The Hughes & Kettner User Forum

Would you like to react to this message? Create an account in a few clicks or log in to continue.
The Hughes & Kettner User Forum

The Unofficial guitar amp and cabinets forum for users of Hughes and Kettner products. We are not affiliated with Hughes and Kettner!!


+3
mlordin
bordonbert
Phryght
7 posters

    MIDI commands to change channels - FYI

    Phryght
    Phryght


    Posts : 41
    Join date : 2016-12-14

    MIDI commands to change channels - FYI Empty MIDI commands to change channels - FYI

    Post by Phryght Fri Jan 13, 2017 10:36 am

    In case anyone was wondering how to accomplish this, as the manual is a bit vague, you must send a CC Command with a specific value to cycle through the channels.

    Clean Channel - CC 31 Value 0
    Crunch Channel - CC31 Value 32
    Lead Channel - CC31 Value 64
    Ultra channel - CC31 Value 96

    bordonbert
    bordonbert


    Posts : 1772
    Join date : 2015-01-28
    Age : 72
    Location : Southern England

    MIDI commands to change channels - FYI Empty Re: MIDI commands to change channels - FYI

    Post by bordonbert Mon Jan 16, 2017 10:04 am

    I have no idea on using the GM40 but if that's true it's a bit odd. The GM36/FSM432 setup used to use CC31 just as you say but it uses ranges not specific values. 0-31, 32-63, 64-95, 96-127 for each of the 4 channels. Any of the selections which fall into those ranges will select the correct channel. It even describes it as "Channel Switching (4 sectors)" in the manual.

    It may be different but I would be surprised if they changed such a fundamental aspect as it also kicks into using the FSM432 (or maybe a new GM40 equivalent?) with an expression pedal which gives a full range of values of course. "For example, if you assign controller number 31 (channel switching, 4 sectors) to a foot switch, you can only switch between the first sector (Clean channel) and the last sector (Ultra channel). Using a expression pedal, you can switch all four channels: each channel occupies a quarter of the pedal’s control range."


    _________________
    Newcastle Brown, can sure smack you down
    You take a greasy wh*re, and a rollin' dance floor
    You know you're jailhouse bound!

    Rock On Humble Pie
    Phryght
    Phryght


    Posts : 41
    Join date : 2016-12-14

    MIDI commands to change channels - FYI Empty Re: MIDI commands to change channels - FYI

    Post by Phryght Mon Jan 16, 2017 10:37 am

    You might be correct.in the manual is says CC 31 (4 sectors).
    I divided 128 by 4 and got 32 so I tried that for the clean channel and it worked. I didn't try another value between 0-32.
    My post was mainly to clarify the 4 sectors part as that might not be clear to some people.
    mlordin
    mlordin


    Posts : 29
    Join date : 2017-01-14
    Location : Stockholm, Sweden

    MIDI commands to change channels - FYI Empty Re: MIDI commands to change channels - FYI

    Post by mlordin Mon Jan 16, 2017 4:26 pm

    The midi part is somewhat tricky and it takes some "programming" before you figure out the values like you did with the "sectors". Generally speaking when you have an on/off any value less than 64 (128/2) means off, whereas 64 and up means on. If the CC message has 3 sectors 128/3 etc. It's definitely not obvious in the manual and I assume many wouldn't figure it out without the information you gave earlier.
    spikey
    spikey


    Posts : 63
    Join date : 2016-10-14

    MIDI commands to change channels - FYI Empty Re: MIDI commands to change channels - FYI

    Post by spikey Mon Jan 16, 2017 10:45 pm

    Thanks for that.

    I assume (I did ask elsewhere too) that there is not a full midi list on this head yet? If so link please.
    Phryght
    Phryght


    Posts : 41
    Join date : 2016-12-14

    MIDI commands to change channels - FYI Empty Re: MIDI commands to change channels - FYI

    Post by Phryght Tue Jan 17, 2017 10:10 am

    spikey wrote:Thanks for that.

    I assume (I did ask elsewhere too) that there is not a full midi list on this head yet? If so link please.

    The list of CC numbers is on page 12 of the manual.
    j200george
    j200george


    Posts : 101
    Join date : 2016-09-27

    MIDI commands to change channels - FYI Empty Re: MIDI commands to change channels - FYI

    Post by j200george Tue Jan 17, 2017 10:57 pm

    Is there a midi value for calling up a preset?

    On the gm40 there are something like 90 factory presets. If say I want to send a midi command to select preset 55 what command or commands are required?


    I have the amp off of omni as I also have an eventide h9 which is on midi channel 1, the amp is set to midi channel 2.
    Phryght
    Phryght


    Posts : 41
    Join date : 2016-12-14

    MIDI commands to change channels - FYI Empty Re: MIDI commands to change channels - FYI

    Post by Phryght Tue Jan 17, 2017 11:00 pm

    For that you just need to send a program change command, which will usually be sent with a preset change from whatever controller you are sending from. For example, from my Helix I click on preset #1 and is sends PC1 and changes to preset #1 on the GM40. This part is usually party straightforward. It's when you want to start controlling specific channels/effects that it can start to get a little tricky.
    j200george
    j200george


    Posts : 101
    Join date : 2016-09-27

    MIDI commands to change channels - FYI Empty Re: MIDI commands to change channels - FYI

    Post by j200george Tue Jan 17, 2017 11:04 pm

    Thanks yes I'm on the start line with the amp and midi. I've got some basics to get right first. At this point I'm uncertain if the amp is accepting any midi commands at all. It's entirely me though I'm sure.

    Yes a PC it transpires selects a preset.... MY particular issue was that this is the second midi device in the chain and whilst I had selected the Midi Channel 2 my Eventide H9 was not set to "through".


    Still finding my way through the basics, have to say the manual is impossibly vague (unless of course you are already conversant in midi).
    j200george
    j200george


    Posts : 101
    Join date : 2016-09-27

    MIDI commands to change channels - FYI Empty Re: MIDI commands to change channels - FYI

    Post by j200george Thu Jan 26, 2017 1:14 am

    I'll keep asking questions in the hope someone has had similar issues and hope someone can assist, if I come across the solution I will post in the hope it eventually helps new owners as our community grows.

    My Midi chain

    Boss es-8 midi out -> eventide h9 midi In -> h9 midi out/ thru -> wmi-1 midi in2 (this is the input opposite end to the two fly leads).

    Boss es-8 set to midi out

    What should I set my eventide h9 to? There are 4 options

    1) midi transmit
    2) midi thru
    3) midi thru + clock
    4) midi merge

    Reason I ask is that I seem to be encountering issues with my wmi-1 resetting/ going off line and it may just be co-incident with me pressing my es-8 patch buttons. Wonder if either the es-8 or the h9 is sending spurious cc messages or some signal which is causing it.

    Hope someone with some midi experience can help.
    spikey
    spikey


    Posts : 63
    Join date : 2016-10-14

    MIDI commands to change channels - FYI Empty Re: MIDI commands to change channels - FYI

    Post by spikey Thu Jan 26, 2017 7:30 pm

    George do u use a midi interface like perhaps a Midisport 4x4 or even an 8x8? Then there's no guess work, just in to out and out to in.
    j200george
    j200george


    Posts : 101
    Join date : 2016-09-27

    MIDI commands to change channels - FYI Empty Re: MIDI commands to change channels - FYI

    Post by j200george Thu Jan 26, 2017 10:55 pm

    Nope just as my midi chain above where everything midi is daisy chained.

    I contacted eventide support and they advised the following.
    You should set the following MIDI options in the system menu
    Transmit should be Ok.
    Then:

    In brackets my channels.
    On eventide h9: accessible from system menu not from the h9 control iOS app.

    Set RCV CH to 1 or OMNI (channel 1)
    XMT CH to the receive channel of the GM40 (channel 2)
    PGM XMT to ON.

    All seems ok now and my wmi-1 is rock solid. Only mystery is why I'm getting that "performance recommendation" message. No response from h&k yet.
    bordonbert
    bordonbert


    Posts : 1772
    Join date : 2015-01-28
    Age : 72
    Location : Southern England

    MIDI commands to change channels - FYI Empty Re: MIDI commands to change channels - FYI

    Post by bordonbert Fri Jan 27, 2017 6:18 am

    That seems to be just a recommendation to get a better router! 802.11b is very slow at up to 11Mb/s. Then there is 802.11a-g at 54Mb/s, then 802.11n is up to 300Mb/s and 802.11ac is up to 1Gb/s. These figures are only a theoretical maximum, the real world figures will be less than half of that. I wouldn't have thought it would really make any difference to the WM1 which should recognise what it needs and is not passing massive amounts of data anyway.


    _________________
    Newcastle Brown, can sure smack you down
    You take a greasy wh*re, and a rollin' dance floor
    You know you're jailhouse bound!

    Rock On Humble Pie
    bordonbert
    bordonbert


    Posts : 1772
    Join date : 2015-01-28
    Age : 72
    Location : Southern England

    MIDI commands to change channels - FYI Empty Re: MIDI commands to change channels - FYI

    Post by bordonbert Fri Jan 27, 2017 6:25 am

    The Time Capsule seems to be 802.11ac so something else is showing that 802.11b connection. Is the network connection on your iPad somehow configured to 'b'? Or else is there something else connected to the network which could be forcing it down to that speed?


    _________________
    Newcastle Brown, can sure smack you down
    You take a greasy wh*re, and a rollin' dance floor
    You know you're jailhouse bound!

    Rock On Humble Pie
    j200george
    j200george


    Posts : 101
    Join date : 2016-09-27

    MIDI commands to change channels - FYI Empty Re: MIDI commands to change channels - FYI

    Post by j200george Fri Jan 27, 2017 6:54 am

    Can't be the iPad as I can see the h&k wmi-1 ssid on my iPhone. It looks like it's the wmi1's own network which iOS is saying needs updated, not the time capsule.

    The router I have is running both 5ghz and 2.4ghz options. The tc states it's a/c/n not b.

    Wonder if I've got a very old wmi-1 that needs an update. Still no h&k response. Not great.
    j200george
    j200george


    Posts : 101
    Join date : 2016-09-27

    MIDI commands to change channels - FYI Empty Re: MIDI commands to change channels - FYI

    Post by j200george Fri Jan 27, 2017 6:56 am

    Sadly I won't be able to do more testing now as my gm40 is winging its merry way back to the fatherland.
    bordonbert
    bordonbert


    Posts : 1772
    Join date : 2015-01-28
    Age : 72
    Location : Southern England

    MIDI commands to change channels - FYI Empty Re: MIDI commands to change channels - FYI

    Post by bordonbert Fri Jan 27, 2017 8:47 am

    I can't remember if I pointed you this way before George but H&K often respond better to posts on their FB page than to emails.  That is a more public forum too so they are under more pressure to let people see them respond.  You could try there.  Do a FB search for "Hughes & Kettner" (not H&K) then select the "Product/Service" option with the blue angled GM amp icon.  There is a "Visitor Posts" section on the page on the right.

    They have just responded back to me after about 4 days re the idea of updating firmware on their amps and apologised for being slow to respond as they have all been working hard on NAMM and didn't have time to keep up.  The guy who runs that side is pretty good, he's very open and does try to get technical info for you from the H&K boffins.

    Is there a possibility that you are experiencing interference from a nearby network on a close channel?  That could affect things.


    _________________
    Newcastle Brown, can sure smack you down
    You take a greasy wh*re, and a rollin' dance floor
    You know you're jailhouse bound!

    Rock On Humble Pie
    j200george
    j200george


    Posts : 101
    Join date : 2016-09-27

    MIDI commands to change channels - FYI Empty Re: MIDI commands to change channels - FYI

    Post by j200george Fri Jan 27, 2017 9:01 am

    Many thanks bb. I'll drop a note to the guys there. Forgot namm was underway. There's no rush now don't expect thomann will get my replacement to me until about 12/2. :-/
    j200george
    j200george


    Posts : 101
    Join date : 2016-09-27

    MIDI commands to change channels - FYI Empty Re: MIDI commands to change channels - FYI

    Post by j200george Sat Feb 04, 2017 12:52 pm

    New amp still the same. I'm still suspecting that this is an issue with my wmi-1. That said now I nailed down the midi channels etc it's rock solid anyway.
    bordonbert
    bordonbert


    Posts : 1772
    Join date : 2015-01-28
    Age : 72
    Location : Southern England

    MIDI commands to change channels - FYI Empty Re: MIDI commands to change channels - FYI

    Post by bordonbert Sat Feb 04, 2017 3:18 pm

    It does surprise me that people are so keen on the WM-1, it's very very expensive for what it actually does. There are other units out there which will do the same job. I actually asked tech support at Thomann about this and they pointed out the Yamaha MD-BT01. Their advice was that it would do the job just as well, and for under £40!


    _________________
    Newcastle Brown, can sure smack you down
    You take a greasy wh*re, and a rollin' dance floor
    You know you're jailhouse bound!

    Rock On Humble Pie
    j200george
    j200george


    Posts : 101
    Join date : 2016-09-27

    MIDI commands to change channels - FYI Empty Re: MIDI commands to change channels - FYI

    Post by j200george Sat Feb 04, 2017 3:29 pm

    Yep I'm sure other options were available. It's a bit of a cheek of h&k in some respects. My h9 Bluetooths perfectly to the h9 control app. Perhaps they could have used bt for it and saved on costs but then again it most likely doesn't have the range that the wmi1 offers.

    I didn't give it that much thought. I should have hopefully future revisions will offer it as part of the amp itself or through forums like this others experience will help buyers make better choices.

    j200george
    j200george


    Posts : 101
    Join date : 2016-09-27

    MIDI commands to change channels - FYI Empty Re: MIDI commands to change channels - FYI

    Post by j200george Mon Feb 06, 2017 7:17 pm

    So here's my h&k reply

    "Hi George, we have indeed had an answer from our resident expert:

    “The 802.11ac standard sends on 5 GHz. Our module, however, sends only on 2.412 to 2.462 GHz and supports 802.11 b/g.

    The N-standard, which George can also activate with his router, also supports 2.4 - 2.4835 GHz as a second frequency band. George should activate it, or just try ‘n’. The N-standard should be compatible with the b and g networks.

    Sometimes the routers have an auto function, and in this case the right standard is always chosen. George should try that out…”

    Trouble for me is that no matter which setting I chose on my router I get this appearing.

    I set to auto on both 5 and 2.4 ghz. Same.

    I set to n only on either or both it's the same.

    So I'm kind of out of options. Unless I'm doing something stupid, which might be possible.

    *** I am working in the STANDALONE mode, really it shouldn't matter what my router is actually set to, should it?***

    I am going to switch off my router at home and see if I still get this message later today.
    j200george
    j200george


    Posts : 101
    Join date : 2016-09-27

    MIDI commands to change channels - FYI Empty Re: MIDI commands to change channels - FYI

    Post by j200george Thu Feb 09, 2017 4:12 am

    ***EDIT Apologies to OP I have realized that I have thread-jacked, bad form sorry **


    So... thinking that something in my house was bringing down the H&K 2.4ghz and limiting its signal somehow I switched off my home router, much of course to the consternation of my kids. I also switched off my cordless phone system which runs at 2.4Ghz.

    Wifi finder could find nothing in the ipad to connect to, so on powering up the amp all that could be seen was the H&K SSID for the WMI-1.

    I still get the "performance recommendation" message.

    I have asked the powers that be in H&K via their facebook page and await an answer.

    I am not actually sure that this "performance recommendation" is causing or indicating any loss in functionality (probably not really) but I do not want something that is not 100% especially considering the ridiculous cost of the dongle.

    I will update the page when I get an answer, meanwhile I have started the returns process to Thomann for the unit, to ensure that I can get a straight replacement within the 30 days of purchase.

    So that makes both H&K products that I have had to return to the supplier, first the GM40 for the broken heat shield and now this....

    Think I better hold off on selling my trusty (and simple) Mesa Lonestar Special for now....(but I could have just been unlucky).
    billgwx
    billgwx


    Posts : 44
    Join date : 2016-08-06
    Age : 60
    Location : Centereach NY, USA

    MIDI commands to change channels - FYI Empty Re: MIDI commands to change channels - FYI

    Post by billgwx Sat Feb 18, 2017 11:33 am

    Thanks for this info! Am about to use a Roland FC-300 MIDI controller to simultaneously handle the GM40 and a BOSS GT-100 multi-effects processor. The GT-100's MIDI switching capability was too limited--did not allow me to change amp channels from within patches, which I did not like because I'd then lose the smooth transitions between reverb/delay that the GT-100 gives when switching them on/off within its patches. Apparently you can set up patches on the FC-300 to issue a bunch of MIDI commands out at once that should take care of everything the way I'd like.

    (Wish Roland had upgraded its rack-mounted GT-Pro to keep it up with the GT-100's other capabilities, so I could simplify my rig per that one HK blog article, but that's another story.)
    j200george
    j200george


    Posts : 101
    Join date : 2016-09-27

    MIDI commands to change channels - FYI Empty Re: MIDI commands to change channels - FYI

    Post by j200george Wed Mar 15, 2017 7:11 am

    I have been slowly getting used to the H&K40 and the ES-8, i am gradually moving all my presets on my Boss es-8, which previously allowed me to switch on my pedals towards using presets on the amplifier itself.

    I have on a couple of occasions however had the misfortune where the amp seems to get some kind of midi command to select the Power Soak (no speakers) option. Referring to the midi table on page 12 of the manual specifically though it does mention power soak (5 sectors), does this imply like the OPs original question on switching that the CC values from say 0-25 are for 40w, 26-50, 20w, 51-75 5w, 76-101 1w and perhaps 102-127 gives the power soak mute CC command?

    I can't see any erroneous CC messages in any of the patches i have on my es-8 that would cause the gm40 to respond this way but will have a play with a blank patch and try to recreate the issue manually.

    There is a boss software editor coming out this month for the es-8, i am hoping it will give clearer access to help track down any inconsistencies in patch programming.

    Sponsored content


    MIDI commands to change channels - FYI Empty Re: MIDI commands to change channels - FYI

    Post by Sponsored content


      Current date/time is Thu Mar 28, 2024 6:33 am