Midi Controller Help

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MrGuitarguy

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Well I've had it. I'm sick and tired of tap dancing on my pedal board at shows, dealing with cables, powersupplies, batteries, etc. I've decided to buy a T.C. Electronics G Major as it seems to offer all the features I want (I'll probably pull the trigger on one tomorrow). However, I'm new to the whole midi contolled guitar rig thing, so I'd like to find a pedal that offers the ability to switch patches and switch effects on and off (stomp box style). I'd also like to have an expression pedal (or two). So far I'm considering the Behringer FCB1010 midi controller. (I never thought I'd consider anything made by Behringer)

Does anyone else use midi foot controllers? Any that you really like? Any G-Major users out there?

Thanks so much for you help!

 
Unless you positively need the expression pedals, I'd go for something like a Rocktron MidiMate. I used the Behringer for awhile but it's a pain in the ass to program, although once you get the hang of it it's a little easier. If you do end up going with the Behringer, there's a Yahoo User Group for it that's real useful.

I used a G Major for years until a couple of weeks ago...I'm going back to a couple of pedals and calling it a day. What amp do you have? G Majors only like serial FX loops for the most part.

 
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I've got a Behringer FCB1010 that I've programmed to control my Fender Cyber-Deluxe. The programming interface is cumbersome, but once you have it set up the way you like it is great to use. Having two rocker pedals on the board is very handy and is much easier for setup/breakdown and transport than having to plug in external expression pedals.

The trick is to spend the time learning what MIDI control and program changes do and how they work, and similarly, what the MIDI capabilities of your effects unit are. Prepare to spend a few hours tweaking the settings between the two just to get the hang of how they work together. You will get frustrated, but if you actually get beyond that to understand what's going on it will be worth your time and effort. Once you understand how they interact, then spend some time designing your layout.

This is the key. A well thought out MIDI pedal board design is a joy to use. A pedal board that is poorly laid out and forces you to hit multiple button combinations to get from A to B is more trouble than it is worth. An hour of planning will save you many hours of headaches and re-working.

I've been experimenting with MIDI controllers and rack effects for years. The absolute best and most powerful foot controller ever made was the Digitech PMC10. Amazingly flexible interface, a great alphanumeric display and best of all a very clever user designed a great PC editor to program the thing. I used to design Mac MIDI editor/librarians for a living, and the PC editor for the PMC10 puts my own editor to shame. Sadly the PMC10 has been out of production for over 10 years and they are extremely hard to find. But if you ever find yourself saying "why didn't anybody ever make a MIDI foot controller that can do <blank>", they did.

And for full disclosure, I program the FCB1010 with the MOTU Unisyn editor I designed instead of doing the pedal tap-dance. Unisyn is a commercial product, rather expensive and currently not under development, so I wouldn't recommend it. I am no longer a MOTU employee though I still have lots of friends there.

-Jonathan

 
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The Behringer is far and away the best bang for the buck. The Roland is also a decent option, and right in between the two is the Yamaha MFC10.

Personally, I was looking for something smaller than all of these, and striking out big time, until just this week I found a rare little oddity from Digitech called the Control 8. I do mean rare - as in, possibly discontinued, but 8th street has 'em:

http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?Produ...IDI_Controllers

Worth considering if you can do with one expr, fewer switches, and if portability is any kind of a concern. It is not quite as programmable as the FCB, though, which can get tricky. It'll send PC messages, or CC on/off, but not Note on/off. The distinctions can get tricky depending on whether your receiving units are expecting latch/unlatch behavior and so on.

Now if I could just get this thing to run on batteries, I'd be good.

 
I used the Behringer to control my GMajor live for years. Worked like a charm, never failed despite plenty of abuse...

 
Thanks for the info. The Berhinger looks to be the most flexible of the group and the most reasonably priced. I think that's what I'll go with. Too bad I'll have to keep my wah pedal. If the G-Major did that I'd really be set.

Jisham, thanks for th einfo. I had read that about the serial loops elsewhere as well. Fortunately my amps have both switchable loops from serial to parallel. Also my Egnater has built in midi for channel switching so this should be an easy transition.

 
This is a great topic! I am also interested in a MIDI switching system to control all my pedals and my Intellifex LTD...I have not gigged for quite a while (but have the itch again). Currently, I have everything stored in my closet...Most of the time, I play through my Korg PX4 headphone amp. It's a very quick and easy setup, and it has a built in tuner, metronome, etc.!

In the past, I always switched everything individually...That totally sucks! I'd like to get everything organized and easily accessible so I can do some gigging/recoerding. I would love to get a Ground Control Pro and GCX Audio Switcher...Great equipment, but I can't afford it right now. Are there any good websites for learning how to set up a MIDI rig? I don't even know where to start the process.

Thanks

 
I don't even know where to start the process.
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Start the process by deciding exactly which equipment you want integrated in your MIDI rig, and which equipment you're willing to leave at home. It's a whole different ballgame if you have prized analog (non-MIDI) pedals that you want to control, versus just needing to integrate MIDI-capable devices. If you want to get MIDI control over analog stompboxes, then you either need a very good tech and a willingness to mod the crap out of your stuff, or a big audio-routing footswitching solution, which as you point out is very costly. And IMO the end result is so cumbersome that you may as well stick with the old fashioned pedals-on-a-pedalboard approach.

Obviously if you stick with MIDI-capable devices, then it's just a matter of daisy-chaining everything together, including your MIDI floorboard, and then getting the hang of programming the floorboard, the fx units, or both. Your best bet here is to find good user groups for the specific hardware in question. (Though there are guys here with experience w/ just about everything.)

Then at the far end of the spectrum opposite GCX Audio switchers and circuit-bending all that craziness is to accept a few comprimises and go with an all-in-one floorboard unit a la the PODxt Live, Boss GT-8, etc. In the end you'll spend more money trying to round up the gear you already have then just buying a bunch of new gear in one box. Question is whether there are any all-in-one boxes out there you like the sound of.

Short version: pick your hardware then figure it out.

 
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