Boss ES-8 Multi MIDI Setup
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ส.ค. 2024
- A quick guide to setting up your Boss ES-8 with multiple MIDI devices.
Here's all the gear on my pedal board.
Pedal Pad pedalboard - pedalpad.com/
Boss ES-8 - www.zzounds.co...
Line 6 Relay G70 wireless - amzn.to/2CC4Zle
Polytune 3 Noir - amzn.to/3kIKqJJ
Decimator II G-String - www.zzounds.co...
Dunlop Cry Baby From Hell Wah - www.zzounds.co...
Ibanez Tube Screamer Mini - www.zzounds.co...
Empress Compressor - amzn.to/2SnBfhb
Fishman Platinum Pro Preamp - www.zzounds.co...
TC Hall of Fame Mini reverb - amzn.to/2BJj66x
TC Flashback Mini delay - amzn.to/2BL518J
Strymon Timeline delay - amzn.to/2BMVCNB
Strymon Mobius modulation - amzn.to/2Rj570N
Truetone 1SPOT CS12 power supply - amzn.to/2LDmRyG
Styrmon Ojai power supply - www.strymon.ne...
What kind of MIDI devices do you use with the Boss ES-8?
I have a Strymon Timeline, Boss RV-500, Eventide H9 and a Voodoo Labs Lab Control currently working nicely. Have not integrated the JVM yet but its next. Works lovely. Gotta love Costco for the Label Maker! Btw thanks for the help earlier. ill update on the fx loops soon.
Strymon: Timeline, Big Sky and Mobius… Def would like an H9
I have an ES-5, and I use a Line 6 M5 and a EHX POG2 that's been modified for MIDI.
I've *tried* to use my Source Audio pedals with the Neuro Hub (Nemesis Delay & Vertigo Tremolo) but I can't figure it all out.
I can do it with the Nemesis in one of the loops but I wanted to free up some loops so I chained the Neuro Hub, a Line 6 M5, and a T-Rex Replica delay but I can't get any commands to pass thru.
Atm I'm just using the ES-8 as a very basic loop switcher. MIDI seems very complex.
Not there yet, but I'm advised by Rolland that the Boss RC-202 will start and stop phrases/loops according to the commands sent out by the ES-8 - so this is useful as a grounder, thanks!
Hey bro, not sure how long you have been up and running but just wanted to encourage you. You did a great job of explaining everything here - your production is top notch and your audio is some of the best i've heard. Well done!
Thanks a lot man! That means a lot!
Hey Greetings from Scotland, I’ve been playing for years and never ventured into midi as I perceived it was to complicated. It’s now a necessity. These ES 8 vids made it so easy. I got the ES8 last week after reconstructing my board. I’m good to go, still working through the finer tweaking but it’s all working together. Thank you so much. Well worth a subscribe.
Glad I can help man! Enjoy!
This was incredibly helpful. Thanks for making it.
BEST BOSS ES-8 MIDI EXPLANATION ON TH-cam! I have been trying to do this for months off and on. thank you!
Regarding turning off Midi CC#'s, On Strymon pedals with a Midi CC setting of# 102 and a value of 0, (and with Program Change is set to OFF) this turns OFF the patch on the Mobius/Timeline/BigSky. A setting of CC# 127 turns ON the CC patch and you then set the Program Change # (1,2,3,4, etc) to what patch you want to hear from the device. With each pedal set to a different Midi Channel, you can then turn off each pedal, or ALL pedals, or turn on ALL pedals (or each pedal) and switch patches on all. Also/FYI, in program change messages I always use "Bank CC00 set to 0" for all my Midi Bank/Program midi (just to keep it all uniform in my head). So the reason I'm saying all this is you should be able to use the Midi CC messages and their values(don't turn them off) along with the Program Change messages on the ES-8 and then you could "gang" the Mobius, TimeLine, and BigSky on to one audio loop and just use midi CC# and Program Change# per patch on the ES-8 to turn off and on the Strymon pedals. Right?
You can definitely do that if you always keep those pedals on the same order. I probably wouldn't want my delay on the same patch because I like to use parallel delays for my solos, but it's a good option for Chorus and Reverb in my case. Good tip!
I’m new to midi and your videos have been immensely helping me understand how this system works. I just ordered the Boss ES-5 and it essentially does the important stuff that I need it to do. I just got the Boss DD, RV and MD 500s and the OD-200 so I’ll have all of that running midi in conjunction with my JP2C. Thank you for sharing your knowledge!
Sounds like a sweet setup! 🤘🏼
Thanks a lot bro .... just get mi es8 i'm really happy to found your tutorial great job
This answered all the midi questions I needed to know about the ES-8 before I decided to buy one for the board I'm building. it's the switcher for my needs. Thanks!
Great video! It gave me more insight into how to use the midi capabilities with pedals and amps. I’ve always taken that for granted until now.
Thanks for this video also, just programmed MIDI for first time today.
Great video man, I dig how detailed you where with explaining how midi works. I felt in the dark before I watched your video and now I'm running Midi like a pro. Thanks man keep up the excellent work.
This is the best. As luck would have it, you have the exact same amp that I’m trying to run with my ES-8! I couldn’t be happier!
Sounds like you've got a monster gig there!
Awesome Job my Bro. I just bought the ES 8 I’m trying how to use it the best way . Thanks man
Very good tutorial, thanks alot !
Good video thankx...and a video explanations about the INT and WAV function of the ES-8 with midi ways would be great !!
Great video, great channel! Actually programming mine right now. Thx!
Been wondering how to connect more than one midi to a switcher, thank you!
You are the man! Thanks for making some GREAT videos!
Thanks man!
thank you so much. very well explained.
Thank you this video helped so much.
So much better than Henning Pauly's tutorials.
Great video. Just subscribed and looking forward to more videos. I have a question that I’m not understanding. For the midi pedals...are they only hooked up to the es8 via midi with the audio connections going to the amps effects loop? Or are you hooking up the midi pedals to loops on the es8? Thanks.
I am connecting MIDI and audio connections to the pedals. MIDI does not transmit audio. I actually have a video coming out later this week giving a basic overview of MIDI. Make sure to check it out
Man Bun Metal Head thanks. Yes I know midi isn’t audio. I have a line 6 m9 that I hook independently to my amp effects loop. I guess my confusion with the es8 is do you HAVE to connect midi pedals to the es8 and take up loops. Or can you just run the audio independent to the amp and stop control them via midi from the es8. I downloaded the manual and read the section on four cable method. Makes sense but they have you using the volume pedal loop for this. So what if you used the volume pedal loop for a volume pedal and just hooked up the midi effects pedals (audio) to the amp and the midi cable to the es8. That’s as best as I can describe what I’m not grasping. Just got back from a gig and really wish I had this switcher. Would make things so much easier.
Outstanding! I just bought an es8 and was worried about how to get it to midi change my 5150 and delay.
Great videos! I more than likely have missed this, but if I havent, I hope that you can help.
I have a Boss ES-8 that I updated today; I had no idea there was an editing application for Mac/PC - this is fantastic!
In the past, I have used my ES-8 to run all of my effects into the front of an FTR37… this works great, but just as you are doing, I am trying use the 4-Cable method with my Mesa JP2C. After updating, I am using the ES-8 Mac Editor app for all the edits.
I have a solid handle (though not a complete understanding of midi) on using the PC and CC settings to change the JP2C channels, as well as the Stymon: Mobius, Timeline and Big Sky. Still need to workout the JP2C Reverb, EQs, Shred, etc., but I think I can solve that over time. I am, however, struggline with where to select what effects are routed into the JP2C (or any other amp) effects loop vs the ones routed to the front of the amp. I thought I saw this before, but I just cant find it in the manual or anywhere else… Everything I have viewed today is too vague or I somehow missed the connection. You are doing this very thing with your JP2C and the Strymon effects, right?
Also, can you confirm if this method limits the ability to use a second amp?
Thanks for the help and again, great videos!
Thanks Paul. For the 4-wire method you need to use the Volume Loop (V). Anything you want before the amp, put before the Volume Loop and anything you want in the FX loop after the Volume Loop. The one thing that I missed when I first got my ES-8 was turning the Volume Loop on, just like you would with the loops. You have to do that in the settings though. It's really easy (and apparent) in the ES-8 editor.
I appreciate your help… I thought I replied earlier, but I am not sure what happened. I finally figured that part out, but I am still having major issues with the ES-8 CC# changes on the JP-2C; CC#’s 28-30, are not working as stated on page 29 in the manual; I suspect I am still doing this wrong: Midi Transmit #’s 1-8, are what I am using to change the midi functions in the JP-2C. I can program CC#’s to work, but when I go to another patch, things get messy… I guess you need to program things you don’t want on just as you would the things you do?
Be careful there are no extra CC's programmed. When you set a MIDI message, you can set two CC's and they are automatically set to 80 and 81. Not sure that's what's causing the problem.
You might also want to try connecting only the JP-2C to the ES-8 to make sure any other pedals aren't affecting the JP-2C.
Lastly, I did a video about setting up the MIDI on the JP-2C, it might help. th-cam.com/video/F_xx_g3YxQ4/w-d-xo.html
thanks you so much bro!!! subbed
Excellent video sir! Thank you for the valuable information. There's one thing I can't quite figure out. For example, if you have 3 different strymon effects pedals chained together via midi, do you need to also connect each to 1/4" audio loops on the es-8? Or, can you connect a loop to the first pedal and control the rest via midi chain?
Not sure I completely understand the question. Each of your Strymon pedals will need to be connected to a loop via 1/4" cable. They can be connected to different loops OR they can be on the same loop. The benefit to having them on different loops is that you can change the location of the pedals in each patch. If you don't need that flexibility or don't have enough open patches, you can connect them in series to one patch then turn them off/on with MIDI controls. In the end, each pedal needs to be connected with MIDI and 1/4" cables to do this. Hope this helps.
Got it-that makes sense. I wasn’t getting exactly how the audio and midi worked together. I just got a ES-5 and I’m exploring different configurations. Only real drawback so far is the lack of a dedicated effects loop. I may end up sacrificing a normal loop spot for this. I have some experimenting yet to, but this is very helpful. Looking forward to more videos, thanks again!
Great Video. Just Wonder: how can I use the Editor (connected pc via midi) while Midi amps/pedals are connected.
Hello. Great videos. I was wondering if you knew of a way to connect the es8 to the computer and amp so when programming the patches it will change the pedals and amp in real time? Thanks
Yes there is. You should be able to connect to any MIDI interface and set up program changes to send to the ES-8. I've been thinking of doing a video about this.
Thanks. This clears up a lot of confusion, but I have a couple of questions. So the PC number directly correlates to the preset number on the device? eg PC 2 would be Preset #2 on my pedal? I'm curious how that would work with a Strymon Iridium. It's capable of storing 300 presets via a MIDI controller but there's no screen to tell you what preset you're on. As far as I know you have to dial in a sound you want on the Iridium, then hold the FAV button until it flashes, then press whichever MIDI switch you want it assigned to. However, you can see how this is the pedal talking to the MIDI controller. What you're describing is the MIDI controller talking to the pedal. How do I know the PC number of an Iridium patch when there's no screen or interface for the Iridium? Do I just forget your method, and for the Iridium just assign it to a switch (ie let the pedal talk to the ES-8).
The Iridium is interesting when controlled with MIDI. Looks like the manual should have all the info you need. I included the a link to where you can download it if you don't have it. Once the pedal is in MIDI mode (pg 24), to save a patch hold the FAV button until the blue LED begins to blink, then send a PC to the Iridium via the ES-8. The LED will flash, and it is saved. Another way to do it is after a PC is sent and settings are adjusted, hold the FAV button until the blue LED begins to blink, then press the FAV button again. All the info is pg 28. Hope that helps.
www.strymon.net/support/iridium/
@@ManBunMetalHead Thank you! I read the manual recently but the MIDI part didn't really sink in. But the way you just explained it in relation to the ES-8 was succinct and made total sense. It also helps me understand how it would work for any controller in general. You just got a new subscriber!
Hello and thank you for your video. You touch based the subject if using midi splitter for pedals that do not have output. Can you explain which midi splitter you used? It seems there are splitter cables and splitter boxes. Thank you for your hints. Regards 🌺🌺🌺
So you are not using the CTR - 1/2 - 5/6 to change the amp channels? That is all done with midi commands? Do you have a tutorial showing how to use the ES-8 midi to change amp channels features?
Yes, since my JP-2C has MIDI control, I use that to control the amp. I do have a video showing how to control it. th-cam.com/video/F_xx_g3YxQ4/w-d-xo.html
I just bought the ES-8, Boss DD200 and Strymon Mobius. After watching this video I am more lost and panicked than I already was. The video shows you how to program to midi pedals with a JP2 ( the same amp I’m using) but Man Bun never creates any tones. I’m sure I’ll figure this out but I’m worried now that I’m in way over my head.
Don't worry about it dude. I have a few other videos about MIDI on my channel that might. Specifically, I have one for setting up MIDI on the JP2C.
seriously Im so lost. Great video but all the channel, patch editing stuff goes by too fast and even rewatching it I can't make it work and Im just using a Mobius and a JP2C. I have age same gear and want to quit lol.
today I just used manual mode. At first I got my noise gate, OD pedal and Mobius to create sound. I felt like I made some sort of progress. But then I moved the order of the gate and OD and boom nothing would work. I could not imagine all 4 patch cables died but I started there. Three hours later all I have is my delay in the loop working. All other pedals are on but won't function. Im not this dumb. this is ridiculous,
Doug Edward Are your pedals switched on in "Loop On/
Off" under Edit - Patch?
Hi, great video! I have a question. Can I use a MIDI controller (Livid Guitar Wing MIDI) to switch between effects or loops on the Boss ES? I'm a bilateral amputee so i'm looking for ways to switch between effects without having to physically turn on/off pedals lol
Definitely shouldn't be a problem at all. I actually have another video that might help. Check it out and let me know if you have any questions about it.
th-cam.com/video/7vu7y5IwJqw/w-d-xo.html
Man. Good video, but I'm stuck. I'm still a newbie to Midi. I'm trying to connect my Boss DD-500. I able to get my 5150 combo connected and controlled, but this Delay is frustrating.
I'm sorry for asking this 5 years later haha I just got my BOSS ES-8, and I would like to know if you could set the ES-8 with the Voodoo Lab HEX in order to “extend” the number of loops (another 6 pedals from/into the HEX for a total of 14 pedals into the ES-8) via MIDI. If there's a way to do that, could you show us how. Thank you so much in advance. You are awesome!!! :D
Not sure if I'll be able to make a video specifically on incorporating the HEX with an ES-8 since I don't have a HEX and they look pretty tough to get a hold of. It shouldn't be too difficult to do though. You would have to connect the HEX to a loop of the ES-8, then whatever pedals you want connected to the HEX. This would essentially give you 13 pedals total, since the HEX would have to be one loop. Unless you utilized the volume loop in the ES-8, but that would prevent you from using the 4 cable method with an amp. You can then move the HEX loop wherever you want in the ES-8 and turn whatever loops on the HEX you want on or off. Since it looks like the HEX loops are hardwired, one issue you could run into is you can't change the pedal chain like you can with an ES-8. That's a lot of info pretty quick, but hope it makes some sort of sense.
@@ManBunMetalHead I've tried everything, man U.u And it just turns the LED on/off with CC messages on the HEX, but there's no change in sound at all (it always sounds like the bypass sound). I don't know if I'm connecting it right, if the only cable I need between those units is in fact the MIDI cable (I tried setting it to OUT and THRU) or I need another one, if there's a thing that I'm missing on the ES8 or what D: Thank you sooo much for answering, btw.
You need to connect the audio cables as well. MIDI only carries the MIDI signal.
@@ManBunMetalHead Thank you so much! It's actually working just the way I wanted! :D
Cool! But you still have to run 3 cables to the amp correct? Effects loop S/R and input? I like this product but idk if its just too many cables if I use a dual amp setup. I might want to look into racking my pedals.
Yeah, you would need 3 cables at most. You could get away with 2 if you use a TRS cable and a splitter at each end for the FX loop send and receive. Another good option is a Pedal Snake. You would only have one cable run and it could work with a dual amp setup.
Hi, Great video! Just for clarification...You don't have the Timeline and Mobius connected to the ES8 with a 1/4" into one of the eight loops, but you have them connected to the ES8 via MIDI cables? Then you daisy chain the Timeline and Mobius and amp head and then into the EQ? What I don't understand is, if you have them set up this way, do they take up any loop slots internally on the ES8? Hope that makes sense. Thanks in advance for your time!
Each pedal is on its own loop via 1/4" cable as well as connected via MIDI. MIDI only transfers commands from the ES-8 to the other pedals. The audio has to go through one of the loops.
@@ManBunMetalHead Got it! Thanks, brother! I am just getting into the MIDI game. Problem for me is, I have a bunch of analog pedals like the Walrus Julia, Walrus Fathom, Tumnus Deluxe Overdrive, etc. that I love but can't control via MIDI. Have you found any solutions or ideas to make things easier when it comes to working Analog pedals in your chain with MIDI in the ES8?
if i have 2 es-8's in series. . the same with last ones out goes back to the first one 's in. Midi splitter I ASSUME IF A PC GOES TO NO. 1 IN. RIGHT ? channels are different between them
What style of patch cable heads are best for fitting them in the bk of the es8?
Hey man! This was super helpful! I’m looking at getting an ES-5 for my board. Do you know if I can control the same parameters on the smaller model?
The ES5 should have all the same controls
A big hello from germany!
Thank you for your very cool, informative videos. I am thinking about getting the JP 2C and the Boss ES-8. But since I am new in the field of MIDI and effect pedal switching, I have one question. Can you switch with the Boss ES-8 between different non-MIDI effect pedals and at the same time the channels of your JP 2C via MIDI? Or how could this be done? Maybe it is a stupid question, but I do not have a clue :D
Thanks a lot and guten tag! You can definitely change loops and send midi messages at the same time when changing patches no problem! Not a stupid question, always better to ask than assume.
Thanks a lot :) now I am a step closer to get all the stuff! Keep on making these great videos!
Can you do Looptimus review please how to control distortion, Boost pedal, etc🙏🙏🙏
Pirate MIDI Bridge 6 / Midi Out > MIDI Y-Splitter Cable > 2x MIDI Toys 1in/5out Midi Splitters,..
ES8 Out > Bridge 6 Midi In
>>> ES8, GTcore, Tonex, H90, Zelzah1, Zelzah2, LAMB, Bloom, Duophony, OD200, IR200, DD500, RV500, Reflex, Dual Expression,..
16 midi channels,.. What happens if I need more than 16?
Thank you for making it much for spreading you knowledge… there’s one problem that has got me and that is going amp out of the boss es-8 into a el Capistan then into a cloudburst out to the amp but unable to set via midi whether the pedals are “on” or “off” on any given patch mind you im running the midi out via a Strymon conduit to both pedals… any solutions?
Hi, do you know if there is a way to control a boss RC-10 using the ES-8?
I haven't used the RC10 before, but this might help.
th-cam.com/video/MzvjdWk3cA4/w-d-xo.html
Thank you for the vid. I was running multiple midi on loop 8for stereo but flipping to blank patches when I don’t want the strymon for example. Is there a better way to turn off a pedal with a CC or something like that?
Looks like you can use CC 102 to bypass the Strymon pedals. Set it to 0 to bypass and 127 to engage. Check out the Strymon manual pg 25 for all the available MIDI controls.
Hey man. My midi chain is ES8 to Boss SDE 3000EVH to H9 to Whammy DT. I can send program changes to the SDE 3000. But when I try to send changes to the other pedals nothing happens. HELP!!!
Maybe a dumb question but where are the in/outs going from the Strymon pedals? Are they going into a loop or just each other?
There audio ins/outs are going to separate loops
Question for you sir... is it possible to run a stereo loop through your Strymon pedals and then use the midi capability to just bypass one of the pedals. So if you were running channel 8 and you just wanted the Mobius and no delay perhaps... can you then program the es-8 to call a Mobius patch but bypass the Timeline? I do not have these pedals yet but I am thinking in terms of the future of my pedal board. Also thanks for your videos - they are very articulate.
Yes, you can do exactly that. Thanks for the kind words!
I have an ES-8 and my MIDI pedals are Mobius Timeline BigSky, Boss OD-200, Empress Zoia and Specular Tempus. Question I have is with the Zoia and OD-200 having 3.5mm MIDI TRS inputs instead of 5 pin should it work the same in the chain?
Yes, it should work exactly the same. I've been playing around with a MD-200 lately and have no issues. There might be some settings in the MD-200 that you'll need to activate like the ability for it to receive MIDI messages and MIDI thru, but it works. Also, make sure you get the right cables 5 pin to 1/8" cables. As far as I know Boss is the only manufacturer to make them with the correct pinout. I tried a random one on Amazon but it didn't work. Ended up making my own.
If i want to share a pedal between two different es-8's i have to Y cable it .Since the order and sequence only works for each es-8 independently. Does the midi pass thru the expression pedal inputs to be used on the 2nd; es-8 ?
hey, thanks for this. I'm a prospective ES-8 user and new to midi. When you program the midi on your device, would there not be multiple channels for different settings on the device, which are then controllable from the ES-8? I'm looking for a function that does this: Patch 1 sends a signal to device A, setting 1. Hitting patch one again or switching to patch 2 sends another signal to device A, but this time to setting 2. Patch 2 also sends a signal to device B, setting 4, etc. I'm trying to imagine a midi controlled sampler being controlled by the ES-8 to switch on a sound sample via setting 1, then another signal to switch it off, start another (setting 2) either simultaneously or in sequence.
You'll typically use Program Changes (PC) to save settings in the device and call back with the ES-8.
Just got my es8 and working on the midi side of things now. The bit Im not sure of is how it changes the patches on my strymon - is this done on the strymon or on the es8?
The command is sent from the ES-8, typically via a Program Change, and the Strymon will translate that command to change to what patch you want.
@@ManBunMetalHead thanks so much. Really helpful.
@@ManBunMetalHead sorted! Thanks so much. Super helpful.
Hey quick question on this. I am in the process of setting up a Timeline, H9 and a Voodoo Lab-Control on a Road King head. What did you set the ES-8 midi channel to? I assumed that it should be 1, the each subsequent device gets a different one. Do I have that wrong? Should it and the first MIDI device share a channel? Thanks. Peter
Peter, thanks for subscribe! The ES-8 doesn't require a specific channel to send MIDI signals, only if you want it to receive MIDI channels. The devices do NOT need to be in order of MIDI channel when connecting them, although that might make it easier to remember the channel number that is assigned to each device. Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Thanks that helped immensely because that wasnt clear. I have both the H9 and the Timeline changing now, but the damn voodoo turns off the channel but isnt selecting the other. Im sure its something silly but that is for tomorrow. Thanks your channel is super helpful.
Hey thanks for the input. I got it all worked out. Out of curiousity, how are you running your effects sends? I have a dilemma in that I am using a Mesa RK2 and a Marshall JVM into a single cab split stereo and I switch between them. I want to route my reverb, delay and h9 into each fx loop. I was thinking that if I sacrificed the 8th stereo input and use L to Mesa and R to Marshall (assuming I can separate them) that would do the trick. Any advice? I was looking for an email to send this privately rather than spam your forum but I didnt see any. Thanks. Peter
That is a really interesting problem. I think you are on the right track though, that's how I would try to approach it. Make sure to set the stereo setting for loop 8 in ES-8 setting. For wiring, here's what I'm thinking.
Loop 8L send -> RK2 input / RK2 fx send -> Loop 8L return / Output 1 -> RK2 fx return
Loop 8R send -> JVM input / JVM fx send -> Loop 8R return / Output 2 -> JVM fx return
The one thing that could possibly be a problem is ground loops between two amps and the board. But if you make sure to have them all on the same circuit, you'll probably be okay. Don't worry about posting on here. This could always help someone else.
Hello there, thanks for this video.
Do you know if you can send a midi out from let's say an Ableton session on click track to automatically switch from preset to preset during a song? So that Ableton sends midi signals to the ES8 to tell it to switch for one preset to another?
This should absolutely be possible. Always wanted to try it, but haven't gotten around to it.
Hey man, many thanks for your videos. Here is a question for you. Can you call two or more patches from, for instance. Mobius, at the same time using the boss es 8 switcher? I saw some one doing that with the GigRig G2 and it would be great to be able to do that with the boss switcher. Thanks in advance for your help with this. Best, Alejandro.
I don't think you can with the Mobius. As far as I know, it can only have one patch open at a time.
Many thanks for the quick reply. Please take a look at the following video: th-cam.com/video/XNxM19tI8iA/w-d-xo.html. Around 2:36, the guy shows how to do that with a different switcher. It would be really cool to be able to do the same with the boss es 8 too man. Thanks again for your reply. Best, Alejandro.
Hello, thanks for the video! i can't understand how many CC can the device send at the press of a single switch. thanks
I'm not exactly sure without looking at it, but I know it's at least 16. Up to 8 different devices with 2 CC's per device. You can double up on the devices, so theoretically you could send all 16 CC changes to a single device.
Very good video, I was crazy to programming my Es 5 but when I watched your video you saved my time , but I have questions,when I change my patch on es5 I have some channels turn off but when I select the next patch the channel that I have turned off still working, could you or someone help me , please ??? They are in the midi channel.
Glad my videos help. My first suggestion would be too make sure that for every patch you do not want a specific device to be on, make sure you send a MIDI signal to turn it off for each patch.
Dear Man Bun Metal Head,
Thanks for your killer reviews. I just bought an ES-8 and had a question I thought you might be the man to ask. I have heard that you can assign the switches on the ES-8 to do pretty much anything. So my question is, can you assign one of the switches to become a momentary button that holds the trails infinitely for a delay pedal, only while holding down the switch? For example, I have an Eventide H9 pedal that I only use for delays in loop 6 of the ES8. I then want to program button/switch number 8 on the ES-8 so that when I hold my foot down on it, the delay trails in the H9 change to 100 percent feedback (infinite trails). Then when I release the button (switch 8 on ES-8), the delay trails return to the parameter they were initially programmed to in the H9’s bank. Is this possible? Thank you in advance for your help and rock on.
Thanks for the support man! You might be able to do what you need. I know that you can program the switch (8 in your case) to send a Control Change to the Eventide to change the repeats to infinite. You'll just need to know what the CC # is for the repeats. The harder part will be getting it to change back to the exact value it was before. When programming the button you should be able to set the off value of the CC, but in your case I think you'd want to send a PC to recall the preset from the Eventide instead. There might be a work around to make it work, but I couldn't tell you off the top of my head. I'd be interested to get something like this to work, but it might be a little while before I get around to it.
Man Bun Metal Head thanks for the response. I think I may have to go with a good ol’ Boss FS-5U plugged directly into the H9. I used it before with a time factor for this effect. Worked great! Thinking it should with the same with the H9.
Hi. Thank you for this great tutorial, it's been a huge help. I'm using the boss ES-8 with a Midi Solution Quadra Thru, a TimeLine and a BigSky. Bought the quadra thru because of the Chase Bliss Audio brothers which doesn't have midi out. I'm running into a little problem and I can't figure it out : when I plug the es8 to my computer with the Roland UM-ONE, the editor sees it, no problem. But if i connect the midi out of the es8 to the quadra thru, and one of the outputs of the quadra to the UM-ONE, the editor says 'midi error" and can't connect. I tried with the midi out of the es8 set to "out" and "thru", nothing changes. Do you have any idea?
It's not ideal because for now, I'm obligated to unplugged the es8 from the other pedals to be able to connect to the computer. So when I edit a preset on the editor, I can't have immediate confirmation that the strymon did receive the message....Oh my...midi is great but so complicated to setup.
Thank again for the great content you shared for the es8. I hope I missed something and you can help
I haven't used the Quadra before, but it's odd that it's creating issues like that. Where is the Quadra in the chain? Are you using the Quadra to split the MIDI signal to all the pedals?
@@ManBunMetalHead Thank you for the reply. Yes, exactly, I use it to split the signal, it has one input and four outputs. The signal path is ES-8 midi out > Quadra in, then each pedal gets its own output. It works with both Strymons. For the Chase Bliss I have to make a custom cable (midi to TRS). I have one output left on the Quadra, my idea was to use it to easily plug the ES8 to the computer.
I also tried to use the Midi output of the BigSky, but the issue remains the same :/
Well, that's a head scratcher, in theory that should work especially because the Quadra is just supposed to just pass the MIDI signal. I can't think of an easy solution other than running all the pedals in series, then unplugging the Chase pedal so you can connect your UM-ONE, but you would not be able to test out the changes of the Chase pedal when programming, but you will at least get the changes in the Styrmon pedals. You might want to try connecting the UM-ONE to just the ES-8 and set up a MIDI recording channel in your DAW of choice, then connect to the ES-8 using the editor. That way you can see what's being transmitted. Then do the same thing with the Quadro installed. You could try to compare the two recordings and see if there's a difference. Not sure what to do after that, but maybe that could get you pointed in the right direction? Sorry I couldn't be of more help.
@@ManBunMetalHead You've been very helpful, thanks again for taking the time to answer. You gave me food for thought, I decided to test every combination possible and...I figured it out :) ! The Quadra needs power from the midi cable plugged on its input to operate. I swapped cables so many times while testing (with the Quadra below the board at first) that I didn't realised it wasn't always powered. I have a bunch of midi cables from different brands and it looks like the Hammer midi cable from One Control doesn't carry on power. They work great on the output side of the Quadra but not on the input, no power, no light, no signal. I've sent them an email to ask if it was supposed to carry power, we'll see. Meanwhile, everything works great with another cable, that's what matters :-)
Hi! I'm new at this and I need some help. I can't find any info on this. How do I assign a MIDI-Channel on a Boss DD-500, MD-500 or RV-500? All of them are linked between each other with MIDI-5 cables and connected to the ES-8. The DD-500 is in loop 8, MD-500 is in loop 7, RV-500 is in loop 6. How and where do I assign MIDI-Channel? What settings do I need to write to get this to work?
This video should be able to help you out
th-cam.com/video/MzvjdWk3cA4/w-d-xo.html
I’m new to switching systems, do you have to connect timeline&big sky with midi and regular patch cables to the es-8?
And if I were to get the es-5 there’s only 5 loops so does that mean midi would be considered 1 already so now I can only put 4 more pedals through patch cables directly into the es-5?
Yes, you will need to connect MIDI and audio (1/4") cables to the timeline and big sky. MIDI connections transmit digital commands. The audio cables carry the actual audio signal.
The MIDI chain does not count as an additional loop. The ES-5 has 5 audio loops, the ES-8 has 8.
It depends on your setup. I run my es5 before my dd500 and bigsky- so the output of the es5 goes straight to my delay before heading to reverb and my amp.
If you run the chain like this, you won't need to include them in the loop. And then midi enables you to control patches on the timeline and bigsky, but you wont be able to turn them on or off through the es5.
My chain:
Guitar in->
Compressor ->
es5 input->
[Loop 1: 1st stage overdrive (Little Green Wonder)
Loop 2: 2nd Stage overdrive/distortion (OCD)
Loop 3: Fuzz (Big Muff)
Loop 4: Boost (Spark mini)
Loop 5: Octave generator (Sub n Up)]
[Midi out->DD500->Bigsky]
Out of es5->
DD500 ->
Bigsky->
Amp
Hope that helps!
Edit** You can actually use CC messages (via midi) to turn on/off your timeline and bigky! So you can technically use them as if they were in a loop of the es5.
This is definitely an option. I like to put some effects in the FX loop and others in front of the amp. For instance, I would never put a reverb in front of an amp, but that's just how I like to do things. Always good to hear how other people like to setup their gear. Thanks!
Quick question that I haven’t been able to find an answer to. I have patches set up and I am using midi to Timeline, Big Sky and Mobious, but it doesn’t switch the pedal off. So I’ll have a really heavy delay on but then have to switch to something without delay but the previous delay doesn’t not get turned off. How can I fix that?
There is a way to turn that off. You want to go into the settings off the offending patch and turn off Persist. Hope that helps.
Hey man, I am trying to set up my Boss ES8 with my Peavey Invective 120 amp through MIDI. I am having a hard time figuring it out, because the Invective has so many options. IE: built in noise gate, 3 channels, and built in tube screamer. Do you have any ideas on how to figure that out?
Not exactly sure, but looking at the manual, on page 12 it lists a bunch of CC's. I assume you can use those CC's to make the changes.
Hey, This was very helpful and useful. I have one question though as I’m fairly new to using MIDI, so forgive me if you’ve already covered this or it’s a silly question. I’m planning on connecting both my Timeline and Big Sky through MIDI and not through a designated loop, if I only wanted the Timeline to be engaged and not the Big Sky, is this an option when setting up in the Editor?
So where you have selected a channel for one device to engage it within a patch, would the absence of the other channel within the patch or set to off mean that the other device will be bypassed? So essentially, will the Big Sky still be on what is previously on or will it now be off(bypassed)?
Sorry if it’s not too clear
This shouldn't be a problem at all. I think you're on the right path. Just send a message to the Timeline or Big Sky to bypass the respective device. You should be able to find what code to send in the manuals, I assume they'd be the same. Good luck.
Man Bun Metal Head thank you that’s very helpful. Final question. Does that mean I wouldn’t need to have both Strymon pedals connected with a 1/4 jack into a loop?
I presume that would mean that I cannot change the order of the pedals? which is fine with me, as I would always want the Timeline to go into the Big Sky.
But just to confirm, how would I maintain this with the MIDI chaining? Would i chain Timeline to the BigSky then BigSky to the ES-5? Or the other way round?
You could either daisy chain both pedals in a loop, or after the output of the ES-5, assuming you want the Timeline and Big Sky to always be last in your chain.
Order to MIDI chaining is not relevant. All you need is to connect the ES-5 MIDI Out to the MIDI In of either pedal, then the MIDI Out of that pedal to the MIDI In of the other pedal. Just make sure to set the MIDI channels differently on the pedals, and to turn on MIDI Thru as I explain in the video. Good luck!
Hey..good demo. Thoughts on using the midi cc messages to turn strymons off and on instead of having them plugged into the loops of the es8???
Not a bad idea, especially if you don't have enough loops. You just wouldn't be able to change the location of the pedal in the loop. But if you never change the location, it's definitely a good idea.
Man Bun Metal Head thanks...have one on way. How do you assign one of the loop buttons in manual mode to turn a Strymon off and on via midi cc??? I assume u can do this but haven't seen how to get....
@@understone That's what I want to do with my Source Audio and TC pedals. The TC Vintage Delay is CC 20 and 21 for on/bypass and tempo. Tha's all I know lol
@@mattgilbert7347 I recall confirming this can't be done. I ended up with rjm midi controller which is incredible flexible. For non midi pedals u just need a separate loop switcher. I still can't believe how flexible even the small foot switcher is when you use the page features.
will be buying an es-8 in the next two weeks. Just wondering is there a way in the app to create a template for the midi stuff so you dont need to keep turning all the CC stuff off and copy that to all patches you create? thanks
Unfortunately, I don't think there is a really easy way to do that. The easiest would be to set the CC's on all 8 patches in one bank then copy that bank over to all other banks (this would have to be done on the ES-8). I'll keep an eye out for a better solution.
Andy, if you go to EytschPi42
's TH-cam channel, he has a bunch of tutorials on the ES-8. I believe in one of them he talks about setting up your first patch with all of the Midi channels and settings to "off" as this video did, but then copying that patch to all of the other ones in that particular bank. Then, copying that bank to all of your other banks. At that point, all of the "behind the scenes" work is done and all you need to do is decide what program numbers you are going to assign for a particular patch. Hope that helps..although I see you commented 9 month ago...
I am going to get an ES-8 in a few weeks. Starting with a factory reset and then doing what I described above. Will see if it works.
Man Bun Metal Head, thanks for this video. You have a very clear presentation style.
Cool video! It looks very easy but I cannot get my Timeline working with ES-8 at all. Both Timeline and ES-8 have updated softwares. I was trying probably every single possible way (with and without CC#, MSB, Val numbers and combinations) I have found on TH-cam but it is not working. I have also tried changing MIDI settings in Globals on Timeline (it is my last pedal in MIDI chain) but nothing works. Any suggestions on what I may be missing?
You might want to try putting the Timeline first in line and see if it works. That'll tell you if something in between the ES-8 and Timeline is creating the issue.
hello bro i have a question i want connect via midi my boss dd 200 with eq 200 and boss rv 500, i've already connnected the boss es 8 from midi through out of es 8 to midi in of dd 200 and then midi out of eq 200 with trs cable but i want control via midi the boss rv 500 so how can i do it ?
You'll need another TRS to 5 pin MIDI cable to connect the EQ200 to the RV500.
nice video!
I still got a question: is it possible to configure the ES-8 to send some midi CCs (or PCs) when you engage a preset on your ES-8, and another when you bypass it?
reason is that I'd like to turn on some pedals via midi and turn em back off as soon as you leave the preset. That way I could make sure that my delays keep all the trails, which (to my knowledge) wouldn't be t he case if you hook it up in one of the loops. You also could control more than 8 pedals this way.
I'm not sure you can send CCs or PCs when you bypass a patch. However, when engaging another preset (for example, from patch 1 to patch 2) you can turn on the "Carry Over" function for the delay patch, therefore carrying over the delay tales from the previous patch.
You can definitely use the CCs or PCs to turn on and off pedals, therefore putting multiple pedals in one loop. The only limit you'll have then is not being able to change the order of the pedals in a patch. But if you always use chorus then reverb as your last pedals, then you should be fine putting them on the same patch.
Hi, I have a problem with the timeline time. as soon as I connect it with my boss es5 midi , the time remains at 500ms. I do not understand and when I modify it, it immediately returns to 500ms. Would you be what I have to do?
More than likely you need to change the MIDI Clock "MIDICL" in your patches on the timeline to OFF or MIDI Clock in the ES-8 patch to OFF.
@@ManBunMetalHead thank you very much for the info, everything is ok. I'm a beginner for midi . I like your videos
How do you set ES8 to switch to one preset in a device?
8:38 how does it knows wich preset do you want if you have not programmed in the ES8 a preset? You just selected the MIDI channel...
Hey is it possible to tweek the patches on a strymon pedal and just save that new edited preset as a preset on the Es-8?
Unfortunately, you can not.
@@ManBunMetalHead Thanks so much for replying! I'm guessing you can just overwrite the patches on the Strymon itself and then assign the PC on the ES-8?
That's how I would do it. There are enough patches available on the Strymon that you could save minor changes to another patch and use a PC to change it with the ES-8.
Great tutorial !!, I got a question about MIDI output t/input. I’m trying to connect Timeline and big sky and h9. to the boss Es8 ( output from the es8 goes to input to the timeline ) then I connected output of the timeline to input of the big sky n output to the h9 input, then output goes back to midi input on the es8 but when I go through the midi settings on the es8 the only one that is working is the timeline (channel 1) the others just don’t . Can you help me please .
More than likely the MIDI Thru option is set to off on the Timeline. Go to 3:00 on this video where I show how to turn it on.
Also, there's no need for you to connect the MIDI Out of the H9 to the MIDI In of the ES8, unless you want to control the ES8 with any of your other pedals, which I doubt.
Hi man! I'd like to control two amps with the ES-8, engl invader 4 channels and a vintage traynor with one channel, possible? Possible to set each patch with one of the 4 channels and my traynor on or off?! thanks in advance
Nice video. Thx! Do you know if the ES8 is capable of toggling 2 midi commands with one switch? I am using my Source Audio EQ as a an always on boost for my amp's gain channel with preset 1 on the EQ. Patch/Switch 5 on my ES8 turns that on. While in Patch 5 I would like to use switch 6 (set as stomp mode) on the ES8 to turn on preset 4 on my EQ that is set as a mid boost. No problem using assigns with a midi target. But when I turn off/toggle switch 6 I would like it to go back to preset 1 on the EQ. I have tried with no success. Any idea how to do this? Appreciate any help!
You should be able to do that with an Assign. Not having the ES-8 in front of me at the moment, I'm guessing a little bit. But setting the MIN and MAX values for presets 1 and 4 should do the trick. I've actually been thinking about doing a video on Assigns for a while. Maybe I'll get to that.
Also, if you aren't using the ES-8 Editor, I'd highly recommend that. th-cam.com/video/3BFxIEaMVeM/w-d-xo.html
@@ManBunMetalHead Thx for responding! I am using the Editor. So much easier. I tried using assigns with various MIN/MAX value combinations but it never switched back to EQ preset 1 when toggling off. I had to leave patch 5, then select patch 5 again to get back to EQ preset 1. Must be something simple I'm missing.
So I'm guessing that you're using the Patch MIDI assign to change to preset 4. You may need to setup another button to change back to preset 1. You could probably use CNum which is the current number to change back to preset 1.
@@ManBunMetalHead Yep, that's what I was able to do in a similar way. I used CNum to change to preset 4 as well as another CNum assign to turn on the boost LED (Num6), then stepping on Num6 again changes the preset back to 1 and turns off the LED. Thx again for responding.
I have my ES-8 set up this way but also have one of the pedals set up to control midi clock via tap tempo. This issue is that it will update the tempo for all devices, but as soon as you switch to another patch and then back, it loses the tempo which is terrible during a live session. Any idea how I could fix this?
Do you still plug your timeline and mobius in the loop of es8?
Yep, they each have their own loop.
Does this work with the ES5 the same ?
Want to do Timeline and Bigsky
Yep, should work exactly the same
So do you not have to terminate the midi back into the Boss ES-8?
You do not have to. Doing so can create transmission loop issues.
@@ManBunMetalHead Thank you sir!
How do you do a factory reset on the midi settings in the JP 2C head?
I took a look in the manual and couldn't figure out how. Sorry man.
How did you wire the ISP decimator?
Check out my review of the Decimator. There's a good setup instruction in there.
th-cam.com/video/vXrzZ9WBDLU/w-d-xo.html
When I use the four cable method channels two and three don’t seem to want to work. Everything sounds like channel 1. They do switch those channels but I don’t get the sound that those channels are supposed to have.Thoughts?
When I first started using the four cable method, I ran into a similar problem. Turns out you have to make sure the Volume Loop is activated in the patch. Otherwise the signal from the amp FX send, will not be routed. Hopefully your problem is that easy.
Thanks for the tip. It worked!
Excellent! Enjoy man!
What do you use for the labels on your ES-8?
I made them with a Brother P-Touch label maker
Thank you
Do you know what model? Would love to use the same format for my Es-8. Any help would be appreciated thanks!
The Brother QL-570. Bought it 7 years ago. I'd probably go with the QL-810W now though.
Thank you! Will check into the QL- 810w
I can't figure any of this out. I plug all the MIDI pedals (out of the loops) and nothing happens. I followed all the instructions. MIDI is impossible.
The manual assumes a lot of knowledge I don't have.
That's the unfortunate part about MIDI. I'd suggest looking for some beginner guides online.
@@ManBunMetalHead Hey, thanks for the reply.
I'm using Source Audio gear (Nemesis & Vertigo) with a pedal (TC Vintage Delay) with no MIDI out. That can go last. I also have a Line6 M5 but I'm not using it atm, it's a new unit that I'm learning how to use. It has a MIDI in/out but no thru. That's gonna be a hassle.
I can do all the Source audio Neuro Hub editing for my Nemesis and Vertigo. All I want is to send PC to the Neuro Hub then to the TC.
CC can wait, I just want basic stuff, PC. I don't suppose you could recommend any resources or links that might help me? I can't find any beginner guides that actually show you stuff.
IF I can't figure this out I might just get an America Loopers dual footswitch for the Nemesis.
wtf i do if the Marshall DSL100HR doesnt have a midi out?
ps: the only midi shit i want to use is the amp's midi to switch the channels
Unfortunately you'll need some sort of MIDI splitter.
idk how to make the split...you say the chain would be (if the amp had the midi out) ES8 MIDI OUT...... Marshall MIDI IN....Marshall MIDI OUT...ES8 MIDI In....
but the amp have just MIDI IN
maybe just the ES8 out/thru....straight in the Marshall in.....saw a video of the 4 cable method with a EVH5150, it also just got midi in, and was straight into a Line6 helix...and worked out
That would work. There's no need to go back to connect to the ES-8 MIDI In from the Marshall head since you are only sending messages from the ES-8 to the DSL and not the other way around.