Old 04-23-2019, 03:41 AM   #1
netphreak
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Default DIY pedal board to turn FX on/off

Hello all,

My hardware:
RME RayDAT in a powerful computer
Various preamps connected to RME via ADAT
Mesa Boogie F50

I have connected Mesa's "record out" to a line in on a Steinberg soundcard, connected via ADAT to RME/computer/Reaper (IR's and various plugins in Reaper) - and then back to Steinberg for an analogue out to PA. Works perfect for live playing, hardly any latency at all

Now - it would be great to build a pedal board for activating/deactivating plugins on my track in Reaper while I play! But how?

I guess I first need two MIDI codes for each FX on my track - on and off... Right?

Then I would need some way to have my switches to send this code to Reaper. I'm familiar with Arduino micro controllers, and would have no problems building a pedal board sending codes over TCP/IP - would this be the way to go? Or am I way off here?

Thanks for a great community and software
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Old 04-23-2019, 04:11 AM   #2
LCipher
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You can use a Behringer FCB1010 Ultra-Flexible MIDI Foot Controller for about $149 - but you need a MIDI IN/OUT on your computer

If you want to build your own - by far the easiest route is to use one of these and add some switches

Livid Brain Jr. ($49) - USB interface
http://shop.lividinstruments.com/brain-jr/
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Old 04-23-2019, 04:19 AM   #3
netphreak
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RME has 2 x midi in and 2x midi out.

Alright, that's a fair price, maybe I'll use my DIY time on something else

But - this still only answer the simple part of the question. How to get the midi signals from the footswithes to activate/deactivate specific FX'es in Reaper?
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Old 04-23-2019, 10:06 AM   #4
domzy
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Quote:
Originally Posted by netphreak View Post
But - this still only answer the simple part of the question. How to get the midi signals from the footswithes to activate/deactivate specific FX'es in Reaper?
depends what precisely you mean by "activate / deactivate" - but the simplest example is probably to assign the Bypass function to a MIDI control - you can do this via the "param" box in the plug-in window and assign it, or learn it or whatever best suits your workflow.
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Old 04-23-2019, 01:14 PM   #5
Regisfofo
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There are a lot info to gather on that subject on the live subforum.
I worked extensively this year on a similar setup with reaper.
Short answer : explore sws live config fonction.
Then if it does not do what you want, explore lbx stripper script (I think it can do anything....).

For hardware you should consider nektar's pacer. It is very flexible, has color led. With a few tricks, I had mine to blink a led for showing tempo.

All the best

Edit : solution from dodzy above works fine for very simple sets, but won't work properly with delay or reverb plugins....

Last edited by Regisfofo; 04-23-2019 at 01:21 PM.
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Old 04-23-2019, 02:43 PM   #6
netphreak
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Thank you all for valuable pointers to information There's soooo much to read up on in here, I get dizzy at times.

Why is domzy's solution not adequate for reverb and delay fx'es?
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Old 04-23-2019, 05:43 PM   #7
domzy
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you often don't want an abrupt transition & switching on & off at inopportune moments can sound odd or nasty. Also, when you bypass an FX, it doesn't actually turn it off, so you can have a repeat still playing (from before) when you un-bypass, for example.
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Old 04-23-2019, 10:57 PM   #8
mschnell
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You can use Reapack -> Midi Fade X for smooth transitions.
-Michael
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Old 04-23-2019, 11:30 PM   #9
Regisfofo
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Quote:
Originally Posted by netphreak View Post
Thank you all for valuable pointers to information There's soooo much to read up on in here, I get dizzy at times.

Why is domzy's solution not adequate for reverb and delay fx'es?
Unbypassing a delay make it play the 'old' tail recorded just before last bypass...

Edit: Another thing, There can be cpu spikes when unbypassing some plugs, so it's something you have to experiment with to be sure.
Of course if you can spare the cpu cycles, you can automate wet/dry knob instead
There's a nice pipeline audio video somewhere where he shows his setup with lbx stripper. I'll try to find it...

Last edited by Regisfofo; 04-24-2019 at 01:13 AM.
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Old 04-24-2019, 03:30 PM   #10
Regisfofo
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Here it is :
https://pipelineaudio.net/guitarjack...-lbx-stripper/
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Old 06-26-2019, 06:21 PM   #11
BobbyS
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Not DIY but this is a PSA.....sorta lol


Check out Nektar Pacer: It has software to use with Reaper

https://nektartech.com/pacer-midi-da...ch-controller/
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