Welcome to the forum.
I use the EM switchers on two Roadster heads for a stereo rig. They work flawlessly.
What do you want to get out of the EM switcher? It’s a great interface for MIDI control of your footswitch functions. As far as the amp is concerned a footswitch is plugged in. You can use an app on your phone to customize the PC and CC message numbers and what they do, but that’s about it.
I use the stock PC messages to switch channels, and a CC message for the Solo function. Lately I just leave the loop on and never switch the reverb, I leave it on, but with the levels at zero. I find that the amp switches channels smoother with the reverb switched on, less muting going on which means less gaps when changing channels.
MIDI control is all about seamless control of multiple MIDI devices and their functions. With that said there is nothing wrong with a simple and basic MIDI setup, it’s less problematic.
I have a few MIDI devices in my current rig, the amps, a Voodoo Labs GCX, a TC G-Major and a Source Audio EQ2. I use a Voodoo Labs GCP controller and it it all works great. I have an expression pedal in the GCP to control overall volume of the rig via my G-Major, and a momentary stomp switch for the amps Solo function via a second expression pedal input in the GCP.
I’m using PC changes on the bottom four switches of the GCP as my base presets, Clean, Crunch Rhythm, a variation of Crunch Rhythm, and a Lead patch. I setup all my banks this way, and design the banks based on the songs played with those banks. I only use a handful of banks as I’m a simple player when it comes to effects. Less is more.
The top 8 switches act like stomp box switches via CC messages so I can switch individual effects on and off as well. Some of those effects are in the G-Major, some are pedals in the GCX.
It’s important that all your MIDI devices are on their own channel to prevent unexpected actions from shared control values. If you put everything on MIDI channel 1 you’ll end up with a chaotic rig when control messages overlap between devices.
Here’s a pic of the MIDI rack. I’ve done a lot of gigging over the years and this is the best setup I’ve ever used. A simple stereo rig with simple controls.
Just because you CAN control every last function of your rig doesn’t necessarily mean you NEED to. Start simple with what you need, and be sure to leave room to grow with what you want.
And most importantly, have fun. Complex rigs lead to frustrations when things go sideways. Spend your time playing, not fiddling with knobs.
Dom
