How do you adjust your rigs for different guitars?

  • Just wondering how you all manage this type of dilemma. I have about 7-8 performances with around 20 different rigs set up within them. They’re all dialed in perfectly for my Guthrie Govan Charvel. No complaints there.


    But, if I want to bring out my Gibson Alex Lifeson Axcess, it has pickups that are hotter than the Charvel, so it can sometimes clip the input, or simply be too much for some of my clean rigs.


    How do you guys handle that? Would you create an identical set of performances that are just tweaked for a higher output guitar?


    What’s the best way to handle this if I want to use both guitars during a gig?

  • Read in the manual about Clean Sens and Distortion Sens.

  • Read in the manual about Clean Sens and Distortion Sens.

    I’ve read the manual. Distortion Sens is global. I’m talking about an easy work around for using both guitars at the same gig. If I used Distortion Sens, I’d have to re-adjust it each time I switch guitar.


    paults suggestion is what I had assumed would be the best course. I just wanted to check and see if anyone did anything differently when using 2 different guitars each night.


    I may go with the option of cloning my entire performances for each individual guitar because then I can adjust the EQ as well.

  • I’ve read the manual. Distortion Sens is global. I’m talking about an easy work around for using both guitars at the same gig. If I used Distortion Sens, I’d have to re-adjust it each time I switch guitar.


    paults suggestion is what I had assumed would be the best course. I just wanted to check and see if anyone did anything differently when using 2 different guitars each night.


    I may go with the option of cloning my entire performances for each individual guitar because then I can adjust the EQ as well.

    Or maybe come up with an EQ preset that you can use at the start of the chain that you can have in every rig on stomp A to just turn on and off depending on the guitar that you are using. And use the LOCK button to keep it on or off whenever you are using a given instrument, even if you change rigs or performances.

    Edited once, last by Atlantic ().

  • I saved few preset in the input section, one for each of my guitars, and I always keep the input locked.

    Every time I switch guitar during the concert I just long press the input button and rotate the knob to chose the right input preset.

    The input presets are sort alphabetically so I use a character in front of the name of the guitar (a-Tele, a-LesPaul, etc) to keep close the presets I use in the same concert.

    Just use a good method to refine clean and distortion sense and you can use the same performances with many guitars in the same gig ?

  • I’ve read the manual. Distortion Sens is global. I’m talking about an easy work around for using both guitars at the same gig. If I used Distortion Sens, I’d have to re-adjust it each time I switch guitar.

    it wouldn’t be Distortion sense you change. You would reduce clean sense to stop the inputs clipping. Clean sense can be locked as global or saved on a rig by rig basis.


    You would have rigs saved for each of the guitars and switch rigs when you change guitar.


    However, Paul’s suggestion of lowering PUP in the Gibson would be much easier.


    I don’t mess with anything on the KPA when I change guitars

  • My main guitars is basicly 1 Tom Anderson Drop Top, 2 Tom Anderson Hollow short T, 3 Taylor accoustic.

    the two andersons are so different sonicly that I have separate prestets for each one. My accoustic sounds is without cab sim, and there I have splitted prests for, there again I have separate profiles for acc guitar, Mandoline and Dobro.

    So basicly I make different prestes for each guitars. the most difficult thing is to make the same volume for both solos and rythm when the sonic difference is so different on each guitar.. but thats is also the reason I have different guitars! :)


    The first thing i noticed when buying a Kemper is that the sonic difference is bigger on my Kemper than on my tube amp! even the difference in pickups on same guitar have bigger difference! A tube amp is more even and in some ways forgivable.. The guitarsound is more about the sonic character of the amp!

  • paults's suggestion about matching pickups makes sense in terms of solving that specific problem.


    That said, when I reach for a different guitar, it's because I want the different sound that guitar brings. If I'm playing a PRS with humbuckers and reach for a stock Strat, that's a completely different class of creature, so I typically also want a different amp sound that best brings out the twank.


    There were some other good suggestions about input, signal chain, etc. and they would all help you make your guitars interchangeable, but at least for the way I think, I tend to match profiles to guitars.

    Kemper remote -> Powered toaster -> Yamaha DXR-10