pedal switcher & commander questions

[ninzanstudio]

I'm putting together a board for a customer. It's a PedalTrain PT-Pro (32" x 16") using two PP2+ power supplies, with the following signal chain:

• - T1M Mini-A/B switch (2 in, 1 out)
  - Vox Wah
  - T1M Mini-Buffer
  - Boss TU-2 (in volume pedal tuner out)
  - Boss NS-2 (loop: Fulltone OCD v4, Fulltone GT-500, EHX Mig Muff Pi w/ - Tone Wicker, Fulltone Fat Boost FB-2)
  - EHX Micro POG
  - Digitech EX-7 expression pedal
  - MXR M159 Stereo Tremolo
  - T-Rex Tremonti Phaser
  - EHX Small Clone Chorus
  - Visual Sound Visual Volume
  - EHX Holy Grail Reverb (classic chassis)
  - EHX Deluxe Memory Man (XO chassis)
  - Line6 DL4

Here's a layout pic:


Looks like some pedals, like the wah and EX-7 will have to go off board, or maybe get a second board (or a bigger one).

The customer is now requesting a programmable controller to turn on multiple pedals at once, he has mentioned the Carl Martin Octa-Switch (cheap and can do the progammed loop thing) but it seems to be very limited, has no MIDI control, and is huge!! I want to recommend a Pedal Switcher(s) and Commander setup. However, in the near future the board will be upgraded to use Eventide Factor pedals (Time, Pitch, and Mod).

My question is can the Commander control the MIDI functions of the Factor pedals? Would a Ground Control Pro be better suited for this?

Thanks for your help.
Xavier

ninZan Studio

[ninzanstudio]

I forgot to add....when the upgrade to the Eventide pedals occurs, many of the pedals will be removed (Tremolo, Reverb, Chorus, etc.) to make room on the board. I don't think this customer will need the amp switching and amp channel switching OR use rack mounted amps, effects units. He really wants everything on the floor.

[JohnClark]

The Commander will send MIDI Program Changes 1-10, corresponding with Commander Presets 1-10, on MIDI channel 1. To control more than one Factor pedal you will need to configure the first one's MIDI Out as a MIDI Thru and write the presets in each unit so they both come up with the desired sound when receiving the same Program Change. I hope that helps!

[ninzanstudio]

The Commander will send MIDI Program Changes 1-10, corresponding with Commander Presets 1-10, on MIDI channel 1. To control more than one Factor pedal you will need to configure the first one's MIDI Out as a MIDI Thru and write the presets in each unit so they both come up with the desired sound when receiving the same Program Change. I hope that helps!

That does help, thank you John. Would the GCP be more flexible in terms of controlling multiple Factor pedals?

[JohnClark]

The Commander will send MIDI Program Changes 1-10, corresponding with Commander Presets 1-10, on MIDI channel 1. To control more than one Factor pedal you will need to configure the first one's MIDI Out as a MIDI Thru and write the presets in each unit so they both come up with the desired sound when receiving the same Program Change. I hope that helps!

That does help, thank you John. Would the GCP be more flexible in terms of controlling multiple Factor pedals?

In short... Yes, of course. The first thing that becomes much easier would be that the Ground Control Pro will be able to control these units on independent MIDI channels, thus eliminating the need for the mapping of presets as is necessary when only sending on a single MIDI channel.
The Commander is intended to be quite simple with its 10 preset locations and will be a fine solution unless the customer requires more complexity.

[cjkbug]

not to hijack this thread or anything, but I have both the timefactor and modfactor units and you also have the option of using each units incoming program map. which can be used to map an internal preset to an external program change. which makes dealing with the eventides 2 preset per bank setup a little less confusing

[ninzanstudio]

Not at all..thanks for the tip.

Xavier

not to hijack this thread or anything, but I have both the timefactor and modfactor units and you also have the option of using each units incoming program map. which can be used to map an internal preset to an external program change. which makes dealing with the eventides 2 preset per bank setup a little less confusing