FCB1010, which PROM?

[ElectricEric]

So I just got my 11r this week and it sounds awesome. Beats the heck out of my POD XT! Anyway I want to get a foot controller & the FCB1010 seems to be the best affordable option for me. My question is should I go with the Uno chip or eureka PROM? What are the pros & cons of each? MIDI is something new to me. What is a good resource to help me figure out what I am doing?

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[Benoni]

Go for the Eureka Prom in my opinion. It will work out of the box with zero programming. If you want to program, the Eureka Prom also has a programmable mode.

If you go with the Uno and want to get going right away with a basic sysex, you can download the sysex file for the 11R from my blog site (link in sig)

I have both the uno and eureka prom and prefer the eureka prom for the 11R.

If you are interested in seeing the Eureka Prom in action, just search my Youtube channel and there will be several videos that show the 11Prom (which is what it use to be called before EurekaSound decided to put all of their individual proms into one super prom)

[Monkus]

I took Benoni's advice and bought the Eureka Prom. Works like a charm...

[moff]

I have the UnO prom and it works great for me - in fact I think the FCB with the UnO is more powerful and versatile than my GCP. I can do things like send multiple CCs - on different channels) using one IA, which neither the Eureka Prom nor the GCP will do. I can send CCs or PCs of MY choice to two devices simultaneously, even on two different MIDI channels. I can use PCs for patch switching and CCs for FX on/off without having to become Gene Kelly. It's not perfect, but it's closer to being perfect than even my GCP is.

I looked at the Eureka, and while it's programmed specifically for the 11R, it doesn't allow me to do things the way I want to, Nor does it allow me to change patches and then toggle FX within a patch without a tap dance. They did recently introduce a programming mode, and I wrote them about its capabilities, and asked whether it would do "X". But they responded, and apparently no. It simply won't give me the flexibility I get with the UnO.

The downside is that the UnO is harder to program. But the good news is that with a little patience and a program called RipWerx, it's a piece of cake, as long as you understand what you want to make it to.

One of the first things you learn as a systems analyst is that the system you design should follow the workflow of the user; you don't make the user change their workflow to complement your design. The Uno follows my workflow; the Eureka makes me change it.

Short answer: If you want an out-of-the-box, idiot proof solution built especially for the 11R, but with limited modification possibilities, go for the Eureka. If you want something that will do whatever you want it to (within reason), and don't mind spending the time to program it, go for the UnO.

[mange586]

I too vote for UnO. Havn´t tried the eurekaProm though.

@Moff: What wasn´t possible with the eurekaProm programming mode that you wanted to do?

[orangecountycarl]

The EurekaProm does everything I want it to do and no programming required.

[moff]

Originally Posted by mange586

I too vote for UnO. Havn´t tried the eurekaProm though.

@Moff: What wasn´t possible with the eurekaProm programming mode that you wanted to do?

I should re-frame what I wrote. I already had the Uno and was happy with it, but when Eureka announced the programming mode, I thought I'd investigate whether it would allow things I couldn't already do with the UnO. Without going through my email archive to, I think it was something minor, and something I couldn't do already, like allowing me to turn button 5 into an IA, giving me a total of 6.

I often turn FX on and off during a song, and may go through two or three patches as well. I really like the fact that with the Uno, I can have the bottom row as rig select and the upper row as FX on/off, without having to tap dance between channel and bank mode. Of course, the GCP does that much better, but its downside is that it only can send 1 CC per IA (so, for example, I need to hit 2 buttons to turn on OD and a volume boost, where the FCB can send both with 1 switch).

[ElectricEric]

I'm thinking I might go with the eureka to start off easy since I know nothing about midi programming. Although it would be cool to be able to control the 11r & another unit in the loop simultaneously.
Can you guys recommend any reading to educate myself on how to midi program? I don't want to earn a degree on the subject but I would like to learn to control the 11r & another unit which for now is an Alesis Quadraverb.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2

[moff]

Originally Posted by ElectricEric

I'm thinking I might go with the eureka to start off easy since I know nothing about midi programming. Although it would be cool to be able to control the 11r & another unit in the loop simultaneously.
Can you guys recommend any reading to educate myself on how to midi program? I don't want to earn a degree on the subject but I would like to learn to control the 11r & another unit which for now is an Alesis Quadraverb.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2

It's not that tough really. Like TV or radio, MIDI works on several "channels". You have to be sure the device you're sending from is sending data on the same channel that the device you're controlling is "listening" to.

The sending device transmits MIDI "events", which can be any number of things like a program change (PC), or continuous controller (CC) message. CC messages are how we toggle FX on and off, set the sweep of our wahs and volume pedals, etc. There are also other messages, but for our purposes, we really only need to know about PCs and CCs.

First, make sure your controller and 11R are on the same MIDI channel.

I recommend putting the FCB into "stompbox mode" (easy as checking a box in RipWerx).

Next, program your MIDI controller to send PC mesages to switch patches. For each button, you're telling the controller "when I press button x, change to patch number y". FYI - in the FCB, the patch numbers are represented as numbers only and start at zero, with A1 being patch 00, so if you want to call patch B3, you'll use patch number 06.

For FX, each effect has its own CC number (as outlined in the 11R manual). You simply program your instant access (IA) buttons to toggle controller number <xyz>.

I, and many others, have found programming the FCB without an editor is arduous and time consuming, but if you use a program like RipWerx, it's all represented in a GUI, and makes the whole process much easier. All you really need to know is what patches you want to call from each PC button, and the controller numbers of the FX you want to use in each patch. If you know what you want, all 100+ patches can be done inside a half-hour. I had mine done in minutes. Save as a SysEx file, and then just dump the finished SysEx file into the FCB and you're done.

[Fezzler]

Could one solder in a parallel EPROM socket with a switch and have both?