Midi Controllers - Whats it all about?

[Catalyst77]

Just getting to grips with my new Egnater Mod 50 and i belive the footswitch is a midi controller.

Its says this in the manual:


"The MOD50 comes preprogrammed with the four sounds (two per module) corresponding to buttons one through
four on the EGNATER pedal or program patch numbers one through four on a midi controller. This can be easily changed. To do so, simply select the desired program or patch number on your pedal. Next, select the module/channel u sing the CHANNEL button. Now pr ess and hold the CHANNEL button for three seconds. The channel on LEDs will flash indicating the new settingis now stored. This can be repeated for up to 128 midi patches."

I'm a bit too old school and really know nothing about midi at all, can i get a midi footswitch that will allow me to select a number of effects and change the amp channel at the same time?

If so do these effects have to have a midi output - like rack effects i.e. are normal pedals out of the equation?:?

Cheers!

[Transcend]

you can still use old school stomps.

But you can also get something like a g major and connect using the midi thru

so that your channel changes also switch patches on the g major

eg

1 clean chorus

2 just amps dist

3 amps dist with delay

4 whatever you want from the amp plus whatever effects.

that is assuming that the footswitches input on the amp is midi connectors

[Transcend]

i forgot to add if it is just a standard midi jack

you would connect the footswitch to the g major or other effects thing then the midi out from that to the back of the amp i believe.

you could also do what i do and just get something like a vox tonelab or podxt live and use that for the effects and also channel switching

[FELINEGUITARS]

Ben - I can answer ost of your questions but basically you would benefit from a multi FX that is mid or a router/switcher that will let you switch pedal FX in or out of the loop

[Dr. Stein]

To do that with individual effects you would need something like this (http://www.rjmmusic.com/rg16.php) which looks to be a great piece of kit (check out the videos for a demonstration of what it does, it's a bit hard to convert the technobabble into functionality). Pricy though.

Edit - the 'Rig #3' demonstrates it doing basically what you're looking for, albeit with two amps...

[Catalyst77]

Cool, thanks

So just to clarify i dont have to change any of the internal DIP settings in the amp, its ready to go?

and my choices are~

1. A rackmount Multieffects processor and a midi controller footswitch
2. A midi system like the RJM or the WOBO which has loops for my standard effects to send the midi signal to the amp
3. A multi effects pedal with midi capability (kind of like a built in effects unit and controller)

I had a genex 3 a while back which probably would have done the job, but it sucked the tone  big time, am a little worried that going down the multifx or rack route would do the same.  Anyone got any good suggestions for a reasonably priced piece of kit that won't suck the tone too much?



Cheers :D

[Transcend]

ive heard loads of good stuff about the g major and g major too.

theres also the eventide stuff which is meant to be great.

I believe kieran has a g major for sale in seconds out if it hasnt sold in his summer clearout thread

[Catalyst77]

Seems like a pretty decent shout from a cost and quality perspective but I read that the original G Major has a delay when switching between channels, especially in regards to modulating effects.  Any one had any experience of that?

[BigK]

Seems like a pretty decent shout from a cost and quality perspective but I read that the original G Major has a delay when switching between channels, especially in regards to modulating effects.  Any one had any experience of that?

I dont remember anything like that but it has been a while since a last used mine. I've realised im very much a guitar>lead>amp kind of guy. I know you can set it so the tail off of delays etc continue after the patch has changed.

And I still haven't sold it yet  8)

[Brow]

Seems like a pretty decent shout from a cost and quality perspective but I read that the original G Major has a delay when switching between channels, especially in regards to modulating effects.  Any one had any experience of that?

I had 1 in my rack along with a Marshall JMP1 and can't say as I remember anything like that happening.

Now I have my Splawn and my Gain/OD sounds are sorted, I'm now thinking of using the G-Major in the amps FX loop for all my Reverb, Delay and Modulation needs. Not that I need much but it seems an easier option than having the single effects for the brief times I'll use them.

[gwEm]

i do enjoy playing my midi switchable rack setup, you experiment so much with it. i have a g sharp, which sounds good and is pretty cheap if you want to experiment with it.

its alot simpler than it sounds from this thread.

nevertheless, i realised i'm very much a single channel amp kind of guy. but i do like the other way too.

[hunter]

What I found is that even with 10 programs on foot (with the Voodoolab Ground Control 1), the number of programs can quickly become scarce if you go for a full midi-controlled setup.

Assume you have 2 channels on the amp and 2 masters, that's already 4 different sounds (buttons) you work with midi programs. Now you want each of those with some delay or without, makes 8. Now you want a clean with chorus and a crunch with only reverb, you already used up your 10.

[Catalyst77]

What I found is that even with 10 programs on foot (with the Voodoolab Ground Control 1), the number of programs can quickly become scarce if you go for a full midi-controlled setup.

Assume you have 2 channels on the amp and 2 masters, that's already 4 different sounds (buttons) you work with midi programs. Now you want each of those with some delay or without, makes 8. Now you want a clean with chorus and a crunch with only reverb, you already used up your 10.

I assume you can have more than 10 patches though right?  Just not at the same time (i.e. 10 banks of 10)

[hunter]

What I found is that even with 10 programs on foot (with the Voodoolab Ground Control 1), the number of programs can quickly become scarce if you go for a full midi-controlled setup.

Assume you have 2 channels on the amp and 2 masters, that's already 4 different sounds (buttons) you work with midi programs. Now you want each of those with some delay or without, makes 8. Now you want a clean with chorus and a crunch with only reverb, you already used up your 10.

I assume you can have more than 10 patches though right?  Just not at the same time (i.e. 10 banks of 10)

yeah but then you have to start planning very thoroughly, you don't wanna have to swap banks within a song, I mean it is all perfectly possible, just not very rock'n roll  :)

[Dr. Stein]

^If you're gigging, just use one bank per song if you use a lot of settings. If you're messing about at home or in the studio it's not really an issue anyway.