using Preset Previous, Preset +, and Preset - on these pages, but then I'm worried I'll forget that I'm on a special page and I'll forget to go back to the main presets page or I'll hit the wrong button and throw on some massive drive in a really quiet section.
Things I'm going for:
1. Flexibility with presets. The Synesthesia only has 32 presets, but it has like 35 engines, so if you use different combinations of effects you run out of real estate quickly. Like right now I have an octave up preset and a separate octave down, because I don't have an easy way to kick them on and off. Also sometimes, I've got Golden Boy gain cycle at 1 and suddenly it doesn't seem like enough (or at 2 and it seems like too much), so I'd like to be able to toggle those on the fly.
2. Ease of experimentation and discovering new sounds. I think the device preset pages probably accomplishes this.
Questions for others:
1. Does anyone use the "Show Page" feature on presets to load an alternate page when presets are engaged? If so, how do you use those pages and do you like this approach? Do you ever forget and then hit a very wrong button?
2. How do you organize buttons for midi devices?
3. What's the coolest thing you've done with your setup? For me, I set up an IA Cycle button for the Golden Boy Gain Cycle stages, so I can change the gain stage quickly (except as mentioned before, those buttons aren't currently easily accessible).