Switching from Preset Mode to Play Mode – Timefactor Question

[peterjh85]

Whenever I switch from Preset Mode back to Play Mode the delay setting isn't the same as before I switch to Preset Mode.  In other words, the control parameters are not reflected in Play Mode even having not touched any of the controls – this happens when switching between modes.  I would think that when switching modes, going from Preset to Play Mode, that it would put you back on the last used setting in Play Mode.  Is there any way to adjust the unit so it does this?  Any thoughts on why my timefactor is not reflecting the control parameters after switching back to Play Mode from Preset Mode?

Thanks,

Peter

[achaput]

Hi Peter,

It's not normal for delay settings to change between Bank and Play mode. The only thing that is different about Bank Mode vs Play Mode is the functionality of the onboard footswitches. 

Are you sure a delay knob isn't getting bumped when you hit the footswitch? A way to test this is to turn Catchup ON. Catchup prevents accidental knob changes.

You can turn on Catchup in the System Mode (Press+Hold the Right Footswitch and Encoder button) under UTILITY.

Let me know how it goes.

Alan

[peterjh85]

Hi Alan,

Thanks for you reply and suggestions.  I'm certain when switching between the modes that a control knob is not accidentally being adjusted.  I simply hold the right footswitch to swtich to Bank Mode, choose a preset, and when I switch back to Play Mode the delay is definitely not the setting/sound that I was using before hand.

I'll try the Catchup suggestion you mentioned.

Thanks,

Peter

[peterjh85]

I tried the catchup method…the sound still does not reflect what the knobs are set at when going back from bank mode to play mode.  I have also tried updating to the beta which does not fix the problem.  Play Mode should always reflect what the knobs are set at and not change values by switching from bank mode to play mode, correct?

[EdDrake]

peterjh85:

I tried the catchup method…the sound still does not reflect what the knobs are set at when going back from bank mode to play mode.  I have also tried updating to the beta which does not fix the problem.  Play Mode should always reflect what the knobs are set at and not change values by switching from bank mode to play mode, correct?

No I don't think this is the way it works. Please reread achaput's reply to you:

"The only thing that is different about Bank Mode vs Play Mode is the
functionality of the onboard footswitches. "

He's not saying that in Play mode the sound reflects the knob position, he's saying that in Play mode the footswitches function a little differently than in Bank mode  (you get Active, Repeat and Tap) and the name of the delay type is displayed. Please read page 22 in the manual.

Catchup just means when you move a knob you don't immediately hear the change until the knob reaches the value that is stored then when you move the knob past that point you start hearing the sound change.

Why would you want the sound to reflect the knob position when in Play mode? You could get some really unpredictable results which might be a good thing but also I can see the potential for disaster on a gig. To make the TF usable in Play mode you'd have to double check the position of the knobs to make sure they were in a good spot to get the results you want.

Maybe I don't understand what you're asking.

I hope that makes sense

[peterjh85]

Thanks for the reply Ed!  It just seems intuitive or logical to me to have the sound reflect the knob settings in play mode.  This way you would know where about your parameters are set at.  Essentially you are playing with no idea except for what is being emitted from the amp.  It would be nice to be able to look down and see the settings, for example, if one wanted a hair more feedback or a bit less wet signal.  You could just bend down and adjust the knob, but since the knobs do not reflect the sound how do you know where to adjust from?  It makes for a long and tedious time for making small incremental adjustments – we have no baseline to go from. In a live situation, I would be using presets most of the time anyways, but say I need to switch to play mode from bank mode, it would be nice to know what to expect just by looking at the knobs.

Does that make sense?  I hope you can see the functionality from my stand point now.    I wish Play Mode reflected the knob settings!  Maybe in a future update Eventide will give us the option to set it this way.

[EdDrake]

I see where you are coming from and this might be useful at home when tweaking sounds but I don't think I'd want it to work this way on a gig. Can you see where this could lead to some totally unexpected (and undesirable) results especially playing live? I have my TF on a pedal board and though the knobs don't get moved much there's always the chance they could. If knobs were moved and I went into Play mode the resulting sound could be totally horrible and unusable. Then I'd have to figure out which knob or knobs to move to get it to sound good again and with 10 or so parameters available in each patch this might take a while. Even one knob being out of position could wreak havoc with the sound of a particular patch.For me tweaking sounds based on the visual cue of the knob position would not be that useful because each knob controls a different parameters for each delay type with the x knob being the prime example. The knobs behave differently in each delay type.

I don't use Play mode myself because I don't use the Repeat function and I have Tap on an external footswitch and in Bank mode you can turn each effect on or off with the effect footswitch anyway.

If Eventide were to ever make Play mode reflect knob positions hopefully it would be an option and not the default because even though I don't use Play mode I wouldn't want it to behave this way. Sorry about that!

I hope this makes a little sense!

[peterjh85]

Makes sense Ed.  This is an educational dialogue for me!  Thank you.  I see where you are coming from.  I also use it primarily in Bank Mode, however, I'm coming from using the Nova Delay, which reflects the knob settings going to and from saved presets.  The Timefactor does not go back to the last used setting in play mode when going back to play mode from bank mode – this is a feature I would like to see.  Rather, the Timefactor goes back to the preset type of delay rather than what was being used in play mode.  Say I was using play mode and digital delay with no modulation.  If I went to a patch with vintage delay with modulation and then back to play mode, it would send me to vintage delay.  Furthermore, when I try revert back to the digital delay by adjusting the encoder knob, the digital delay sounds nothing like what I just used in play (no knobs adjusted).  If I wanted just a straight digital delay I have to adjust every single knob again – so frustrating.  Even dual delays (going from a dual delay preset) will be present when delay B is completely off and the mix is 100% A.  Just to get back to a "base" sound requires me to adjust all the knobs.  ARRGGH!

[dissever]

this is why you have two presets per bank. If the pedal reverted to the settings of the modes when going into play mode you wouldn't get full use out of the tap tempo and hold buttons. I use it all the time by loading my saved patch and switching to play mode to adjust tempos and use the hold button.

[EdDrake]

So you would like Play mode to always stay at the same settings so no matter which preset you change to over in Bank mode when when you come back to Play mode it will have the same settings as the last time you were there?  It sounds like you want Play mode to be your blank "scratch pad" and when you pick a delay type it comes with a "base" set of parameters for that type of delay. Is this what you are asking for? Then if you create something in this work space you can save it to a preset. Am I getting close? I'm not sure there is a "base" set of settings for each delay type.

I can see where this might be cool to have. I have a Boss DD20 Giga Delay that has 4 presets plus something called Manual mode which reflects the front panel knob position but there are only 5 knobs for basic functions (Delay Type and Time, Tone, Feedback and Level) so it's much easier to manage. The issue with the TF is there are so many knobs to keep track of and they all behave differently depending on the delay type you've selected.

I think Eventide looks at Play and Bank modes as related to each
other where Bank mode gets you to a certain preset and then Play mode
lets you control that preset with the three foot switches.

I've never used the Nova Delay so I'm not familiar with the interface at all, and I'm sure if I were I'd see exactly what you mean. I know how it is trying to wrap your head around the layout of a pedal especially the Factor pedals which are pretty deep for stomp boxes.

Ed

[peterjh85]

Yeah, the idea I'm after is similar to the DD20 and how it utilizes Manual mode and Preset Mode.  Is it possible to adjust the presets while in Bank Mode and save while still in Bank Mode (e.g. add more feedback or mix)?

Thanks for all your input Ed!

[EdDrake]

Most definitely! You can tweak and save at any time even in Bank mode. I edit my patches in Bank mode all the time.

Another nice thing about editing in Bank mode is if you screw up the
preset by over tweaking the knobs before you save the patch just switch to the other preset
in that bank then go back to the original preset and start tweaking
all over again.

Turning on the Catch up feature comes in handy too so you don't instantly change the sound when you turn a knob. You have to find the spot in the knob's rotation where the value is stored in the preset then when you move past that point the sound and value start to change.

[peterjh85]

Hey Ed, just one other question for you or any one else (you seem to be the man with all the answers though!)

Is it possible to view the current BPM of the patch while in bank mode?

[EdDrake]

Read the section about Tempo on page 24 of the manual.

I think BPM is displayed when Tempo mode is on. Push the encoder so the LED starts blinking and you are in Tempo mode. I am not able to test it until later today to tell you for sure.

Maybe someone else can chime in here?

Ed

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