LF+ Mini VS RJM Mastermind

f2bacon

f2bacon

Member
Both support axe tuner display, (not sure how on the rjm, everyone says they're going to make a video of it, but no one has yet). Both are compact. I know for a fact he rjm only needs the one 7pin midi for all its functions, but I keep seeing things like you'd need a power pin for the Liquid Foot. Can anyone help confirm any of this? I'm leaning towards the liquid foot anyway because it's more compact, but at this point I'm completely on the fence. They're both on ebay, $310 currently for the liquid foot, and $267 for the rjm. Opinions welcome! Thanks
 
LF+ also runs on phantom power through a 7-pin. To use this you will need to supply that power through a wall wart to the input on the Axe-Fxes back panel just above the MIDI-input. Exactly the same will go for the Mastermind since the Axe-Fx does not supply power to pins 6 and 7 itself. Also the same for anything other that's being powered by phantom over 7-pin MIDI, even the MFC-101.
Only the newer MFC-101 and Axe-Fx combinations that both feature the RJ45 or even newer XLR connectors seem to not need a wall wart in the rack. But I don't have one of those. So I'm not sure.

What you're reading about the LF+ might concern with that there are two standard barrel sizes both with 5.5mm outer diameter: 2.1 and 2.5 mm inner diameter. Fractal uses the 2.5 and LF+ uses the 2.1 if I'm not mistaken. So one would either need to buy a wall wart that fits the rear of the Axe or, luckily, you can use a barreladapter for the Liquid Foot's standard PS. I got this one:
http://www.conrad-electronic.co.uk/ce/en/product/736187/BKL-Electronic-072217-Power-Supply-Adapter

Be advised to not use a larger than 12V 1000mA adapter in the back of the Axe. Larger could blow some diodes.

That's about it for the phantom power part.
 
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Thank you for clearing up my misunderstanding on how phantom power works with the axe fx! Would a onespot unit be an appropriate adapter? Then I could just wire that in with my wireless pedal.
I guess now I'm just trying to weigh out between the 2 pedals. Thanks very much for the info!
 
I’m interested in this as well. Currently using an MFC but would ideally get something that would fit on a pedaltrain mini. The LF+ JR+ would fit the bill so I’m quite tempted at the moment but I’m concerned that the 8 buttons are not going to be enough. Ideally, I’d like a 12 button LF+ in a wide layout, i.e. as tall as the JR+ but with an extra 4 buttons on the side. That would be a really nice and small setup for sure.
 
Hands down the LF is a beast of a controller. So much is possible with it that it literally boggles my mind. All LFs appear to have the same brain. I'd be lying if I said it was a seamless transition.

I have a 12+ with two exp and a two button switch on a pedaltrain 2. Space to spare.

No experience with the Mastermind.
 
f2bacon said:
Thank you for clearing up my misunderstanding on how phantom power works with the axe fx! Would a onespot unit be an appropriate adapter? Then I could just wire that in with my wireless pedal.
I guess now I'm just trying to weigh out between the 2 pedals. Thanks very much for the info!
Click to expand...
The LF+ 12+ Needs a minimum of 9V 800 mA.
Don't spread the word, just this weekend I gutted a 9V 1000mA adapter, built it into the AxeFX and glued it on tight. I attached the power end between the Axe's power switch and the power PC-board and soldered the output to the lugs of the input on the back panel. I put a bit of hot glue on the outside of the back panel plug to not insert another adapter by accident. Blew up an FCB1010 once doing that.
It works. And it's totally reversible. I put insulation tape on the floor of the AxeFx and hot glued the adapter's board to that. It's strong but removable.

If it ever fails in the gig I'm screwed of course... I'll need to open the Axe up and detach those wires before I can plug in power to the LF. I think I'll wire up a short 5-pin MIDI cable. That would cut the power on wires 6 and 7.
 
f2bacon said:
Thank you for clearing up my misunderstanding on how phantom power works with the axe fx! Would a onespot unit be an appropriate adapter? Then I could just wire that in with my wireless pedal.
I guess now I'm just trying to weigh out between the 2 pedals. Thanks very much for the info!
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure a 1Spot power supply has a 2.1mm barrel, so it would fit the LF+ unit itself, but not the back of the Axe-Fx without a barrel adapter. That being said, the 1Spot has a power rating of 1700mA which is higher than recommended for the back of the Axe-Fx II, and as Dutch pointed out, this may damage your Axe. There is an option to ship LF+ controllers with an Axe friendly power supply. Alternatively, if you really must use a higher powered adapter than the Axe II will allow for phantom power, FAMC/Liquid Foot sell a small phantom power box you can install in the back of your rack as an alternative to the port on the rear of the Axe. (Similar to the RJM one described in the thread linked to in stratmania's post above.)

Regarding running a LF+ unit and a wireless pedal from a single daisy chain, when I tried this with my LF+ JR+ and Shure GLX-D6 wireless, it caused a really bad ground loop in the guitar signal. YMMV if you have a different wireless unit, but in my experience, powering them separately is the way to go.


Johan Allard said:
I’m interested in this as well. Currently using an MFC but would ideally get something that would fit on a pedaltrain mini. The LF+ JR+ would fit the bill so I’m quite tempted at the moment but I’m concerned that the 8 buttons are not going to be enough. Ideally, I’d like a 12 button LF+ in a wide layout, i.e. as tall as the JR+ but with an extra 4 buttons on the side. That would be a really nice and small setup for sure.
Click to expand...

You could always use a DIY external 4 button box next to the JR+. That would give you the layout you want, with the option to still add 2 expression pedals OR 4 more external switches.


Dutch said:
I'd be lying if I said it was a seamless transition.
Click to expand...

This is my experience with LF+ as well. Very flexible units compared to the MFC-101, but a steep learning curve.
 
stratamania said:
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Reference and workaround for the RJM.https://www.rjmmusic.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=631
Click to expand...
That's for the mastermind GT, I was looking at the plain mastermind.


Dutch said:
The LF+ 12+ Needs a minimum of 9V 800 mA.
Click to expand...
I was looking at the LF+ mini

npx said:
I'm pretty sure a 1Spot power supply has a 2.1mm barrel, so it would fit the LF+ unit itself, but not the back of the Axe-Fx without a barrel adapter. That being said, the 1Spot has a power rating of 1700mA which is higher than recommended for the back of the Axe-Fx II, and as Dutch pointed out, this may damage your Axe.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info, it would've been horrible to find that out the hard way!
 
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