MC4 Pro + Eventide H9: Program Change + CC Toggle issue

MIDI Control Eventide
1

Hi!I’m trying to control an Eventide H9 from an MC4 Pro (latest firmware) using a single toggle switch

One switch should:

  • First press: Load a slapback preset (PC 0) and activate it.
  • Second press: Bypass the H9.
  • Third press: Load the slapback preset again and activate it.

I’ve tried several approaches:

  • Program Change + Activate/Bypass (CC8/CC7)
  • Program Change + Toggle (CC9)
  • Toggle Mode
  • Toggle Preset messages
  • Delay messages (up to 1000 ms)

Here’s what I’ve found:

  • Program Change alone works perfectly.
  • CC Activate/Bypass works perfectly.
  • If I put Program Change + Activate on one switch, and Bypass on another switch, everything works exactly as expected.
  • The problem only appears when trying to combine Program Change and Activate/Bypass on a single toggle preset.

I also tested with a 1000 ms Delay. The delay works (the CC is sent one second later), but the behaviour is still inconsistent.

For example:

  • If the current H9 preset is active, pressing the switch sometimes loads the slapback preset correctly.
  • If the current H9 preset is bypassed, pressing the switch often activates the currently selected preset instead of switching to the slapback preset.
  • After repeated tests, the behaviour becomes inconsistent: sometimes the slapback preset is active, sometimes it loads bypassed, even though the MC4 programming is unchanged.

I also verified with the MIDI Monitor that the MC4 sends the messages in the expected order (PC first, then CC).

Is this a known limitation of the H9 when combining Program Change and CC messages in a Toggle Preset, or is there a recommended way to implement this behaviour?

Thanks!

2

Can you post a screenshot of your preset programming?

3

Screenshot
Screenshot2880×1800 507 KB

Here’s the programming I’m trying to achieve.
The goal is:

Position 1: Load PC 0 and activate the H9.
Position 2: Bypass the H9.

This works perfectly if I put “PC + Activate” on one switch and “Bypass” on another switch.
The issue only occurs when I try to combine both functions in a single Toggle Preset.

4

Hmmm, I don’t have a H9 to test with but I’d have thought this programming should work. When doing a quick search of the Eventide forum just now, I came across a comment from 2016; I have no idea if this behaviour is still the case but perhaps it might have something to do with the inconsistencies you’re experiencing:

“If you load a preset with a MIDI program change message, it will load in the active or bypassed state that it was saved with.” Have you checked which state your H9 presets were saved with?

5

Without any CC-messages it loads the preset active. I tested further and found that the behaviour is actually consistent:
Starting from a random preset, repeated presses on the same MC4 switch give:

  1. Slapback bypass
  2. Slapback active
  3. Slapback bypass
  4. Slapback active

So it seems the MC4 toggle position is alternating correctly, but the initial state is not aligned with the H9’s state.

My goal is to use the MC4 like individual stompboxes: each switch should select a specific H9 preset and then allow me to turn that preset on/off from the same switch.

Is Toggle Mode the right approach for this, or should I be using Engage/Disengage, Toggle Preset, or another method?