Voodoo Lab

Great news on the HEX ! Hopefully it'll be available next summer ! Brilliant design in a great format, really looking forward to it.

As for AC power, I'm intending to power a bigger MIDI board, such as the Liquid Foot Pro (can't go with the GCP this time, since I need more IAs and more presets for the rig I'm planning, and the older LFP can be had pretty cheap 2nd hand these days).

Thanks for the answer !

As the title says !
Had to unload the GCX-GCP rig a while ago (and hated getting back to tap dancing), so I'm again planning to go back to a switching rig in the near future (but want a smaller switcher on the pedal shelf this time to make room for an FX processor).
The HEX looks very promising, but...it's been presented at 2013 NAMM, and no news ever since.

Has it been scrapped ? Is there any chance it'll be released in the coming month ?

I loved each and any VL product I've owned (Tremolo, 2 GCXs, GCP, PP2+ that is still going strong after 7 years of quite intensive use) and would love to get yet another, so I was looking forward to being able to go with the HEX, but since it's not available yet, I might have to go with another brand (RJM Mini Effect Gizmo probably). Unless it gets released soon ?

In a similar vein: what happened to the Pedal Power Versa ? Yet another great idea that never was released ? Having both 9VAC (so as to power a switcher and MIDI board) and 9/12VDC for pedals was perfect for that kind of rig. So, will it ever be available ?

Thanks !

Here is my modest rig, nothing too fancy but I'm quite happy with it: Brunetti Pirata 141 head, girly rack with a GCX, and a couple pedals in the drawer (Eventide TimeFactor, Maxon OD9, Boss CS-2 ad CE-2), and a PT Pro with a Ground Control Pro, a CryBaby, TC Polytune and MXR/CAE boost (that I use as a buffer). Planning on adding a Line6 M5 (as a "joker" pedal), a G50 wireless and a BB Pre, I also might get another buffer and replace the PP2+ with a 4X4... Cab is a N.O.S. (small french builder) oversized 2x12 with V30s.
Guitars are a 90s Classic Floyd Strat with a JB and V60LPs and a '86 Paul Dean Kramer.
Cool thing about the TimeFactor is, it does lots of things, I use it for delays (obviously ), "pseudo-reverbs", chorus and phasers. With the L6 M5, the rig will be very flexible for its size.

JohnClark wrote:

BurnTheSky wrote:I built this box, and it's sort of working, except I have an issue: tempo isn't registering correctly when using it to tap tempo for my Eventide Time Factor.
It sometimes sets tempo to 500bpm, and most of the time tempo is quite off.
By comparison setting up an IA button on the GCP (set to momentary) works flawlessly and very accurately, so I figure it's not related to the TF itself.
Might it be related to the switch I'm using on the tap tempo box ? I bought this one:
http://www.musikding.de/Switches/Foot-S ... :3372.html
Wiring between the switch and TRS jack seem to be correct, but could inverting polarity help ? Or should I get a different switch ?

Thanks in advance, I'm pretty much stuck here !

Because the port you are using on the Ground Control Pro is intended for an expression pedal, it will not correctly read a momentary switch... actually, it is reading it "too correctly"
When you press the switch, the contacts bounce against each other. The Ground Control Pro is reading this bounce and interpreting it as movement between the endpoints. Neither the TimeFactor or the Expression Pedal port on the Ground Control Pro have data filtering to prevent this unwanted data from false triggering a Tap. The next Ground Control Pro software update will include the necessary filtering to use a momentary switch in the Expression Pedal Port, but for the now you will have to use an Instant Access button for controlling the tempo on the Time Factor.

I hope that helps!


p.s. I see you asked about the switch type earlier, sorry to have missed that

Now worry, and thanks for the answer
Would you have an ETA for next software ? I'll make do with using an IA button for the time being, but having a separate switch would be much easier.
Thanks again, loving my GCP/GCX (and PP2+) rig !

I built this box, and it's sort of working, except I have an issue: tempo isn't registering correctly when using it to tap tempo for my Eventide Time Factor.
It sometimes sets tempo to 500bpm, and most of the time tempo is quite off.
By comparison setting up an IA button on the GCP (set to momentary) works flawlessly and very accurately, so I figure it's not related to the TF itself.
Might it be related to the switch I'm using on the tap tempo box ? I bought this one:
http://www.musikding.de/Switches/Foot-S ... :3372.html
Wiring between the switch and TRS jack seem to be correct, but could inverting polarity help ? Or should I get a different switch ?

Thanks in advance, I'm pretty much stuck here !

This cable will only work with RJM's switchers (Mini Amp Gizmo, Rack Gizmo).

Since there's jack inputs at the back of the Mk V to control channels, solo and EQ, you can use the GCX (or the Control Switcher) to control it as is.

You need to send Control Changes (80-86 for normal operation of the GCX loops), while AFAIK both the Midi Mouse and the Nobels Controller are only able to send Program Changes, which makes them unable to control the GCX.
Sorry...

Well, I ended up cabling it that way:
Board (with wah, TC tuner and MXR/CAE buffer) -> Loop 1 In, then in and out of the first five loops, then
Loop 5 Out ->Feed Thru (back)
Feed Thru (front) ->Guitar In (using a short cable with pancake plugs)
Guitar Out -> Amp In

previous versions (that gave the pop when activating/de-activating the OD9 loop) were 1) not using the GCX buffer at all, and using Humfrees to isolate the GCX from the rack rails and my rack power unit (this also gave a very small hum); 2) going from the board to the GCX buffer, then on to the loops, and removing the Humfrees (this killed the hum, but I was still having the switching pops).

For my rig, the quietest version is no Humfrees, and GCX buffer at the end of the chain, which means one buffer (the MXR/CAE one) before going into the rack, and another (the GCX one) at the end of the chain, before going into the amp.

It might not have anything to do with how everything is running, but I'm going in and out of the rack through a simple interface, consisting of Neutrik NJ3FP6C connectors screwed to a rack panel.

Anyway, the rig is very quiet now, even at stage volume with gobs of gain (there's some normal gain hiss, but very manageable, and no hum or pop at all).

JohnClark wrote:I'm not sure I understand your routing, but if you simply have eight pedals routed into the front of your amp, you can try running your buffer before the input to your amp.

For the record, I had some popping happening in my own rig (GCX/GCP, pedals in loops of the GCX powered by a PP2+, in front of the amp whose functions are controlled by 2 GCX loops) when switching the loop with my Maxon OD9 in and out. Putting the GCX buffer at the end of the pedals chain (right before signal hits the amp's input) removed the popping !
Apart from that, loops are pretty silent (as in, quieter than using the pedals' bypass switches), even with the amp gain channel, and volume up (stage volume, enough to compete with a loud drummer).
I know it's not totally relevant to Mechanize's problem, but I wanted to point out that John's solution actually works in some cases

Stupid question: does it require a latching or momentary switch ?