MIDI Foot Controller for Operator

Glad to see you are up and running with midi.

Let's sort out what you are saying and maybe the solution to the chase problems will present itself.

As you have figured out, the FCB1010 allows you to set up 100 patches (10 banks with 10 patches each). [Although I use mine in "Direct Mode," but that's another story.] So you can send out up to 100 different note messages (one note per patch) on a selected midi channel.

I worry that some will be confused that when you say "I use the 9th & 10th patch/bank to trigger a blackout and a chase" some will think that it takes 20 patches to handle one black out scene and one chase. I think what you are saying is that in each of the 10 banks you use the 9th patch to trigger a black out scene, and the 10th patch to trigger a chase. That's handy because you are not operating in Direct Mode, but it forces you to use 20 (two patches in each bank) of your 100 available patches for those two function. [If you were using Direct Mode you would need to use only two of the patches for those functions.]

Take a look at the "MIDI CHANNEL SETTING" table on page 16 of your manual. With only 100 patches you cannot trigger all 127 options the DMX Operator give you - probably no big deal.

More important, notice that chases can be triggered via midi using notes 120 - 125.

As you pointed-out: configuring the FCB1010 for "Direct Mode" would allow you to access any patch without scrolling through the banks. But I'm playing bass, running sound, AND running lights (WHEW!!!). Therefore, this configuration works best for my purposes. I don't try to change banks in the middle of a song, so I just choose a bank for a song and "scroll" through the scenes. I want the ability to do "blackouts" and "all white" on every bank, so I do have some redundancy in my patches. I have each bank in the Operator configured as a color scheme (so that all scenes within a bank "work" well with each other). The fixture configurations are identical in each bank EXCEPT for the color schemes. I toggle between scene 1 & 2 for the verse, 3 & 4 for the chorus, and 5 & 6 for the bridge. Scene 7 is all white and 8 is a strobe effect. I have the additional MIDI patches 9 (chase: note 120-125) and 10 (blackout: note 126). Because of the 100 patch limit on the FCB1010, I've only programmed 10 banks on the Operator (also 6 other banks for my chase sequences).

Unfortunately, I don't see a solution to my chase problem. I have to put the controller in "auto" mode to run the chase sequence. Unfortunately, that means my "scenes" would run as a "chase" as well. If it were possible to assign an expression pedal to the "Speed" setting, I would be in business. But there is no MIDI assignment for that function.

Sounds like you are doing the best you can with all that you have to juggle.

Why is it that the other guys in the band think it is OK not to learn something that would take the load off their bandmate? I've got the same problem.

I am running the exact same set up Mike even down to being the bass playing sound guy i am having trouble programing the board and was wondering if you could walk me through it