I have an ML10X and MC6. Feeling pretty good about my complex loop switching on my pedalboard (very ambient, lots of delays and loopers). Still adjusting to MIDI. So far I’ve figured out programming my Walrus M1 and Hologram Microcosm via MIDI, but I want to be able to take control of my Mood and Habit.
My question is this:
Do I need a MIDI Box to be able to control both the Mood and Habit? Currently using one of the Omniports for an expression pedal. If I use a MIDI box, do I need a 1/8 inch TRS to 1/4 inch adapter to work with CBA pedals? Anyone have other strategies to get MIDI going to Mood and Habit?
CBA pedals use 1/4" TRS, so you don’t need a 1/8" to 1/4" adaptor (I guess that depends on your setup…)
However, if you’re using one of the Omniports for expression, I think you will need a MIDI box of some sort for both CBA pedals. I use a Strymon Conduit. Works great and it uses the 5-pin midi connection from your MC6 so you will still have a free OmniPort.
I guess my question is whether the Morningstar MIDI Box would work in this context (I would love to have its size and flexibility). And because the MIDI Box has 1/8 TRS, just want to make sure it would work with a 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch adapter and then the CBA MIDI in.
Hi… as long as the pedal’s 1/4” TRS sockets support one of the wiring options that you can select on the midi box it should work fine: MIDI Box Manual - I’d guess the Chase uses a wiring standard that Morningstar products support.
I guess like @tdschneider wrote, if the pedal at the end of your 5 pin din chain has a 5 pin midi out then you could connect the midi box that way and leave the second omniport on the MC free. Would recommend investigating adding a three way switch to that… really helps to offload functions like bank, page, tap tempo etc to dedicated switches away from the presets, esp. in live use.
The MIDI Box is cheaper and has more outputs than the Strymon Conduit - plus Morningstar also has all the adaptors you would need (1/8 → 1/4 or 1/8 → 5-pin) .
Since both the Conduit and MIDI box also have MIDI out, you can have them anywhere in your chain. I have the conduit next in line from MC6, then out to some Strymon pedals via 5-pin.
Are you talking about the Chase Bliss MIDI Box? Or the one from Morningstar? The Chase Bliss MIDI Box has 3 TRS outputs and have a jumper that you set, when you want to use CBA or Empress pedals. The Conduit has 4 TRS outputs and can be set to use with CBA or Empress pedals. These two pedals use ring active, instead of tip active MIDI and need to have a configurable TRS port.
The Morningstar MIDI box has 8 ports, all mini TRS 3.5 mm vs 1/4". And these are configurable also.
I think it all depends on the number of ports you need. The one advantage to the CBA Midi Box is it does not require 9v power the Conduit and Morningstar do, so that takes one power slot from your supply.
Thank you for being so clear! I ended up buying a MIDI Box once I figured out that it could in fact work with CBA pedals. One of the main reasons I picked it up over the Strymon Conduit and CBA MIDI Box was that I wanted to pick up a number of the different cables Morningstar offers, especially the MIDI cables, which work really nicely with Templeboard slots (so many other MIDI cables are too fat to fit through), and since most CBA have to be ordered direct from their site, shipping to Canada was basically the same from Singapore as it was from Minnesota to Toronto…
You’re very welcome. The jumpers are very easy to configure in the CB midiBox and it’s small profile is easy to add to your board.
Fwiw, I’ve been very pleased with the rockboard FlAX plug cables, since the right angles always seem to be at the wrong angle for me on fixed end midi cables.
My Morningstar MIDI Box came, and I used the Morningstar adapters and cables to connect to Habit and Bliss. Connected to the two ‘TRS’ outputs on the MIDI Box. And I’m not seeing success. I tried to send some messages on the pedal’s default channel 2, but nothing happened. The Mood is also acting funny when I connect it - the left side light keeps flickering green quickly regardless of whether I press. Not sure if that’s the kind of issue I go over with Chase Bliss…
Is there something about the TRS that I need to configure for Chase Bliss pedals on the MIDI box?