→ Jump to Setup: Tap Tempo BPM Indicator
→ Jump to Setup: FS4/5 Stomp Switches+Preset Scroll
So I’ve spent the past few days exploring setup possibilities between my new Line 6 HX Stomp and Morningstar MC6 (Mark II) MIDI controller. I thought to share a few of the solutions I’ve come up with which, in my opinion, make for a rather elegant pairing between the two units.
The setup shown in the video above is designed for rehearsals and last-minute gigs – situations where you don’t always have your snapshots 100% dialled in, or you’re not necessarily sure which song is coming next. So here is what I have so far: a ‘universal’ MC6 bank which can control all HX Stomp presets in a quick and intuitive manner.
- The HX Stomp is always in Stomp footswitch mode. Switches A and B on the MC6 emulate footswitches 4 and 5. Footswitches 3, 4 and 5 are configured as stomp switches on the HX Stomp. (I forgot to mention in the video, but the plan is to re-label FS4/FS5 to standard effects which will be assigned in all my presets, e.g. Boost and Delay.)
- I’ve outsourced the tap tempo to MC6 switch C, named with the %BP merge tag which prints the MIDI clock BPM (as transmitted by the HX Stomp), rounded to the nearest whole number. The merge tag only updates when a switch is activated on the MC6, so there are some kinks to work through but I hope to figure them out eventually.
- Naturally, the HX Stomp tuner is also assigned to MC6 switch C via the ‘long press’ action.
- MC6 switches D, E and F recall snapshots 1, 2 and 3 on the HX stomp.
This is the only bank I’m running on the MC6 at the moment: just the six MC6 presets/switches above.
Now for the fun part: long press MC6 switch A (FS4) or B (FS5) to enter Scroll mode on the HX Stomp. Releasing that footswitch will scroll one preset on the HX Stomp (down or up, respectively) and then set the HX Stomp to Snapshot mode.
From there, I can read the names of my snapshots on the HX Stomp’s LCD display (it’s nice to have a reminder!), and then use the MC6 switches D, E or F to select the appropriate snapshot. As well as recalling the desired snapshot, each ‘release’ action also puts the HX Stomp back into Stomp mode. Home at last, I can now use the five stomp switches (FS1/FS2/FS3 on the HX Stomp and FS4/FS5 on the MC6) to toggle blocks as needed, while still being able to tap tempo and change snapshots with a single press.
Not bad, hey?
I’ve set up my devices this way because sometimes a song just needs a little bit more edge, or extra warmth, or a little less delay. So for my ‘general use’ presets, I’ll always allocate Snapshots for quick timbre adjustments, and this MC6 setup still leaves me with five stomp switches reserved exclusively for toggling blocks as I would use pedals in an analogue rig.
(An example of this implementation is my ‘Anoesis’ preset, shown from timecode [2:11]. This is an effects chain for live shows with jazz quintet Anoesis, with snapshots labelled Warm, Bright and Wet. Each snapshot is just a very gentle tweak to the preamp EQ or reverb mix, which better serves certain songs in our setlist.)
The best bit is that this workflow doesn’t even use the long-press actions on switches D, E and F. So suppose if you wanted looper controls or anything fancy like that, you can have an MC6 page toggle on a long press, and assign six more preset functions in the same MC6 bank.
setup: tap tempo bpm indicator
Sure, the simple solution would be to follow any tutorial and set up the MC6 as the clock source – but if you do this, the HX Stomp will register the MC6 as an ‘External’ clock source and will override any of your saved preset BPMs as long as it takes clock in. The solution is to make the HX Stomp the clock source, and use MIDI CC messages to tap the tempo function on the MC6.
Unfortunately, Morningstar devices don’t actively refresh preset names in response to incoming MIDI clock – but any button press on the MC6 (except Tap Tempo) will effectively refresh the %BP tempo merge tag so that you can monitor BPM in rehearsals and on stage if needed.
Check the HX Stomp manual or Morningstar Editor MIDI Dictionary for CC numbers and values.
Hardware connections
- MC6 MIDI out > HX Stomp MIDI in
- HX Stomp MIDI out > MC6 MIDI in
HX Stomp > Global Settings > MIDI & Tempo
- MIDI Base Channel: 1
- MIDI Thru: OFF
- Rx MIDI Clock (receive): OFF
- Tx MIDI Clock (transmit): MIDI
- Tempo Select: [SNAPSHOT or PRESET]
- USB MIDI: OFF
- MIDI PC Rx: MIDI
MC6 > Global Config
- Persistent Clock: OFF
- Clock Listen: ON
MC6 Preset of your choice
- Short Name: %BPBPM (where %BP is a merge tag)
- Long Name: Tuner
- Message 1: Release > HX Stomp Tap Tempo (MIDI CC message – NOT footswitch emulation)
- Message 2: Long Press > HX Stomp Toggle Tuner Page
And that’s it!
setup: FS4/5 stomp switches + preset scroll
Especially proud of this one. I’ll just give you the action list and you do your thing. Check the HX Stomp manual or Morningstar Editor MIDI Dictionary for CC numbers and values.
Hardware connections
- MC6 MIDI out > HX Stomp MIDI in
HX Stomp > Global Settings > Footswitches
- FS4 > Stomp
- FS5 > Stomp
HX Stomp > Global Settings > MIDI & Tempo
- MIDI Base Channel: 1
- MIDI Thru: OFF
- MIDI PC Rx: MIDI
MC6 Preset A
- Short Name: FS4\d (\d converts to a down arrow)
- Long Name: HX Preset\d
- Message 1: Release > HX Stomp Emulate Footswitch 4
- Message 2: Long Press > HX Stomp Scroll Mode
- Message 3: Long Press Release > HX Stomp Emulate Footswitch 1 (yes, that’s right)
- Message 4: Long Press Release > HX Stomp Snapshot Mode
MC6 Preset B
- Short Name: FS5\u (\u converts to an up arrow)
- Long Name: HX Preset\u
- Message 1: Release > HX Stomp Emulate Footswitch 5
- Message 2: Long Press > HX Stomp Scroll Mode
- Message 3: Long Press Release > HX Stomp Emulate Footswitch 2 (yes, that’s right)
- Message 4: Long Press Release > HX Stomp Snapshot Mode
MC6 Presets D/E/F (Snapshots 1-3)
- Short Name: Snap [#]
- Message 1: Release > HX Stomp Snapshot [#]
- Message 2: Release > HX Stomp Stomp Mode
The long press action can be assigned to another function. You can use \l and \r for left and right arrows on the MC6 – good for page turns, loop controls and such.
Eitan Muir 