Dual Rectifier Multi Watt Mute and Ground Control Pro

Q & A for building and interfacing your rack gear with Ground Control Pro and GCX-based systems.
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pjrake
Posts: 13
Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 1:41 pm

Dual Rectifier Multi Watt Mute and Ground Control Pro

Post by pjrake »

Is there a way to assign the "mute" button on the Ground Control Pro? I know that the pedal that comes with the new Dual Rectifier has a mute button, but the switching from the back does not. I'm guessing maybe the Solo switch has something to do with it?

Right now I'm running the Channel 2, Channel 3, and Loop of the amp to the GCX (loop 6, 7, and 8). Didn't bother with assigning a Solo cause I really don't use it (and can use the extra loops!)

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

PJ

nyteowl
Posts: 1389
Joined: Mon Jan 25, 2010 8:53 am

Re: Dual Rectifier Multi Watt Mute and Ground Control Pro

Post by nyteowl »

pjrake wrote:Is there a way to assign the "mute" button on the Ground Control Pro? I know that the pedal that comes with the new Dual Rectifier has a mute button, but the switching from the back does not. I'm guessing maybe the Solo switch has something to do with it?

Right now I'm running the Channel 2, Channel 3, and Loop of the amp to the GCX (loop 6, 7, and 8). Didn't bother with assigning a Solo cause I really don't use it (and can use the extra loops!)

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

PJ
I'm sorry, but exactly what do you mean by the "mute" button? I downloaded the 3-channel Dual Rectifier manual from the Mesa Boogie site, searched it for the word "mute" and nothing was found. Then I researched the site further for the new 3-channel foot switch, and found the following description on this page:

Dual Rectifier® (New)
Chan1/Chan2/Chan3/Solo/FX

Again, I apologize, but I can't find any information that has anything to do with a mute function. Could you please elaborate on exactly what it is you wish to accomplish, and also provide a description of your current GCX connections?
For Sale: Original DMC GCX in Excellent Condition ($275) and a far more versatile SoundSculpture GL also in Excellent Condition ($1750). Free CONUS Shipping.

pjrake
Posts: 13
Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 1:41 pm

Re: Dual Rectifier Multi Watt Mute and Ground Control Pro

Post by pjrake »

nyteowl wrote:
pjrake wrote:Is there a way to assign the "mute" button on the Ground Control Pro? I know that the pedal that comes with the new Dual Rectifier has a mute button, but the switching from the back does not. I'm guessing maybe the Solo switch has something to do with it?

Right now I'm running the Channel 2, Channel 3, and Loop of the amp to the GCX (loop 6, 7, and 8). Didn't bother with assigning a Solo cause I really don't use it (and can use the extra loops!)

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

PJ
I'm sorry, but exactly what do you mean by the "mute" button? I downloaded the 3-channel Dual Rectifier manual from the Mesa Boogie site, searched it for the word "mute" and nothing was found. Then I researched the site further for the new 3-channel foot switch, and found the following description on this page:

Dual Rectifier® (New)
Chan1/Chan2/Chan3/Solo/FX

Again, I apologize, but I can't find any information that has anything to do with a mute function. Could you please elaborate on exactly what it is you wish to accomplish, and also provide a description of your current GCX connections?
Thanks for the reply. Here is an image of the new dual rectifier foot switch:

Image

The first button (top-left) is the MUTE button. I tried it when I bought the amp last week (before adding to my rig), and it muted the whole amp, which I thought was pretty cool, as it's very helpful when tuning onstage.

My question is can I assign that very same button using the Ground Control Pro. At this point I'm gonna assume no as there's no external switch in the back. Just thought if there were other users who maybe found a way.

Thanks!

PJ

domct203
Posts: 157
Joined: Fri May 20, 2011 11:07 am

Re: Dual Rectifier Multi Watt Mute and Ground Control Pro

Post by domct203 »

Without an External Trigger jack for the Mute you will need to look at the footswitch's DIN jack pinout to see if you can do it there.

Or you could stick a volume pedal in the amp's FX Loop.

I had the same issue with my Dual Recto Roadster, and went with an expression pedal (via a GCP) for volume control through a G-Major in the FX Loop which worked out better for me.

Dom
Ground Control Pro | GCX | Control Switcher | PP2+ | Mesa Dual Rectifier Roadster | Mesa Mark V | Mesa Stiletto Deuce | (2) Mesa Rectifier 4X12's | '73 Gibson Les Paul Custom | '12 Gibson Les Paul Trad | '10 Carvin CT6M | TC G-Major

nyteowl
Posts: 1389
Joined: Mon Jan 25, 2010 8:53 am

Re: Dual Rectifier Multi Watt Mute and Ground Control Pro

Post by nyteowl »

Aha...totally different foot switch than the one I found.

For what it's worth, my preferred method of muting my rig has always been putting a tuner in Loop 1, like this:

Guitar-> Loop1 In; Loop1 Send-> Tuner; Loop 1 Out-> Loop 2 In

Not sending a signal back from the Tuner will effectively mute the rig. I should also mention that the last thing in my signal chain before my amp is always a volume pedal, so when I don't use my tuner I'm using Dom's method of silencing my rig.

Another alternative for you, since you implied you were looking to use your GCPro and a GCX Loop to mute the amp, you could simply leave the last loop in your signal chain empty and mute the amp using a variation of A/B switching, where you'd switch between signal and no signal. I'd do it like this:

Loop 7 Out-> Loop 8 In; Loop 8 Send-> Amplifier In; no other Loop 8 connections

With these connections there is no signal coming into the Return jack and no signal leaving the Out jack, so when Loop 8 is On your guitar signal will be routed to your amp via the Send jack, but when Loop 8 is Off your amp will be off as well, as it won't be receiving any signal.

You could also try running the Mesa's FX Send to the Loop 8 In and the Loop 8 Send to Mesa's FX Return and leave the loop on at the amp. Then, as described above, when Loop 8 is On your amp will be on, and when the loop is off, the amp will be muted. However, I would only advise doing this if there is nothing else in the effects loop.

Good luck, and let us know what you end up doing...
For Sale: Original DMC GCX in Excellent Condition ($275) and a far more versatile SoundSculpture GL also in Excellent Condition ($1750). Free CONUS Shipping.

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