Custom MIDI Foot Peal

[Sander Verstraten]

Hi guys,

 

I'm looking to build a custom MIDI Pedal for my Amp VSTs (Amplitube/TH-U/etc..) does any of you know if one of those also sends MIDI feedback, like patch number, or control state?

 

Thanks,

 

Sander

[msmcleod]

I've got an old MIDI buddy pedal board, and from what I can tell, the display just shows what program it just sent out - so no feedback.

Both the the Roland FC100-II (connects to GP-16), and Roland FC-100 (connects to GP-8) have a custom connector, so they're not MIDI by themselves. They do have feedback from the GP modules.

If you're building it yourself, there's nothing to stop you implementing something that receives the program name via MIDI. If you're using Cakewalk or SONAR, you can use Azslow's AzController to send the program name out (assuming its listed as a VST parameter). Any other parameters should be no problem using AzController.

I started building a couple of controllers myself at one point:

Although they did work (kind of), they were ultimately not usable. My biggest mistake was to use i2c based OLED displays. These were simply too slow to update when responding to MIDI messages. Also, it was Arduino based, which meant I had a VERY small buffer for incoming messages. They're pretty slow too at 16Mhz, but this shouldn't really have been an issue - the memory available was. 

If I was to do it again, I'd recommend:

1. If using an Arduino, use a standard character LCD, or an SPI based OLED display.

2. If possible, use a Raspberry Pi - it's way easier to program, much faster, and the screen options are far better. The Raspberry Pi zero is only £5, which actually makes it much cheaper than a Arduino Mega.

Of course, if you're only sending MIDI messages out then all these concerns go away - you could even use a PIC.

 

[craigb]

My old standby:

Behringer FCB 1010

[Mesh]

1 hour ago, craigb said:

My old standby:

Behringer FCB 1010

I'm thinking of getting one of these.....any downsides (programming, Win 10, setting up with Cakewalk etc...)?

[TheMaartian]

1 hour ago, Mesh said:

I'm thinking of getting one of these.....any downsides (programming, Win 10, setting up with Cakewalk etc...)?

Also interested in the answer. Looks like a really useful controller for Gig Performer, as well.

FYI, Gig Performer is an excellent tool for both live and studio. The Forte dev has stopped development, and I never got on with Cantabile.

Gig Performer

 

Edited May 8, 2019 by John Maar

[craigb]

3 hours ago, Mesh said:

I'm thinking of getting one of these.....any downsides (programming, Win 10, setting up with Cakewalk etc...)?

I'm afraid I'm not going to be very helpful on the follow-up!  Since I had to sell my studio, I haven't used anything except for my old XP dual-server box with SONAR Pro v4!  I did have this connected to various pieces of gear and it worked great (you can program it using the pedals themselves).

 

I would hope things are even easier now.

[Gswitz]

7 hours ago, Mesh said:

I'm thinking of getting one of these.....any downsides (programming, Win 10, setting up with Cakewalk etc...)?

I love mine.

The key to success for me was the app for programming it.

It is a little weird. I can send you the settings i use so you can import them if you want.

I can give you lots of specifics if you want them but i tend to go overboard and give turn by turn directions when the person only wants me to point.

Basically, it is dead useful. 

Works as 100 stomp box controls and 20 expression pedals.

I've also set it up to play evolving bass synth notes. Sometimes i set it to notes in a key, sometimes chromatic.

Takes about 15 seconds to load different setups if you use the little app.

There are some things i have to relearn time to time. Like, to load from the app, only the midi input can be connected for some reason.

I mainly use it with th3 as a pedal board. I also have a reamp box. This means i can use the th3 stomp boxes but my amp. I do end up with a lot of cords on the floor.

While you can control a host of things with it, i tend not to.

I'll have one bank to control the th3 Looper, guitar bank and sound next and previous and output volume. Anther bank or two for expressions and stomps. That's only 3 of 10.... But i tend not to remember more than that.

Th3 let's you map things so when you change guitar sounds your reverb stomp now powers that reverb in that sound even if it isn't the same one. That way you only have to remember which stomp toggles reverb.

Edited May 9, 2019 by Gswitz

[craigb]

Looks like an app I'll need to get once I have a studio again!  Very cool and MUCH better than having to program the floorboard by hitting the pedals!  ?

[Mesh]

13 hours ago, Gswitz said:

I love mine.

The key to success for me was the app for programming it.

It is a little weird. I can send you the settings i use so you can import them if you want.

I can give you lots of specifics if you want them but i tend to go overboard and give turn by turn directions when the person only wants me to point.

Basically, it is dead useful. 

Works as 100 stomp box controls and 20 expression pedals.

I've also set it up to play evolving bass synth notes. Sometimes i set it to notes in a key, sometimes chromatic.

Takes about 15 seconds to load different setups if you use the little app.

There are some things i have to relearn time to time. Like, to load from the app, only the midi input can be connected for some reason.

I mainly use it with th3 as a pedal board. I also have a reamp box. This means i can use the th3 stomp boxes but my amp. I do end up with a lot of cords on the floor.

While you can control a host of things with it, i tend not to.

I'll have one bank to control the th3 Looper, guitar bank and sound next and previous and output volume. Anther bank or two for expressions and stomps. That's only 3 of 10.... But i tend not to remember more than that.

Th3 let's you map things so when you change guitar sounds your reverb stomp now powers that reverb in that sound even if it isn't the same one. That way you only have to remember which stomp toggles reverb.

Wow, that's impressive Gswitz. I don't know if I'd be using it for all the way you've done it, but mostly want it to control my amp sims (TH3, A4, Bias Fx etc.. ). Is the app you're taking about is something you developed or is it some sort of chip that needs to installed? I briefly looked at the Uno app as well...

Programming it seems to be the biggest complaint (from the little I've read). I'm not much of a midi guy, so hopefully won't have to spend an unreasonable amount of time trying to program it.     

[Gswitz]

I never got the chip thing. Don't spend extra. The app is a free download. I'll post more later.

[Gswitz]

Right click and save these things into a folder...

http://gswitz.blob.core.windows.net/tunes/20190509gswitz_4fcb1010.fcb

http://gswitz.blob.core.windows.net/tunes/20190509gswitz_4fcb1010.syx

The app is available here...

https://mountainutilities.eu/fcb1010

...

For some reason, some people sell a a special chip. I could be wrong, but it may be it's only settings loaded. haha

Any version of the FCB 1010 will do I think. I'm not sure it matters. I could be wrong here. I got mine used on Craig's list.

Since I turned on a friend. He borrowed mine for a 6 months and the got his own when I stole mine back.

To load these settings,

1. plug in the midi input only

2. turn off the fcb 1010, step on the down pedal and hold it down when you turn it on.

3. switch it to the input setting.

4. click send from the app you've opened my settings into

5. step on the down pedal for a few seconds and it will count down from 10 or so.

6. Turn it off and back on. >> have fun!

Next...

1. open th3

2. map the stomps and expression pedals to anything you like.

Edited May 10, 2019 by Gswitz

[craigb]

I just realized that I had misread the topic title and mistakenly thought it said "foot pedal."  Now I'm not sure but, just in case "peel" was misspelled, I thought I'd offer an alternative solution... ?

[Sander Verstraten]

Sorry for being absent. Got caught up in family life stuff. 

Finally got all the parts, and thought I got the coding done. But I come across one issue : I can't get the patch switch to work. Regardless of the Control Change I assign to it.

I can use the learn function to assign it, but if I actually send it to Th-u, the patch doesn't change. 

 

Does it work for you guys? Am I missing something? 

[Gswitz]

Works for me. I can use patch up and down and bank up and down. I save my sounds into a custom Bank so i don't have to go through lots of patches to get to the right one.

I think it is possible to assign certain sounds to certain pedals, but i don't do that.

Edited May 20, 2019 by Gswitz

[Sander Verstraten]

I found the issue with my code,  I forgot to send the CC off message. So it TH-U wasn't recording the MIDI signal correctly. Got it working now.

So next up: soldering, and trying not to burn my fingers.