Working It: GLOBAL MAIN CONTROLS
5•12
GLOBAL MAIN CONTROLS
Notice how, under the MAIN row’s label there’s a note that says GLOBAL
(FLASH)? That’s there to let you know that the MAIN row can actually control two
sets of parameters. There are the standard Main Row Controls we’ve been using
already, and then there are the Global Tone Controls. Press the Main Row select
button two times quickly, and the red arrow next to the button starts to flash to let you
know that you are now editing the GLOBAL controls. You can get back to the regular
Main Row any time by pressing the Main Row select button again, so that the light
stops flashing.
With the non-flashing Main Row settings we discussed a few pages back, the changes
you make were only affecting the channel you were currently using. The Global Main
Controls, on the other hand, affect every channel of the AX2.
Generally, you want to be cautious about using the Global Tone Controls. When you
first get your AX2, these should all be set to zero. If your amp was on display in a store
before you bought it, these factory settings may have been changed. To check, we’ll
use the handy technique for checking out the current AX2 settings without changing
them – covered under the heading Checking The Present Settings earlier in this
chapter. With the MAIN row’s red arrow flashing to say that the Global thing is
happening, press and hold down the MAIN row select button and watch the numbers
that flash through the display. You should see all zeroes. If not, keep holding the Main
row’s select button, and turn each of the six Control Knobs one by one to see which
ones are set to something other then zero. Release the Main Row select button, and
turn the offending knobs to zero (the 12 o’clock position).
Alright, then, so what’s this potentially dangerous Global Mode for? You might use
this, for instance, if you arrived at a gig with your AX2 all programmed up with some
killer sounds. You set up in the acoustically less-than-perfect venue, crank up the
volume, and suddenly maybe it’s mud city, because the room is one big bass booster. Or
maybe all you get is midrange and everything sounds nasally. Rather than having to go
in and tweak your programmed sounds individually, you would do the quick double tap
thing on the MAIN row select button to pull up the Global Main Controls, and make
a tweak to the Bass or Mid that will be applied to every Channel you use that night.
When the MAIN light is flashing to show Global mode is enabled, all six MAIN