Two tools for capturing rig state: Presets (raw CC + PC snapshots) and Scenes (named high-level states tied to device preset banks).
A preset stores exact CC values and PC numbers per device. Firing one sends all those CCs (fine-grained knob positions) and PCs to hardware exactly. Best for scenarios where you need to capture a specific dial position, or when your devices don't have their own named preset banks.
A scene is a higher-level snapshot: it stores which named preset each device should be in (from that device's own internal preset bank), plus bypass state. Firing a scene sends PCs to load the right program on each device. Best when your hardware has its own preset memories — pick the scene, hardware loads its programs. Scenes also support a trigger PC for bidirectional foot-controller sync with Show Mode.
A preset captures a named state for your whole rig. When you fire it, RigWork sends:
CCs go first. This means your pedals receive their parameter values before the program change tells them to recall a slot - so the state you set in RigWork arrives cleanly.
Go to the Presets tab and click + New Preset. Set:
| Color | Intended use |
|---|---|
| Clean | Clean / no gain tones |
| Ambient | Reverb/delay-heavy atmospheres |
| Crunch | Light overdrive, rhythm tones |
| Lead | High-gain lead or solo tones |
| Synth | Synth-style, pitch effects, modulation-heavy |
| Special | Anything that doesn't fit the above |
Color tags are purely organizational - they appear as colored pills on preset cards and in Show Mode section tiles. They don't affect what MIDI gets sent.
By default, a new preset only sends PC numbers. To also capture CC state:
The current slider values are stored in the preset for that device. When you fire the preset, those CC values are sent before the PC. Alternatively, use the Tweak tab to dial in sounds across all devices simultaneously, then capture the whole state at once.
Click the Fire button on any preset card. This sends all CCs + PCs immediately. You can also fire presets from:
Click the pencil icon on a preset card to edit its name, color, and per-device PC assignments. Click the trash icon to delete - this also removes the preset from any songs or setlists that referenced it.
RigWork can listen on a MIDI input and auto-fire a preset when it receives a Program Change on a configured channel. See MIDI → Trigger Channel for setup.
This lets Ableton or another sequencer send a single PC to RigWork, and RigWork handles distributing the CCs and PCs to all your individual pedals - one event in, full rig state out.
Create scenes in the Presets tab → Scenes section. Each scene has:
In the Setlist tab, each song row has a scene dropdown. Pick a scene from your rig's scene list. A song can have a scene at the song level (fires for all sections) or at the individual section level (each section fires its own scene). Section scenes override the song-level scene.
When a scene has a trigger PC number set, inbound MIDI PC on the trigger channel fires the scene AND moves the Show Mode strip cursor to the matching song/section. This gives you bidirectional sync:
See MIDI guide §6 for trigger channel setup and the Scene trigger PC workflow.