MM Chain - Aeros, BeatBuddy, Strymon Bigsky, & OnSong

Midi Maestro
1

Hi all,

First off, I’d like to state that I am new to MIDI and have A TON of reading in my near future to wrap my feeble mind around its complexity. So, please forgive my ignorance, but I thought I’d start with the experts to walkthrough what it is I want to do with my MM and save me some initial headache.

Like many of you, I own the MM, BeatBuddy, and Aeros. I also own a Strymon BigSky and utilize OnSong and an iPad. At this point, understanding many more questions will likely be generated as I start to dig in, I want to focus on the simple. Here, at this stage, is what I’d like to do. Please let me know if I’m thinking through this incorrectly.

  1. MM
    A. Control OnSong - Page Turning/Scrolling (for now)
    a. Can this be done? Yes or No
    b. If Yes - Do you use MM buttons or can you use Footswitch+ connected into MM?
    c. I presume the MM would be the “Master” and I’d go MM MIDI Out to the iPad MIDI In? I’d like
    to do a physical connection here, not just Bluetooth. What hardware do you recommend for
    that (e.g., Camera Connection Kit?)
  2. iPad/OnSong
    A. Control BeatBuddy
    a. When I select a song in OnSong, I’d like it to pull up in BeatBuddy.
    b. I presume I’d go MIDI Out from the iPad to BeatBuddy MIDI In (using Breakout Cable)? Thus,
    the hardware I envision for the iPad plugs into the lightning port and has a MIDI In and a MIDI
    Out
    B. Control Strymon Bigsky
    a. Similar to 2A above, when I select a song in OnSong, it would be cool if the reverb settings
    would change. Is this even possible or should I consider controlling the Bigsky with the MM?
    b. If possible, since I imagine there would be one MIDI Out from the iPad would I need to run it
    into a splitter and split one line to the BeatBuddy and another to the Bigsky?

So, here’s the chain possibilities that I can envision.

  1. MM - MIDI Out --> iPad/OnSong MIDI In --> iPad/OnSong MIDI Out --> Splitter --> Split to BeatBuddy, Split to BigSky --> Beatbuddy MIDI Out --> Aeros MIDI In.
  2. MM - MIDI Out --> iPad/OnSong MIDI In --> iPad/OnSong MIDI Out --> BigSky --> BeatBuddy --> Aeros (No splitter, would the Bigsky go in front of the BeatBuddy or after it?)
  3. MM - MIDI Out --> Splitter --> Split to BigSky, Split to iPad/OnSong --> iPad/OnSong --> Beatbuddy --> Aeros (This would be if OnSong wouldn’t be able to change presets on the BigSky but MM could).

So, with that brain dump, am I thinking this through correctly? I sincerely appreciate the communities collective wisdom and assistance. Thank you!

-Kyle

2

Wow, big list…
The MM extension connection only switches the MM pages up and down.
I wouldn’t discount Bluetooth to the iPad, it will make your wiring easier and you can move the iPad to where it’s easy to access. A lot of users do this already.
As for connection, just link all your pedal midi ports in series, out to in, no need for a splitter.
You should think about what pedal you are going to use as the Midi master for timing (tempo). It best to put this first in the midi chain.
I would suggest the following, but feel free to explore
IPad - Bluetooth - MM
MM out - BB in
BB out - Aeros In
Aeros Out - Strymon In
If none of the midi command numbers overlap you can use just midi channel 1. This will keep configuration easier.
I would recommend printing out all the midi commands for each pedal and keep them handy for reference.
Sorry can’t help with On song I don’t use it.
Hope this helps
'Rep

3

Thank you Rep, that was helpful. I found a post from Singular Sounds’ Brennan that was helpful too.

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This gives me a solid “base” from which to work, the remaining question is where would the MM fit into the equation? Would it just go after the converter but before the BB? I imagine the tablet would still be the “Master” but the MM would be a pass-through of sorts? Would be curious how the Strymon would fit in too but I’m also happy to just focus on the MM at the moment.

I also found the following on the forums here that looks reasonable as well…

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