MIDI Foot Controllers Roundup

[epluribus]

Hey all! Thinking about universal MIDI controllers for your gear? Just threw together an answer to a guy looking for alternatives to the Behringer FCB1010. Mined my files and came up with this congolomeration for another forum, figured I'd post it here at TGP as well...

Roland arguably makes the "original" FCB1010, the Roland FC300. Somewhat smaller than the 1010, but still with dual exp pedals and several programmable presets. Moog makes a nice four-button unit with one pedal, the MP-201. Some others...check out the Rolls MP128, the Rocktron series like their All-Access, Tech 21's MIDI Mouse, Yamaha's MFC Series, incl the -10, Skrydstrup, and Voodoo Labs Ground Control series.

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As for roundups and shootouts and such, here's some good ones...

G-Force's website has a huge MIDI Foot Controller comparison chart here:

http://g-force.info/midiboard_comparison.htm

There's another nice roundup here:

http://www.stecrecords.com/?Keywords=Foot%20Controllers

Here's a terrific How To site...it may suggest some even cooler approaches to your needs. Great fun, and another excellent shootout chart.

http://www.musicplayers.com/tutorial...ontrollers.php

Here's another roundup at AxeTopia...

http://axetopia.com/category/Guitar_...ontrollers.htm

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Individual mfgrs and products:

Be sure to check out LiquidFoot while you're at it...

http://www.liquid-foot.com/products.shtml

ADA made the MPC some time ago...

http://www.guitargeek.com/gearview/253/

There's the PedalGeek MasterMind...

http://www.pedalgeek.com/cgi-bin/new...nd=link--rjmmm

Got analog FX too? No problem. The G-Lab system may be up your alley...

http://www.glab.com.pl/gsc-2_en

Nobels is a small mfgr with a sizable following...

http://www.nobels.com/cgi-bin/products/show.pl?e_mf-1

There's the Keith McMillen SoftStep...

http://www.keithmcmillen.com/downloa...tepDebutPR.pdf

How about a nice three-button Logidy?

http://www.gearwire.com/logidy-umi3.html

Gordius has some really innovative approaches to MIDI control that are worth thinking about--kind of the Outside The Box Dept.

http://www.gordius.be/midi-footcontroller-products.php


There's always Phil Reese's stuff, again very innovative and aimed at the market segments less traveled.

http://www.philrees.co.uk/products/footctrl.htm

Additions, deletions and gripes welcome as always. Plz post gripes in the box on the next page.

--Ray

[zachman]

Custom Audio Electronics RS10

How to set the thing, among other videos on a w/d/w approach

[Dexter.Sinister]

Originally Posted by epluribus

Hey all! Thinking about universal MIDI controllers for your gear? Just threw together an answer to a guy looking for alternatives to the Behringer FCB1010. Mined my files and came up with this congolomeration for another forum, figured I'd post it here at TGP as well...



Additions, deletions and gripes welcome as always. Plz post gripes in the box on the next page.

--Ray

PedalGeek is a retailer; the MasterMind is a product of RJM Music Technology (as it says on the PedalGeek site). Ron, the inventer, is a TGP member.

DS

[epluribus]

Cool, always good to fill these things in so the story gets told right. 'Preciate it.

--Ray

[photios]

RJM makes a midi pedal called the Mastermind.

I prefer it because you can chain several together (as many as 6 IIRC though I only use 2 on stage at my gigs). The pedals have 2-way communication so not only do they change your amp/effects but they talk to each other also and change the other pedals they're linked too. I use one upstage and one down stage at our gigs...mine are custom built so they not only talk to each other but also they are powered via 7 pin midi...no separate power cable for either needed...keeps me from having to be "anchored" on stage in front of my pedal board...allows me to roam around and still make the changes I want/need when I need to make them.

[solo-act]

I have yet to find something I haven't been able to do with the gordius little giant. It controls a bunch of stuff on the Axe-FX, talks to a digital console inside my laptop moving faders and muting channels, talks to a DAW, cuing/playing/pausing/stopping songs, and talks to ableton live, recording/playing/clearing loops, engaging master play on loop groups, stop of loop groups, remapping switches on the footswitch for looping three separate song sections each with 3 engagable loops. It handles volume & tuner engage on one expression pedal, solo engage/expression/wah engage on another expression pedal, talks to a vocal fx processor (via chained midi).

And it does all of this with one midi cable and one USB cable, AND it does any of all of the above whenever I want. That is extremely cool.

[iaresee]

Originally Posted by solo-act

I have yet to find something I haven't been able to do with the gordius little giant. It controls a bunch of stuff on the Axe-FX, talks to a digital console inside my laptop moving faders and muting channels, talks to a DAW, cuing/playing/pausing/stopping songs, and talks to ableton live, recording/playing/clearing loops, engaging master play on loop groups, stop of loop groups, remapping switches on the footswitch for looping three separate song sections each with 3 engagable loops. It handles volume & tuner engage on one expression pedal, solo engage/expression/wah engage on another expression pedal, talks to a vocal fx processor (via chained midi).

And it does all of this with one midi cable and one USB cable, AND it does any of all of the above whenever I want. That is extremely cool.

Holy cow! Why did I not think to use a MIDI foot controller with my DAW?!?!?

I'm so gonna try this with my All Access or R1...

[solo-act]

Originally Posted by iaresee

Holy cow! Why did I not think to use a MIDI foot controller with my DAW?!?!?

I'm so gonna try this with my All Access or R1...

Make sure your DAW has midi mapping -- ability to "listen" to any incoming midi and assign it to a particular function. If it's "listen" mode doesn't hear program changes, you may be screwed. MOTU digital performer listens to all midi and is bulletproof live at gigs. It also runs under a screen saver so no even has a clue what's going on.

[buddaman71]

For a very simple, compact unit, the Tech21 MIDI Moose is pretty sweet.

http://www.tech21nyc.com/products/ef...midimoose.html

It also runs 200 hours on batteries, so you don't have to pull a wall wart to the stage front.

[jzgtrguy]

Thanks for putting this together. It is a big help to us Midiot/Ludite types.

[epluribus]

This is very cool, I too am pretty much a MIDIot. (My FCB1010's GUI basically saves my butt.) Really nice to hear the personal experiences and the gouge on all the stuff you can do with these.

On that note, I agree with the bit about controlling anything that can hear MIDI messages. Got a KeyStation Pro 88 keyboard (my kid's the key player) a while back, but neglected the sustain pedal, so we hooked up the 1010. Wacko! Piano pedals are not supposed to behave that way, but we hacked 'em anyway. Great fun!

Oh yeah...we did assign one of 'em to the intended sustain function.

--Ray

[Johnny Vox]

Anyone know of a small midi controller that can be used for bank changes AND display song titles?

[iaresee]

The Moves: Liquid Foot Jr.

[Johnny Vox]

Originally Posted by iaresee

The Moves: Liquid Foot Jr.

Seen it actually. A little bigger (and more expensive) than I need. Running Loopholic 5 w/ analog pedals + M9 + midi amp controller which switches channels on the Marshall. Just wish I had a tiny box, maybe the size of the MidiMouse. I really just wish the Loopholic could just display song titles!

[10strings]

What about the Rocktron Midi Mate? I decided to get one for my Glass Nexus and I think it is pretty sweet!