Pedal switchers

[Whizzinby]

Are any of you savages using a pedal switcher like the Boss ES-8, GigRig, EHX SuperSwitcher etc.

Seems cool to be able to isolate what is or isn’t in the loop at any time, or re-order pedals on the fly.

Curious if you guys have any experience with these, the pros/cons, or do you just tap dance etc.

 

[laxu]

Above is a pic of my previous Temple Audio Trio 21's underside from a few years back.

I used a Morningstar ML5. The benefit of this box is that it's very compact, and MIDI controllable so it separates the loop functionality from the actual footswitches.

The con with the ML5 is that it's a fixed routing, no way to rearrange your pedals. For me this is not an issue because I tend to figure out a good pedal order and never change it again. The newer ML10X is more flexible for routing with more loops.

With any loop switcher you end up adding a lot of cable too, which can turn into a real spaghetti as you can see above. Sure, you could do it neater but I just wanted it to work and have reasonably short cables from pedal to switcher.

I moved away from this setup to just using fully MIDI controllable Strymon pedals connected to each other regularly. With MIDI switching each pedal on/off, there's no need for loop switching and the cables between the pedals are very short.

 

[DrewJD82]

I'll eventually be grabbing an RJM PCB 10 for my pedal-based rig.

Mastermind PBC/10 | RJM Music Technology, Inc.

10 loop, fully programmable true bypass effect switcher for guitar and bass pedalboards! Controls MIDI capable pedals and amps, includes integrated tuner & more

www.rjmmusic.com

• 10 audio loops, arranged in a group of 4 loops, a group of 2 loops and another group of 4 loops, with insert points in between
• True-bypass switching – the best for preserving your guitar’s tone!
• The last four loops are stereo capable using TRS jacks
• Each of the last four loops can be switched between series and parallel routing, using an internal line mixer
• The two outputs can be used as left and right outputs for a stereo signal, or as A and B outputs to A/B switch a mono signal between two amps
• The B output has a switchable isolation transformer and a programmable phase switch
• Three audio buffers, each of which can be enabled or disabled by IA button or as part of a preset (before loop 1, before loop 7 and after loop 10)
• Click Stopper noise reduction circuit, which can be switched between two positions (before loop 7 or after loop 10)
• 11 buttons, each with a multi-color LED indicator
• Buttons are user configurable – any button can be set to any function and LED color
• Easy to read backlit LCD display that can display preset and song names, plus other status
• Built in tuner
• MIDI input & output connections, powered by the MIDI “brain” of our Mastermind GT controller
• USB device port for connection to a PC or Mac. This allows the Mastermind PBC to send MIDI commands to a computer, or to communicate with the Mastermind PBC editor software.
• USB host port for use with a USB thumb drive. Back up and restore settings to a flash drive, and also use a flash drive to perform firmware upgrades
• Two 1/4-inch TRS jacks that provide four function switches. These can be used to control the channel switching and other features on an amplifier
• Expression pedal input that can be programmed to generate MIDI messages
• External switch input allows two more switches to be added. These switches can be programmed to perform any function
• Mac and PC editor software allows for faster and more comprehensive editing, including deep MIDI editing and changing button layouts.

 

[Eagle]

Nothing beats Gigrig G3 for transparency.

 

[Whizzinby]

View attachment 24585
Above is a pic of my previous Temple Audio Trio 21's underside from a few years back.

I used a Morningstar ML5. The benefit of this box is that it's very compact, and MIDI controllable so it separates the loop functionality from the actual footswitches.

The con with the ML5 is that it's a fixed routing, no way to rearrange your pedals. For me this is not an issue because I tend to figure out a good pedal order and never change it again. The newer ML10X is more flexible for routing with more loops.

With any loop switcher you end up adding a lot of cable too, which can turn into a real spaghetti as you can see above. Sure, you could do it neater but I just wanted it to work and have reasonably short cables from pedal to switcher.

I moved away from this setup to just using fully MIDI controllable Strymon pedals connected to each other regularly. With MIDI switching each pedal on/off, there's no need for loop switching and the cables between the pedals are very short.

The ML5 looks kind of slick. So it’s basically a way to midi control loops of non midi pedals? So incorporate with a midi controller which then activates either your midi pedals or the loops on the ML5.

 

[Whizzinby]

I'll eventually be grabbing an RJM PCB 10 for my pedal-based rig.

Mastermind PBC/10 | RJM Music Technology, Inc.

10 loop, fully programmable true bypass effect switcher for guitar and bass pedalboards! Controls MIDI capable pedals and amps, includes integrated tuner & more

www.rjmmusic.com

• 10 audio loops, arranged in a group of 4 loops, a group of 2 loops and another group of 4 loops, with insert points in between
• True-bypass switching – the best for preserving your guitar’s tone!
• The last four loops are stereo capable using TRS jacks
• Each of the last four loops can be switched between series and parallel routing, using an internal line mixer
• The two outputs can be used as left and right outputs for a stereo signal, or as A and B outputs to A/B switch a mono signal between two amps
• The B output has a switchable isolation transformer and a programmable phase switch
• Three audio buffers, each of which can be enabled or disabled by IA button or as part of a preset (before loop 1, before loop 7 and after loop 10)
• Click Stopper noise reduction circuit, which can be switched between two positions (before loop 7 or after loop 10)
• 11 buttons, each with a multi-color LED indicator
• Buttons are user configurable – any button can be set to any function and LED color
• Easy to read backlit LCD display that can display preset and song names, plus other status
• Built in tuner
• MIDI input & output connections, powered by the MIDI “brain” of our Mastermind GT controller
• USB device port for connection to a PC or Mac. This allows the Mastermind PBC to send MIDI commands to a computer, or to communicate with the Mastermind PBC editor software.
• USB host port for use with a USB thumb drive. Back up and restore settings to a flash drive, and also use a flash drive to perform firmware upgrades
• Two 1/4-inch TRS jacks that provide four function switches. These can be used to control the channel switching and other features on an amplifier
• Expression pedal input that can be programmed to generate MIDI messages
• External switch input allows two more switches to be added. These switches can be programmed to perform any function
• Mac and PC editor software allows for faster and more comprehensive editing, including deep MIDI editing and changing button layouts.

Yeah I wasn’t aware of that brand but stumbled on them last night on a deep dive. Seems pretty dope. I don’t think it does loop reordering but tbh I’m not sure how often I’d use that unless it was with some multi-fx. Main thing i want is isolating what is or isn’t in the chain.

 

[Whizzinby]

Nothing beats Gigrig G3 for transparency.

Yeah I’ve seen mixed reviews with the ES and SuperSwitcher reviews in regards to some tone suck.

There is a pucker factor on the G3 pricing though Their quartermaster series looks pretty awesome and straightforward, but at the expense of some of the more advanced features. (Which could be a good or bad thing depending on preference I suppose) I do wish the QM series had some ability to trigger midi, and I havent figured out how I could incorporate midi easily into a QM setup. (Assuming I eventually wanted to go hard with midi)

 

[JiveTurkey]

View attachment 24585
Above is a pic of my previous Temple Audio Trio 21's underside from a few years back.

I used a Morningstar ML5. The benefit of this box is that it's very compact, and MIDI controllable so it separates the loop functionality from the actual footswitches.

The con with the ML5 is that it's a fixed routing, no way to rearrange your pedals. For me this is not an issue because I tend to figure out a good pedal order and never change it again. The newer ML10X is more flexible for routing with more loops.

With any loop switcher you end up adding a lot of cable too, which can turn into a real spaghetti as you can see above. Sure, you could do it neater but I just wanted it to work and have reasonably short cables from pedal to switcher.

I moved away from this setup to just using fully MIDI controllable Strymon pedals connected to each other regularly. With MIDI switching each pedal on/off, there's no need for loop switching and the cables between the pedals are very short.

That cable management =

 

[laxu]

The ML5 looks kind of slick. So it’s basically a way to midi control loops of non midi pedals? So incorporate with a midi controller which then activates either your midi pedals or the loops on the ML5.

Exactly. You just need to be ok with the fact that it's basically this signal chain:

Guitar -> loop 1 -> 2 -> 3 -> 4 -> 5 -> amp input.

If you wanted a pre/post split you'd need to do something like loop 2 send -> amp input, amp fx send -> loop 3 in, ML5 main out -> amp fx return. Then you need to always have loop 3 active. So it's a better tool for just "before amp input" pedals.

The ML10X gives you more loops so less of an issue there, but more size and cost of course.

 

[laxu]

That cable management =

I call it the "let's just get this thing working -> ok now it works -> eh, can't be bothered to make it better" routing method.

 

[JiveTurkey]

I call it the "let's just get this thing working -> ok now it works -> eh, can't be bothered to make it better" routing method.

Oh I know. I struggle with this INFINTELY more.

 

[mbenigni]

I call it the "let's just get this thing working -> ok now it works -> eh, can't be bothered to make it better" routing method.

Considering how often I veer into "played with it 'til I broke it" territory, your method seems pretty sound.

 

[JiveTurkey]

Considering how often I veer into "played with it 'til I broke it" territory, your method seems pretty sound.

Don't look at it and we'll be golden!

 

[laxu]

Considering how often I veer into "played with it 'til I broke it" territory, your method seems pretty sound.

Except it always starts with "I'm going to make this just perfect" and when you are done:

 

[mbenigni]

Except it always starts with "I'm going to make this just perfect" and when you are done:

Story of my life.

(Also: excellent film!)

 

[Whizzinby]

Exactly. You just need to be ok with the fact that it's basically this signal chain:

Guitar -> loop 1 -> 2 -> 3 -> 4 -> 5 -> amp input.

If you wanted a pre/post split you'd need to do something like loop 2 send -> amp input, amp fx send -> loop 3 in, ML5 main out -> amp fx return. Then you need to always have loop 3 active. So it's a better tool for just "before amp input" pedals.

The ML10X gives you more loops so less of an issue there, but more size and cost of course.

So for ordering your midi controlled pedals you just place them before or after the ML5 entirely?

 

[laxu]

So for ordering your midi controlled pedals you just place them before or after the ML5 entirely?

When I had this rig, the only MIDI controllable ones were the Strymon Volante, Nightsky and Riverside. So Riverside was just in one of the loops and the Volante and Nightsky were just ran from the amp fx loop as their own thing, with MIDI thru from the ML5 daisychained to them.

But you could just put them before or after the ML5 if you want to save the loops.

 

[KingsXJJ]

I went with the new Fender. Haven’t set up yet of course.

Fender Switchboard Effects Operator

FX Pedal Switcher with 5 Rearrangeable FX Loops, 500 User Presets, LCD Screen, I/O Buffering, MIDI Out, USB-C, and Footswitch and Expression Pedal Connections

www.sweetwater.com

 

[dronerstone]

Switchers seem cool, but impact portability, imho.

If money weren't an issue and I'd be a professional/working musician, I'd have a closer look at one of the more expensive RJM units, bury everything in a rack except leave a remote on the floor, and be done with it.

But the way things are, nah. Nice idea, but not for me, personally.

 

[KingsXJJ]

When I had this rig, the only MIDI controllable ones were the Strymon Volante, Nightsky and Riverside. So Riverside was just in one of the loops and the Volante and Nightsky were just ran from the amp fx loop as their own thing, with MIDI thru from the ML5 daisychained to them.

But you could just put them before or after the ML5 if you want to save the loops.

Volante..,