OK, I decided to hold my nose and get into some MIDI stuff and have come up against my first hurdle/confusion with midi controllers and routing/mapping midi messages.
The first problem I have is that I've got an
- amp that is midi switchable, but wants specific PC or CC messages on channel 14 (can't be changed).
- pedal board switcher that will send PC messages but only on channels 1 - 10, and will only send a PC message that corresponds to a specific foot switch/bank.
So, what kind of gadget do I need that could take say, a PC message #5 on channel 1 and map that to another PC or CC message on channel 14?
Is there something like a MIDI mapper/router that would allow me to configure such a mapping or transformation of messages?
Sorry if this is a rookie question but I've done some googling and not come up with anything obvious....
@professorben I know you love your MIDI any directions you could point me in?
Thanks in advance!
Comments
Switcher is a GigRig G2 and the amp is a Suhr PT100.
Part of the problem I'm going to face is that the G2 will only send on up to three channels, and I was hoping to be able to control more than three devices...I could put several devices on the same channel I guess but was hoping to avoid that if possible.
I also have a couple Chase Bliss pedals where it would be nice to be able to map the PC messages from the G2 to the correct channel.
Off the the top of my head this will re route midi to 2 different midi channels.
My dream product would be one that went a bit further though and allowed me to map a single PC message to up to 8 other channels and message mappings at the same time and I don't think the midi solutions kit goes that far (unless I'm mistaken).
The other option that I'd started to consider was the MorningStar midi controller, as that allows you to map/generate I think up to 8 midi messages from a single button press.
It doesn't map incoming messages in that way though, so I'd end up having to use that as my foot controller to send midi messages to the midi pedals/devices and the G2...so I'd have two controllers on my board LOL but at least I'd be able to control up to eight midi pedals plus the non-midi stuff via the G2.
I think I may be going into overkill on this!
with this stuff it's all to easy to get bogged down with the potential and forget the requirement.
Make a list of all the tones you want
Amp
Fx
combinations.
When I did this I discovered I have 4 main tones
Clean
Clean Wet
Heavy crunch
Lead
So I programmed my Switcher to give me those 4 tones in each bank
Then switches 5-10 give me variations of Fx on each of those tones
Midi wise I then only send one PC change per preset to all my devices and if I double up presets I don't worry about it.
This way If I want to edit a preset I only have to change one Midi instruction, and just remember to save the new presets on each pedal.
I'll have a bit more of challenge with the Chase Bliss stuff as you can't copy and replicate presets like you might on a more traditional midi pedal.
The other option I thought of was chucking an Eventide H9 into the equation, as that would allow me to do some simple mappings according to preset. It's just a shame it appear the midi maps on the Eventide are at the global system level and not the preset level...you also don't seem to be able to do multiple mappings at the same time like the MorningStar..
I've just remembered that I had an old Keith McMillan SoftStep hanging around from a previous failed MIDI attempt. Going through the manual now and as it finally clicks into place I'm realising it's not a bad piece of kit. Would still required the computer to be running to do the mapping functionality I need, but I could set up some standalone key mappings that would enable me to control the midi pedals and the G2 presets....
Need to start doing some experiments :-)
The amp will only take midi on Channel 14 and the controllers will only send on up to channel 10.
It's as much a project to see how far I can go with midi really. Would defo build something simpler for a gigging board, would be a bit annoying to be stood on stage with a little diagram of midi mapping tables trying to work out what's going wrong
Mark L 12 loop MIDI loop switcher and clean supply (highly recommended but serious bucks)
Re this question: So, what kind of gadget do I need that could take say, a PC message #5 on channel 1 and map that to another PC or CC message on channel 14?
Bradshaw do a box that covers this.
Don't forget- I've got 2 amps that are single channel and also I don't use MIDI into the rack units as there's only 2 (2290 and Modpro) that take MIDI and I only need one setting on those which I can preset into them.
If I were less lazy, I'd get the 2290 and Mod Pro rack swtiched but then you've got to patch it all up.
*An Official Foo-Approved guitarist since Sept 2023.
It's already on a separate board though and as a daft project I'm about to build a silly mega-board with seven midi pedals, up to ten slots for normal pedals, and a midi controlled amp.
Before anyone asks, I have no good reason for doing this whatsoever!
http://www.effectsdatabase.com/model/freethetone/arc/3
*An Official Foo-Approved guitarist since Sept 2023.