Simultaneously control effect pedals and amp channels

[joecar]

Afternoon All,

Looking for some guidance as to what Voodoo Lab's products I am actually needing. Up until recently, I have only really used multi-effect pedals due to cost mainly. Well I'm an adult now, times (and income are different) and I am getting back into it all, now I am officially building out a pedal board. I use the distortion on my amp (5150 III 2x12 combo), and have a Loop Master effects loop switch in the effects loop of the amp, and out in front I have the 5150 OverDrive Pedal with an MXR EQ chained together (the clean channel on the amp shares settings with channel 2, so to get a good clean you sacrafice from rythym/distortion on channel 2, and their is a volume jump between the two, so no good way to go from clean to dirty without some major problems, the OD pedal resolves the problem). I am looking for something that will give me the ability to change amp channels simultaneously with specific effect pedals, to stick out in front. i.e. I activate loop 1 and it puts the amp to ch1, i step on loop 2, and it activates ch.1 with the 5150 OD +EQ pedals, loop 3 turns the amp to ch2, and loop 4 turns the amp to channel 3... I only need these 4, and know it needs to be something programmable. The amp does have midi abilities, but the amp channel select that comes with it is a 1/4" jack, I know both can control the amp channels.... Trying to keep this as low cost as possible as I'm not a professional musician, at most I'll be gigging out at local bars... but I do want quality gear which is why I want voodoo labs!

[nyteowl]

A Ground Control Pro and GCX should let you accomplish what you'd like to do.

Run the GCPro in 4-Presets/Bank mode, use the bottom 4 buttons to select presets, and the upper two rows of buttons for your pedals and channel switching. Program your GCPro presets with the required IA buttons On or Off as needed and you'll be good to go.

[joecar]

A Ground Control Pro and GCX should let you accomplish what you'd like to do.

Run the GCPro in 4-Presets/Bank mode, use the bottom 4 buttons to select presets, and the upper two rows of buttons for your pedals and channel switching. Program your GCPro presets with the required IA buttons On or Off as needed and you'll be good to go.

Thanks NYTEOWL, anything smaller than the GC Pro that would do the trick with the GCX Audio Switcher? i.e. The commander? The Pro seems like overkill for what I'm looking to do. But maybe what I am looking to do is a little underwhelming to be looking into something like this?

[nyteowl]

Commander won't work for your application, but there are plenty of smaller MIDI Foot Controllers out there from other manufacturers. Maybe one of the controllers from Peak or BJ Devices..?

[JohnClark]

If you use the Voodoo Lab HEX as the audio switcher for the pedals, a Commander would work for this setup.

The Commander presets would recall any combination of the pedals in the HEX loops as well as directly control the amp using its MIDI connection.

I hope that helps!

[joecar]

Commander won't work for your application, but there are plenty of smaller MIDI Foot Controllers out there from other manufacturers. Maybe one of the controllers from Peak or BJ Devices..?

So I have been thinking about this all day... Does the Ground Control Pro allow you to toggle specific effects within a preset on or off ? And will it allow me to assign what I want to any switch? i.e. If I have the ability to turn off specific effects within a preset , I would want the presets to be at the back and the specific effects closer to the front of the board. i.e. if I was playing say unchained by van halen, I could step on a switch at the back of the GC pro and it would go to amp ch 2 and toggle on flange and reverb, then have the ability on the switches in the first row to toggle the flange on and off when appropriate, without having to balance on a foot or trying to reach over the first row or two of switches to toggle the flange on and off... does what I am asking make sense? And do you know if the GCX will allow me to control the effects before the pre amp as well as the ones in the FX loop at the same time?

[joecar]

If you use the Voodoo Lab HEX as the audio switcher for the pedals, a Commander would work for this setup.

The Commander presets would recall any combination of the pedals in the HEX loops as well as directly control the amp using its MIDI connection.

I hope that helps!

Under this option, does the commander itself actually change the channels on the amp, or is it just a smaller midi controller and I would also need the Control Switcher along with the Hex, to cover the amp channels and effects?

[nyteowl]

You wouldn't need a Control Switcher if you bought the HEX.

[JohnClark]

Yea, your amplifier is directly MIDI controllable. Either the Commander or the Ground Control Pro will control the amp channels with only a MIDI connection necessary.

The Commander has 10 Preset locations with no buttons for controlling individual loops.
The Ground Control Pro has eight buttons that can be programmed to control individual loops/effects as well as four Preset buttons with 36 preset banks. This does however put the Preset buttons on the first row with the eight Instant Access buttons behind them on the next two rows. The button surface is angled so reaching the back two rows is quite easy.
The Presets on either controller will switch everything that is programmed at once regardless of signal routing.

The GCX has eight loops that are completely independent. You can use any combination of these loops in front or behind the preamp section.
The HEX has one independent Loop and five loops internally connected in series. You mentioned only the one device in the effects loop so I assumed that you would be able to use the Independent Loop (HEX Loop 1) for the effects loop effects , and the Series Loops (HEX Loops 2-6) for your front end pedals.
What are all the effects devices you are using in this rig?

[joecar]

Yea, your amplifier is directly MIDI controllable. Either the Commander or the Ground Control Pro will control the amp channels with only a MIDI connection necessary.

The Commander has 10 Preset locations with no buttons for controlling individual loops.
The Ground Control Pro has eight buttons that can be programmed to control individual loops/effects as well as four Preset buttons with 36 preset banks. This does however put the Preset buttons on the first row with the eight Instant Access buttons behind them on the next two rows. The button surface is angled so reaching the back two rows is quite easy.
The Presets on either controller will switch everything that is programmed at once regardless of signal routing.

The GCX has eight loops that are completely independent. You can use any combination of these loops in front or behind the preamp section.
The HEX has one independent Loop and five loops internally connected in series. You mentioned only the one device in the effects loop so I assumed that you would be able to use the Independent Loop (HEX Loop 1) for the effects loop effects , and the Series Loops (HEX Loops 2-6) for your front end pedals.
What are all the effects devices you are using in this rig?

Awesome, thanks John! So I purchased the HEX and Commander, they should be here in a few days. MAY want to pick up a pedal switcher as well... but let me run through my rig, so you can tell me if what I am doing will work. I am running an EVH USA Wolfgang directly into a Morley 'Bad Horsie', which then runs directly into an MXR EVH Phase 90 (may be changing that up and putting the MXR EVH Flange right in between the wah and the Phase 90, the flanger it is currently in my FX Loop)... then directly into the 5150 Over Drive pedal into an MXR 10 band EQ, and then directly into the input jack on the front of my amp (5150 III 2x12 50 watt combo) .... then in the FX loop I have currently the fx send goes directly into and MXR Smart gate (put it here so it doesn't cut out any of the trails from delays etc..., the flanger (again probably pulling from this position and putting out front), then straight into an MXR analog chorus, to a Boss DD7 Digital Delay, into an MXR Carbon Copy analog delay, then into an HOF reverb, into a second MXR 10 band EQ... currently I have a 2 loop loop master out front with the 1st loop going to the phase 90 and second going to the 5150 OD daisy chained to the EQ... then everything in FX loop is connected to a 6 loop, loop master, looper. Then on the board I have the EVH amp channel foot switcher.

What I am going to do out in front is use the HEX and the commander to displace the need for the 2 loop, loop master, and the EVH amp channel foot switcher. so I can toggle specific amp channels and the OD/EQ pedal with one step.... what I would like to do, as I want to keep the pedals on the board in front of me for quick setting adjustments, and for the sake of having full control over toggling specific effects on and off, add in a Voodoo Lab pedal switcher. Use the Hex for the amp changing and the pedals out in front of the amp, and use the Pedal Switcher for everything in the FX loop, since I will only need 4 loops.... and use the commander to control all of it, and get a couple pre-configed settings .... will it work tossing a Pedal Switcher in there for the FX loop pedals? I know I would have to connect the pedal switch and the hex to the commander ... and I think this would all work how I am thinking... but I am new to midi, and voodoo labs .... What do you think?