Wish Low-price, LEDs-only daisy chain device

[Dr. Dipwad]

Once I get my Axe III, I expect to use One-Preset-Per-Song, with Scene Changes to change sounds within a song. (This is what I already do with my Axe II rig.)

I expect to buy an FC-12, or possibly an MMGT/10 or /16, to handle Scene Changes and a few other things which one might wish to toggle during a song. (Wah on/off, Tap-Tempo, etc.)

But sometimes I can't remember which stomps are on/off for a given scene.

And with the Axe III, channels might make even more differences, which it will be hard to keep track of. ("Now...which scene is it that's using Channel B of my Delay Block, which has straight-8ths, and which one is using Channel C, which has dotted-8ths? Hmmm....")

Consequently, I find myself not really needing more footswitches; really.

But, I could benefit from having more visible indicators on the floor. After I press the one footswitch for Scene 3, it'd be helpful to see what 5 or 6 things changed as a result.

So it seems to me the solution would be a device with a set of multi-color LEDs (and maybe one LCD screen? unsure), which could be daisy-chained from an FC-6 or FC-12, just like other FC-controllers can.

This device's job is to indicate what's going on, not to control anything.

It would be small and light. It could be on your pedalboard, or even mounted on a mic stand closer to eye-level.

USE CASE #1: Showing what's turned on/off in a given scene
USE CASE #2: Users who've connected external footswitches to their FC-6/12 unit could assign the LED indicators to display the status of whatever was controlled by those external footswitches.
USE CASE #3: Putting indicators at eye-level for guitarists who are singing on a mic and can't afford to back away from the mic to glance down at their feet.
USE CASE #4: ...? I dunno, there might be other benefits people can think of.

Anybody else think this might come in handy?

 

[yek]

Reading all these threads and your posts, I just think one thing:

... why not wait until you actually have a III and a FC and go from there? ;-)

 

[Dr. Dipwad]

Reading all these threads and your posts, I just think one thing:

... why not wait until you actually have a III and a FC and go from there? ;-)

Hmm.

I understand that the suggestion was meant in a kindly way; but, are you sure it was my posts you had in mind, thinking that?

It seems to me that there are 2 kinds of WISH items:
Type 1: A feature which we already know, with certainty, doesn't exist in the product, and which has no close equivalent...but which you believe would be useful, and which you think others might like also.
Type 2: A feature which might or might not already exist in the product, or which might have a close equivalent in the product, ...and your WISH is basically an expression of hope that it will be there.

It seems to me that my WISH posts are all of Type 1, but that your suggestion more directed at people who are posting Type 2.

For further context: I think the FC-series is great. I don't see any problem with it. Granted I've wondered about purchasing an RJM MMGT/16 instead, but only because my eyes stink and I thought the bigger screens might be easier to cope with. But other than that, I'm a big defender of the FC-series as-is. The idea above, therefore, should not be interpreted as a desire to change the FC-series. The FC-12 is nearly ideal, seems vastly superior to the MFC, and has enough switches as-is.

Why, then, propose an idea like a "Low Price, LEDs-Only, Daisy-Chain Device?" Well because I don't see a need for more footswitches, but I am wondering if it might be nice to have more indicators.

If nobody else feels the same? No problem. I'm a happy customer either way. If only 2-3 other people say, "Hey, yeah, that might be cool," then perhaps a clever guy with a soldering iron can figure out how to build it. And if a thousand people say, "Yes, we want that!" then Fractal may benefit from knowing that.

 

[zenaxe]

Reading all these threads and your posts, I just think one thing:

... why not wait until you actually have a III and a FC and go from there? ;-)

+1. This does not even make sense as a wish list item as it is a new product request for some cheap interim hardware device? This strikes me as a topic for the other midi controllers or the lounge areas.

 

[Chad Beattie]

There may be other solutions that will provide the same functionality; eventually... For example, with my Axe-FX II I was using FracPad by @AlGrenadine and would have my iPad either on a mic stand or on the floor. I used bluetooth to connect my iPad to the Axe-FX via the Yamaha bluetooth device as shown in the videos for FracPad. When I would change scenes, FracPad would show me exactly what changed. Cliff also mentioned they may release an iOS or Android app down the road. So maybe what you are asking for could be accomplished by means of a 'virtual' pedalboard display via an iPad or some other tablet.

 

[NeoSound]

Once I get my Axe III, I expect to use One-Preset-Per-Song, with Scene Changes to change sounds within a song. (This is what I already do with my Axe II rig.)

I expect to buy an FC-12, or possibly an MMGT/10 or /16, to handle Scene Changes and a few other things which one might wish to toggle during a song. (Wah on/off, Tap-Tempo, etc.)

But sometimes I can't remember which stomps are on/off for a given scene.

And with the Axe III, channels might make even more differences, which it will be hard to keep track of. ("Now...which scene is it that's using Channel B of my Delay Block, which has straight-8ths, and which one is using Channel C, which has dotted-8ths? Hmmm....")

Consequently, I find myself not really needing more footswitches; really.

But, I could benefit from having more visible indicators on the floor. After I press the one footswitch for Scene 3, it'd be helpful to see what 5 or 6 things changed as a result.

So it seems to me the solution would be a device with a set of multi-color LEDs (and maybe one LCD screen? unsure), which could be daisy-chained from an FC-6 or FC-12, just like other FC-controllers can.

This device's job is to indicate what's going on, not to control anything.

It would be cheap ($150 or less). It would be small and light. It could be on your pedalboard, or even mounted on a mic stand closer to eye-level.

USE CASE #1: Showing what's turned on/off in a given scene
USE CASE #2: Users who've connected external footswitches to their FC-6/12 unit could assign the LED indicators to display the status of whatever was controlled by those external footswitches.
USE CASE #3: Putting indicators at eye-level for guitarists who are singing on a mic and can't afford to back away from the mic to glance down at their feet.
USE CASE #4: ...? I dunno, there might be other benefits people can think of.

Anybody else think this might come in handy?

A cheap windows tablet mounted to a mic stand? Of course it depends on what info is displayed on the fc page in axe edit too.

 

[NeoSound]

But, I could benefit from having more visible indicators on the floor. After I press the one footswitch for Scene 3, it'd be helpful to see what 5 or 6 things changed as a result.

I'm pretty sure the leds can be different colors, so have colors correspond to channels? Also the scribble strips can be user edited text?

 

[Dr. Dipwad]

There may be other solutions that will provide the same functionality; eventually... For example, with my Axe-FX II I was using FracPad by @AlGrenadine and would have my iPad either on a mic stand or on the floor. I used bluetooth to connect my iPad to the Axe-FX via the Yamaha bluetooth device as shown in the videos for FracPad. When I would change scenes, FracPad would show me exactly what changed. Cliff also mentioned they may release an iOS or Android app down the road. So maybe what you are asking for could be accomplished by means of a 'virtual' pedalboard display via an iPad or some other tablet.

Chad,

Thanks for the reply.

Yeah, I kinda thought there might be some other possible way to achieve the same result. But, having no electronics skill of my own, I was at a loss to guess what it would be.

I've never used FracPad; maybe I should give it a try with my Axe II.

 

[Dr. Dipwad]

I'm pretty sure the leds can be different colors, so have colors correspond to channels? Also the scribble strips can be user edited text?

Thanks for the reply. I do appreciate you taking the time.

But, I don't know how the LEDs and Scribble Strips on the FC-12 would meet the need.

After all, on my FC-12, those LEDs and Scribble Strips are "already taken": The Scribble Strips on the bottom row already say "Scene 1", "Scene 2", "Scene 3", etc., because that's what those buttons do.

And the Scribble Strips on the top row likewise already are labeled with names like "Wah/Whammy" and "Dotted Echo" and "Swells/Lead" and "Tap Tempo" and "Freqout." How can I use those strips to indicate the status of other (completely different) effects, without them ceasing to label what the buttons do?

You see, I really like Scenes. I really like being able to make lots of pre-programmed changes to my sound with a single switch-press. Here are some things I wouldn't have buttons assigned on the FC-12 to control, but which would be impacted by Scene Changes:
1. Flanger: on/off, channel
2. Phaser: on/off, channel
3. Chorus: on/off, channel
4. Trem: on/off, channel
5. Rotary: on/off, channel
6. Clean Boost: on/off, channel
7. Synth: on/off, channel
8. Delay: on/off, channel

So, when I hit one Scene button, some of those 8 things turn on; others turn off; others change channel.

But if it's been a month since I last used a particular Preset, I may not remember exactly what Scene 3 is/does. ("Is that the one that has the Flanger, or the Rotary?")

So what I'm looking for is a display-only solution, to show me what the status of all those effects is. I just don't need those effects to have a footswitch (because I want all those changes to be controlled by the Scene Change, not by tap-dancing through five individual switch-presses).

Does that clarify the problem I'm trying to solve?

 

[unix-guy]

Thanks for the reply. I do appreciate you taking the time.

But, I don't know how the LEDs and Scribble Strips on the FC-12 would meet the need.

After all, on my FC-12, those LEDs and Scribble Strips are "already taken": The Scribble Strips on the bottom row already say "Scene 1", "Scene 2", "Scene 3", etc., because that's what those buttons do.

And the Scribble Strips on the top row likewise already are labeled with names like "Wah/Whammy" and "Dotted Echo" and "Swells/Lead" and "Tap Tempo" and "Freqout." How can I use those strips to indicate the status of other (completely different) effects, without them ceasing to label what the buttons do?

You see, I really like Scenes. I really like being able to make lots of pre-programmed changes to my sound with a single switch-press. Here are some things I wouldn't have buttons assigned on the FC-12 to control, but which would be impacted by Scene Changes:
1. Flanger: on/off, channel
2. Phaser: on/off, channel
3. Chorus: on/off, channel
4. Trem: on/off, channel
5. Rotary: on/off, channel
6. Clean Boost: on/off, channel
7. Synth: on/off, channel
8. Delay: on/off, channel

So, when I hit one Scene button, some of those 8 things turn on; others turn off; others change channel.

But if it's been a month since I last used a particular Preset, I may not remember exactly what Scene 3 is/does. ("Is that the one that has the Flanger, or the Rotary?")

So what I'm looking for is a display-only solution, to show me what the status of all those effects is. I just don't need those effects to have a footswitch (because I want all those changes to be controlled by the Scene Change, not by tap-dancing through five individual switch-presses).

Does that clarify the problem I'm trying to solve?

I think the scene name can be displayed on the "big" screen... Although maybe not. Perhaps just that would address your needs?

 

[Dr. Dipwad]

+1. This does not even make sense as a wish list item as it is a new product request for some cheap interim hardware device? This strikes me as a topic for the other midi controllers or the lounge areas.

Hey, I don't mind if you don't like the idea. For me, it's useful feedback to know that. After all, I'm not certain whether anyone other than me has the same problem they're trying to solve. (My reply to NeoSound explains my motives a little better.) So I was unsure anyone else was interested...I figured I'd post a WISH and find out if anyone agreed.

That said, I don't understand why you called it an "interim" device.

If this existed, I'd have it in my rig permanently, with the FC-12. (They serve different purposes.)

Why did you think I meant it to be temporary?

 

[Dr. Dipwad]

I think the scene name can be displayed on the "big" screen... Although maybe not. Perhaps just that would address your needs?

Maybe.

I guess it depends on how many characters I can fit in, and how descriptive I can make the name.

If I named Scene 3 to "Crisp Crunch + Flanger + Dotted 8ths + Pan" it might convey the same info via a Scene Name. Not sure if the LCD can fit enough characters for that, though. I guess we'll see.

 

[AlGrenadine]

Chad,

Thanks for the reply.

Yeah, I kinda thought there might be some other possible way to achieve the same result. But, having no electronics skill of my own, I was at a loss to guess what it would be.

I've never used FracPad; maybe I should give it a try with my Axe II.

Definitely

 

[Rex]

I've never used FracPad; maybe I should give it a try with my Axe II.

Yes. Definitely.

 

[NeoSound]

Thanks for the reply. I do appreciate you taking the time.

But, I don't know how the LEDs and Scribble Strips on the FC-12 would meet the need.

After all, on my FC-12, those LEDs and Scribble Strips are "already taken": The Scribble Strips on the bottom row already say "Scene 1", "Scene 2", "Scene 3", etc., because that's what those buttons do.

And the Scribble Strips on the top row likewise already are labeled with names like "Wah/Whammy" and "Dotted Echo" and "Swells/Lead" and "Tap Tempo" and "Freqout." How can I use those strips to indicate the status of other (completely different) effects, without them ceasing to label what the buttons do?

You see, I really like Scenes. I really like being able to make lots of pre-programmed changes to my sound with a single switch-press. Here are some things I wouldn't have buttons assigned on the FC-12 to control, but which would be impacted by Scene Changes:
1. Flanger: on/off, channel
2. Phaser: on/off, channel
3. Chorus: on/off, channel
4. Trem: on/off, channel
5. Rotary: on/off, channel
6. Clean Boost: on/off, channel
7. Synth: on/off, channel
8. Delay: on/off, channel

So, when I hit one Scene button, some of those 8 things turn on; others turn off; others change channel.

But if it's been a month since I last used a particular Preset, I may not remember exactly what Scene 3 is/does. ("Is that the one that has the Flanger, or the Rotary?")

So what I'm looking for is a display-only solution, to show me what the status of all those effects is. I just don't need those effects to have a footswitch (because I want all those changes to be controlled by the Scene Change, not by tap-dancing through five individual switch-presses).

Does that clarify the problem I'm trying to solve?

If you don't use the name scene1 on the scribble strip and just use 1 then the first letter of the blocks name, maybe even upper case for on and lower for off in scene names? if we have ten characters available

1:FcDpR = Flanger/on, chorus/off, Delay/on, pitch/off, Reverb/on