Pedals,MIDI and DAW

  • Thread starter Thread starter dainbramage
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dainbramage

dainbramage

Well-known member
Hey guys, long time since I posted anything here.

I just realised I have two pedals with MIDI possibilities (which I never really thought about before) and a third one on the way in the mail. Two of them have MIDI I/O and one of them have only MIDI in. Those three pedals are:

T-Rex Spindoctor Overdrive - MIDI in only
Eventide Modfactor - MIDI in/out
Strymon Timeline - MIDI in/out

My interface has MIDI I/O.

Now, it has come to my attention that they can be controlled by a DAW by assigning parameters, but I have searched the web endlessly without finding any specific information as to how this is done. What I would like is to assign different effects automatically during a song. So say I come to a psychedelic bridge-section and I would like a preset on the modfactor and the timeline to activate, while perhaps in during the refrain I would like to activate the overdrive. The thing is, besides the obvious recording possibilities this would bring, I like to jam along to my tracks (by muting the recorded guitars) through my amp and this is usually the way I develop ideas. Am I making sense?

First of all, can I connect the three pedals without 3 I/O on the interface or will I have to get some standalone MIDI-interface? And other than that, how can this be done if it is at all do-able?

I can not seem to figure this out, and MIDI is pretty much new to me except programming drums and the like. Any ideas would be highly appreciated, and if you need more information please tell me.
 
you're gonna have to go into the pedal's info and find out what commands they'll take and which MIDI channels they use for those commands.
I'm not positive but I'm pretty sure it can vary from unit to unit.
I know on my stuff that the owner's manuals usually have a MIDI chart. There's 16 channels available on MIDI and the pedlas might say, use channel 16 for time commands and a different channel for other commands .......... so you need to know the specifics of those particular pedals.

And I don't know what you use to control MIDI devices but I use a keyboard and the way it works is I'll, for example, want a voice to change at a certain time so AT that time I insert a 'control change' command for that particular channel.
It's gonna be something like that but the specifics of your particular stuff are gonna be different so you're gonna have to delve into the owners manuals deeper sections to get the details ironed out.
 
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If none of the devices has a 'MIDI THRU' jack, and your interface only has 1 MIDI jack (or 1 in and 1 out) then you will need some kind of MIDI box to connect all of them at the same time.
As Bob says, you will need to look at the manuals for each device to see what channels they use (or if you can change which channels they use). If they are all on channel 16, for example, you would only be able to control 1 at a time.
 
Thanks a lot, I am getting closer to accomplishing this. Two of the pedals have MIDI thru so that should be fine.
 
mjbphotos said:
If none of the devices has a 'MIDI THRU' jack, and your interface only has 1 MIDI jack (or 1 in and 1 out) then you will need some kind of MIDI box to connect all of them at the same time.
As Bob says, you will need to look at the manuals for each device to see what channels they use (or if you can change which channels they use). If they are all on channel 16, for example, you would only be able to control 1 at a time.
Click to expand...
Many devices have a sort of "software thru", sometimes called MIDI echo. Sometimes there's a software switch for it, sometimes it's just automatic.

But yeah, I hate to say RTFM, but I think it's time.
 
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