FCB-1010 + UNO firmware = powerful affordable footcontrol

Started by Elantric, January 23, 2008, 06:31:47 PM

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whippinpost91850

Pretty cool, I've been thinkin of modding mine. I'm a lefty and find the pedals on the right to be awkward. I was thinkin of movin at least one pedal to the left. ;D

Elantric

Hers's an internal view of the FCB-1010.
There are lots of options for space reduction

Elantric

QuoteThe Mercedes solution is Ossandust's Little Giant mods that turn the FCB into the mothership of MIDI foot controllers, but it costs a bit for all that power and it comes in three sizes. Google the names for more info.


http://www.gordius.be/midi-footcontroller-products.php






GORDIUS Little Giant Module    NEW GENERATION RELEASED !

The LG Module combines many tools in 1 compact housing.
It's the perfect extension to the Behringer FCB1010, but it also contains a standard MIDI-USB interface, connecting any MIDI gear to your PC through an extra set of MIDI ports. The USB connection (used for easy firmware upgrades) lets a floorboard take control over your PC. Through a user friendly menu based setup, shown on a brilliant graphical LCD display, you can manage countless features :
128 patches, sending MIDI messages of unlimited length, and activating
any of the available stompboxes or momentary effects.
32 stomp boxes, sending 2 different MIDI messages, one for the ON state,
one for the OFF state.
32 momentary effects, which have a "key depress" and "key release" action.
16 expression pedal setups (The module contains 2 stereo jack inputs for connecting expression pedals)
Support for as many as 250 banks containing up to 32 presets each !
Possibility to create up to 10 songlists of up to 50 songs, clearly displaying
the song names during live performance.


----



GORDIUS Little Giant Foot controller    NEW GENERATION RELEASED !

The LG foot controller combines the extremely rich feature set of the LG module with a 12 key pedal board. (Check out the LG module page to find out about its features)
Its footswitches can be used in a standard setup of up to 250 banks containing 10 directly accessible patches each, scrolling through the banks using the UP and DOWN switches. The two upper keys (9/10) can alternatively be used as "Direct Select" switches, which give direct access to two full banks of commonly reused patches or effects. Switching back and forward between current bank and any of these
"Direct Select" banks happens with a single click.
Obviously, the LG foot controller inherits the ease of setup from the embedded LG module, using a brilliant and very legible graphical LCD display both for setup and for displaying song names and other info while playing.
Its ergonomics allow alternative usage of the floorboard as a desktop control center for keyboard players or in a (home) studio setup, giving you extensive MIDI control at your fingertips.

-------







GORDIUS Little Giant Extended Foot controller    NEW GENERATION RELEASED !

Just like his little brother, the LG extended foot controller combines the extremely rich feature set of the LG module (which you can check out on the LG module page) with a pedal board, this time an impressive 17-switch board.
The patch switches have a full 1-octave keyboard layout. No more compromising for those musicians who take the daunting task of playing bass notes or accompanying chords with their feet, while at the same time playing guitar or keyboard. The floorboard can provide a separate foot switch for each of the notes in any scale (obviously, transposing is not an issue).
No need to mention that these same foot switches can at the same time be used to do any other MIDI controlling task, each of them nicely organised in as many banks as you could ever need.
The floorboard contains the necessary jacks to connect up to 4 external expression pedals, and apart from the standard MIDI IN/MIDI OUT jacks and USB connector, it even features a connector set to daisy-chain several LG floorboards together - giving you that feeling of "the sky is the limit".

arkieboy

Just a heads up for people considering the FCB


It's good enough for Steve Hackett


http://www.aylesburyfriars.co.uk/hackett2013report.html


About half way down the page.  Note the delay and distortion modellers from Line6


Sadly I missed out on tickets for this gig, but I did see steve last year


:-)
Main rig: Barden Hexacaster and Brian Moore i2.13 controllers
Boss SY1000/Boss GKC-AD/Boss GM-800/Laney LFR112

Other relevant gear: Line 6 Helix LT, Roland GR-33, Axon AX100 MkII
Oberheim Matrix 6R, Supernova IIR, EMu E5000, Apple Mainstage, Apple Logic, MOTU M4

Elantric

#29
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fcbbooster/id442907651

http://web.tiscali.it/farello/fcb/index.html

FCBBooster (MAc/WinPC)
By Amedeo Farello













Description
FCBBooster is a software tool conceived to increase the performance of the Behringer FCB 1010 MIDI foot controller. It works as an interface between the pedalboard and whatever MIDI device, hardware or software, you want to drive with it, augmenting the controller's capabilities and simplifying its use at once. No, it's not an editor for the FCB 1010.

Features:

• ability to send a virtually unlimited number of MIDI messages to a virtually unlimited number of MIDI devices simultaneously from each footswitch or expression pedal

• ability to send MIDI messages that the FCB 1010 is not able to manage, including system exclusive messages, both fixed and variable

• simple but powerful programming capabilities, implemented through a WYSIWYG editor, allow you to define complex functions that would be impossible to handle for a FCB 1010

• gives a visual feedback of the functions assigned to footswitches and expression pedals

• footswitches can act as buttons, switches or multiple state switches

• messages can be individually programmed to be sent when a footswitch is either pressed or released

• much easier and faster to program than the actual FCB 1010

• entire setups can be saved as documents, allowing backups and fast switching between completely different configurations

What's New in Version 2.0
• MIDI destination devices and channels are now coupled as "targets" and defined just once in the preferences window, instead of being specified multiple times on an action-by-action basis

• multiple state footswitches can now optionally expose their current state to all actions belonging to the same patch, so that these can be programmed to perform only when a control is in a particular state

• interfacing with the FCB 1010 has become much easier: FCBBooster is now able to receive a SysEx dump from the pedalboard or load it from a file, apply the possible needed corrections and send it back without requiring any programming on the FCB 1010 (the old step-by-step learn mode is still available); FCBBooster can also save SysEx dumps to a file for backup purposes

• the "patches setup" window, now simply called the editor window, has a new, clearer layout, with green lines and boxes indicating the relationships between patches, controls, states and actions; when the editor window is open, the currently selected control is shown with a red border in the main window

• there are new "cut", "copy" and "paste" buttons for each of the "patches", "controls", "state" and "actions" sections; the "controls" section also has a new "swap" button to easily exchange position between controls of the same kind

• a new "reference bank" preference allows to choose between the traditional mode of operation, that uses a single FCB 1010 bank as source for MIDI messages, and a new "all banks" mode, that limits the number of the definable patches to ten, but lets you select them with the up/down keys on the pedalboard

• some new MIDI actions are available: "all sound off", "all notes off", "reset all controllers" for footswitches and "channel pressure" for expression pedals

• a new "wait" action may be used to introduce a delay between actions; this can be useful to let some hardware devices digest complex sysex messages before sending them other messages

• there is a new, unified preferences window

• the "navigation" mode is now not immediately dismissed when a footswitch is pressed; instead it stays active until the "*" activation footswitch is pressed again; the current destination patch is highlighted with a green border in the list at the right side of the main window

• the "go to patch" action now supports special destinations like "higher in level", "last visited", "next visited", "previous in list", "next in list", which are analogous to the navigation mode commands

• the app is sandboxed


whippinpost91850


Elantric

#31
FCBBooster is for a stock FCB-1010 - loaded with a custom setup bundled with FCBBooster (RTM)
http://web.tiscali.it/farello2/fcb/FCBBooster%20Manual.pdf

FCBBooster needs to run live all the time and reinterprets the FCB-1010 MIDI Output messages for each pedal, as FCBBooster becomes a new virtual MIDI I/O Port on your PC/Mac that talks to your gear or softsynths or Mobius Looper. Looks rather powerful.

Elantric


mojo thorne

Thanks.  I found that earlier and removed my Idiot's post.  :-\

I bought a FCB1010 with the UNO eprom yesterday for $100.   I found the info I needed on the FCB yahoo users group.

Elantric


Elantric

http://www.lg-fcb.com/lgfcb_board.php

LATEST NEWS
Dec. 20, 2012
Release! The LG-FCB upgrade kit is available for delivery, we have a large number of kits on stock now.
FCB / UNO CONTROLCENTER


LG-FCB board The extension board adds the necessary hardware to turn your FCB1010 into a really high-end MIDI controller: a more powerful processor, USB functionality, lots of extra memory, firmware code stored in erasable memory and thus upgradable through USB...
LG-FCB USB A small connector board replaces the original MIDI connectors with one 7-pins connector (both MIDI IN and MIDI OUT are available on one connector) and one USB connector. No need to drill extra holes in the housing, no need to use a soldering iron.
EPROM Along with the board comes a special firmware EPROM for the FCB1010. This firmware turns the FCB1010 into a "dummy" slave for the LG-FCB board. The more powerful LG-FCB controller now manages all aspects of the setup, with as a major advantage the possibility to extend functionality in the future through an USB firmware upgrade of the board.
At the moment of release of this product, detailed upgrade instructions will be available, so you will be able to check out yourself how easy the upgrade is. No electronics skills needed whatsoever.

LG-FCB HARDWARE EXTENSION KIT

Kit contents :  (view a picture here)
Main electronics board, the GORDIUS "brain" for the MIDI controller.
Connector board, replaces the two original MIDI connectors with one 7-pins MIDI connector and 1 USB connector.
Firmware EPROM for the FCB1010, turns the original board into a dummy slave for the LG-FCB controller board.
All necessary hardware and wiring to mount both boards inside the FCB1010 housing. No soldering or drilling required.
Detailed mounting and initialization instructions.
LG-FCB Control Center, an advanced user friendly editor for the LG-FCB board. Versions for both Mac and PC are available.
Pricing :   
Europe : 199.00 Euro
USA/Canada : 249.00 USD



LG-FCB CONTROL CENTER

The LG-FCB Control Center is a free editor for your LG-FCB equipped FCB1010. Both a native Mac version and a native Windows version are available. The editor design focuses on usability. It hides all of the technical details and lets you build your setup in an intuitive way. Included is a fully functional "emulator", which allows you to navigate through the banks just the way you would do it on your unit, and review the MIDI commands sent when clicking one of the switches. Next to this, you can also monitor the actual MIDI output of your FCB1010 with the LG-FCB Control Center. This means that you can watch the simulated output and the actual FCB1010 output next to each other in order to verify your downloaded setup.
View some screenshots.

FCB/UNO CONTROL CENTER

The FCB/UnO Control Center has nothing to do with the LG-FCB hardware extension module, except that it is built on the same code base as the editor mentioned above. Therefore the short description above also applies to this editor. The FCB/UnO Control Center lets you manage setups for a regular FCB1010 with original Behringer firmware, or for an "UnO equipped" FCB1010. ( for more info about the UnO firmware, check out this website : www.ossandust.be ) One other difference with LG-FCB Control Center is that this editor is not free. A trial version with limited functionality can be downloaded, and a license to unlock all features can be purchased on this website for a very low price (16 Euro).
View some screenshots on Mac.
View some screenshots on Windows.
...and a "real" snapshot of a 10" netbook.
Runs ok on that one too (Resolution as low as 1024x600)

http://www.lg-fcb.com/lgfcbcc_scr.php





http://www.lg-fcb.com/lgfcb_order.php



Pin

Quote from: Elantric on October 14, 2013, 09:41:33 PM
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fcbbooster/id442907651

http://web.tiscali.it/farello/fcb/index.html

FCBBooster (MAc/WinPC)
By Amedeo Farello

FCBBooster is a software tool conceived to increase the performance of the Behringer FCB 1010 MIDI foot controller. It works as an interface between the pedalboard and whatever MIDI device, hardware or software, you want to drive with it, augmenting the controller's capabilities and simplifying its use at once. No, it's not an editor for the FCB 1010.

Features:

• ability to send a virtually unlimited number of MIDI messages to a virtually unlimited number of MIDI devices simultaneously from each footswitch or expression pedal

• ability to send MIDI messages that the FCB 1010 is not able to manage, including system exclusive messages, both fixed and variable

• simple but powerful programming capabilities, implemented through a WYSIWYG editor, allow you to define complex functions that would be impossible to handle for a FCB 1010

• gives a visual feedback of the functions assigned to footswitches and expression pedals

• footswitches can act as buttons, switches or multiple state switches

• messages can be individually programmed to be sent when a footswitch is either pressed or released

• much easier and faster to program than the actual FCB 1010

• entire setups can be saved as documents, allowing backups and fast switching between completely different configurations

What's New in Version 2.0
• MIDI destination devices and channels are now coupled as "targets" and defined just once in the preferences window, instead of being specified multiple times on an action-by-action basis

• multiple state footswitches can now optionally expose their current state to all actions belonging to the same patch, so that these can be programmed to perform only when a control is in a particular state

• interfacing with the FCB 1010 has become much easier: FCBBooster is now able to receive a SysEx dump from the pedalboard or load it from a file, apply the possible needed corrections and send it back without requiring any programming on the FCB 1010 (the old step-by-step learn mode is still available); FCBBooster can also save SysEx dumps to a file for backup purposes

• the "patches setup" window, now simply called the editor window, has a new, clearer layout, with green lines and boxes indicating the relationships between patches, controls, states and actions; when the editor window is open, the currently selected control is shown with a red border in the main window

• there are new "cut", "copy" and "paste" buttons for each of the "patches", "controls", "state" and "actions" sections; the "controls" section also has a new "swap" button to easily exchange position between controls of the same kind

• a new "reference bank" preference allows to choose between the traditional mode of operation, that uses a single FCB 1010 bank as source for MIDI messages, and a new "all banks" mode, that limits the number of the definable patches to ten, but lets you select them with the up/down keys on the pedalboard

• some new MIDI actions are available: "all sound off", "all notes off", "reset all controllers" for footswitches and "channel pressure" for expression pedals

• a new "wait" action may be used to introduce a delay between actions; this can be useful to let some hardware devices digest complex sysex messages before sending them other messages

• there is a new, unified preferences window

• the "navigation" mode is now not immediately dismissed when a footswitch is pressed; instead it stays active until the "*" activation footswitch is pressed again; the current destination patch is highlighted with a green border in the list at the right side of the main window

• the "go to patch" action now supports special destinations like "higher in level", "last visited", "next visited", "previous in list", "next in list", which are analogous to the navigation mode commands

• the app is sandboxed

[/i]

This is just a "heads up" on the FCB Booster software for those of you like me who do not use Macs or iOS devices.

When Elantric posted the above (I have taken the images out) I became very excited because Amedeo's software looked just what I was looking for to enable my Behringer FCB 1010 to become a "universal" midi controller for my fair number of hardware synths and also maybe for the VG99 (although I have an FC300 for that).

However, when I checked up on Amedeo's website I noticed that all the examples and software version spoken about was the OSX system so I emailed Amedeo and asked about the Windows version. Amedeo wrote back to say that he has stopped developing the Windows version (everyone - except me-  is using OSX!) and hence the Windows version "lags far behind" the OSX.

So it looks as if I will have to go the UnO route.













Elantric

Also this FCBBooster software will lock you into a requirement to integrate a full laptop into your FCB1010 rig.

Pin

Re the LG-FCB option:

From Elantric's post:

LG-FCB USB A small connector board replaces the original MIDI connectors with one 7-pins connector (both MIDI IN and MIDI OUT are available on one connector) and one USB connector. No need to drill extra holes in the housing, no need to use a soldering iron.


Does anyone know where you can get a ready-made 7pin midi male to two (split) 5 pin midi female cable that would work with this? I know you could just use a 5 pin out anyway straight into the 7 pin female but I want to use my Motu interface as the midi USB link to computer and not the FCB (unless updating).

EDIT: I think the answer is to buy the 7 pin male plug and a 5 pin female split lead to 5 pin male and cut of the 5 pin male plug and fix the resultant pins to the correct pins of the 7 pin. Job done. Trouble is I hate soldering.



Elantric

Best tronics

http://btpa.com/5-to7-Pin-Midi/

http://btpa.com/7-Pin-Midi/

Best-Tronics Mfg., Inc.
18500 Graphics Court
Tinley Park, IL 60477
(708) 802-9677
proaudio@best-tronics.com

MusicOverGear

Just saw this thread. I have a FCB1010 I got ages ago - maybe 12 years? 10?

I yanked the internal IEC connector and transformer and added a regular Boss type 9v jack so it's easier getting power to it. I had it phantom powered at one time. Still have the cable/wart from that project somewhere...

Also +1 for the FCBUnOControlCenter software. It's the the nicest and easiest IMHO.

UNO chip is definitely nicer but not overwhelming with possibilities. Nicest thing about FCB1010 with UNO is cool bank/stompbox control. It's the only controller I have that does this.

IMHO nowadays if I'm using a computer in the rig I just grab a controller of my junk pile that has the approximate correct layout and change its output as it comes into the computer - either in the DAW or MidiPipe or similar

I also like all the old Roland foot controllers. E.g. my fave is FC-200. I think I paid $60 for it used and it has three modes, including a 1-octave keyboard like Keith Mcmillen 12 step (tho not all the tricky aftertouch stuff) - PLUS all the old Roland controllers, which come in difft sizes, have input jacks for CC control gadgets - switches and pots. Kind of an old school Livid Brain vibe

my ultra-portable pedalboard has the very small GFC-50 (like half of just he switches of the FC-200), which I think was $40-something on eBay. I use 3 of the 4 CC jacks and it works like a dream with either just the GP-10 or with a computer rig using MainStage.

People basically throw away old MIDI gear nowadays. I have found good ones really cheap.

Point being, the Behringer is nice and has 2 treadles built in, but it's not really cheaper than other options for me if I try to shop around, and the Behringer requires more work to get it working acceptably IMHO.

Going forward I don't see myself buying any more foot controllers that aren't USB bus powered.

Pin

Quote from: Elantric on April 26, 2015, 02:06:55 PM
Best tronics

http://btpa.com/5-to7-Pin-Midi/

http://btpa.com/7-Pin-Midi/

Best-Tronics Mfg., Inc.
18500 Graphics Court
Tinley Park, IL 60477
(708) 802-9677
proaudio@best-tronics.com

Thanks Elantric,

I just stumbled on that website and then looked on here and (as I tend to expect) you were there long before me!

I'll give them an email and the wiring diagram and ask them how much to make up a short breakout 7pin to double 5 pin cable (midi in and out and clearly marked which is "in" and which "out") and might as well keep hold of the phantom power option too although I doubt I'll use it.

Thanks


admin



https://www.native-instruments.com/forum/threads/behringer-fcb1010-midi-pedal-with-guitar-rig.13044/page-5

RhysPatto
RhysPatto
NI Product Owner
Messages:199
All this talk of the FCB1010, I thought I'd put in my 2 cents about my recent project...

Quick history, I live in Australia, but brought a FCB from US. Recently I blew the power supply (my own fault). In the midst of changing the supply, I started to mod my FCB, and mod it, and mod it, now its something completely different and works fantastic, so here goes....


For starters, view the attached thumbnail for a diagram/pic of the current state of my FCB.
Ok, so I have unscrewed the MIDI ports and glued them to the plate inside the FCB. This is constantly connected to a MIDI-to-USB converter that goes to a USB Hub (both of which are also inside the unit)
I hot-glued the USB Hubs output to one of the holes left by the MIDI ports I moved.

Now, I don't use any Switch 1 / Switch 2 functions of the FCB, so I thought I'd make use of one of these ports function as a Guitar input. This then goes through to the chipboard I took out of my Line 6 XPS-Mini to power my guitar (because I use a Line 6 Variax, which requires power or batteries, and I HATE batteries. Note: any 'normal' guitar doesn't need this chipboard)

Then after the XPS-Mini board, the output goes to my Behringer UCG102 Guitar Link chipboard, which is my notebooks interface for recieving Guitar input. Now, the UCG102 has an output, but I do not use it as I get equal sound and better latency via my notebooks Line Out using the ASIO4ALL application)

Anyway, the UCG102 is a USB device, so any guesses where that plugs into?... the Hub!

And thats it! Now my FCB simply needs a power cable to run. And I put my Guitar input into it (making it handy as when playing its good to be hooked directly to your fx pedal)
And finally, one single USB cable sends my FCB commands and my digitized guitar signal to my notebook.



Btw, my board may look a bit messy with cables wrapped around here and there, but I have kept every part unchanged so that I can revert anything back to normal when I choose to sell the products, etc.

mapletop

does any one know if the FCB1010 will work with the boss katana?im not a fan of the ga-fc. if so id like to use the uno chip so you could have 5 stomp box thing.plus it has the 2 pedal made into the board


thebrushwithin

So glad to see the Mountain folks still improving this editor. The original editor gave me everything I needed, but this is even more elaborate! The FCB is a great controller, as I have two, both without any replacement chip. I used one live with the bottom row, and one exp for volume, for my Kemper rack( in browser mode, and the top row and the other exp volume for my GR30. NEVER any issues live, other than recalibration the exp pedals once a year or so, where for several years I would gig over 40 hrs per week. The size was always one of the biggest complaints, yet by the time you add two full size exp pedals to a Kemper Controller, they are almost identical in size, and you wouldn't be able to have meaningful control over the GR30, for example, which is why I never bought the Kemper controller, or even use a UNO chip.
Great video as well!

admin

The FCB-1010 is a constant evolution of hardware

The 1st examples were a bit useless. Thus creation of UNO chip

But for past 9 years, the stock FCB-1010 finally can be programmed to do useful things, no third party ROM required

So like everything, must know the year of manufacture, and read the fine print,  and know what firmware is supported on that generation device  to understand what the product does or doesnt.

Best_Peasant

Adding to an old bit hood topic, but, is the FCB1010 compatible with the GM800? I got a 2nd hand one with the UnoKemper chip, it just seems to work as a 5 pedal stomp. Top row does nothing, vol pedals do nothing.

Elantric

Always use a third party MIDI MONITOR to debug - verify that your UNO FCB1010 is capable of transmitting the intended MIDI Messages https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=2975.0