Rolls MidiBuddy

[Kim]

Thought I'd share a little info here.   

I want to say for those looking for a really nice inexpensive Midi footswitch to check out the Rolls MidiBuddy.  This unit was the first floorboard I ever bought (mine is a MP128P unit I bought back in about 2000 or so...) and it's the very same one I've used ever since!   I can't recall any time it's ever broken down or needed repair and I've never broken any buttons, or had to replace any worn-out parts..  It's super sturdy and well built, and just the right size to fit in the back of a rackcase.  The buttons are big, and easy to find with your foot.  I did mod it by attaching a small piece of metal to create a barrier between the Bank buttons and the Number buttons; I was accidentally Banking when stepping on the buttons nearest to the Bank buttons....   

Speaking of modding, I remember discussing this in the past about some Rolls MidiBuddy units that had Phantom Power while some didn't.  The ones that didn't have it could be modified to use Phantom, but if you just make sure you get the right one in the first place it will save some hassle.
You will want the RFX128P or MP128P model for Phantom Power. The "P" suffix designates the unit as a Phantom unit.  The RFX128 model doesn't have it, which brings up a slight area of confusion:  The Musicians Friend ad I used in the link above lists the MidiBuddy as a non-Phantom MP128 unit, but shows a pic of the unit RFX128P and also says it's Phantom Powered in the description.  I'm pointing this out because I seem to recall someone ordering this unit on my recommendation and receiving the non-Phantom unit instead.  Make sure wherever you are getting this floorboard from that you are indeed getting the Phantom Powered unit!  If still in doubt, look at the Midi Out jack.  A 5-pin jack is a Non-Phantom unit, while the 7-pin jack is Phantom'd for your pleasure. Pics attached.

There is no expression pedal(s), just program changes.  I didn't need an expression CC change when I bought this.  I think I'd like to have one now, but I'm not giving up this floorboard.  lol  I'd rather see if I can get a separate expression pedal to link up with it.

[Dante]

Awesome! Thanks for the tip, Kim

If I see one on CL, I'll pick one up...I don't trust my 20+ year old footswitch, I like having a backup. Right now, that backup is one of those gigantic FCB1010 thingies. It's bigger than a wakeboard, and probably just as useful

[Kim]

Cool, if you do get one and want that metal barrier added on, let me know.    IIRC, one4rich (Rich) sent me his MidiBuddy for some repairs a few years ago.  Can't remember if it needed Phantom added to it, but it did need a few buttons replaced...I'll have to ask him about it.

[Kim]

Updates:

I found the pics I'd taken of Rich's MidiBuddy back when he had sent it to me.    :whoohoo!:

So now I'm reminded of another little hiccup.  His was supposed to be Phantom Powered and it wasn't, even though it was labelled as the "P" version.  The pics show a comparison of his and mine; you can see that they are both "P' models yet his had a 5 pin jack instead of the 7.   
Mine's the one with the neon stickers, his is the one with tape labels on the buttons.

[GonadiusPrime]

Looking at those pictures, and way off topic, do either of you use more than one bank during a show?  I'm starting to think I'm the odd one because I have no stickers, just a memorization of the patch numbers.

[Kim]

Looking at those pictures, and way off topic, do either of you use more than one bank during a show?  I'm starting to think I'm the odd one because I have no stickers, just a memorization of the patch numbers.

I've only ever needed to use one Bank (so far) and I do use all of it, so it looks like I might load up another in the near future. I also haven't needed the stickers on it for quite some time....just haven't taken them off.  Now IIRC......Rich uses multiple Banks with his rig.  One Bank is set up for a particular guitar and tweaked accordingly, another Bank for a different guitar, etc.   

[rnolan]

I used to use multiple banks with MP1, mostly for different harmoniser patches (IPS33). The IPS is a very early unit and only had up patch 99 ?? so I used higher banks to have it not change and a bypass switch to turn it on/off.  I had an A4 bit of cardboard I listed the lower banks on to work out what I needed for each song. Dante sets up a bank for each guitar (makes sense). Otherwise I've always found 10 patches is plenty (so one bank), and these days I use 3 or 4 patches only, so one bank is fine.  Really depends allot on how complicated you want it to be, how many gadgets you have etc and of course how many different tones you need.  I had banks set up for specific songs.

[Dante]

Looking at those pictures, and way off topic, do either of you use more than one bank during a show?  I'm starting to think I'm the odd one because I have no stickers, just a memorization of the patch numbers.

I use one bank for each guitar, but still have them color coded for easy recognition on a dark stage. Plus, I like getting all arts-and-crafty with duct tape and sharpee markers (btw; if you see dark rings around my nostrils and I'm not making sense, take the markers away) 

[VoxG2]

Thought I'd share a little info here.   

I want to say for those looking for a really nice inexpensive Midi footswitch to check out the Rolls MidiBuddy.  This unit was the first floorboard I ever bought (mine is a MP128P unit I bought back in about 2000 or so...) and it's the very same one I've used ever since!   I can't recall any time it's ever broken down or needed repair and I've never broken any buttons, or had to replace any worn-out parts..  It's super sturdy and well built, and just the right size to fit in the back of a rackcase.  The buttons are big, and easy to find with your foot.  I did mod it by attaching a small piece of metal to create a barrier between the Bank buttons and the Number buttons; I was accidentally Banking when stepping on the buttons nearest to the Bank buttons....   

Speaking of modding, I remember discussing this in the past about some Rolls MidiBuddy units that had Phantom Power while some didn't.  The ones that didn't have it could be modified to use Phantom, but if you just make sure you get the right one in the first place it will save some hassle.
You will want the RFX128P or MP128P model for Phantom Power. The "P" suffix designates the unit as a Phantom unit.  The RFX128 model doesn't have it, which brings up a slight area of confusion:  The Musicians Friend ad I used in the link above lists the MidiBuddy as a non-Phantom MP128 unit, but shows a pic of the unit RFX128P and also says it's Phantom Powered in the description.  I'm pointing this out because I seem to recall someone ordering this unit on my recommendation and receiving the non-Phantom unit instead.  Make sure wherever you are getting this floorboard from that you are indeed getting the Phantom Powered unit!  If still in doubt, look at the Midi Out jack.  A 5-pin jack is a Non-Phantom unit, while the 7-pin jack is Phantom'd for your pleasure. Pics attached.

There is no expression pedal(s), just program changes.  I didn't need an expression CC change when I bought this.  I think I'd like to have one now, but I'm not giving up this floorboard.  lol  I'd rather see if I can get a separate expression pedal to link up with it.

       So that's how you run yours with the MP-1. All those dipswitches straight up and the one on the far right down? Thanks.

[Kim]

So that's how you run yours with the MP-1. All those dipswitches straight up and the one on the far right down? Thanks.

Well, those dipswitches are "On" or "Off".  "Up" or "Down" can really be arbitrary; "On" or "Off" is as affirmative as Yes and No always is, so let's go with the "On or Off" explanation.  (I'll tell you how to determine which way is On or Off in a minute...) Depending on the combination of switches 1-4, there's 16 different combinations (Midi Channels) you could use.  Pick any one you want, just have set up the MP-1 to accept "ALL" in the Midi Channel menu.
Dipswitch #5 has nothing to do with the operation of the MP-1; ignore it.
Dipswitch #6 is the most important one and will need to be in the "On" position to show programs as 1-128 (which is what the MP-1 does) instead of 0-127 (which some other non-ADA midi-controlled preamps might do.  Someone once told me the Marshall JMP1 preamp does this, but I cannot confirm.)
Always set the dipswitches with the power off.  The changes made with the switches will take effect after power is back on.

Now, how to determine if the switches are "On" or "Off" without opening the unit.  Looking through the dipswitch opening you can see the switches are numbered.  Might be hard to see in there, but look for dipswitch #6.  It'll be the one furthest away from the Midi ports, btw.
Apply power to the MidiBuddy, and note if you can access program #128.  If you can, dipswitch #6 is "On".  If it will only get to program #127 then the dipswitch is "Off".  Now you can see the correct orientation of those switches as to whether they are "Off" or "On".
Hope this helps!   :wave:

[VoxG2]

  haha! Yes! Ok, I will try that when I go up to where my rig is. Thank you!!