Configuring the Behringer FCB1010 Foot Controller

I'm trying to configure my Behringer FCB1010 Midi Foot Controller to work as my stombox for effects / pedals, but I'm having trouble getting it to "learn" the functions. It seems that the volume pedals are configuring properly, but the 10 buttons it comes with and the up and down buttons are not configuring properly. Does anyone know how I could go about setting this up so it works?

Thanks,

-Tom

I'm trying to configure my Behringer FCB1010 Midi Foot Controller to work as my stombox for effects / pedals, but I'm having trouble getting it to "learn" the functions. It seems that the volume pedals are configuring properly, but the 10 buttons it comes with and the up and down buttons are not configuring properly. Does anyone know how I could go about setting this up so it works?

 

Thanks,

 

-Tom

Yes, but you need to rethink the process as if you were playing a game of multi level chess.

http://blog.tmcnet.com/blog/tom-keating/images/spock-chess.jpg

Each pedal contains info for the program #, the CC#, and then the value for the expression pedals.

So stepping on pedal 1 could send out Midi channel 1 - Program change #1, CC#7 (volume control/wah control), Expression pedal value of 39 to 94.

Pedal 2 could be the Delay pedal.

Pick a pedal/device and be specific with what you want and maybe I could give you a '101' on the basics.

The manual is actually dead on with programming the FCB, but the concept doesn't make any sense until after the light comes on (in your head). It took me months before having that 'AHA!' moment.

It gets confusing because there is really no feedback as to what you are doing, unless you know what to expect at each stage.

Are you doing this in Mainstage, or Logic?

yikes ok that sounds really confusing lol...

I'm doing this in mainstage. Basically, i'm trying to get the pedal to act as an on/off button. That is it. When I hit pedal 1 on the FCB1010, i would like it to trigger a stomp box in mainstage to say, turn on the distortion. If I click pedal 1 again, the distortion would go off. Same for pedal 2 / 3 / 4 etc with reverb, delay, tremolo.

I would also like the up / down buttons to function in a way that would let me move through my patches. So when I hit the up pedal, I would move to the patch above the current, down would move down.

I'm not sure if this is the actual function of the up / down pedals, or even if the regular midi foot controllers are intended to work that way, but if there is any way I can get them to work with those settings, that is what I am going for.

(BTW i've never understood how multi level chess worked haha...)

yikes ok that sounds really confusing lol...

 

I'm doing this in mainstage. Basically, i'm trying to get the pedal to act as an on/off button. That is it. When I hit pedal 1 on the FCB1010, i would like it to trigger a stomp box in mainstage to say, turn on the distortion. If I click pedal 1 again, the distortion would go off. Same for pedal 2 / 3 / 4 etc with reverb, delay, tremolo.

 

I would also like the up / down buttons to function in a way that would let me move through my patches. So when I hit the up pedal, I would move to the patch above the current, down would move down.

 

I'm not sure if this is the actual function of the up / down pedals, or even if the regular midi foot controllers are intended to work that way, but if there is any way I can get them to work with those settings, that is what I am going for.

 

 

(BTW i've never understood how multi level chess worked haha...)

A factory reset on the FCB will reset the Program change numbers back to a chronological order ... Pedal 1 = PC00, Pedal 2 = PC 01, etc. (power unit off, hold down pedal 1 & 6 and power ON the unit. After the numbers count down, release the pedals.

So in Mainstage, you assign a pedal to a patch. Thats the easy part.

To turn a pedal switch on/off, the FCB will first have to be set up for such a thing.

***

To do this, press a pedal ( use pedal 1 ) to be programmed.

Now press and Hold the DOWN button. The display goes blank except for a flashing green light. Let go of the DOWN button.

PRESS the UP button once and release. The green light moved to SELECT.

Here is where we assign the CC# to the pedals.

Pedal 1 is the one we selected and so we want to tell the FCB that we want it to be a CC# so press pedal 6 (CNT#1) until it lights - press it again until it blinks. Confirm by pressing the Up button and release.

(note: if the pedal is previously assigned, the light will already be lit.)

Now we assign it as CC#1 by pressing pedals 10 then 1. Confirm by pressing the up button. Now press 00 and the UP button.

Press and release the DOWN button, then the UP button, then press and hold pedal 7 (CNT2) until it lights, the press and release so that it blinks. Press the UP button to confirm. Press buttons 10 and 1, then UP. This time enter 127 and UP. Press and Hold the DOWN button to exit.

Repeat this process for pedals 2 thru 5.

That is a basic set up for the FCB.

In Mainstage, go to the LAYOUT tab and select your on/off button for the 1st pedal and use the LEARN function. I usually set the TYPE parameter to ABSOLUTE. That's it. Repeat for the rest of the buttons.

I hope this makes sense to the FCB users. Once you catch on, you will realize how quick and easy this is. So don't give up hope. 8)

ok, i tried all of that and it seemed to have worked for pedal one.

When trying the other pedals though, i'm having trouble. Should I follow the exact same steps when programming the other pedals, or should the values change? (like instead of entering 01 enter 02) If so, what values exactly?

Btw thank you so much... I had no idea this thing was this complicated to program to do such a simple task lol...

ok, i tried all of that and it seemed to have worked for pedal one.

 

When trying the other pedals though, i'm having trouble. Should I follow the exact same steps when programming the other pedals, or should the values change? (like instead of entering 01 enter 02) If so, what values exactly?

 

Btw thank you so much... I had no idea this thing was this complicated to program to do such a simple task lol...

Yes, when you program pedal 2, make sure you activate pedal 2 before starting the process again.

So with Pedal 2 (P2) lit, go thru the process and instead of assigning it a CC# of 1, assign it CC#2. P3 = CC#3, P4 = CC#4, etc.

Also, after I did the factory reset, I did not program pedals 6 - 10 and I let them as Program change numbers. I used 5 patches and assigned them each a program change number 005 - 009. So my upper row controls the patch change and my lower row controls the on/off of the 4 stomp boxes.

The idea here is to get you used to the concept of the FCB programming. Once you understand that part, your options will be almost limitless.

The key is to program each pedal with a PC#, a CC# (or 2 for on/off function), and the expression pedals. Also, a note on/off can be assigned and used for tap tempo. There are additionally 2 switches that can be physically connected to an external device(s).

So hang in there, it's not really that difficult but it is over complicated (or seems to be).

http://ammaryasir.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/14639.jpg

ok, i'm starting to get the hang of this.

Everything on the first row is working as intended. You're right, once you start to play around with it you realize it's not that difficult to program.

Is there any way you can program the up / down buttons? If not, what is their intended purpose? Can I use them to scroll through "tiers" of the original 10 foot controller buttons? (When I press up for instance, it goes to 01 instead of 00... can I reassign buttons in 01 that would not affect the already assigned buttons in 00?)

Once again, I really appreciate the help. I've tried browsing through the manual but it's doesn't really mention anything with mainstage lol...

ok, i'm starting to get the hang of this.

 

Everything on the first row is working as intended. You're right, once you start to play around with it you realize it's not that difficult to program.

 

Is there any way you can program the up / down buttons? If not, what is their intended purpose? Can I use them to scroll through "tiers" of the original 10 foot controller buttons? (When I press up for instance, it goes to 01 instead of 00... can I reassign buttons in 01 that would not affect the already assigned buttons in 00?)

 

 

Once again, I really appreciate the help. I've tried browsing through the manual but it's doesn't really mention anything with mainstage lol...

The up/down buttons have 2 separate functions. In one mode they act as the on/off for physical switches. In that mode, you can also directly tap in the presets from 00 to 99.

In the other mode, they act as banks 0 - 9 so you only have to tap the last digit of the bank. Stepping on the up button will advance you to the next bank, etc.

Now as you re-read the manual, it may start to make some sense.

one more question -

The pedals work fine. However, when I hit them, the lights do not light up as they should. For instance, I hit pedal one, it activates distortion. However, if I hit pedal one again, it will deactivate it, but the red light on the pedal will stay on. Similarly, if distortion is activated, and I hit pedal two for say, delay, the red light will switch to pedal 2 and turn off on pedal one.

This isn't that big of a deal, but it can be a little confusing forcing you to look at the computer screen when activating / deactivating pedals when you should be able to just see if they are on by looking at the board. Is there a way I can fix it so when I activate the pedal, the red light goes on, and when I deactivate it, the red light goes off?

Sorry for all the questions! haha

one more question -

 

The pedals work fine. However, when I hit them, the lights do not light up as they should. For instance, I hit pedal one, it activates distortion. However, if I hit pedal one again, it will deactivate it, but the red light on the pedal will stay on. Similarly, if distortion is activated, and I hit pedal two for say, delay, the red light will switch to pedal 2 and turn off on pedal one.

 

This isn't that big of a deal, but it can be a little confusing forcing you to look at the computer screen when activating / deactivating pedals when you should be able to just see if they are on by looking at the board. Is there a way I can fix it so when I activate the pedal, the red light goes on, and when I deactivate it, the red light goes off?

 

 

Sorry for all the questions! haha

Unfortunately, the light does present some confusion. I would have to rely on the computer screen for the on/off states. You could add a larger button (or a set of buttons) in the layout and map them to the stompbox pedal state for better viewing.

Hey,

Thanks alot for leaving this post. You saved me hours and hours worth of time. I have a few questions I was hoping you could answer since you seem to know so much about it.

Once you have programmed the pedals to do what you want how do you save it in the pedal board so that you dont have to reconfigure it every time you use it?

2. How do you configure the expression pedals, i.e. the wah pedals for CC#'s

3. How do you set it up to send notes, so that they can trigger ultrabeat tracks?

Thanks!

I really appreciate all the help you have offered.

Hey,

 

Thanks alot for leaving this post. You saved me hours and hours worth of time. I have a few questions I was hoping you could answer since you seem to know so much about it.

 

Once you have programmed the pedals to do what you want how do you save it in the pedal board so that you dont have to reconfigure it every time you use it?

 

2. How do you configure the expression pedals, i.e. the wah pedals for CC#'s

 

3. How do you set it up to send notes, so that they can trigger ultrabeat tracks?

 

Thanks!

 

I really appreciate all the help you have offered.

1. Everything stays programmed on mine, if it didn't I would not be using it. It has the capability to do a SYS EX dump ( into Logic ) for back up storage.

2. Pedals and Notes are in the manual sectio 2.4.5 and 2.4.6 ( pages 9 & 10 ). It's basically the same procedure as CC#s and PC#s.

The Note can also be used for the Tap tempo function (i.e. Main Stage)

this will save you hours of button pushing and works great

http://www.wabbitwanch.com/iFCB.html

I'm hoping someone can help. I'm trying to program my FCB1010 to change the different patterns in Ultrabeats Step Sequencer. As it is, each pattern is rooted to a midi key starting at the lowest key. I can't seem to locate the specific pattern buttons in the assignments section.

You mean you assigned the FCB1010 pedals to 'Notes' and UB will not respond?

sorry to have not been more clear. each pattern is factory linked to the lower keys on a midi keyboard. what I am trying to do is re-program them so I can control them with the fcb1010. I have found most of the programmable settings for the sequencer, but can't seem to find a way to re-program the different patterns to foot pedals. make sense?

My response was a 'clue' for you. You need to change the FCB pedal to a NOTE value so that UB will respond as if you were using a midi keyboard.