On my cross/commuter I have run 46/36, 50/34 and 46/34 at various points in time with a 12-32. I would say tires make a massive differences on what gearing is most appropriate. With 40mm mud tires at 30 psi I am not spinning out a 46 on the flats and that 34 is handy. But with semi-slick 30mm gravels at ~60psi I would going 50/36 any day.

I bring this up because I change between these types of tires all the time and don't consider it risky. Getting the tire wrong really really sucks but you better be ready to change to match the conditions. Therefore I wouldn't say the gear changes as risky but you do want to match conditions on the day. Depending on your setup a 50/34 11-36 may also result in compromised shifting so I would think 50/36 might be a bit better and you still have a 1:1 combo.

I've been riding and experimenting with gravel setups for a very long time and best for me is 50-34 paired with an 11-32. This seems to cover everything that I've encountered. For gravel riding, you experience very fast pedalling and very slow pedalling - pretty much the most extreme conditions in terms of gear range on a bike in terms of the different cycling formats. 2x systems are your friend here.

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Interesting points thanks. I typically ride with xplor'r Ush 35x700s. Great tire for road and gravel in my opinion. Not going to the 34 would save me about ~25 bucks too.

The changes in gearing that you are talking about are just not that significant. 4 teeth and 2 teeth are pretty small changes and to me, now worth the bother of the wrenchwork required. Plus, I hate the 16 tooth jump. I am starting to see, like another person mentioned, that 'gravel' riding requires a lot of specificity in tires and gearing and often compromises as well. I tried my first mixed surface ride a few weeks ago and learned a few interesting lessons. On the opening, smooth paved section my 39mmF/36R tires were a bit sluggish, even at 45/55 psi. Then we hit the trail section and they were perfect. On the downhills I passed the folks who leaned more to the 28-32mm big road tires. Then there was a long downhill on broken pavement where you did not have to worry about cracks and other road imperfections--you just picked the fastest line and rolled over everything. The next 30 or so miles were on pretty good trails or smooth pavement and now the bigger tires were a disadvantage. Not horrible, but certainly not faster. Then the trail came again and the tires were great.
I was running 36x34 low and that was mostly fine until some steep fire roads and then as I became tired, the gearing was not enough for a few of the hills. So, I think you have to make a judgement on your fitness and endurance. My 50x12 was more than a enough, but then I was not riding in a big pack either. Spinning out a 46x11 would require something like 35-40 mph. If there is a long downhill where you have to hang on or be dropped for the next long section, then I might put the 50 on, but that rarely happened to me, even when I was racing on the road.
Good luck

I've got at canti'd Crockett. I did a 1x conversion to an oval 40T with a 12-32 SRAM cassette and the mid-cage RD.

I'm happy. I'd never be able to take the gravel/cross tires off and put Gators on and head out to the A-group ride. I'd spin out. But, why do I need to pedal at 30+ mph downhill on gravel/CX stuff? All the stuff near me it isn't necessary at all to have road gearing on a gravel bike.

Anyway, I'm finding out the more I ride gravel the more "flow" I learn as opposed to bashing around the gears and stuff.

I took this bike to France and rode on the road for a few hundred miles perfectly happily on Gators.

I actually feel locally I could have bought a 42T instead and been fine, especially on an oval ring.

my plan is 52/34(swapping out the 36) and running an 11/34 cassette with Shimano Clutched RX-805 RD, I'll have that 1:1 ratio for the tough stuff... and I imagine with 30c semi-slick I will be able to keep pace on the road.

I'm nearly dropped on the 50/11 on my other road bike... the new road only (aero) bike I will likely do 52/34 again with 11/30 cassette.