Ground control or commander??

[boogit]

Hello,
I am looking at the pedal switcher, commander, gcx audio switcher and ground control pro (audio switcher and commander lol?????). However, I cannot seem to determine which is the best combination for my needs. So, in the hopes of not boring you too much, I would like to explain my needs briefly in the hopes of getting the best (and possibly most cost effective) combo for my desired outcome.

Here goes.....

I wish to
1. Control channels on my guitar amp
2. Control (turn on/off) effect pedals
3. Place pedals in front of the amp as well as in the effect loop of the amp.
4. Use a rack (maybe 2) effect processor and switch banks in the processor
5. Use all of the various combinations from above to create different patches all with the step of just one button.

In short...
I would like to hit one button that would say - switch to a dirty channel of my amp while accessing some sort of effect preset on my processor as well as having a pedal in the chain (in the loop or in front of the preamp). I would again like to hit one switch that would change to another channel while turning on a different set of pedals and perhaps a different preset on the processor. And to make things really fun, with all of the possibilities saved (mentioned above) as a bank/preset on one of your products, I may also decide to have a couple pedals that are not programmed to anything. They would just be waiting to get turned on or off at will not matter the preset configuration. This last bit is not a real big deal as I could simply just have the pedals on a pedal board and hit them directly when I wish to turn them on or off.

So, I hope that made sense. I want to create presets with a mix of analog pedals and some rack gear. I would like to turn several things on and off with one switch/click as well as control individual pedals.
It seems like the commander and pedal switcher(s) will do the trick but then again, the gcx and ground control seem like they are the ones that do the trick. Too confusing for my tiny little brain.

Thank you very much for any insight to making the decision clearer as to what I want.

[JohnClark]

The main difference that might help you decide would be that the Ground Control Pro can control a much more complex rig than the Commander. The Commander has 10 preset locations wile the Ground control Pro has up to 200. The Commander will send a single Program Change with each preset on MIDI channel 1 while the Ground Control Pro can send up to 8 Program Changes with each preset where the number and channel are fully programmable.

For your rig, a Commander, a Pedal Switcher (or two), and a Control Switcher could likely control everything you have. The Commander, the Pedal Switcher(s) and the effects being switched would likely be mounted on a pedalboard. If your amp is MIDI controllable then you can omit the Control Switcher. The processors would have to have their patches mapped to be recalled with Program Change 1- 10 on MIDI channel 1.

On the other hand a Ground Control Pro and a GCX can control everything while allowing access to 128 patches on up to 8 unique MIDI channels. The 8 GCX loops can switch effects, route signal, and perform amp channel/function switching. Everything would likely be mounted in a rack with only the Ground Control Pro out on the floor.

I hope this helps, however I just bet it will bring on more questions

[boogit]

So, I could get peanut butter and jelly in two different jars or, buy them already mixed with pretty stripes within one jar. Lol.
I actually think I was able to follow that. It sounds like option one "could" work but it will fill up fast and at times "may" leave me limited. However, option two, will no doubt do everything and leave room to grow as well as handle things I have not thought of yet. At least I THINK this is what you have said.

So, I think I have got the answer but I do have one more question. Would there be an "attack time" difference in these 2 options. In other words, when I actually step on a button, will one react faster than the other? Would one have that split second of no signal while changing or have a dry signal while the effects etc. kick in?

Thanks a bunch for the above. Like I said, I believe it all made sense.

[JohnClark]

You got it! In option one you are sort of already pushing the limit yet in option two your rig just starts to scratch the surface of the available possibilities.

There is no noticeable latency when using any of our switchers.