Boss 200 series pedals

MIDI Control Boss
#1

Using Morningstar to control Boss OD/MD/DD/EQ-200 pedals.

I have an MC8 controlling OD-200, MD-200, and DD-200 pedals. I’m new to the Boss 200 series and to Midi. As I figure out how this works, I’ll post info to this thread.

#2

My first lesson was toggling on and off the 200-series pedals. The On/Off stomp switch for all three pedals is controlled by CC#28. But you have to send it both a 0 CC message AND a 127 CC message to toggle it from one state to the other.

Also, sending the pedal a PC message will automatically turn the pedal On.

When I power up my pedalboard, all three pedals turn on automatically. I programmed a switch on the MC8 to turn them all off. That required six CC messages, two to each pedal.

Next, I wanted to turn them all off but have them shift to the Manual mode before doing so. That way, if I hit the On/Off switch on the DD200, it would turn on in the Manual mode (i.e., PC#0).

To do that with a single press on the MC8, I had to first send the three pedals a PC-0 message on the “Press” action, and then two CC messages (0 and 127) to each pedal of the three pedals on the “Release” action. It works!

Sending both PC and CC messages to the pedal left it in the “On” state. It seems PC messages override CC messages on my Boss pedals.

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#3

Here are the default CC#s for the DD200.

  • Time knob: 17
  • Feedback knob: 18
  • E.Level knob: 19
  • Param knob: 22
  • Tone knob: 20
  • Mod knob: 21
  • On/Off switch: 28
  • Memory switch: 82
  • Ctl 1: 80 (I’m not sure what this is yet!)
  • Ctl 2: 81
  • Expression: 16
  • Effect On/Off: 27 (I’m not sure what this does yet).

I hope this is useful! ~Bud.

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#4

Here are the default CC#s for the MD200:

  • Rate knob: 17
  • Depth knob: 18
  • E. Level knob: 19
  • Param1 knob: 20
  • Param2 knob: 21
  • Param3 knob: 22
  • On/Off switch: 28
  • Memory/Tap switch: 82
  • Ctl-1: 80
  • Ctl-2: 81
  • Expression: 16
  • Effect On/Off: 27
#5

Here are the default CC#s for the OD200:

  • Level knob: 18
  • Drive knob: 17
  • Low knob: 19
  • Middle knob: 20
  • High knob: 21
  • On/Off switch: 28
  • Memory/Boost switch: 82
  • Booster On/Off switch: 83
  • Booster Pre-level: 22
  • Booster Post-level: 23
  • Ctl-1: 80
  • Ctl-2: 81
  • Expression: 16
  • Effect On/Off: 27
#6

This is good info that will probably save some other folks some troubleshooting time. Thanks for sharing!

#7

This info applies to BOSS DD/MD/OD-200 pedals. It may also apply to other BOSS pedals.

SAVING NEW SOUNDS. When saving new settings to a Program Channel (1 thru 127), consider starting at PC-5 to avoid overwriting the original factory settings in PC 1 thru 4. If you overwrite the factory settings in PC-1 thru 4 and later want to recover that sound, you will need to do a Factory Reset. (Ask me how I know this!)

BOSS DD/MD/OD-200 FACTORY RESET. This will recover the originally programmed settings for Program Memory slots 1 thru 4. Fortunately, it will not overwrite any firmware updates you’ve made. However, it will restore your MIDI parameters to their default settings (e.g., the pedal will default to MIDI Channel 1, Memory extended only to 4, etc.).

Here’s how to return the DD-200 to its factory-set state. (You can do this on your pedalboard.)

  • While holding down the [ON/OFF] switch and [MEMORY/TAP] switch, turn on the power (insert a plug into the INPUT-A jack). The display indicates “FCt.”
  • Press the [MEMORY/TAP] switch. The display indicates “Sur.” If you decide to cancel, press the [MEMORY] button.
  • Press the [MEMORY/TAP] switch. The factory reset is executed.
  • When the display indicates “Fin,” turn the power off and on again.

HOW TO FIND THE PEDAL’S FIRMWARE VERSION. Before you start a firmware update, check the system program version of your DD/MD/OD-200. (You can do this on your pedalboard.)

  • Hold down the [MEMORY] button and insert a plug into the INPUT-A jack. The power comes on and the version is displayed on the Display.
  • If this shows the latest version (check the Boss website), there’s no need to update your DD/MD/OD-200 pedal.
  • After verifying the displayed version, switch off the power.

SOME KEY MIDI PARAMETERS & SETTINGS. To check your pedal’s MIDI settings, with the pedal on:

  • Simultaneously press the two black buttons on your pedal (Tap Division and Memory, or Param and Memory) to enter the MIDI menu mode.
  • Turn the large knob on the top row next to the display (Time, Rate, or Param) to select a MIDI parameter.
  • Press the (Time, Rate, or Param) knob to view the parameter’s setting.
  • Twist the (Time, Rate, or Param) knob to change the parameter’s setting.
  • Press the (Time, Rate, or Param) knob again to return to the parameter-view mode.
  • Continue selecting parameters and adjusting settings as desired.
  • When finished, simultaneously press Tap Division and Memory (or Param and Memory) to exit the MIDI menu mode.

Here are a few MIDI settings to check or make on your BOSS DD/MD/OD-200 pedals.

Parameter Full Name Remarks/Setting
Ett Memory Extended To Specifies the memory switching upper range. The default is 4; so after pressing the Memory/Tap switch four times, the fifth press cycles the pedal back to the Manual mode (green light on the pedal). Setting this to something higher will require extra pushes on the Memory/Tap switch before the pedal cycles back to Manual (PC-0).

Important: all 127 Program Channels are available regardless of the Ett setting. “Ett” only affects the Manual/Tap switch. Thus, you could put your four frequently used settings in PC-1 thru 4 and use your MIDI to access less frequently used settings stored in the higher PCs (5 thru 127).|

|rCh | MIDI Receive Channel | Give each pedal its own channel # (1-16). |
|CCi | Control Change in | Set to ON to receive CCs. |