# [Tech] Building a MIDI controlled live rig



## noodles (Jan 26, 2008)

Tired of playing the pedal tap dance? Do you want a wide array of sounds with a simple pedal board layout? Do you want to have a reliable, easy to use live rig? Does MIDI confuse you? This article will teach you the basics of building a simple live rig, and the techniques and principals you learn here should help you when it comes time for your rig to grow and become more flexible.

The center of any good rig is your rack. You're going to want something that is sturdy enough to hold up to plenty of abuse, the right size to hold everything you need it to, and strong enough to support the weight of your amp head on top of it.







A good power conditioner is another must have item. Think of it as a rackmountable power strip and surge protector. The optional lights on the front are handy to have around when making those last minute adjustments on a dark stage.






You'll need four machine screws and eight nylon washers for every piece of equipment you rack.






Set one set of washers on the rack, and then set the unit on top of it.






Turn on the screws with another set of washers by hand. You want to leave them all loose as you put them on, so the unit can naturally settle into place.






If you use a drill, make sure to use a low torque setting. Mine ranges from 1 to 24, and I usually set it around 10. Start on one corner, then go the opposite corner. Repeat for the other two. Tighten them down most of the way, then go back around and tighten them all the way down.






Rack mount other components, like this G Major, in the same way.






Here are the non rackmount units I will be placing on a rack tray.










The Nobels ALEX-1 is a simple loop switcher. Use the amp send and return jacks like the input and output jacks of a standard pedal. Use the effect input and output jacks to create your effects loop of pedals. I use this to switch my Tube ScreamerOVchaoS in and out of my signal chain, depending on if I'm on a clean or distorted channel. Amp send to TS input, TS output to amp return, and you're done. I'm planning on getting a second one for my Boss DistortionOVchaoS.






The remote switch jack on the other side of the unit is to hook it up to something that has a switch relay. The G Major has two, several MIDI foot controls have two or more, some amps have an external triggers jack, and a simple one button on/off switch can also be used. I control this with the G Major, taking the pedal in and out of the loop as needed. This takes standard 9V pedal power.






The Amp Gizmo--an amp switcher--is what I use to switch channels and functions on my amplifier. The channel bank on the front controls the four channels on my Roadster. Only one of these can be on at a time. The function bank controls the Roadster's solo boost, reverb, loop, and tuner mute functions. These buttons are all independent of one another. To program it, you use a MIDI foot controller to change to the desired patch number, toggle the buttons the way you want the amp set for that patch, and hold down the write button.






The back of the unit has a amplifier jack that utilizes a custom cable from the manufacturer that attaches the unit directly to the footswitch jack of your amp.. You can also use the four stereo jacks to connect to amps with 1/4" single function footswitch jacks. I put this as the first thing in my MIDI chain, so my foot controller plugs straight into the MIDI in jack. The MIDI thru jack passes the unmodified signal to the next device in the chain.






In this way, you can easily synch up your amp, boost pedal, and effects in one easy button press. Simply pick an empty bank and dial in your rig the way you want, starting with the amp, then adding the effects and setting the switch on/off setting with the effects unit. Write your patch on the effects unit and amp switcher to memory, and you're done. Simply keep repeating this up to 99 times. Or more, depending on the capabilities of your equipment.

The remaining unit is my wireless, which is the start of my signal chain. This will go out to my pedalboard. This, and everything else will go here:






The Amp Gizmo is on the left, with the loop switcher directly behind it, the tube screamer in the middle, and the wireless is on the right. Unfortunately, the Tube ScreamerOVChaos radiated part of my memory card, and I lost my shot of the whole pedalboard cabled up. I'll try to get anther pic soon, but it should be pretty simple to figure out with the descriptions above. Plus, I color code all of my cable jacks and pedals with tape, so I can easily see where everything is supposed to go. This is a life saver when something goes wrong with your rig live, and you need to get it working again as quickly as possible.






I use a good 9V pedal power supply with the expansion pigtails to power everything in the rack drawer, except for the wireless. The wireless uses it's own 12V power supply.






Here is the tray installed and powered up.










Since I'm using loop switchers for pedals now, the only thing I need on my pedalboard is a wah and the MIDI foot controller. I use a Nobels MF-2, which supports 4 expression pedals and gives you four switch relays. I used to have the loop switcher and tube screamer out here, controlled by the foot controller, but it was too cluttered, making it easy to step on something by accident and unplug a cable. I operate my wah pedal with my left foot, which is completely opposite of most right handed players. This came from four years of standing on stage left, keeping that pedal as far away as possible from am aggressive singer with big feet.






Here you can see how color coding everything makes setups a snap live.










I keep these wires velcro tied together at roughly six inch intervals. The blue tipped guitar cable stays permanently plugged into the back of the wireless. The MIDI cable stays permanently plugged into the Amp Gizmo. The MIDI signal leaves the Amp Gizmo along the red MIDI cable, into the MIDI In on the G Major.






The only guitar cable without a strip of tape sits at the front of the rack, waiting to plug into the amp head during setup.






The effects loop guitar cables are also run during setup. The ones on the G Major side stay permanently plugged in.

Here is the specialized cable that attaches the amp switcher to the amp.






Now, if we step on "1" on the footswitch, you can see that several lights come on on the Amp Gizmo--signifying my clean channel and the solo boost--and the G Major is set to the first patch.










Step on "2", and some more lights change on the amp switcher--this is just channel four, my rhythm channel--and the second patch on the effects unit.










I currently use nine presets, spending most of my time on three.

There you go, a simply, easy to use, easy to setup and strike, reliable live rig.


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## ibznorange (Jan 26, 2008)

Sweet, good stuff man 

Zorro


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## m3ta1head (Jan 26, 2008)

Excellent post, very informative!

Now send me your rig.


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## Zepp88 (Jan 26, 2008)

Nice post Dave


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## TomAwesome (Jan 26, 2008)

Nice setup! Racks and MIDI are sexy.


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## stuh84 (Jan 26, 2008)

I'm liking it, my rig is gonna be going this way within the next 6 months, I already have the G Major and midi floorboard (although tempted to get that Nobels one now, mines falling apart), just need to add all the effects switches and stuff like that.

Damn fine thread though


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## Zepp88 (Jan 26, 2008)

I highly recommend the Nobels stuff dude


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## stuh84 (Jan 26, 2008)

Aaaargh, just looked into the manual on the Nobels, and it will deal in ONLY Program Change messages, I need Control Changes to use the pedal mode on the G Major.

Out with that idea then 

Don't know if I should start a new topic with this, but are there any Midi Floorboards people can recommend which don't omit Control Changes because manufacturers think all guitarists are idiots, and are not the Behringer FCB1010? I have one and despite it not being used for the past year and a half, the moment I got it out of storage, its performing worse than it used to.....


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## darren (Jan 26, 2008)

Very nicely done, Dave! Informative!


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## Apophis (Jan 26, 2008)

Awesome


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## noodles (Jan 26, 2008)

stuh84 said:


> Aaaargh, just looked into the manual on the Nobels, and it will deal in ONLY Program Change messages, I need Control Changes to use the pedal mode on the G Major.



You're going to be spending at least $350 for a foot controller than can handle control changes. For the amount of effects and channel switching I do, program changes are all I need. If I want to add chorus to an existing sound, I just make a new patch for it. If I ever need a lot of different patches for a song, I'll put them all in one bank.


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## stuh84 (Jan 26, 2008)

Yeah, I mean my Behringer can handle it, but the build quality is deffo nothing to write home about.

Problem is, most of the boards I see have seperate modes for using control changes. All I want is pretty much the same functionality as my FCB1010, but without the crappy build quality 

I think the main reason is for when we are rehearsing/song writing and jamming on a section, if I feel in the mood for adding, I dunno, Phaser or whatever, then I can just whack it on, rather than having to stop, click it, get the right effect and go.


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## noodles (Jan 26, 2008)

Funny thing is, when rehearsing or jamming, I just throw some pedals on the floor. All the MIDI control is for my live rig, just because it makes everything straight forward and reliable.


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## stuh84 (Jan 26, 2008)

Sounds like a plan, I just like having my rehearsal rig exactly the same as the live rig. I'm gonna have to search out all midi floorboards I guess.....


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## The Dark Wolf (Jan 26, 2008)

Sexcellent fucking work, Dave. From pics, to tutorial, to setup. Nice job.


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## stuh84 (Jan 26, 2008)

By the way noodles, sorry for de-railing the thread slightly, after a lot of looking at the manuals and things, I've decided on the Rocktron All Access. Bit pricy, but it has every feature I want and more. Thanks for the anecdotes and comments though, much appreciated, and I REALLY like this thread a lot, reminded me what I want to do with my rig.


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## skinhead (Jan 27, 2008)

Cool.

I need to get my rig and my life controled via MIDI.


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## eaeolian (Jan 27, 2008)

Hey, that rig looks familiar.  Nicely done.


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## eleven59 (Jan 27, 2008)

I'll be coming back to this thread in the future


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## scott from _actual time_ (Jan 27, 2008)

stuh84 said:


> Aaaargh, just looked into the manual on the Nobels, and it will deal in ONLY Program Change messages, I need Control Changes


Rocktron MidiMate does CC changes. it's also one of the rare pedals that will do a "split" Program Change and CC mode, with 5 of the buttons doing Program Changes and the other 5 doing CCs. and used, they cost only ~$150 or so, or they did 8+ years ago when i bought mine. one drawback, they have rubber buttons that don't have a firm click like stomp switches. but definitely a controller to look into if you need CC changes.


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## stuh84 (Jan 27, 2008)

Yeah, looked into the MidiMate, and it seems cool, but I think the All Access is what I'll go for, the manual put lots of ideas in my head so must be a good sign


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## Oogadee Boogadee (Jan 29, 2008)

this has to be one of the coolest informative posts I've seen in a loooong time.


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## 7 Dying Trees (Jan 29, 2008)

stuh84 said:


> Yeah, I mean my Behringer can handle it, but the build quality is deffo nothing to write home about.


Not had any issues, and my gear isn't babied. Sturdy and made of metal, and at the price I can't argue with it at all, had it for 4/5 years and it's been fine!

Anyway, very good post about all things midi, although I'd add to this:

- If you're dealing with loads of cabling, or like me, need to split up the rack into several parts (like pre and power amp) for weight considerations then:

Have a "master" module in your rack, all cables attached to this, and cable tied if they leave the rack in bundles, ie, I have:

- a midi + power lead bundle leading out to the behringer FCB1010 to power it
- stereo out to the power amp
- power to the power amp
- Any switching signals to the power amp (I had a grouping of 3 leads when i had the 2:90)

And if you can, colour code! Nothing is worse than trying to figure out what goes where in a rack when it isn't working!


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## eaeolian (Jan 29, 2008)

^ James speaks the truth. I really need to take pics of mine (that was the inspiration for Dave's) sometime soon and post them here. I have everything color-coded, and I built an interface box for my pedalboard so everything plugs up in one place. Works great.


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## 7 Dying Trees (Jan 29, 2008)

eaeolian said:


> ^ James speaks the truth. I really need to take pics of mine (that was the inspiration for Dave's) sometime soon and post them here. I have everything color-coded, and I built an interface box for my pedalboard so everything plugs up in one place. Works great.


Aye. Racks can be absolutely close-to-tears material if they go wrong at gigs. Nothing is more embarressing than having your blinky light racvk of doom not work (gets you laughed at).

Hence a few other tricks:
1) The rear rack rails are your friends. Cable ties will attach cabling that goes out, and prevent most accidental pulling cables out of their sockets

2) Really make sure the wiring inside is idiot proof and secure. Cable tie, cable tie, and then cable tie some more

3) Keep units in racks that belong together. If you're rack is in two parts, then you want:
- TWO signal cables at most (one for left, one for right) going from one to the other
- ONE power lead if you can help it.

4) Keep cables attached to the master module of the rack via cable ties.

5) If you can get your rack up and running in less than 5 minutes (plug, plug, connect to cab, connect guitar and done) and pack down in 5 minutes then you have a good rack design.


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## Drew (Jan 29, 2008)

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


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## Rick (Jan 29, 2008)

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


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## 7 Dying Trees (Jan 29, 2008)

Drew said:


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


It is! It's like lego!


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## noodles (Jan 29, 2008)

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.


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## 7 Dying Trees (Jan 30, 2008)

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


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## Universe74 (Feb 1, 2008)

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


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## djpharoah (Feb 28, 2008)

Very informative and gas inducing dave.


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## chimpinatux (Apr 13, 2009)

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?


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## stuh84 (Apr 13, 2009)

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.


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## darren (Apr 13, 2009)

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.


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## Meldville (Apr 14, 2009)

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 fucking 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?


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## stuh84 (Apr 14, 2009)

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?


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## ajdehoogh (Apr 14, 2009)

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


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## Zepp88 (Apr 14, 2009)

stuh84 said:


> 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.


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## stuh84 (Apr 14, 2009)

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


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## El Caco (Apr 15, 2009)

chimpinatux said:


> 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.


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## darren (Apr 17, 2009)

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.


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## Fionn (Apr 18, 2009)

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


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## El Caco (Apr 19, 2009)

My new Advance s720


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## Ryan-ZenGtr- (Nov 3, 2009)

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.


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## Ryan-ZenGtr- (Nov 3, 2009)

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?


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## JJ Rodriguez (Nov 3, 2009)

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.


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## halsinden (Nov 6, 2009)

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


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## darren (Nov 6, 2009)

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.


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## halsinden (Nov 6, 2009)

darren said:


> 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


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## darren (Nov 6, 2009)

Yeah, i had to make a custom cable to hook the relays in my G-System into my Mesa F-30.


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