[Tech] Building a MIDI controlled live rig

[Drew]

I'm a total rig purist, but I gotta say, this just looks FUN.

[Rick]

That's awesome. Now I just need to get a MIDI controller.

[7 Dying Trees]

Originally Posted by Drew

I'm a total rig purist, but I gotta say, this just looks FUN.

It is! It's like lego!

[noodles]

Zip ties, a central boxes in the rack and on the floor, and more cable ties are next. My rig looked a lot nicer before I tore it all apart for this article.

I don't have rear rails in my rack, so I'll have to figure out another method. Then again, since I'm looking to replace the wireless get a rackmount Bloody Murder, that rack shelf is going to disappear very soon.

[7 Dying Trees]

I've got a rackmount BM coming, I'm hoping it'll fill half the shelf with the amp gizmo (i broke down and got one, as I was having a horrid time getting my soldering skills to produce a footswitch cable for the vht) so I want them to live on the same shelf. I want to go wireless, but man, that's more money I don't have right now

[Universe74]

This post rules. This is exactly what I am working on right now.

[djpharoah]

Very informative and gas inducing dave.

[chimpinatux]

Im finding this useful, but just to get things straight, would you need one loop swticher such as the Alex-1 for every stompbox you are planning to put in the rack?

[stuh84]

You can do that, or you can use other switchers, like the Axess GRX4 which has 4 loops, or the Voodoo Labs GCX Audio Switcher, the Rocktron Patchmate, or the RJM RG16 (I own of these and highly recommend it).

Problem with the Alex1 method is you would need to have relays for every one of them, and given the G Major only has two, you would fast run out of them.

[darren]

I just picked up a pair of ALEX-1s. I'll probably get the Voodoo Labs Control Switcher when it comes out, and i'll use an ALEX-1 to switch my GT-6 in and out of the circuit, and a second one on my TS7, assuming they both fit in my pedalboard.

Then again, i've been starting to GAS for a G-System, which would replace all of that.

[Meldville]

Hrm. This has really got me thinking. MIDI control of my stuff would make my stage setup cleaner and give me less tapdancing. I have absolutely no idea if it's feasible with my setup, though.

I have a tuner and ds1 (as boost) on the board. Guitar runs into that, and then out to the ISP Pro Rack G. That goes into my Engl, then out of that back into the ISP. Then to my pedalboard AGAIN, where I have my Boss HR1, GE7, and DD3 (the last two are used for all leads, and the HR is used on some), and then BACK into the return on my amp. So many ....ing cables running to and fro. Would I be able to simplify my setup with a controller setup like this? I don't need to be able to change channels/settings on my amp, just have a controller that allows me to have two presets for leads, one with and one without the harmonizer.

Eh?

[stuh84]

Yeah definitely, if you used something like what I mentioned in my last post, the Boss pedals you'd be able to keep them all rackmounted, and switch them in and out at will, thats the beauty of this kind of setup.

I'm thinking of doing a post similar to this, but on a way more....I guess indepth approach, given my rig has two rack mounted multi effects, 5 pedals, a MIDI pedal switcher and a few extra niceties. Would anyone appreciate this?

[ajdehoogh]

Hell yeah Stuart. More examples on how to things=more ideas on how to do my rig.

[Zepp88]

Originally Posted by stuh84

Yeah definitely, if you used something like what I mentioned in my last post, the Boss pedals you'd be able to keep them all rackmounted, and switch them in and out at will, thats the beauty of this kind of setup.

I'm thinking of doing a post similar to this, but on a way more....I guess indepth approach, given my rig has two rack mounted multi effects, 5 pedals, a MIDI pedal switcher and a few extra niceties. Would anyone appreciate this?

Do it man

There are way too little in depth tutorials on this sort of thing, especially in a more complex application.

[stuh84]

Right, I'll get some pics next time I'm up at the rehearsal room, and make a start on this, should be quite fun

[El Caco]

Originally Posted by chimpinatux

Im finding this useful, but just to get things straight, would you need one loop swticher such as the Alex-1 for every stompbox you are planning to put in the rack?

If you get something like the Advance Tube Technology LS42 you can control multiple pedals from one unit, these can be programmed as a patch so 1 on your pedal board could be all off 2 could be reverb on 3 could be boost, reverb etc. What I like about the Advance units is they supply phantom power and can be chained and the optional RP2 faceplate allows 2 to be mounted neatly in 1 rack space, so using combinations of the LS42 and the Advance Tube Technology S720 you can switch as many Devices including amp channels as you own from one control.

[darren]

My ALEX-1s just arrived today! I'm gonna have to pick up some more cables!

Axxess won't have any CFX-4s available any time soon, so i'm going to have to look at other switching options. Voodoo Labs has announced a control switcher, but it's not out yet.

[Fionn]

check out G Labs they have some ideal switching solutions, shame tho i think there are all pedals

[El Caco]

My new Advance s720

[Ryan-ZenGtr-]

For my contribution to this topic I will add these pic's of my old rig of monstrous complexity, weight and expense...

Yes, it was nice to have as much control, lights and knobs as Starfleet ("Shred factor 9, Mr. Worf"), but the practical issues made it more than I needed to suffer.

To acquire all the gear pictured, I scoured eBay for months, but eventually common sense prevailed and I sold it as a complete system, more or less, for a small profit.

The tone was good, the flexibility was good, most importantly my ego was suitably massaged and I learned a lot about quality guitar sounds which I could apply to other equipment once I knew what I expected from the my experience with "Gear of the God's".

I think the key to all this stuff is: What will make my performances mind blowing, yet not make my life more difficult than it needs to be.

I'll post what I bought next to replace it in my next post... Any questions, I'll be pleased to answer.

[Ryan-ZenGtr-]

Couldn't find a picture right now, but I replaced the monster multiple Preamp/FX/Poweramp rack with a "Live In" Head Case with 4u rack built in, which held a MESA/Boogie Dual Rectifier 3 channel, Gmajor, BBE sonic maximiser and a Furman power supply, with a Axess CSX4 and Behringer FCB1010 footswitch. The total weight of that setup was over 30kg and was made practical by the simple fact that the singer was a body builder and considered moving it for me an entertaining challenge. I sold that lot, too.

What I have now is another 3 channel Recto and a seperate 4u rack, with a GCX Audio switcher and what have you for effects, as all I like to add is a touch of reverb and delay, but switch the FX and channels simultaneously.

There has been a lot of user contribution to my favourite gear, the G Major and the FCB1010 now have editing software available online called G Lydian and the name of the FCB 1010 editor has slipped my memory for now. Editing via midi is much easier, as all FCB1010 presets are incredibly similar, just with different Programme Change numbers.

At the moment G*A*S* is calling me towards the new Line 6 M13, which is a stomp box collection and MIDI footswitch controller in one unit, for around £350, which is about the same cost as a GMajor and FCB1010. I enjoy using Line 6 models of pedals, as you know what to expect quickly, rather than abstract programming in the GMajor. what do you think?

[JJ Rodriguez]

I'd take the G-Major over any Line 6 product any day of the week This isn't really the place for discussion like this, but on top of me just like TC more than Line 6, another thing that I prefer a MIDI rig for is the simplicity of hooking it up. Plug into your amp, run a MIDI cable, and you're good to go. With the M13 you're going to need to run a signal cable to your pedal board from your effects loop, then one back to it, and then run a MIDI cable. I'm also assuming it's not phantom powered, so you're going to need to find a plug in, where as you can phantom power a lot of MIDI controllers. With your signal going down 20 extra feet of cable (a conservative estimate, 10 to the pedal board, 10 back) your signal is also going to degrade a bit.

I did find programming the G-Major confusing as hell at first, but when I figured it out, the quality of effects and the lack of tone suck made it an instant win in my books.

[halsinden]

guys, this is an enormously helpful thread, thank you for it.

rather than starting my own one, i've done a search for the subjects i'm covering and figured it'd be better to tack it onto this one. please forgive the length of it, i'm a little confuzzled over various parts of it.

my current setup is this:


guitar > NS-2 > bad monkey > behringer rack tuner > 6505+ head

G major in the FX loop

nobels MS-4 + custom MIDI splitter device controlling the 6505+ channel switching via MIDI:



with channel switching + FX controlled by an FCB1010

all into s x peavey JSX cabs


my next step at the moment is to procure a nobels ALEX-1 so i can put the NS-2 + bad monkey in an analog loop controlled by the G-major, the main aim being to have only the FCB1010 up with me by the mic stand.

HOWEVER...

i've been thinking about an idea and would like to see if i can do something a little odd. i want to run my rig so that i can toggle between the 6505+ head for the rhythm & lead tone and a peavey classic 50w head for the cleans, but with both heads using the same FX rig, and with still only the FCB by my feet?

so...


guitar
|
A/B MIDI switch
|
6505+
|
OR
|
classic 50w head
|
FX rig (G-major also controlling ISP decimator + maxon OD808 + maybe a better tuner somewhere?)
(confusion: do you need FX to be in a head's FX loop?)
|
(some kind of switch / path to allow whichever of the two head channels into the cabs as one signal)
|
2 x JSX cabs


is this possible? what would be needed? i'd seen the radial headbone as a switcher but noted that it doesn't seem to be MIDI switchable. the other option i had considered was to approach WOBO about something custom maybe?

what i need to work out is what sort of pitfalls might i be facing?

H

[darren]

Interesting! I didn't know Nobels made a MIDI switcher as well. I have a couple of ALEX-1s and they're great little boxes.

[halsinden]

Originally Posted by darren

Interesting! I didn't know Nobels made a MIDI switcher as well. I have a couple of ALEX-1s and they're great little boxes.

indeed they do, yes. admittedly i had to search far and bloody wide for it, but i got one in the end. the only bugger was that the peavey channel switcher cables are 7 pin, which meant james (7DT) made me the custom black box to convert to 5 pin.

H