Voodoo Lab

Hello,
I have a midi controller I want to Phantom Power from my PX-8 (Original, not the Plus), problem is that my Midi Controller uses 7 pin and the Voodoo Lab PX-8 is 5 pin.

My understanding "was" that Pins 1 & 3 Carry the power and 2, 4 & 5 carry the messages. I contacted the Midi Controller company and they said a simple crossover connecting Pins 1 & 3 to pins 6 & 7 would supply the phantom power and everything should work fine. So I ordered a special crossover cable and indeed it does Phantom Power the controller, but now they don't communicate anymore They communicated fine with a normal 5 midi cable as long as I was supplying power to the Midi Controller separate before switching cables.

So now I'm wondering is the pin out different on the PX-8 or does it somehow use pins 1 & 3 to communicate as well as send power?

Thanks for any info, as I'd love to figure this out. I really wanted to use the Voodoo Lab PX-8 because I literally just want it to be Instant Access for my Midi Controller where I can program the combos as well as be able to use it as a simple pedalboard without midi control but I have been striking out right and left with this project.

If I were to mod a GCX to have 4 stereo loops I assume I would need to jumper each output to input with a Stereo or TRS cable, would that be correct?

Ok, I think I am correct but just want to be sure (and I hope this makes sense).

Loop 5 - Sends a dry signal to the input of a mixer.

Loops 6,7 & 8 all have Effect units connected from the "send" on the GCX, going to inputs on the mixer in order to run the effects in Parallel.

In order to be able to have "all the loops on" or say turn off Loop 5 to "mute the dry" or have just Loops 5 & 8 active, etc...
I would have to use a Y-cable from the Send on each Loop (5-8), one end going immediately back into the "Return" jack on the GCX, and the other end running to the Effect Unit or Mixer. I would also then have to jumper from the "Out" to the "In" on each of the loops.

Does that sound correct, if it makes sense...lol?

Looking at some other racks I have also seen racks wired with Loop 5 using the Out (instead of the send) and just the Input and Send on Loops 6-8. Not exactly sure how, as I can't see how the rest of the wiring is. I guess another way I should have wrote this. What's the easiest way to do this?

There is a diagram on the Voodoo Lab GCX page (called Multiple Preamps, Stereo Loops, Stereo Power Amp) that almost answers my question but not quite.

Here's my problem. I have 3 rack units I want to run in stereo. I would just hook them into each other and use the midi bypass features on them but 2 of them are mono in.

They have to go in this order because of my signal chain.
The first one I have to go into is Mono in, Stereo out, which is fine.
The second one is Stereo in, stereo out, which again is fine.
The third one is Mono in, Stereo out, which is where I'm stuck...

In the diagram on the website it shows 2 stereo racks. The first one uses the Send and Receive on Loops 3 & 7 (Right & Left), then the second unit uses the Send and Receive on Loops 4 & 8 (Right & Left), but both of these units are Stereo In and unfortunately the last unit is mono in and has to be at the end of my signal chain. Can I just not use the Send of say Loop 8, just the Return from the effect unit and have it still work?

I know I can use the send from 3 of the loops on the GCX and send the stereo outputs into a stereo mixer (I have an old Rane Sm-26 that I have been playing around doing this with) but I would rather not use it if I don't have too.

Thanks for any help and I hope all that makes sense.