On Wed, Jan 18, 2023 at 08:06 AM, circlepete wrote:
It would be also very helpful if software companies (like Positive Grid in my case) could deliver the list of midi messages you're supposed to send. Here it's like I'm walking in the dark, trying stuff, without really understanding why it works when it does...
Most amp sims allow you to choose which CC#s to send, including BIAS FX.
Most amp sims also use TOGGLING CCs, EXCLUDING BIAS FX.
MOST amp sims that use toggling CCs use a Value of 0 for OFF and 127 for ON.
Amplitube, by default, does the opposite - 127 for OFF, 0 for ON. This can be reversed by changing the MIN/MAX Values, but must be done for each effect in each preset. IOW, it can't be done globally. To make it worse, whereas in versions up to v4 there were Global Bypass settings for the FX in the "pedalboard" (pre amp) section, they've stupidly removed that feature in v5. Go figure.
BIAS FX doesn't care what value you use. If it receives a message on the assigned CC# it toggles the effect. This means that if you upgrade your chip to UNO, there's no way to have the pedal LEDs sync to the ON/OFF status of the FX. This MAY have been changed in BIAS FX 2, I never upgraded because I think it's the worst sounding sim out there, and Positive Grid is my least favorite company of all the major players. Just sayin'. As always, YMMV.
If an amp sim employs fixed (hard coded) CC#s, there will always be a section, usually at the back of the manual, which lists what those CC#s are.
I've never seen this in a plugin/sw amp sim, but it's fairly common in HW. For instance, Helix allows you to choose, Kemper is hard coded.
Something to be aware of is that in the MIDI Standard there are certain CC#s that are "RESERVED" for certain functions. The reason goes back to the early days of MIDI when synths were pretty much all that used MIDI, and they all had certain functions in common. What this means is that if you're chaining MIDI devices (or SW in a DAW or VST based performance app), you need to send commands on separate MIDI channels and be aware of devices in the chain that employ these RESERVED CCs.
