Concise, Easy-To-Follow External Stand-In Switch Config/Setup?

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bleujazz3

bleujazz3

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I know it's a lot to ask, but sometimes we struggle with phrasing and comprehension. I'm sure the fine manual has some concise wording that may help setup some external stand-in switches, at least to toggle on & off for now, until FAS provides a firmware update.

For those who have already successfully added stand-in switches to their FX boards with TS cables, please chime in and try to provide simple step-by-step instructions for setting up an external NC & NO momentary stand-in switch.

I think we could all make good use of simple instructions that could be applied to our FM9 workflow.
 
I set one up on a wah pedal to turn the block on and off. I would need to go back through what I did to put steps together. It was easier than I expected it to be. I had to look in multiple places in the manual to get the individual pieces to put it all together but it wasn't too bad.
 
AxeManDan said:
What does the manual say?
Click to expand...
PG 7 EXTERNAL SWITCHES

This section is for switches connected to the local “Pedal” jacks of the FM9. For switches connected to an FC Series controller, see your FC Owner’s Manual.
Each of the two Pedal jacks of the FM9 can support a switch instead of an expression pedal. Any make-break switch type may be used with the FM9 in this way. Connect as shown below:

EXTERNAL SWITCH SETTINGS

External switches require a simple setup:
  • Page to the Pedal page of the I/O menu under SETUP.
  • Set Pedal 1 Type to “SWITCH” .
  • Next, navigate down to the SWITCH SETTINGS section and select the TYPE and POLARITY for each of your switches. See “I/O: Pedal Page” on p. 94 for more on these settings.
Press HOME to finish.

External Switches can be used with the options found in the MIDI/REMOTE MENU by selecting the option PEDAL 1, PEDAL 2 or PEDAL 3 (this label refers to the name of the jack on the FM9 and not what you have connected to it).
The STAND IN SWITCH feature (p. 79) makes external switches even more powerful, since it allows them to perform any of the the functions of an onboard switch.

PG 79 STAND-IN SWITCHES

Stand-In Switches allow an external switch to fire the function of a switch in any layout. This requires you to have one or more external switches. These can be connected directly to the FM9 (see p. 12) or to an FC Controller (see your FC Owner’s Manual).

Without the Stand-In Switch feature, the capabilities of an external switch are very limited. Modifiers and global functions, for instance don’t have any press-and-hold capabilities, and they can’t, for instance, change a Bank, switch a Layout or View, or have any kind of per-preset capability.

To make such switches more powerful, we created Stand-In Switches. This feature allows a connected external switch to operate like a remote control for any switch that you have already programmed in a layout on your FM9.

For example, you might normally have Layout 3, Switch 12 set to bypass/engage the Trem Pan 1 block on tap, and toggle the block’s channel from A to B on hold. When you set up an external switch Stand-In for Layout 3, Switch 12, it now performs these functions. This even allows an external switch to perform per-preset functions as described on the previous page. Be aware that the stand-in is just a pointer. If you change the switch under remote control, the function of the stand-in will change too.

TO CREATE A STAND-IN SWITCH:

From the Home page, open SETUP: FC Controllers/Onboard Switches
Page to the Stand-In Switches tab.
Navigate up or down to the switch you want to set up. For example, “FM9 SW2 Tip”
Select the desired Layout and Switch using the B and C or Value knobs.
Set up any other Stand-In Switches and press Home when finished.
Test your switch.

FTR, this is about as simple as I might expect and be able to comprehend. The last section regards creating a stand-in switch is direct, but does not address how FM9-Edit utilizes the stand-in switch function.

What I had hoped to find was instructions for working with FM9-Edit and assigning a stand-in switch to a specific amp or effect block function that could be toggled on/off with the switch.
 
bleujazz3 said:
For those who have already successfully added stand-in switches to their FX boards with TS cables, please chime in and try to provide simple step-by-step instructions for setting up an external NC & NO momentary stand-in switch.
Click to expand...
I know you're asking for the FM9. I don't have one, but pretty sure it'll be the same basic process as for the FM3. This video really helped me:

 
bleujazz3 said:
TO CREATE A STAND-IN SWITCH:

From the Home page, open SETUP: FC Controllers/Onboard Switches
Page to the Stand-In Switches tab.
Navigate up or down to the switch you want to set up. For example, “FM9 SW2 Tip”
Select the desired Layout and Switch using the B and C or Value knobs.
Set up any other Stand-In Switches and press Home when finished.
Test your switch.

FTR, this is about as simple as I might expect and be able to comprehend. The last section regards creating a stand-in switch is direct, but does not address how FM9-Edit utilizes the stand-in switch function.
Click to expand...
FM9-Edit doesn’t utilize Stand-In Switches. You, the human guitar player, are the one who utilizes Stand-In Switches.

Stand-In Switches allow an external footswitch to perform the function of any built-in footswitch in any layout. What function does it perform? Whatever you programmed the internal switch to do. It “stands in“ for that internal footswitch.


bleujazz3 said:
What I had hoped to find was instructions for working with FM9-Edit and assigning a stand-in switch to a specific amp or effect block function that could be toggled on/off with the switch.
Click to expand...
You don’t need to set up a Stand-In Switch for that. Just point the Bypass function for a block to an external switch. Done.
 
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Rex said:
FM9-Edit doesn’t utilize Stand-In Switches. You, the human guitar player, to perform the function of are the one who utilizes Stand-In Switches allow an external switch

Stand-In Switches allow an external footswitch to perform the function of any built-in footswitch in any layout? What function does it perform? Whatever you programmed the internal switch to do. It “stands in“ for that internal footswitch.

You don’t need to set up a Stand-In Switch for that. Just point the Bypass function for a block to an external switch. Done.
Click to expand...
Ah, OK. I thought there was some necessary setup required with the external switch in FM9-Edit. I must ask, Bypass in whatever block or function within that block that could be activated/deactivated with the switch? I've not viewed the above video yet, but will do so shortly. Thank you for your assistance; it's appreciated when the guidance is provided...
 
bleujazz3 said:
Ah, OK. I thought there was some necessary setup required with the external switch in FM9-Edit. I must ask, Bypass in whatever block or function within that block that could be activated/deactivated with the switch? I've not viewed the above video yet, but will do so shortly. Thank you for your assistance; it's appreciated when the guidance is provided...
Click to expand...
When you edit a block, you can attach modifiers to many of its parameters. Attach a modifier to the Bypass parameter of the block. In the modifier, select the external switch of your choice.
 
Rex said:
When you edit a block, you can attach modifiers to many of its parameters. Attach a modifier to the Bypass parameter of the block. In the modifier, select the external switch of your choice.
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This might be more complex, and I'll save this thought for tomorrow. I'm wondering if a bright or fat switch modifier might also be part of the stand-in switch possibilities...
unix-guy said:
As far as I know, you can only assign a stand-in switch via the front panel, not the editor.
Click to expand...
Roger that. I've currently assigned 2 momentary NC switches to enable/disable both my Drive and MultiDly effects blocks across the scenes. I noticed that the front panel only allows certain effects that are currently displayed in Layouts 4 and 5 to be activated, such as Delay 1, but the effects blocks can be modified and replaced with your effect of choice, in this case the Drive and MultiDly.
 
bleujazz3 said:
This might be more complex, and I'll save this thought for tomorrow. I'm wondering if a bright or fat switch modifier might also be part of the stand-in switch possibilities...
Click to expand...
Anything a built-in footswitch can do, a Stand-In Switch can do. One parameter is no more complicated than another.
 
It was discovered that my 2 external momentary NC switches can select only parameters from the front panel, not via FM-9 Edit modifier screens. At this writing, a momentary switch is just that regards modifiers...the switch can toggle a modifier on and off, but an NC momentary switch is only momentarily on when pressed. The switch would essentially need to be continually held for the modifier to work.

However, if one uses the FM9 front panel, simply use the E-Setup button to open the Setup screen, press ENTER and from FC Controllers/Onboard Switches, paged over to Stand-In Switches. There it is possible to scroll down to your selected switch (in my instance, FM9 SW 2 and FM9 SW 3) and use the large scroll wheel to make your selection. (For both switches, I chose Layout 4 EFFECTS, and next to each, selected 1 EFFECT, BYPASS, and 4 EFFECT, BYPASS.

Then, I backed out of this screen by paging left until back on the FC Controller/Onboard Switch screen and scrolled down to I/O. Pressed ENTER, and paged over to PEDAL. PEDAL 1 was already occupied as an EV-1. Scrolled down to PEDAL 2, selected TYPE (= SWITCH), then calibrated the switch. Chose Switch Polarity (Closed/Momentary Break) and Switch Behavior (Virtual Toggle). Did the same for PEDAL 3.

Then pressed HOME on the front panel. My switches were configured and setup.

Lastly, I checked what EFFECT, BYPASS numbers I had set up. 1 EFFECT was Drive 1, and 4 EFFECT was Delay 1. These were the 2 effects I thought I'd most require toggled on/off during practice or gigs.

For now, I'm personally content with the results. I've somewhat accepted that utilizing external stand-in switches may not possible when multi-tasking the switches, but am happy for now that the switches work correctly for toggling on/off the effects I desired.
 
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bleujazz3 said:
It was discovered that my 2 external momentary NC switches can select only parameters from the front panel, not via FM-9 Edit modifier screens. At this writing, a momentary switch is just that regards modifiers...the switch can toggle a modifier on and off, but an NC momentary switch is only momentarily on when pressed. The switch would essentially need to be continually held for the modifier to work.

However, if one uses the FM9 front panel, simply use the E-Setup button to open the Setup screen, press ENTER and from FC Controllers/Onboard Switches, paged over to Stand-In Switches. There it is possible to scroll down to your selected switch (in my instance, FM9 SW 2 and FM9 SW 3) and use the large scroll wheel to make your selection. (For both switches, I chose Layout 4 EFFECTS, and next to each, selected 1 EFFECT, BYPASS, and 4 EFFECT, BYPASS.

Then, I backed out of this screen by paging left until back on the FC Controller/Onboard Switch screen and scrolled down to I/O. Pressed ENTER, and paged over to PEDAL. PEDAL 1 was already occupied as an EV-1. Scrolled down to PEDAL 2, selected TYPE (= SWITCH), then calibrated the switch. Chose Switch Polarity (Closed/Momentary Break) and Switch Behavior (Virtual Toggle). Did the same for PEDAL 3.

Then pressed HOME on the front panel. My switches were configured and setup.

Lastly, I checked what EFFECT, BYPASS numbers I had set up. 1 EFFECT was Drive 1, and 4 EFFECT was Delay 1. These were the 2 effects I thought I'd most require toggled on/off during practice or gigs.

For now, I'm personally content with the results. I've somewhat accepted that utilizing external stand-in switches may not possible when multi-tasking the switches, but am happy for now that the switches work correctly for toggling on/off the effects I desired.
Click to expand...
There is still a bug with external switches in the FM9, so that throws a bit of a spanner in the works....
 
Joe Bfstplk said:
There is still a bug with external switches in the FM9, so that throws a bit of a spanner in the works....
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It's understandable. I just feel all warm and fuzzy that what I set out to accomplish was almost possible. I didn't expect all of what I tried to do to be possible, but am happy that my momentary NC switches toggle effects on and off.

I didn't find an FM9 option for making one of the switches a utility switch (for tuner) like you can with the FM3, though if anyone has done so, please keep us posted as to how this was possible.
 
bleujazz3 said:
I didn't find an FM9 option for making one of the switches a utility switch (for tuner) like you can with the FM3, though if anyone has done so, please keep us posted as to how this was possible.
Click to expand...
Use a stand-in switch. I don't think it's any different than it would be on FM3.
 
If you want to directly assign your momentary external switch as a modifier source and use it in a latching manner, change the switch behavior to Virtual Toggle in the I/O menu Pedal page. That will make it function like a latching switch instead.
 
Found both a video and this thread linked in the video comments...

https://forum.fractalaudio.com/thre...with-external-footswitch.170929/#post-2058347

unix-guy said:
Use a stand-in switch. I don't think it's any different than it would be on FM3.
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What was previously lacking was Layout 8 as my UTILITIES. In that layout, I created some Control Switches (CS1 thru CS5) and assigned one switch each to TUNER, TAP TEMPO, and PRESETS.

From that layout, it was possible to navigate back into the front panel's FC Controller/Onboard Switches paged over to Stand-In Switches. From there, I could scroll to Layout 8,. where both my TUNER and (HOME) PRESET was located.

Then, I discovered that in I/O, VIRTUAL TOGGLE causes one to need to tap the switch twice; tweaking that to FOLLOW HARDWARE changed the switch behavior to requiring only 1 tap.

My 2 external switches now serve as a TUNER and HOME button. I've still got a mini-display HOME button on each Layout on the right side, but putting one also to the left side makes it easier in case I might step away from the board (either side) and need to find HOME quickly.

My project for Wednesday will be setting up my Control Switches in Layout 8 for various toggles within the blocks. Although stand-in switches won't allow toggling within blocks yet, the Control Switches likely will. At least, that's what I'm relying on for Wednesday.

EDIT: Will post new thread detailing my journey with Control Switches (1 thru 5), and what I find will or won't jive with block toggles. Will do some reading tonight and also some video research.
 
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How do I get FM9 to show Switch 2 (Tip), Switch 2 (Ring)?

I have a dual footswitch connected via Y-cable (TS+TS => TRS) to PDL2 on my FM9. When I look at either Setup-I/O-Pedal 2 or Setup-FC Controllers-Stand In Switches, I only see a single Switch 2. How do I get it to understand there are two switches connected via TRS?

John
 
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