How to create presets for effects processors?

You’re here because you’ve come across the term “preset”! These little pre-settings are powerful tools; they allow you to shape a signal within a chain of audio effects. They exist to define an instrument’s timbre, a mix’s texture, or even its presence in a mix. You can create them in different ways, step by step, either from scratch or from an existing preset.

What is an Effects Processor Preset?

The word “preset” is a generic term used in English to define any type of predefined setting. A preset contains values that can be imported into an electronic device or computer software. They make it easy to import specific settings without having to recreate them in their entirety. Presets are used in all areas: photography (color presets), video (calibration presets), music (effects presets), etc.

In this article, we will focus on presets for musical instruments (guitars, basses, cellos, etc.). In the field of music, a preset is also called a patch. A patch contains the information for effect settings. These are applied to the original audio signal of the musical instrument in order to transform it to obtain a particular rendering. A preset therefore contains a chain of effects.

What is an Effects Chain?

An effects chain is the arrangement of various sound effects applied to the source signal of a musical instrument in order to obtain a desired sound. This method, also called chaining, is used with all musical instruments: guitars, mandolins, and even violins.

The order of arrangement of the different effects is sometimes very complex or extremely simple. It all depends on the desired result! Below is an example of an effects chain created with a Hotone Ampero II Stomp processor.

What Equipment Can Be Used to Create an Effects Chain?

To create an effects chain, you can use a multi-effects processor or a set of individual effects pedals. In this article, we will primarily focus on creation using an effects processor. However, the creation process is identical with individual effects pedals, except that instead of accumulating effect modules offered by the processor, you accumulate electronic pedals.

In a multi-effects processor (below are the processors offered by Line 6), the effects are therefore integrated and chained from a single device. For a set of pedals, they are connected in series to accumulate different effects and form a chain.

Regardless of the musical instrument used, the operating procedure does not change. There are adjustments to be made to adapt an effect to an instrument, notably because each instrument has its own frequency range. To listen to the rendering of an effects chain, it is necessary to connect all of your devices to a sound diffusion system such as speakers, headphones, or an amplifier.

What is an Effect?

Effects are modules contained in an effects processor or electronic circuits arranged in a small pedal. Their application to the source signal of a musical instrument transforms the sound by adding gain, distorting it, boosting it, compressing it, modulating it, etc. Each effect has its own characteristics and settings. Applying an effect gives a sound rendering, changing the settings of an effect modifies this rendering and the accumulation of effects transforms the final signal a little more.

How are Effects Classified?

Effects are classified into distinctive categories to identify them. Thus, we find saturation effects (fuzz, distortion), modulation effects (chorus, phaser, tremolo), processing effects (gate, EQ), spatialization effects (delay and reverb) or transposition effects (octaver). They each offer very different possibilities and do not give the same sound rendering.

How to Build an Effects Chain?

Building an effects chain is unique to each musician. It is true that an effects chain is built by following a few basic principles, but the chaining and settings of the effects are specific to the personal preferences of the musicians or the specific needs of an instrument.

There is nothing magic about creating a preset! It takes a little time, but it is a process accessible to any musician. If you don’t have the time to develop your own presets, it is possible to buy them and then import them into your multi-effects processor.

Why do you need to adapt the presets provided by the manufacturer?

The downside of Hotone, Boss, Zoom or Line 6 multi-effects processors is that they are designed for electric guitars. Electric guitars are the epicenter of this market. All manufacturers therefore focus all their efforts on guitars, and possibly electric basses. Other musical instruments also need effects processors, but the market being much smaller, there are no dedicated effects processors for mandolins or violins. However, any effects processor capable of retrieving a signal from an instrument connected with a jack cable is compatible with any musical instrument.

If you plug a mandolin into a guitar effects processor, the original presets will work without a hitch. However, the sound quality will be well below the possibilities offered by the device. You have to think about the frequencies that are different between each instrument. If a preset is designed for an electric guitar, it is designed to make the frequency range of a guitar sound. The frequencies of a mandolin and a guitar overlap, but they are not identical. This means that a mandolinist playing with a guitar patch will lose some of the frequencies of their instrument. These will be less worked on than the overlapping frequencies between a guitar and a mandolin. The latter will take over. In the following video, a mandolinist uses an effects chain made up of spatialization effects with his mandolin.

Preset Creation Process

If you are ready to spend some time creating a few presets, here is our process for designing a preset.

Should I create from the device or from the software?

You must absolutely use the computer software and connect your effects processor to your computer. These softwares are provided by the device manufacturers. They greatly simplify the creation of a preset, because the visual interface is your screen, and you have a keyboard and a source to interact with.

Wanting to create presets from the processor is possible, but it’s a real obstacle course! The loss of time is immense between the complex navigation through the menus and a display screen of a few centimeters.

Should I start from scratch or from an existing patch?

If you have never imagined a preset, it is better to start from an existing preset by duplicating it. Even if the patch seems to you to be finished, small adjustments can multiply the final audio result. Effects processors have a plethora of presets, sometimes good and sometimes not so good. It happens that we appreciate the timbre offered by a patch, but that a sound element bothers us. By spending a little time on the dedicated software, you will understand the usefulness and application of the settings of each effect present in the effects chain. You should quickly find the setting that suits you. To do this, simply activate and deactivate all the installed effects one by one, and carry out your tests and adjustments.

Our process

Working on the clean sound

Start by working on the clean sound of your instrument. The clean sound refers to the raw sound produced by your musical instrument without the intervention of any effect or device. The objective is to eliminate any parasitic noise using effects such as the noise gate, and to boost the signal with a compressor and/or an equalizer. This working base will be used again when creating any new preset.

Determine a rendering objective

Before you start, it is important to know what sound you are aiming for? Is it to make solos with your band? For what type of music? For what types of solo? Saturated solos, or solos that respect the classic timbre of your instrument? Is it simply to boost the signal of your instrument and add color to its sound?

Understand the purpose of each effect

Now that you have a goal, it is important to understand the role of each effect. In general, the name of the effect family is quite explicit. However, there are dozens of delays in an effects processor. Each delay has its own rendering and sometimes its own settings. When you are a beginner, you have to accept spending time to identify the potential contribution of the effect modules.

Experimentation and settings

Try different combinations and orders of effects to find what works best. Then, each effect must be set so that the final rendering is consistent. When you have obtained a sound rendering that satisfies you, you must consider using the fine adjustments offered by the processor. For example, many of them offer the possibility of generating several chains on the same preset by allowing the activation and/or deactivation of certain effects by pressing a footswitch.

In What Order to Accumulate Effects in an Effects Chain?

In general, we follow a few simple principles when creating a preset. We start by working on the clean sound of the instrument. This is the raw sound generated by the musical instrument. We will clean it up and boost it so that it is then easily transformable. In this context, we generally use filters (gates), equalizers and compressors.

Then, we apply the effects whose objective is to completely transform the original signal. These include saturation effects (overdrive, fuzz and distortion), modulation effects (chorus, phaser, flanger, etc.), transposition effects (octaver, harmonizer, pitch snifter, etc.)

We apply the amp, cabinet and microphone modules to give color. Some amplifier modules contain saturation effects. They can therefore play multiple roles.

Finally, we end with the spatialization effects (delay and reverb). They are generally positioned at the end of an effects chain.

The accumulation of all these effects is absolutely not obligatory. A preset can be satisfied with a delay and a reverb and offer a divine sound! Some processors limit the cumulative number of effects because they are subject to the computing power of the computer processor they have. Just as, some instruments have a better rendering if an octaver is placed before a distortion, and vice versa. Remember that your impressions count! If you are satisfied with the final sound rendering, then the result is good!

How many effects chains does a musician use on average?

It is useless to have hundreds of effects chains. Most musicians use around ten patches on stage. Some musicians have a particular preset for a song because it is this particular timbre that qualifies the title. But for all more standard songs, they always use the same presets.

It is also common for a musician playing in different musical groups (jazz, blues and metal for example) to have imagined patches by group. Indeed, a very saturated distortion preset used for metal will hardly find its place in a blues set.

Here are some examples of musicians, guitarist Randolf Arriola, cellist Brianna Tam, and violinist Casey Driessen, using multiple presets when creating a loop.

The number of effects chains that a musician uses will vary depending on their individual needs and preferences. However, most musicians will find that they can get by with a relatively small number of patches.

Creating your own presets is an essential part of any musical endeavor. It should be seen as a personal and experimental process. It may seem complicated at first, but it quickly becomes a game that lets you define your own audio signals for specific musical compositions.

Developing custom presets isn’t an insurmountable task; it remains accessible, it doesn’t require a lot of skill, just some time, experimentation, and a desire to learn! Don’t hesitate to deconstruct existing presets to better understand how they work. Little by little, you’ll discover the purpose of each small effect. If time is already a missing element in your life as an artist, then it is better to turn to the purchase of presets configured for your musical instrument.

Most importantly, focus on what you like, and don’t try to please everyone else! What matters is that you’re happy with the effect you’ve created.