A couple years back, we reviewed and demoed one of the finest MIDI controllers we’ve come across, the MC6 from Morningstar FX. Fairly easy to use and full of possibility, we have continued to use it around the office ever since. We were justifiably excited, of course, when the announcement came about the ML5, a loop switching counterpart to the MC6, and one that looked just as simple to operate and efficient as well. If you’re into MIDI at all, but haven’t found any easy way to incorporate your analog pedals and effects into the mix, this is just what you have been searching for.
The concept and execution here is really pretty easy:
1. Plug in up to 5 different effects pedals into the appropriate loop Send and Return jacks, made by Amphenol
2. Hook up your MIDI controller, enabling each switch/preset on it to send a PC message
3. Pick the loops you want to work together using the buttons up top, hit Learn and select the preset switch on your controller
4. Repeat til all of the switches you need are assigned
5. Rock out
For the demo below, we used 5 different-sounding effects, as to demonstrate the contrasting voices each separate mix of effects is capable of producing. Fuzz + Delay, Flanger and Reverb, Tremolo + Fuzz and more: the options here of incorporating different sonic elements is truly endless. The True Bypass relay switching, along with low noise circuitry, ensures that your original signal stays in tact when you’re not using any of the effects, and makes sure the noise floor is low when they’re activated as well.
What more can we say? The ML5 is a perfect solution for a digital/analog partnership, one that will enhance the ease of use for your on stage setup, and turn the focus onto your playing instead of tap dancing all over the stage. Thanks so much to Morningstar FX for letting us check this one out – while we used Version I of the MC6 for this demo, they’ve got a MkII version ready for preorder right now, and they’re even doing a bundle deal with the ML5, so head over to their site and get on it!
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