What midi control should i get?

ztevie

ztevie

Experienced
MFC is the ultimate but too pricey and i don't need all those functions.
What i need at most is up/down for banks, up/down for scenes and being able to control the looper. Maybe a input for a pedal would be nice.
Or alternatively, is there a cheap simple midi ctrl that can do the looper only? Then i could just change presets in ace edit while in pause mode.
Price as low as possible. Will only be used in studio so i don't need a titanium chassis either.
I know Behringer FCB1010 can do all that and is cheap but it's too big in size...
 
I went with a 12-button pedal from a company called FAMC, their Liquid Foot LF+ 12+, they also have a smaller one i think it's 6 buttons. Each button in the plus series (they have a newer series coming out I heard) has an LCD screen that you can use to custom name everything.
 
The FCB1010 isn't *that* big... not when you consider the amount of options and features it gives you.

Crazy good value - but you do need to fully understand how it all works and relates to the MIDI control parameters in the AxeFX
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Once you do, there's no need for third-party chips or editors etc
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I've been gigging with the same Rocktron Midi-Mate for over 20+ years (although, I think the new ones are made in China), I got a back-up in a bundle deal about 10yrs ago only to lend it out never to be seen again...

Does what you need it to, pretty darn reliable (the squishy buttons can get a little wonky at times though).
 
If price is the main concern, I would definitely recommend a used Ground Control Pro.
 
What's your budget?
I'd personally save up a bit more and just buy a used MFC. My bandmate picked up his for $425. That's a steal for that controller. The ease of use and integration with the axe is alone worth the little bit extra you'd pay over a GCP or similar.


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Admin M@ said:
If price is the main concern, I would definitely recommend a used Ground Control Pro.
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I even bought one of the older Ground Control units, before the pro came about, for $50 on eBay. Works great for the kind of stuff you're talking about. I now use it with my Eleven Rack for goofing off at home. When you can get the MFC, do so... you'd be astounded at the ease of use and how many things you'll find to do with it once you can.
 
Rocktron Midi Mate! Pretty basic, fairly small, inexpensive used and will do what you need. Other wise I too recommend the GCP, I have been using it ever sense I went Axe FX 7 years ago.
 
while were on the midi subject.......is there any way to change the presets in my roland gr-55 when the MFC is in SCENE MODE ? anybody know a work around? i'm still using my BOSS GT-10 as my foot controller and have the MFC sitting in the box, I'm very disappointed I can not utilize SCENE MODE with the GR-55. ( to be clear i'm using the AXE ll in conjunction with the GR-55)
 
there is no Scene Mode on the MFC. simply assign Scene switches to any non-preset switch. you aren't locked into the Reveal switch method of operation for Scenes. then you can change Presets on the Axe and GR however you want.

Read my article that explains this concept: How do I turn on Scene Mode on the MFC-101?
 
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tommyh said:
so could i change presets in the ROLAND GR-55 with instant access function ?
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please explain what you meant by "I'm very disappointed I can not utilize SCENE MODE with the GR-55." by "Scene Mode" did you just mean that you want to change a Preset on the GR while changing a Scene on the Axe/MFC?

with manual settings of the Switches, you can program a Scene command and a specific Preset command on a different MIDI channel for the GR. so to answer your question, technically speaking, yes.

the FX8 has a new MIDI block that could assist with functions like Scenes sending MIDI PC messages. perhaps the Axe-Fx line will get this update at some point in the future. but for now, your MIDI Controller needs to do it.
 
I thought the MFC was expensive, but went for it anyway. After using it and setting it all up, I think it is worth every cent.
I can program the thing anyway I want without having to reference and mess around with MIDI commands.
The time it has saved me has made it well worth the investment.
 
I own the FCB1010 and I have to say, while its a great inexpensive foot controller, the expression pedals are horrid. I had to follow some mods I found on youtube to help with the inaccuracies and they did help...but only a little bit. I don't play a lot of music with volume swells or pitch shifting/whammy pedal, but if that's something you do intend to use which relies on precision and accuracy, I suggest to stay away from the FCB1010.

If you're just using it for stomping on/off pedals and switching scenes, then its a great deal. Make sure you get a EurekaProm v2.0 chip which makes programming and navigating the FCB1010 much easier.

EDIT: Here's a link to the YouTube video that explains the expression pedal inaccuracy and how to "fix" it. The way the pedals work is the pedals themselves have a clear plastic strip connected to the bottom of the pedals that travels between and LED and a light sensor. The plastic piece has a gradient that progressively gets more opaque. As that piece passes between the LED and light sensor, the plastic strip blocks the brightness of the LED to the sensor. The sensor then interprets the light information into MIDI information. Seems rather ingenious, but its very faulty and inaccurate. Its near impossible to get a full 0 to 128 sweep of MIDI CC's.

What the mod does is limit the light information reaching the sensor because the LED is actually oversaturating the light sensor. You can do this by diffusing some of the light with a semi-transparent piece of plastic like a grocery bag or something, which is what I used.

 
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dbun said:
I thought the MFC was expensive, but went for it anyway. After using it and setting it all up, I think it is worth every cent.
I can program the thing anyway I want without having to reference and mess around with MIDI commands.
The time it has saved me has made it well worth the investment.
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what he said. yeah its pricy but if it takes a little extra saving the MFC is more than worth it . epsically if you feel life is too short to spend hours messing with cc
 
Not to mention the few times I've decided last minute at a gig to chuck an effect in, or make a current effect switchable, or add in an X/Y state, I've been able to program an IA to do so in about 30 seconds.
 
Paperjace said:
I own the FCB1010 and I have to say, while its a great inexpensive foot controller, the expression pedals are horrid. I had to follow some mods I found on youtube to help with the inaccuracies and they did help...but only a little bit. I don't play a lot of music with volume swells or pitch shifting/whammy pedal, but if that's something you do intend to use which relies on precision and accuracy, I suggest to stay away from the FCB1010.

If you're just using it for stomping on/off pedals and switching scenes, then its a great deal. Make sure you get a EurekaProm v2.0 chip which makes programming and navigating the FCB1010 much easier.
Click to expand...

Hey can you hip me to the expression pedal mods? I only do swells, doesn't bother me too much.. but it sounds interesting
 
Mfc is so worth it! I had a gcp prior, using scenes was horrible and the expression pedals had some annoying lag that made it very difficult to use. The mfc solved all of those problems.
 
I already had a Line 6 Pod HD 500 before the afx.
I still keep it because with the right settings done on the AFX, the POD works as a perfect controller.
And it duplicates as a back-up processor just in case something wrong happens with the AFX during live performance.
They're well built, you can use a second hand one..
 
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