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The Idiot's Guide to Setting up the FCB1010 to work with the V-Amp 2

7/20/02 by Frank R. Genus, Jr ([e-mail])

The Exercise: We are going to setup the First Bank (Bank 00) of presets on the FCB to control the V-Amp in a “Stomp-Box” emulation mode using the following settings:

Footswitch (Preset) Function MIDI commands sent to the V-Amp (From v-amp manual page 24)

1 Toggle between Drive on/off CNT1 = 26, Value = 00 (Off) / CNT2 = 26, Value = 127 (On)

2 Toggle between Effect on/off CNT1 = 21, Value = 00 (Off) / CNT2 = 21, Value = 127 (On)

3 Toggle between Reverb on/off CNT1 = 22, Value = 00 (Off) / CNT2 = 22, Value = 127 (On)

4 Toggle between Delay on/off CNT1 = 54, Value = 00 (Off) / CNT2 = 54, Value >= 01 (Mix Amt)

5 Act as a “Tap-Tempo” switch. CNT1 = 64, Value = 64 / CNT2 = Disabled

6 Selects Patch “1A” in the V-Amp PRGCHG1 = 01 (1 = Patch 1A on the V-Amp)

7 Selects Patch “1B” in the V-Amp PRGCHG1 = 02 (2 = Patch 1B on the V-Amp)

8 Selects Patch “1C” in the V-Amp PRGCHG1 = 03 (3 = Patch 1C on the V-Amp)

9 Selects Patch “1D” in the V-Amp PRGCHG1 = 04 (4 = Patch 1D on the V-Amp)

10 Selects Patch “1E” in the V-Amp PRGCHG1 = 0 5 (5 = Patch 1E on the V-Amp)

Exp Pedal A Controls the Wah Wah effect EXPA CTL = 27, Low Value = 0, Hi Value = 127

Exp Pedal B Controls the Amp Volume EXPB CTL = 16, Low Value = 0, Hi Value = 127

Considerations:

1. The FCB1010 must have EPROM v2.2 or higher (so that footswitches 1 through 5 can be used as toggle (on/off) switches.

2. Note that what I refer to as “footswitch #n” is really “Preset #n within Bank 00 on the FCB. If you want to setup the FCB so the bank up/down footswitches on the FCB work the same way for other V-Amp patches (i.e. 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E, etc…), you'll have to repeat all of the steps for Bank 01 of the FCB setting footswitches 1-5, plus switches 6-10 to select the next set of patches (2A-2E) on the V-Amp. Then the same for Bank 02…. All the way to Bank 10. This also means you can only access the first 50 v-amp patches (10 banks times 5 presets… assuming you are using switches 1-5 in each bank as toggle switches as I have in this example). Presently, the V-Amp does not have a Control Change to select one of the individual preset buttons (“A”, “B”, “C”, “D”, “E”) regardless of the current bank.

3. This document doesn't go into detail about Global Program Settings. For this exercise, all functions should be set to MIDI Channel 1 (The V-Amp should also be set to MIDI Channel 1), and Direct Mode needs to be disabled. See either the FCB1010 Manual or “Quick Guide to Programming” to explain how to do this.

4. Refer to Appendix 8.1 (Page 24) of the V-Amp manual for a chart explaining each MIDI Control Change #, it's purpose, and acceptable Values.

5. ENTER/UP refers to the “Bank Up” footswitch, DOWN means the “Bank Down” switch.

Programming Footswitches (er… Presets) 1 through 4 as ON/OFF Toggle Switches:

Setting up the first 4 presets requires setting ONLY the Control Change functions and Continuous Controllers for the expression pedals, so we must disable any Program Changes that may already be setup. First Step: Make sure the current bank is 00 on the FCB. NOTE: you must have v2.2 or later EPROM installed in your FCB for the Toggle function to work.

Important Note about the Expression Pedals: Remember… Each time you step on a footswitch, you're really selecting a preset within the current bank on the FCB. The Expression Pedals need to be setup for each one of the presets individually in order for them to continue functioning every time you press a different footswitch (In other words… If you only setup the expression pedals while setting up footswitch #1, as soon as you step on footswitch #2, the pedals may not continue functioning the way you expected them to until you step on footswitch #1 again).

1. Select Preset 1 by pressing on footswitch 1.

2. Hold the “Bank Down” switch for 3 seconds.

3. Press the ENTER/UP switch once. The green select LED should be lit. Now that you're in programming mode, each of the footswitches (1-10) will serve a different purpose depending on what function you're setting.

4. Make sure all program changes (“PRGCHG1” through “PRGCHG5”) are disabled. The red LEDs should be off for footswitches 1 through 5. If an LED for any one of these switches is ON, that means that Program Change Number is enabled. Press the switch and hold it until the LED goes out.

5. Press switch 6 (CTLCHG 1) briefly so that the red LED flashes. Press ENTER/UP, and enter “26” (by pressing switch 2, then 6) as the Controller Number, then press ENTER/UP to confirm. Next enter a Value of “00” (by pressing switch 10 twice), then press ENTER/UP to confirm.

6. Press switch 7 (CTLCHG 2) briefly so that the red LED flashes. Press ENTER/UP, and enter “26” (by pressing switch 2, then 6) as the Controller Number, then press ENTER/UP to confirm. Next enter a Value of “127” (by pressing switch 1, 2, then 7), then press ENTER/UP to confirm.

7. Press switch 8 (EXP A) briefly so that the red LED flashes. Press ENTER/UP, and enter “27” as the Controller Number, then press ENTER/UP to confirm. Next enter a Value of “00” (this is the Low Value), then press ENTER/UP to confirm. Next enter the High Value of “127”, then press ENTER/UP to confirm.

8. Press switch 9 (EXP B) briefly so that the red LED flashes. Press ENTER/UP, and enter “16” as the Controller Number, then press ENTER/UP to confirm. Next enter a Value of “00” (this is the Low Value), then press ENTER/UP to confirm. Next enter the High Value of “127”, then press ENTER/UP to confirm.

9. Press the DOWN switch for 3 seconds.

Congratulations… you just setup Preset #1 to act as a toggle to turn the Drive On & Off, as well as sets Expression Pedal A as a Wah Wah Pedal (which should be disabled when the pedal is in the “ Full Toe Up” position), and Expression Pedal B to control the Amp Volume for whatever preset is already selected on the V-Amp. Now you'll have to repeat steps 1 through 9 for the other 3 footswitches substituting the appropriate Controller Numbers as I've described in the MIDI Function column in the chart on the first page.

Programming Footswitch (Preset) 5 as a Tap-Tempo Switch:

The Control Change number on the V-Amp to control Tap-Tempo is “64”. Although the actual value sent has no meaning, tt requires a Value of “64” or higher to work. So here are the steps to set it up.

1. Select Preset 5 by pressing on footswitch 5.

2. Hold the “Bank Down” switch for 3 seconds.

3. Press the ENTER/UP switch once. The green select LED should be lit. Now that you're in programming mode, each of the footswitches (1-10) will serve a different purpose depending on what function you're setting.

4. Make sure all program changes (“PRGCHG1” through “PRGCHG5”) are disabled. The red LEDs should be off for footswitches 1 through 5. If an LED for any one of these switches is ON, that means that Program Change Number is enabled. Press the switch and hold it until the LED goes out.

5. Press switch 6 (CTLCHG 1) briefly so that the red LED flashes. Press ENTER/UP, and enter “64” as the Controller Number, then press ENTER/UP to confirm. Next enter a Value of “64”, then press ENTER/UP to confirm.

6. Make sure the LED for switch 7 (CTLCHG 2) is OFF. If it is ON, Press the switch 7 and hold it until the LED goes out

7. Press switch 8 (EXP A) briefly so that the red LED flashes. Press ENTER/UP, and enter “27” as the Controller Number, then press ENTER/UP to confirm. Next enter a Value of “00” (this is the Low Value), then press ENTER/UP to confirm. Next enter the High Value of “127”, then press ENTER/UP to confirm.

8. Press switch 9 (EXP B) briefly so that the red LED flashes. Press ENTER/UP, and enter “16” as the Controller Number, then press ENTER/UP to confirm. Next enter a Value of “00” (this is the Low Value), then press ENTER/UP to confirm. Next enter the High Value of “127”, then press ENTER/UP to confirm.

9. Press the DOWN switch for 3 seconds.

Now footswitch/preset 5 will function as a Tap-Tempo switch.

Programming Footswitches (Presets) 6 through 10 to select V-Amp Presets 1A through 1E.

Setting up these last 5 presets requires using Program Changes to select the desired patch on the V-Amp. Remember what I stated in the Considerations Section. The V-Amp doesn't have a Control Change Number to allow you to trigger preset button “A”, you have to use a Program Change to select an actual preset “1A” (Bank 1, Preset A). Program Change 1 = “1A”, 2 = “1B”… all the way up to 125. For example Program Change 14 = “3D”, Program Change 85 = “17E”, etc. Pressing the Bank Up or Down switch will NOT change banks on the V-Amp, it will only change banks on the FCB. If you change banks, all 10 footswitches/presets on the FCB need to be programmed for that bank.

1. Select Preset 6 by pressing on footswitch 6.

2. Hold the “Bank Down” switch for 3 seconds.

3. Press the ENTER/UP switch once. The green select LED should be lit. Now that you're in programming mode, each of the footswitches (1-10) will serve a different purpose depending on what function you're setting.

4. Make sure all program changes (“PRGCHG2” through “PRGCHG5”) are disabled. The red LEDs should be off for footswitches 2 through 5. If an LED for any one of these switches is ON, that means that Program Change Number is enabled. Press the switch and hold it until the LED goes out.

5. The LED for PRGCHG1 (switch 1) SHOULD be lit. If it isn't, press the switch and hold it until the LED turns ON.

6. Press switch 1 (PRGCHG1) briefly so that the red LED flashes. Press ENTER/UP, and enter “01” as the Program Change Number, then press ENTER/UP to confirm.

7. Make sure the LED for switches 6 & 7 (CTLCHG1 and CTLCHG 2) are OFF. If either of them is ON, Press the switch and hold it until the LED goes out.

8. Press switch 8 (EXP A) briefly so that the red LED flashes. Press ENTER/UP, and enter “27” as the Controller Number, then press ENTER/UP to confirm. Next enter a Value of “00” (this is the Low Value), then press ENTER/UP to confirm. Next enter the High Value of “127”, then press ENTER/UP to confirm.

9. Press switch 9 (EXP B) briefly so that the red LED flashes. Press ENTER/UP, and enter “16” as the Controller Number, then press ENTER/UP to confirm. Next enter a Value of “00” (this is the Low Value), then press ENTER/UP to confirm. Next enter the High Value of “127”, then press ENTER/UP to confirm.

10. Press the DOWN switch for 3 seconds.

Ok, you've now setup Preset #6 to select patch “1A” on the V-Amp, as well as sets Expression Pedal A as a Wah Wah Pedal, and Expression Pedal B to control the Amp Volume. Now you'll have to repeat steps 1 through 9 for footswitches 7 through 10 substituting the appropriate Program Change Numbers as I've described in the MIDI Function column in the chart on the first page.

Another thing to remember: Whenever a new V-Amp patch is selected the Drive, Reverb, Delay & Effects will set reset to On or Off according to how they were setup for that Patch. Once the patch is selected, the first time you step on any of the footswitches 1 through 4, you're sending the value set for CTLCHG 1. Then subsequent presses of the same footswitch will alternate between sending the value for CTLCHG 2 / CTLCHG 1. So what? Say, for example preset 1A already has the Drive set to OFF. The first time you step on switch 1, you might expect it to turn the Drive ON, but it's NOT GOING TO DO THAT, it's going to send a value of “00” which tells the V-Amp to turn the Drive Off. Since it's already off, it will appear as if nothing has happened. Step on it again, and now you'll notice that Drive is now turned on.

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