Planning To Buy An Effect Loop Switcher

DarthTangYang

DarthTangYang

Member
Hello!

I'm planning to buy a programmable Effect Loop Switcher for the pedalboard I'm building and it pretty much stands between the Mastermind PBC/6X and the Morningstar ML10X. I assume many of you have experience with the PBC/6X but have any of you any experience using any of Morningstar's products? Prefferrably the ML10X since that's specifically the one that could potentially rival the PBC/6X in terms of number of loops, internal pedal order routing, parallel routing, stereo capabilities etc. I know RJM has been around for a while now while Morningstar seem to be the new kid on the block and I wonder if perhaps their products are more prone to acting out and being buggy?
 
I took a brief foray into Morningstar (MC6) and it's a solid unit from my experience. They, like RJM, do regular firmware updates to their products and have good support, both of which are a pretty big deal, so you should be okay either way. There are trade-offs either way — some things are more intuitive with RJM and less with Morningstar and vice-versa in my opinion.

I think the big thing with the ML10X is that you're essentially splitting the looper part out and can mount it under your board or something and then you buy whatever other MIDI controller you want for it, which can be nice if you're trying to fit more pedals on top, etc, right?

Ultimately my Morningstar experience was short-lived and I went back to my 6X. :)
 
kiesshauer said:
I took a brief foray into Morningstar (MC6) and it's a solid unit from my experience. They, like RJM, do regular firmware updates to their products and have good support, both of which are a pretty big deal, so you should be okay either way. There are trade-offs either way — some things are more intuitive with RJM and less with Morningstar and vice-versa in my opinion.

I think the big thing with the ML10X is that you're essentially splitting the looper part out and can mount it under your board or something and then you buy whatever other MIDI controller you want for it, which can be nice if you're trying to fit more pedals on top, etc, right?

Ultimately my Morningstar experience was short-lived and I went back to my 6X. :)
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Ok and what would you say was the main reasons you went back to the 6X?
 
I'd say mainly familiarity, cause I've used the RJM stuff for years. But also the form factor fits nicely on my board, number of loops is great for me, etc.
 
I haven't owned a Morningstar device, but when comparing them, I dove into their editor quite a bit. Maybe it's just the way my brain works, but I greatly preferred the workflow of the RJM editor. You'll most likely be spending a lot of time in there so that's another thing to consider.
 
I’ve only used the Morning star midi pedals.
But, if ML10 is anything like their controllers it’s pretty easy to use. I must say that I prefer the all in one PBC6x.
 
Jac78221 said:
I’ve only used the Morning star midi pedals.
But, if ML10 is anything like their controllers it’s pretty easy to use. I must say that I prefer the all in one PBC6x.
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Well, I can definitely see myself go both ways. I also like the idea of having it all in one unit like the PBC/6X and since RJM is a company that's been around for quite some time by now it feels more reassuring.

But at the same time I do like the fact that the ML10X Morningstar is expandable. I could buy a second Morningstar switcher like the ML10X or an ML5 if I'd ever needed more loops. It would be a separate unit of course so I wouldn't be able to use the pedals in the first one combined with the second one with just the step on one switch, at least I don't think so

I also like that all 5 loops on the ML10X are stereo while the PBC/6X only has 3 stereo loops. Then again, if I want to use more than just 5 loops I need to split some of them, making them mono, which will probably leave me with just 2 or 3 stereo loops anyway, so...

I guess the Switcher I want doesn't really exist on the market, or if it does it's probably some custom built one, costing a small fortune. What I'd really want would be a completely modular system that you can expand if needed. Like a central "brain" where you do all the programming that comes with say 5 stereo loops (TRS ports) with the possibility of adding 5, 10 or even 15 more stereo loops by buying separate modules with just the loop ports. And they would be fully connected once added, with the capability of being programmed together with the previous ones. That would be a truly powerful Switcher that would completely steal the market in terms of switchers I think. The Morningstar seem to be going in this direction and perhaps that's where the next one will end up, or RJM will do it. I just think the idea of investing so much money in a Switcher that is completely fixed in its number of loops is too limiting. A Switcher that is designed much like the Cioks expandable power supply makes more sense.
 
I’m pretty sure you can mix/match Morningstar & RJM. You can add to the RJM if you need more. The one other thing you’re forgetting about is the buffers on both units are different output values. The Morning star has a lower value. Which will give you more high end presence. I personally like the slightly higher value of The RJM products.
 
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DarthTangYang said:
Ok, wow I didn't even know RJM had an extension unit. Thanks! I defi itely need to look into that one. Is it capable of running pedals in parallel?
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The Mini Effect Gizmo X would need an external line mixer in order to run pedals in parallel.
 
DarthTangYang said:
Ok, so I would only be able to run the pedals connected to the PBC/6X in parallel and the ones connected to the Gizmo would be serial?
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The PBC/6X also needs an external line mixer to run in parallel. As Jac above says, only the PBC10 has an internal line mixer.
 
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