ground control with randall rm-100

[bodomchild88]

so i am now setting up the ground control to control my randall rm-100 head, however i cannot seem to get it. I have no idea what midi channel the head is set to, so I went through every single channel, and had no luck. heres how i did it:
i plugged the midi cable in, and entered set up mode. i then entered the head and set it to midi channel 1 to start. i then went and set up each of the four presets in my first block. presets one and two are both clean, and are supposed to use channel 1 of the amp which is control change #56, button 3 is #57, and button 4 is #58. after failing on channel 1, i went through all of the channels, and still had no luck. any advice would be greatly appreciated. thanks!

[JohnClark]

There is a 4 position DIP switch inside the head to set the MIDI receive channel. You can also use it to reset the head so you can choose what message type will control it, either Program Change or Control Change. Randal should be able to give you specific instructions on how to find it and how to set it. I'm not so sure your method would have worked as it appears you were sending Program Changes rather than Control Changes. Try enabling all the GCXs in the Ground Control Pro, it is likely that GCX #4 will control the amp channels.

[bodomchild88]

k. however i am not using a gcx switcher, and i dont want to use any instant access buttons to control the amp. is this still possible?

[JohnClark]

Oh... well you must go out and purchase 4 GCX switchers!

OK, not really... what I am suggesting is that you tell the Ground control Pro that you are using the switchers because the RM-100 seems to default to the same Control Change messages that GCX-4 responds to.

The other option is to contact Randal and ask them how to access the internal DIP switch so you can set the amp to Program Change mode. Program Change mode is probably a lot easier of an interface because you can assign channels 1, 2, 3... to be Program Change 1, 2, 3... That way when you are programming your Ground Control Pro presets you will see the device name (I would suggest RM-100) and assign the channel number that should be active for that particular preset. I have set this amp up for use with a Ground Control Pro rig a few times and have found it to be a much better way to control it. I just can't figure out why the DIP switch is hidden inside the amp.

*Warning* Do not open up your amp unless you know how to avoid the dangers when doing so! As with all tube amps, there are potentially deadly voltages present even when the amp is unplugged! Contact Randall for specifics on how to get to this switch and how to set it properly.