Can you access presets without MIDI floorboard?

Just got the GM40D, but haven't been able to purchase the suggested floorboard yet. However, I heard that you can access the presets, re-arrange, edit them, by using the iPad app (or Android), but it has to be hooked up to the amp with some type of MIDI cables. Is this possible? Or am I hearing false information? Please advise, thx.

KevLev

You can only use the app if you have the WM-1 wireless midi interface, i.e the thing that lets your tablet talk to your amp.

Not at all Jonny, you don't need the WM-1, you can use any MIDI interface which satisfies a couple of simple points. In my honest opinion the WM-1 is an incredibly expensive piece of kit for what it does, others will not agree, (I just know what goes into the innards of these things which colours my view)! With something like say a Roland Um-One you can cable up to the amp and talk to it that way which is fine for offstage management and even ok for that if you don't mind managing cables. Personally I will always trust a cable over a wireless link but that's just me!

Any MIDI interface which supports SYSEX data transfer will do the trick. SYSEX is short for System Exclusive and allows the programmer to create custom sized message blocks to be passed back and forwards rather than having to stick to the basic MIDI packet size. The interface hence needs input and output hardware buffers big enough to cope with that. The app requires that as the message sizes differ and get quite large at times.

Warning Will Robinson... Those ebay Chinese cheapy interfaces DO NOT HAVE THIS CAPABILITY! I bought one so I know first hand!

Ah fair enough, I didn't realise their were alternatives. But yeah, you need a midi interface.

Yeah, that's what I "heard", but wasn't sure. So I need to go out and buy something like the Roland Um-One, which has a USB connection on one end, so I can use that to do what I need to, BUT through the laptop and the "unofficial" app for the GM40D. To get it to work no a tablet, not sure how I'm going to do that. Would need some type of adapter to be able to plug the Roland device into it. But I can at least try the PC app, so then I'll be able to (hopefully), go through all the different presets built into the amp so that I can hear all the different ones. But there has to be some kind of adapter so you can use it with either an iPad or Galaxy android tablet. I would think anyways.

The official H&K app is only for iPad.  The Windows/Mac version is by an inde[pendent programmer Fredo H&K are aware of it and it is highly thought of by them.  As they say in their advertising, "GrandMeister Deluxe 40 Remote for iPad works with any iPad-enabled MIDI interface that offers MIDI Input and MIDI Output."  You only have to get the right interface for your needs and you are away. The Roland UmOne is only one, there are hundreds. You will find some to use on Android tablets and some on iPads. Decide on your device of choice and just search for that, you will find something which will fit.

I have used Fredo's app with a USB interface on Windows PC and also on laptop.  I used a Lexicon Lambda Recording interface which had the capability to act as a MIDI interface for the app. It is too big and bulky to use live but it works well at home. I have also used an android tablet successfully but can't remember offhand what I used for the interface.  I;m afraid I don't touch iThings ever!

Here is a useful vid for the iPad version which shows the connections:  Vid 1 and here is another:  Vid 2

As you can see there is no WM-1, that came later as an expensive extra and in true marketing fashion is all that is ever mentioned nowadays. H&Ks own original hardwired connection vid was very good. That is out of date and doesn't seem to be around now as they want you to buy into the WM-1.

Well I went out and bought a UST to MIDI adapter for my laptop and downloaded the app, but I am unable to get anything working.
I am trying to use the Grandmeister Remote version 2.5.2 on my laptop with my Grandmeister 40 Deluxe and a USB/MIDI adapter that I just bought from Guitar Center called "MIO 1 in 1 out USB to MIDI" and I can't get it to work. When I look in the MIDI error log I see

[INFO ][19:22:44:000330]: CtrlrEditor::perform commands executing too fast
[INFO ][19:23:11:000064]: CtrlrEditor::perform commands executing too fast
[INFO ][19:26:43:000134]: CtrlrEditor::perform commands executing too fast
[INFO ][19:28:09:000501]: CtrlrEditor::perform commands executing too fast

The settings I have in the app are

Input device = MIO on channel 1

Controller = MIO on channel 1

Ouput device = MIO on channel 1, but it also has a third option under that section that is selected and says MIDI through Input device > output device (and under that there are plenty of other selections but they are all greyed out, and that option is the only one that is BOLD and can be selected"

From what I understand is that both input and outputs need to be set at channel 1, but what about the "Controller" section I spoke about above? Also, when I first connected it, under the MIO there was an unhappy face under one of the selections, and after several disconnects and reconnects I got both input and output to have smiley faces, so I thought I fixed it but still no luck. Is there a certain way things have to be turned on? I tried loading the app, then connecting the cables from the amp, and vice versa, tried connecting everything first and then loading the app but again, still couldn't connect. One thing of note is I can play around and change things in the app, EXCEPT for the library/amp toggle switch in the preamp section. On the amp, no matter what I play with it doesn't do the same in the app, so not sure what the issue is. Please help. Thank you.

Have you made sure the GM40D is listening and talking on Channel 1?  Have a look at Section 8.1 in the GM40D User Manual.  Start by checking out the current setting for the communication channel on the amp.  It should either be on Channel 1 or 'Omni'.

"Flip the Play/Standby switch to Standby. Now press and hold Noise Gate and FX Loop simultaneously for three seconds. The Store button will light up."

If the Fx Access light is lit up then this shows the amp is set to 'Omni' so it will receive and send messages on all channels.  If Fx Access is not lit then the Channel indicator LEDs give you a code to show what channel it is set to.  For Channel 1 all four channel LEDs should be off, (binary 0).  When you have the setting as you want it press and hold the Store button for three seconds and the channel setting is saved and you should go back to normal operating mode.

Just searched for your MIO and SYSEX. Have a look here: MIO Review Do a search on the page for "Sysex" or scroll down to the Cons of the MIO and you will see that they report some people have said they had problems with Sysex data and this interface. There are other reviews which report that it does cope with Sysex transfer so it is a difficult one to assess.

Not sure what happened, but suddenly IT'S WORKING! I hooked up the MIO, disconnected, reconnected, shutdown, restarted both software and amp, in every different order as possible, and all I could get was when I physically changed a setting on the amp - turning a knob, hitting the "boost" button, enabling the noise gate, etc, etc,,,,, I would immediately see the change inside the application. But when trying to change something in the application on the laptop, the amp would never see the change no matter what I tried. Then while everything was up, I disconnected/reconnected the two MIDI connections on the back of the amp and then re-inserted them (which I already did a thousand times before), I all of a sudden heard this "POP" (which at first scared the shit out of me for I thought something fried on the amp itself, THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN IT WORKED! I have no idea, the how, the why, or the what, but right after I heard that pop I was able to make an edit or change inside the application and you saw the change on the amp in real time. So finally I was able to check out and hear all the different presets. Thank you all who helped and posted suggestions.

ONE THING I'D LIKE TO ADD - Being that the amp is new and I was still learning all its features, I read about the Power Soak function (which by the way is awesome, being able to hear that "roar" and get that cranked "sweet spot" sound at a low bedroom level), but I was reading what the four lights meant on the back of the amp, and what they mean when using 40/20/5/1 or even 0 watts, but if you have it on the normal 40 and if a light stays on it means you have a bad tube. SURE ENOUGH, I see one light on, and when I looked through the front of the amp one of the tubes did NOT have the orange glow at the top like the other three, meaning that tube was shut off and that's why the light was on, telling me that. So I'm going to bring the amp back and exchange for a replacement, because it's not even a month that I've had it so I shouldn't have a bad tube already.

Dead right with the replacement Kev.  Glad it kicked into life and it isn't unusual for things to take a few attempts to negotiate communications.  Hopefully it will be stable from here on in.  Keep us up to date with the replacement thing.  If it would involve a lot of hassle for you you might consider even trying to negotiate just a new pair of better quality output valves to replace the pair which have the duff one in.  It doesn't seem to be too unusual to have early problems with the stock valves these days and a faulty valve does not necessarily mean a problem with the base amp unit.

EDIT: By the way the lack of the glow at the top of the valve means that the heater has gone west. Either the heating element inside the valve is broken or the heater voltage feeding that valve has dropped out. Don't confuse the Power Soak lights with the Tube Safety Control LEDs. It is one of those LEDs which you should be seeing lit to show a bad valve. I'm sure that is what you meant but I just wanted to make certain.