Illustrator :: How To Create Multiple Colored Gradients From Just One

I've been trying to make consistent gradients for a while now with no success. What I would like to do is make one gradient - say a dark red to light red - and then have a way to change the colors of that gradient without having to search for the correct hex colors for each one. So say I do the red gradient, then if there was some way to overlay something over it to change the colors instead of trying to find them myself.
 
I know you can do this in Photoshop, but I haven't figured out how to do it in AI. Perhaps there's an easier way I just haven't found yet. I've spent a long time trying to make gradients of different shades (reds, blues, etc.), but the problem is getting each color of the gradient to be about equal to the other ones.