Voodoo Lab

I WANT TO PUBLICLY HERE BY STATE THAT JOHN CLARK IS THE MAN
AND HE IS A GENIUS !

JOHN HELPED ME WADE THROUGH MY MYRIAD OF WIRES
AND EFX AND AMPS TO BRING ME JOY ALMOST BEYOND WORDS.

IF YOU WANT IT ALL WITH 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 OR EVEN 8 AMPS
AND 8 EFX DO NOT THINK OF LOOKING ELSEWHERE .

THE GROUND CONTROL AND 2 GCX UNITS JUST MADE MY ENTIRE DECADE
AND MY TONE IS PURE AND SO AWESOME .

I HAVE MY CAKE AND EVERY TOPPING I COULD HAVE EVER DREAMED OF
AND ITS DUE TO JOHN CLARK AND VOODOO LABS.

JOHN JUST GOT HIMSELF ONE CUSTOM GUITAR BECAUSE THIS OLD BOY
JUST CAME OUT OF RETIREMENT.

I PUT JOHN THROUGH SOME HELL THE PAST WEEKS
BECAUSE I THOUGHT THIS WOULD NOT WORK
I COULD NOT MAKE IT WORK.

I STAND CLEARLY CORRECTED AND I OWE IT TO JOHN.
I APOLOGIZE FOR PUTTING YOU THROUGH HELL JOHN
BUT OUT OF THE FLAMES WILL COME ONE NICE GUITAR.

YOU JUST MADE MY ENTIRE DECADE
THIS HAS BEEN A LIFE LONG DREAM
TO BE ABLE TO RUN THIS MANY AMPS AND EFX.

I HAVE A HOME STUDIO AND NOW I CAN
RECORD EVERYTHING I OWN AND ALL MY EFX
WITH PURE TONE SIGNAL I MIGHT ADD.

I AM NOT WORTHY BUT I OWE IT TOO JOHN CLARK.

AGAIN IF ANYONE IS READING THIS AND I KNOW YOU ARE
IF YOU THINKING ABOUT WANTING YOUR CAKE AND EATING IT TOO
WITH ANY TOPPING YOU COULD EVER IMAGINE.

YOU GO BUY A GROUND CONTROL AND SOME GCX SWITCHERS.
YOU LISTEN TO JOHN AND FOLLOW HIS DIAGRAMS
AND HE WILL DELIVER YOUR DREAMS TO YOU IN SPADES.

HE JUST MADE THIS OLD MAN REAL REAL REAL HAPPY.

TO JOHN CLARK AT VOODOO LABS AND ALL THE STAFF
THAT PUT UP WITH ME.

YOU GUYS JUST MADE MY CAKE AND I AM GORGING ON IT.
AND THEY SAY GLUTTONY IS A SIN.

RUN DONT WALK FOR A SYSTEM LIKE THIS IF YOU
ARE LOOKING FOR EVERYTHING AND THEN SOME.

IT WORKS FLAWLESSLY AND HAS BROUGHT ME
A SMILE I CANT GET OFF MY FACE TODAY.

I BOW AT YOUR TENACITY AND SMARTS
YOU GUYS RULE THE PLANETS.
I AM BESIDE MYSELF TODAY.

NOTHING WORTHWHILE COMES EASY
IT TOOK SOME WORK BUT MOST OF THAT
WAS MY ERROR OR ASSUMPTIONS OF HOW
THIS SHOULD GO...

WHEN I CALMED MYSELF AND LOOKED AND LISTENED
ALL THE PLANETS LINED UP AND TODAY ,

THE SOUNDS IVE BEEN DREAMING OF ARE AT MY FEET.

I AM ABOUT TO SPLIT IN HALF IM SO HAPPY.

TO JOHN CLARK YOU ARE THE GURU OF THE SWITCHING WORLD
YOUR HELP JUST HAS REALLY MADE THIS MAN QUITE HAPPY.

IM RUNNING 4 AMPS WITH 8 EFX
SOON THAT WILL BE 7 OR 8 AMPS
FOR THE STUDIO..

BUT IF I WANTED 16 AMPS OR 24
I HAVE NO DOUBT EVERY ONE OF THEM
WOULD WORK WITH ALL 8 EFX.

HAPPY IS A SUBSTANDARD WORD FOR WHAT I FEEL RIGHT NOW
THANKS JOHN

I AM JUST A GUITAR PLAYER WITH SOME DREAMS
I AM NOT AFFILIATED WITH VOODOO LABS
BUT I NOW KNOW HOW TO SETUP A PRO RACK
AND ILL BE RECOMMENDING THESE PRODUCTS
TO ANYONE WHO WILL LISTEN.

IT WILL BE A NO BRAINER SOON AS THEY HEAR IT
THEY WILL COME RUNNING TO ASK .

I HAVE DEEMED THIS RACK THE MONOLITH
BECAUSE IT WILL SUCK EVERY GUITAR PLAYER WITHIN
500 MILES OF HERE IN.

THE SECOND THEY HEAR THIS SYSTEM THEY WILL
RUN TO ASK HOW I DID IT.

JOHN CLARK WILL BE THE FIRST NAME FROM MY MOUTH.
VOODOO LABS ROCKS THE WORLD

MY HAT IS FOREVER OFF TO THE STAFF AT VOODOO LABS
FOR PUTTING UP WITH MY SH%^ AND SEEING THIS THROUGH.

ILL BE BUYING 2 PEDAL POWERS IN ABOUT A WEEK
SO LOOK OUT IM COMING TO GETCHA.

John thanks My son and I are working on this.
He is helping me in photo shop.

I will send diagrams with colors.
red are the jumper wires.
yellow are wires I think I need
to be using to complete the audio signal path.

You mentioned I dont have out after 8 from gcx 1
heading back into in of gcx 2.
If I put that from past 8 over to in on gcx 2,
then do I also need to take the last out of gcx 2
and complete that somewhere ?
say feed through of gcx 1 ?

Perhaps That will allow my signal through
Pardon me John I was mislead by a third party
trying to help walk me through this
he thought midi was all I needed to hook
more than one gcx up.

I had indeed asked hey do I need patch cords
from out gcx 1 to in gcx 2 ?
he said no midi handled that.

Something did not sound right about that then
and I was right on my assumption as I DO NEED
to finish the 1/4 path.

My question is after I run out of amps and efx on gcx 2
do I then take the out past 8 there and take it too
gcx 1 feed through ?

also from gcx 1 going into efx do I jumper from guitar out to in
or from feed through to in then through channel 1 jump to 2
same thing again then jump to 3....
Then take out to in of second gcx and continue those jumpers
till I am full on second Gcx and then do I as well
take one last out back to Gcx 1 ?

If that is the case I will redo that
The internal mess I have is another story,

Perhaps I dont see lights on gcx 2 with the amps
as I only have 4 in right now and not the full 8 spaces
taken and that last out back to complete the audio path ?

Because before it was indeed turning each amp on
and even remembering which efx I wanted to come on
with that amp.

I even named and saved amp names and then
the efx I wanted on each time I hit those amps.

That is still saved tonight as I had reset to start all over.

BUT I STILL GET NO ON OFF LIGHTS FROM GCX 2 NOR
SOUND OR EFX OUT.

At this point I cant remember if I come from guitar through to in
on gcx 1 or feed through to in.
also do I do that on both units with jumpers
or do I need that feed through for the last out ?

I think if we can get audio coming back out of all 4 amps
and then the efx and then figure why on earth the lights
on gcx 2 dont light up at all when I select 1-4 then
I will be an expert at this by then.

Because I have figured the rest out so far
I just think ive goofed some setting inside up.

something to do with loops
gcx 1 loop 1
gcx 1 loop 2

those settings are the only thing I can think of
keeping the gcx 2 lights off.
Because thats when things went south on all of it
I was trying to find where I set devices for midi
and then see which gcx was enabled which both were on.
after doing that I could not figure why one gcx lit up fine
and the second did not.

power is on both.
they both scroll when powered on
just no on off lights on gcx 2.

Before this tonight
gcx 1 would not turn on off each button from 1-8.

I had to reset it all and start over to get that happening again
and still no sound but thats most likely from
no out back to in on second gcx.
I have that now.

Im wondering where
the out from gcx 2 should go too ?
also does gcx 1 have a jumper from
guitar out to in or feed through to in ?

The midi might be the problem on second gcx lights
Ill test the cables.

They control the lights anyway so perhaps its that.
I am only slightly insane from this.

JohnClark wrote:This is getting a little out of hand. Lets try to tackle one problem at a time before you go and change a lot of stuff. I need a little clearer description of just the problem you are now having with the GCX#1 not doing what you wish. Is it that the buttons labeled 1-8 are no longer controlling GCX#1 loops 1-8? If so, check to see what you have programmed these buttons to do.
1. Go into the Setup Mode by pressing both Setup buttons at the same time.
2. Press the Instant Access button.
3. Check what each button is set to control, the number at the far left of the screen indicates the Instant Access button number. The Select Down button scrolls down through the button assignments.

Let us know if that helps, or if this isn't the problem you were describing.

Gcx 1 has all the efx on it
Gcx 2 has the amps.

Gcx 1 all the lights work fine on or off
no signal passes through no efx no signal

Now gcx 2 which has all the amps
and just worked fine does not work
no sound no lights from anything.

The power light is on it blinks through both
when turned on but no lights light up.
On gcx 2 while buttons 1234 across the bottom of ground control
are being pushed.

Now there is no signal from either one.
I am just so bent from this I am going to sleep,

I need a wiring diagram please
you have the efx im using
they are in place wired.
no sound comes out of gcx 1
now no sound comes from gcx2

I moved the through to in cords
and I bet I messed that up when i did that.

Do i go from feed through to in ?
guitar out to in ?
then across gcx 1 then jumper out to in of gcx2 ?

Which gcx should I be plugging my guitar into out front
1 ?

See this is all goofed up
before the only sound I was getting was through gcx 2.
Now no sound from either.

No lights on gcx 2 at all when grayed out 1234 buttons are pushed.
Had lights on gcx 1 working on off.

I reset everything started over
renamed every button on 1234 banking up to into 30s.

Some of those had efx turned on.
Those all saved just fine.

The names on button 1234 saves just fine and stores.
when i hit those 1234 buttons the top efx on 1-8
turn on and off but no sound.

Today if i go in right now turn it on
and go to turn on the fuzz face on slot 2
of gcx 1.

It turns gcx 2 light on on slot 2 .
if i turn the fuzz off the light on slot 2 of second gcx goes off.

when I hit any of the buttons 1234 none of the lights on
gcx 2 light up.

unless I try to turn the fuzz on which is on 2 of gcx 1
when i do that the red light on gcx 2 where the amps are
lights up.

WTF OVER ?

whoosh this is frustrating.

I have two gcx switchers.

gcx 1 has the following
1.td1 boost
2.fuzzface
3.westbury boost
4.flanger
5.mxr 1500 delay
6.mxr 1000 delay
7.ultravibe
8.octavian

The second gcx controller
has my amps and 2 more efx.

I had this set where I would have 4 amps across the bottom
of ground control.

select an amp and then turn on the efx 12345678 of gcx 1
then edit and save to that button and select b channel of that button
and do the same thing on another amp y corded.

So two different stereo setups y corded per each channel
to ab between two sounds per channel.
I could continue on up to 36 presets
using 9 banks of 4 each.

Somehow I have messed with the loop setting or something
and now gcx 1 does not control the efx stompbox wise
on or off.

it does nothing until i get up to 5
then it starts changing loops ect.

How do i set this back where gcx 1
is all my efx 12345678 on or off
and gcx 2 is all my amps and 2 or 3
more efx ?

I just want to be able to hit 1234
and ab between 8 different sounds.
then bank up one and do that again
with 8 other sounds and again
and again.

I wish to set each amps midi patches the same
for the first 12 patches then 4 main amps
with the same sounds on first 12 settings.

I think between those and being able to
ab between heads and preamps with old tube amps
behind those will allow me what I am after.

I CANT GET SOUND OUT OF GCX 1 AT ALL NOW
I DO GET SOUND OUT OF GCX 2 IF PLUGGED IN
GUITAR WISE AND SELECTING 1234 ACROSS GROUND CONTROL.

BUT NOW MY 1-8 EFX STOMP BOX ON OR OFF SETUP
IS NOT WORKING WITH GCX 2.

HOW DO I FIX THIS TO WORK ?
MACSTER6@MAC.COM

I THOUGHT I HAD THIS FIXED AND THEN SOMETHING GLITCHED
I THINK ITS IN WHERE THE GCX AND THE LOOPS COMBINE.
I WAS GOING THROUGH THAT STUFF WHEN THINGS CHANGED FOR THE WORSE.

I tested the wires as well they are working so something internal
in gcx 1 is goofed up.

can anybody help ??
I JUST WANT 1-8 FOR STOMP BOX RACK OR FOOT GEAR ON OF OFF
AND THE 1234 ACROSS BOTTOM OF GROUND CONTROL
TO SELECT EACH AMP AND TO AB BETWEEN A HEAD AND PREAMP
ON EVERY CHANNEL.

THAT GIVES ME 8 COMBINATIONS OF SOUNDS IN 4 BUTTONS.

I have 2 gcx units.
gcx 1 has
1. td1 boost
2. fuzzface
3. westbury tube boost
4.flanger
5, mxr 1500 delay
6. mxr 1000 ms delay
7.ultravibe
8.octavian

gcx #2 would have
1. transfex pro head #1
2. transfex pro head #2
3. transfex pro head #3
4. 2 pre amps y corded <4 different tube amps behind these in stereo pairs.>
5. twin y corded to dry and reverb ab too plexi
6, ?
7. supervibe
8. leslie sim

Ok I have all 3 amps working 1234 slots across bottom of ground control.
I got no sound at all until I plugged my guitar signal into the second gcx
When I plugged into that guitar in all the sudden all the amps
made sound.

Ok now when I step on any efx which are all on gcx 1
they light up so the ground control is working them on and off
but I get no efx sound on the amps which are on.

I get the internal amp efx of course but if I step on
any efx on gcx 1 no sound.

That tells me I think something is bad on gcx 1.
I cant get any guitar signal through that
When I plug into gcx 1 from guitar.

NO efx sound at all from any of the 8 efx
comes on or through the amps when selected.

What is the culprit could it be I dont have the
two gcx units jumped 1/4 jack wise ?
midi is the only cables connecting the two
do I need to patch the gcx units together
via 1/4 jack plug to make them feed through
so that I can hear efx 1-8 ?

I get red lights on every gcx and on each efx and or amp
but no efx sound coming from gcx 1 at all.

should I be plugged into gcx 1 or 2 from the guitar
also I noted if i ran guitar into wah into pedal one of
ground control and out of pedal two into gcx guitar in
I got no sound.

Is there internal switches on pedal 1 and 2 jack
to turn on as well or to feed through the ground control unit
so I can plug pedal board toys in through that to the gcx guitar in ?

I am real close now just cant get efx sound off gcx 1.

Wondering if i got the order wrong on where guitar should be plugged in I thought it went into the first gcx through second gcx.

any suggestions ?
do i need to patch gcx 1 and 2 by guitar cable as well midi ?
do both units need guitar through to in jack cables ?

If you wish you can reply to macster6@mac.com
thanks much for any help.

I think I am very close now.

I have sound from 3 heads 1234 slots across the ground control are working.
I put the guitar input into gcx 2 and got sound from every amp.

No sound from any efx on gcx 1.
the ground control is controlling the lights
they come on and off but no sound.

I have midi cables hooked between the two
but no jumpers ie 1/4 jacks.

also I put guitar through into in on back of each
gcx unit I wonder if the problem might be there
or the main cord hooking the first gcx is just
shorted.

I cant get any efx or sound through gcx 1.
but the midi controller is working each light.

I think it must be in the guitar efx cables
or the jumpers on gcx 1.

I am very close just not getting any of my efx sounds to make
sounds along with the amps.

got to be in gcx 1 or the cables or midi cable.

I have yet to hook up all 4 amps midi cable wise.
So I cant save midi settings per button yet
but I am close.

I guess one midi head should be on one gcx
and the other midi head should be on gcx 2
and then pre amp midi cables into those.
Select them as device 1234?
then select the amp heads and preamps to
those channels 1234.

I am not so concerned about midi as I need
some more midi cables it seems possibly
2 or 4 to patch it all together.
When those are done then any midi #
I select on any amp and then save that as
should recall with one button push.

I am about to declare victory over this monster
If i can get sound from gcx 1 through all my efx
and they come out when i select out front
then I am a happy camper.

I could then work on booking gigs here as well.
I just have some things to organize first.
They are all there now in the rack and drawers
and pedal board ..

I bet its a cable problem now either guitar patch or midi.

i am at macster6@mac.com
If anyone can think of the issue keeping me from
hearing gcx 1 efx.

Should I be plugged into gcx 1 guitar in ?
does it matter if my amps are all on gcx 2 ?
do i need to jump gcx units with guitar patch cable if so
where do i do that at ?
also what about midi ? plug amp 1 into gcx 1 amp 2 into gcx 2
and daisy the rest of the midi devices into the back of those heads ?

soon I will be out of questions believe me Ill be celebrating more
than you all will on that day.

I have a ground control and two gcx switchers.
I have a combination of rack mount efx and pedals which
have now been mounted on a sliding drawer in the rack.

I plan on running 3 modeling heads along with
4 preamps. that takes 7 spaces up on a gcx unless
I were to pair one head and one preamp up per channel.
using y cords.

I use a combination of heads and preamps,
The preamps are single spaced rack units modified
to not need batteries ever to maintain settings.
They will run two vintage tube amps just fine in stereo
and control them both via midi. The stereo outputs are
line level so it wont bother the front end of a vintage tube amp.

My idea is to pair up vintage tube amps behind each pre amp.
maybe a twin and a frenzel paired up in stereo for a dual tone sound
on cleans and another twin and apollo amp for another dual sound.
Or two plexi amps or a plexi and a twin you could split the twin side
yet one more time mono y cord and go into both dry and reverb side
of the twin. so depending on which side gets hit with boost I might have
both a twin and a plexi getting hit with boost pedal either or or both
at same time.

I am thinking that pairing up amps which are slightly different
than each other sound wise might give me dual tones which
id not have heard before.

James santiago runs into a twin on both channels
well when I heard the sounds I said uh hello
I want those two.

That gave me some good ideas.
It allowed me to see I could have my cake and eat it all too,
I think this idea will allow me to run up to 8 amps
I have 3 heads and 4 pre amps.
I also have pairs of vintage tube amps to place behind
each pre amp.
They are line level out so they wont hurt the amps
plus I have an output knob to ensure the vintage amps dont
get blasted with too much. Even though its line level I can still
crank that and drive the front end a bit more.

No need to do that..
I just want to set those vintage tube amps flat eq wise
maybe one dark and one with the bright switch on.
And with the plexis ran that way have one super bass and one super lead.
contrasting sounds yet stereo.

The fourth space id have left would be all lead sounds.
So id have any lead type amps paired there in stereo.
Perhaps an apollo and a plexi lead head.
the apollo is more aggressive sounding with solid
state rectifier but the plexi is more bell like and chimey
they both can get mighty clean yet the ss rectified amp
can really bark when driven. brighter sounding amp
best for bark and bite the super tremelo plexi id pair this
with is best for tube driven leads.
My idea is to have a studio setup for my amps
where I can run all my amps and utilize every efx
I have on any amp.

If I needed to gig the same rules would apply.
I could easily just carry 3 heads and 3 cabs
and a rack and small board.

I wish to be able to have all my amps where I could ab them
at home and then try to duplicate each amp for what it does
by ab' the vintage tube vs the modern modeling amp.

See if i cant match those sounds eq wise and save that.
If I can get everything without using my old tube amps
then id consider selling them off.

Because I could have 3 or 4 heads and do
every sound I just compared them all too vintage wise.
If I could duplicate those sounds every night consistently
then id not need the vintage tube amps or to lug them about.

I could roll with 3 or 4 heads and the same number of cabs
stereo and get both mono and stereo efx from those 4 heads.

I want to use my ground control like a stompbox setup.
where 1-8 are efx. then 1234 across the bottom
of the ground controller is your 4 main amp sounds.
clean clean boosted dirty dirty boosted lead full bore lead.

My question is how to use multiple gcx units and
then to make the buttons work for say gcx #2 or #3
I understand how gcx 1 works but
controlling other efx or preamps located on another gcx
is confusing.

I simplified this down to 7 amps
3 heads 4 pre amps.
some vintage tube amps will be paired behind
the heads and some behind the profex 2 units.
Just for midi control and stereo efx by pairing them
behind the profex 2 and splitting them apart for large
separation.

Each are midi controlled the heads and pre amps.
I am curious if this system will run 7 different
amp heads and pre amps together midi wise.
If so and I can set each head to a different sound
and its assigned by midi # and everyone or all 7
are different suddenly you have many many many sounds.
If the ground control can handle that much going on at one time
and pull those sounds up my search has ended.


I am quite tired but I hope this makes sense
if someone can help me with y cord placement
and where I can control the second gcx switcher
or from what buttons do I bank up start over
on next 4 settings ?
keep going ???

stuck if james or anyone can pm me I am close
to switching this entire thing over to my rack
and gcx switchers I need final wiring path
and I can set all this up.

Btw each head and preamp are all midi and run off the same ram cards.
The heads will hold more efx per patch than the pre amps will.
so I might run vintage amps behind those heads and the preamps,.

depends I would have more cake and icing too if I could
set things up where I can hear everything and decide what
does not sound good paired.

I want it all for the studio and damn near that if I ever
played out I could roll with 3 heads and 3 stereo cabs.
If I want every amp I own at my feet in the studio
then I can add in the pre amps or heads or both.

John I just got word from James santiago about this and
he is as well on this to help.

I wanted to thank you all for helping me.

This is about to make me a very very happy camper.

To the voodoo lab staff you guys are one in a million
and with your help I might just actually be playing live
after all.

That might be a blessing and a curse.