midi question

  • Thread starter Thread starter Ben Hur
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Ben Hur

Ben Hur

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heya guys,

couple (maybe) midi questions.. probably noob questions too :doh:

i'm running a Splawn QR, switching amp channels and a few pedals via Rocktron Patchmate and Rocktron Midimate. i've got that working great, programmed it all up. recently good a good deal on a somewhat sketchy behringer multi-effects unit. by sketchy, i mean i'm pretty sure its not anywhere near as good as tc helicon, lexicon, etc, etc. worst case, it was super cheap, and should be fun to play with. if i like the concept, i can save up for a decent one. i know the midi cabling part of it, but not sure what i'm doing with multiple devices. do they all need to be on the same channel, or different channels? my understanding of the Midimate from reading the owners manual (8 months ago) is that i can switch on up to 16 devices at once, all on different channels. not sure if i am mistaken on that or not. ultimately i would end up saving patches for various combinations of my amp channels, my pedals in the rack, and the multi-efx. hoping to get some insight on the subject before i spend 3 hours accomplishing nothing and then hafta ask.

thanks a million :thumbsup:
 
Either way. Everything could be on the same channel and you could program change things - Program 1 on each device is say clean, program 2 crunch. You just set the devices to what you want in each program #. No real programming on the midi pedal.


Or they could all have different channels and you can still use program change, but program the pedal for changing the devices. So you step on 1 on the pedal and it will send out info for each channel you have programmed the pedal to do. Maybe nothing, maybe a patch, or parameter.

Up to you and how deep into it you want to go. If it's just simple patch changes I'd set them all to the same channel. If you are going to do some deep fx changes maybe all different channels.
 
Shark is right. It really is up to you and depends on how you want to structure your rig.

I personally like to have each unit on a separate midi channel if I am running multiple units. If you are only using one unit, you might as well not worry about it and keep it simple. Lately I am running an Axe Fx Ultra in the loop of my amp and that covers all the effects. Then, have a volume, wah, comp, and tuner in front of the amp. The more you complicate things, the more challenges there are troubleshooting when something goes wrong.

I am assuming if you are only running the Behringer effects unit, you will be in the same kind of boat here. The QR and the pedals are in separate loops on the patchmate, done. Then you just run your effects unit into another loop. No extra problems.

Program the patches you want on your midimate to recall amp channel, pedals, and the effects and bingo, done. You will be able to choose amp channels, pedals, and effects just as you mentioned. The rub comes in if you want to be able to Instant Access your effects, rather than just program change. That will require a more complex foot controller with many more switches. I run a Liquid Foot Pro and LOVE the ability to switch effects on and off within patches. That's true flexibility.

The only caveat I will mention is my experience with my QR was the loop is a bit of a tone suck. To the point of not wanting effects in the loop, rather than lose the awesome tone. I still kept my pedals in front, but when the loop was active, the tone just didn't work for me. If you already run things through your loop and are happy, cool. Just my experience.

Love my QR, but when I use it, it only has pedals in front...sometimes it's blended with another amp that has the effects or even is part of a wet/dry rig. Then it can be the dry part and effects are still covered.

Good luck...
 
Makes sense. I have all my stuff out front of the amp right now, excepting a noise suppressor in the loop. I've heard conflicting reports with the Splawn effects loops. Mine is great, at least the little bit I've used stuff in it. Very little suck. I've heard other guys say its great and just as many say it sucks. Go figure.

Regardless, I appreciate the insight. You guys are awesome!
 
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