I have the same problem as @huchaman. One of the main reasons I bought this pedal was so I could use a midi controller to switch between a lot of different overdrive sounds quickly and easily. Does anyone know how to do this? Is it even possible with the current operating system?
Ideally, we should be able to assign different Analog Drive [hereafter “AD”] presets to different switches on a midi foot controller so that we can quickly and easily switch between presets with the single click of a switch. For example, I would like to be able to assign a different AD preset (for illustration purposes, let’s say AD presets “02,” “09,” and “04”) to switch numbers 1, 2, and 3 on my Boss ES-5 switching system. That way, again for example, I can simply step on Boss switch 1 to call up AD preset “02;” Boss switch 2 to call up AD preset “09;” and Boss switch 3 to call up AD preset “04”–ALL WITH A SINGLE TAP ON EACH SWITCH. To extend the example still further, with the Boss switchers (as well as other brands too), users can assign different functions to switches 1-5 within different banks. So if the example I used above was “Bank 01” on my Boss switcher, I could set a whole different series of AD presets to my the Boss switches in “Bank 02.” (I hope all of this makes sense. It seems pretty straightforward to me; but I wrote it, so who knows? LOL)
As of now, when I assign Elektron AD presets to my Boss switches, I (like @huchaman) just get a flashing preset number that does not activate unless I physically step on the “Bypass/Select” switch on the AD unit itself. Needless to say, this is a huge pain in the ass! I have to step on 2 different switches in order to change a preset; and even then, I have to tap through the presets one by one when the unit isn’t connected to my Boss ES-5.
I think @Elektron needs to release an update to address this. I bought this pedal so I could replace several other overdrive and distortion units in order to put an end to my pedal “tap dancing”. But with the preset switching on the AD working the way it does now, I still have to tap dance. This is hugely disappointing. If I knew the pedal worked this way, I would have been a lot less excited to buy it. I really hope Elektron Support listens to us guitar and bass players on this one. The AD sounds great; so I’d hate to have to sell it just because something like this isn’t fixed. They’ve almost got an ideal product–they just need to add more options for preset switching.
To summarize, here are the updates that I think need to be made:
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Make it so we can switch presets with a single tap on a MIDI foot controller. That is, like @huchaman I want to be able to assign any preset number on the AD to any switch on my MIDI foot controller and then have the preset activate with a SINGLE click of a foot switch on the MIDI controller. (In other words, @Elektron please give us a way to disable the “Bypass/Select to activate” function for preset switching.)
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It would also be nice if we users could disable the “Bypass/Select to activate” workflow on the pedal itself. That way we could simply click through our presets with a single tap. I understand why we have the Left and Right Arrows with the “Bypass/Select to activate” workflow. But I think some people would like to be able to use it in a simple “UP/DOWN” manner for preset switching.
Having said all this, maybe there’s already to do all this? If so, the manual certainly doesn’t address it. And I can’t find any other info online about it either. HELP US! PLEASE!
