I used to use the Pod X3 Live when playing out. I spent almost as much time getting my patches right as I would actually practicing the song! Okay, that‘s a bit of an exaggeration, but getting patches right can take some time. It can be kind of fun, though.
However, what I did was that I had a few generic patches for various types of styles: clean, dirty, pushed clean, and another that I called “Power Metal.” I always assign those to the same bank and preset. So, for example, I know Power Metal is on Bank 22D. Another one, “Echo + Echo FX” is on 22B. By staying consistent with this, I know where to go on the processor for certain, core patches that aren’t specific to any particular song. I don’t know about the XT, but the X3 display gives a readout of the patch numbers in pretty large text, so it’s easy to read on stage.
Now, some songs do require very specific presets. For example, “Where the Streets Have No Name” by U2 requires the delay to be very specific - 150 BPM and it uses dual delay subdivisions consisting of a dotted eighth and a sixteenth. “Mama’s Broken Heart” by Miranda Lambert is another one with some interesting and specific delays. So, for songs that have very specific requirements, I’d build my patches accordingly. Then, I’d arrange all the patches to, more or less, match the progression of the set list and number them. On my set list sheet that I gaff tape to the floor, I write the patch number that I’m using for each song. So, I usually only needed one or two taps on a switch to get me what I needed. In my personal practice time at home, I’d practice changing patches with each song, as well. Sometimes, for the more generic patches, I could use the same one for multiple songs.
I will say, if you’re doing a set that has a lot of variety, having a processor really does help things out. Although I’m still very much enamored with my new amp, I could still see myself getting a Fractal, of some sort at some point. My biggest concern with processors is supportability. As new models come out, will the manufacturer still provide support for an older model? It varies. I’ve read that Fractal is good at support and updates, though.
