MIDI Muddle- GCX, instant access switches, what a mess

[petejt]

This might seem simple, but I admit I am muddled.

I have a DMC (Voodoo Labs) GCX Switcher unit, which I want to use for my effects pedals. With the accompanying Ground Control Pro MIDI floorboard switcher, I can switch on and off those 8 loops for the pedals with the Instant Access switches.

The GCP also has four Preset switches. I'd like to use these four switches to switch the channels on my MarkIV amp, as well as switch in the loops of the GCX. I would have to get a separate switcher for the MarkIV's amp functions, since it's not MIDI-compatible.

But how do I programme this? My understanding of the GCP is that you turn on a combination of Instant Access switches, and then save that combination to one of the four Preset switches. Unless I have dedicated Instant Access switches for those amp functions (e.g. Rhythm 1 channel, Rhythm 2 Channel, Lead channel, EQ, Class A/Simul-Class, Effects Loop), I can't do it? I really don't want to get a second Ground Control Pro with the extra buttons, but I feel like that is my only choice.



But here's the thing- I still don't have a Ground Control Pro, because of all this muddle...


More to come in a second post..... I have to get to the bottom of this!

 

[Gainfreak]

You are just an Idiot and you should shoot yourself now...............


Just kidding of course because I feel your pain and went through this when I was using a GCX and my MKIV lol!!

With that said, You can switch the channels on your MKIV with the GCX and you can also control your pedal effects at the same time.
There is no need to get a seperate switcher for the MKIV unless you run more then 8 loops

The MKIV has 1/4 jacks on the back of it and you can switch it via Midi through the GCX but you have to pick and choose what you want to switch and how many pedal effects you want to use because you have only 8 loops to work with. In other words if you want to switch all 5 functions that you mentioned on the MKIV you will eat up 5 of the loops on the GCX which means that you will only be able to use 3 pedals. If you need more then that then you will either have to ditch some of the switching features or add another GCX.
When I used my MKIV with the gcx, I only used 4 features on the MKIV and I used a rack effect and a few pedal and I was able to control it with one GCX unit.

Check this out to maybe get a visual of what Im talking about

http://www.voodoolab.com/gcxdiagrams/01 ... _AmpSw.pdf

 

[petejt]

I do have a Roland FC-300 MIDI floorboard switcher, but I haven't used because I thought it'd be harder to programme than the GCX and Ground Control Pro.



Here, I will explain my whole setup and what I want to do.

EDIT: Ideally I want to have access to all 6 functions of the MarkIV: Rhythm 1, Rhythm 2, Lead channel, EQ, Class A, Loop. I guess I will need a GCX which sucks because I don't want to take up all this damn space...


I have 5 loops set aside in the GCX for effects pedals: octave; fuzz; phaser/tremolo; wah-wah; flanger.

After that, the signal gets split by a chorus/echo pedal. The wet output skips over to the 7th loop input.
The dry output goes to the input of my Mesa/Boogie MarkIV.

A split from the MarkIV's preamp goes to the 6th loop input of the GCX, which has a pitch shifter pedal in its loop. The output of the 6th loop, feeds the Return jack of the 7th loop.

The 7th loop output goes to the input of my Marshall amp.
Basically, when Loop 7 is off, the (wet) signal from the chorus/echo pedal feeds the Marshall.
When Loop 7 is on, the preamp signal from the MarkIV feeds the Marshall.
When Loop 7 and Loop 6 are on, the pitch-shifted signal from the MarkIV feeds the Marshall.


The Marshall's speaker signal goes through a load/line box, which then feeds the effects loop of my Roland Jazz Chorus amp.
Loop 8 of the GCX will be used for the Roland's chorusing function.



Now, how do I programme all this with the FC-300? I guess I will need a separate MIDI box for the MarkIV's relay switches, but how do I coordinate everything to be set on the fly?


Gosh this must look confusing....

Loop 8 of the GCX will be used for a control

 

[Giga]

I ran into the same king of problems when I had my GC pro. Needless to say I sold it after a short and frustrating while. Subscribe to the Voodoo forum. There's one guy from Voodoo there that knows these things inside and out.

Giga

 

[mboogman]

Actually, You don't have to have the IA buttons set to control the loops /switch functions of the GCX. on the GCP, in edit preset mode, there's an option for setting the status of each loop on the GCX independently of the IA buttons. For example, my setup is this:

I have my marshall head preamp running into loop 1, loop 2 and 3 are currently empty, my Egnater M4in loop 4, a couple of analog boss pedals in loops 5 and 6, and a couple of processors in loops 7 and 8, then out to the power section of my Marshall. NONE of my IA buttons are set to control loops on the GCP. They are all set to control midi functionality of my processors. I enter Edit mode, scroll down until the GCP reads "GCX-1", then set the loops 1-8 the way I need them for that preset.

It's just a matter of telling each loop what to be in the GCP setup, and what each IA button to be in the GCP setup.

Once you wrap your brain around it, it's actually pretty easy to program.

$.02

 

[petejt]

Thanks for all your quick responses, I'll read through them now. I posted again to explain what specifically want to do with the loops. I guess it looks a little complex. If it's easier I can hook everything up and take some photos to show what it means, even if I am yet to programme the switching.



All this just so I don't have to tap-dance!

 

[petejt]

I've changed the configurations- AGAIN!

Instead of the chorus pedal to split the signal, I'll use the GCX's input/guitar out & feed thru as the splitter. One split to the MarkIV, the other to the first loop. The output goes to the Marshall. The Return jack of that loop receives the Satellite Send (preamp) signal from the MarkIV, so I can choose whether to have a distorted signal (ie OD) into the Marshall, or just straight up.

 

[Zachman]

If you incorporate a RJM Amp Gizmo into your rig, you can switch all the functions of your Boogie via midi per preset, and not use any loops of your GCX.

 

[chunktone]

If you incorporate a RJM Amp Gizmo into your rig, you can switch all the functions of your Boogie via midi per preset, and not use any loops of your GCX.

You could do this, or sell your GCX and get an RJM effect gizmo. It's basicaly the same thing as the GCX, but has 12 loops.

 

[Zachman]

If you incorporate a RJM Amp Gizmo into your rig, you can switch all the functions of your Boogie via midi per preset, and not use any loops of your GCX.

You could do this, or sell your GCX and get an RJM effect gizmo. It's basicaly the same thing as the GCX, but has 12 loops.

I agree... the RJM also sounds better, imo-- but we work with what we have...

 

[petejt]

If you incorporate a RJM Amp Gizmo into your rig, you can switch all the functions of your Boogie via midi per preset, and not use any loops of your GCX.

You could do this, or sell your GCX and get an RJM effect gizmo. It's basicaly the same thing as the GCX, but has 12 loops.

I agree... the RJM also sounds better, imo-- but we work with what we have...

So you mean the RJM has better sounding loops?

 

[Zachman]

If you incorporate a RJM Amp Gizmo into your rig, you can switch all the functions of your Boogie via midi per preset, and not use any loops of your GCX.

You could do this, or sell your GCX and get an RJM effect gizmo. It's basicaly the same thing as the GCX, but has 12 loops.

I agree... the RJM also sounds better, imo-- but we work with what we have...

So you mean the RJM has better sounding loops?

Just my opinion, ymmv