MASTERMIND LT Control 4 Stompboxes with 1 Expression Pedal

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EVHGuy1111

Well-Known Member
Hello,
Still building my Ultimate Guitar Rig. It's coming along nicely. RJM makes ALL THE DIFFERENCE when working with MIDI controllers and analog stompboxes. I love being a part of the RJM family.

I've been investigating the best way to control the expression functions on 4 of my stompboxes with 1 expression pedal. I require this because I have a small foot board with room only for an Expression Pedal (DUNLOP Volume X 8), a wah (DUNLOP CryBaby Jr) and the MASTERMIND LT. Everything else in my rig is on the backline and I would prefer to keep it this way for the purposes of a small footprint on stage.
The best I can figure out is to run the expression pedal to the expression jack on the MASTERMIND LT. Then from there I need a MIDI to 1/4" box with 4 outputs (or several MIDI to 1/4" boxes as needed to facilitate the number of pedals I want to control). Then I just tell MIDI to include the Expression Pedal (via the MIDI to 1/4" box) on presets as I create them for the relevant stompboxes that require expression pedals.

I found this Empress Effects MIDIBox 2 in my research. It seems this is what I want to do the trick (I also have found a video how to modify this MIDIBox for when not using in conjunction with Empress pedals -- which I won't be and then likely will have to modify).



MY QUESTION:
Am I on the right track and will this MIDIbox work (if not, does anyone have any idea what might)?




Thank you.
RJM FOR LIFE!
 
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I’ll take a stab…

I think it will depend a lot on what effects pedals/ units you want to have expression pedal control over. I found this to be a useful explanation of how expression pedals work in general: https://missionengineering.com/understanding-expression-pedals/

If your effects have 1/4” midi inputs, then the Empress or Disaster Area midi boxes would work fine.

But if the expression inputs on your effects are “just” expression inputs, then connecting them to a midi box won’t work. If you send midi data via 1/4” cable to a pedal that is expecting to use expression pedal-style control voltage, it won’t do anything. I don’t know, but you could even damage the midi box if you do that.

If your effects have expression inputs (rather than midi), something like this might be what you’re after: https://missionengineering.com/shop/expressionator/

But if your effects can do real-time control of parameters via midi, then you should be able to set things up using a single expression pedal plugged into you LT. You’ll just have to program what parameters on which pedals are controlled. And how that works will largely be a question of how each of your effects pedals functions.

And I’m not shilling for Mission Engineering ; they just really know expression pedals.

Hope this helps…
 
Those boxes would likely work, as well as our MultiBox

This would allow you to control one or two pedals at the same time, and switch which pedals you're controlling from preset to preset.
 
rjmmusic said:
Those boxes would likely work, as well as our MultiBox

This would allow you to control one or two pedals at the same time, and switch which pedals you're controlling from preset to preset.
Click to expand...
So it will convert the MIDI signals to analog that can send tap or expression potentiometer signals?

would the Multibox allow me to send to 4 stompboxes?
 
EVHGuy1111 said:
So it will convert the MIDI signals to analog that can send tap or expression potentiometer signals?

would the Multibox allow me to send to 4 stompboxes?
Click to expand...
I thought you were referring to pedals that accepted expression over MIDI. If they have analog inputs, you'd have to use the box linked to above.
 
rjmmusic said:
The MTET is the only one mentioned here that can convert MIDI data to an expression pedal output.
Click to expand...
So if I have an expression pedal (DUNLO Volume X 8) run into the MASTERMIND LT it will send the expression to via MIDI to my MINI EFFECT GIZMO X on the backline. Then from the MEGX into the MTET. Then from the MTET into the 4 pedals that take expression?

If that’s the case, what needs to be set up for presets in the MMLT Editor to assign the EXP Pedal to the MEGX to the MTET?
 
The fact that the MEGX is in there won't matter at all, it just forwards any MIDI message it receives from MIDI In to MIDI Thru. As far as the MMLT and MTET are concerned, they're connected together directly.

Expression pedal setup on the MMLT is covered here:
Expression Pedals
 
rjmmusic said:
The fact that the MEGX is in there won't matter at all, it just forwards any MIDI message it receives from MIDI In to MIDI Thru. As far as the MMLT and MTET are concerned, they're connected together directly.

Expression pedal setup on the MMLT is covered here:
Expression Pedals
Click to expand...
KEWL!

This is great! Cheaper box than the one I thought I had to get and more expression inputs to boot!

AWESOME!
 
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