The companion to the DMC GCX switcher and also phantom-powered by it (or the multi-talented Axe-Fx), this was the industry-standard for years until it was superseded by the bigger and more powerful Ground Control Pro.
This one has the upgraded chip in it so it can control up to four GCX‘s like the Pro, but I keep it becuse I prefer its smaller footprint and it’s smaller and lighter to carry around.
It is connected to two Boss expression pedals. whichever device(s) I have it controlling, the second pedal always controls volume pre-delay/reverb (to keep the tails when the volume is ducked). The first pedal controls whichever is the most important parameter in any given patch (eg effect depth in a chorus patch; rotary speed in a Leslie patch etc).
I also like it because it is the still the only floorboard with a really big display that you can see from a distance in almost any stage lighting conditions.
I have a question. Is there a way to use the ground control in song mode, to turn individual effects on & of in a single patch? instead of patch mode? I have the manual
and it doesn’t say. – Thanks – Jay
Hi, Jay. I use my GC strictly to change patches, and always in preset mode, ten patches to a bank, so all footswitches are taken up with patch numbers. (I have the first expression pedal set to control a key parameter like rotary speed or chorus mix, and the second always controls volume pre-delay/reverb tails).
In the past, I have experimented with switching individual fx on and off in my Axe-Fx and TC G-Force, but I found it very difficult to configure and confusing to use. To do this, you have to have the later chip installed so that when you enter preset mode, the display offers you three choices : BANK ( as described above), DIRECT (where you enter the preset number directly with your foot typing the number, nightmare for me), or BANK 4. (The same later chip also allows you to control up to four GCK switchers, whereas the original chip only allows one).
BANK 4 leaves the GC’s buttons 1-4 as patch buttons. Bank up and down now switch in groups of four patches, and buttons 5-0 on the top row can now be assigned to switch fx on and off IF YOU CAN GET YOUR HEAD AROUND THE MIDI! The other downside is that you have to convert from groups of four on the GC to groups of ten on your fx (patch 01 is still patch 01, but patch 5 becomes 11 (=4+1) on the GC, and so on. All too much for me, but possible if you have the time and mind for it.
Did you also know you can upgrade GCX circuit boards to stereo, thereby liberating loops for other purposes? Each board covers four loops, so I now have four mono loops for the preamps and four stereo for the fx. Voodoo lab/DMC don’t seem to advertise this anywhere…
Good luck with configuring, and more important, happy playing!