The two items left are probably the most esoteric of the group, so let me write more description about each of them. First the router
The GRX4 is the best compact midi-controlled signal router available.
Design
The enclosure 7.5" wide and 4.75" deep. It's matte black with low-key gray graphics and flat surfaces to make mounting easy (I have two Factor pedals velcroed to the top of two GRX4s to save space on a pedal board). The power input is a 2.1 'boss style' jack, but please note that Axess warns to use only a high quality power supply like the Voodoo Lab Pedal Power. One side of the GRX4 has an (optionally buffered) input, three send / returns, and an output. The other side has power input, MIDI IN and THRU, and an isolated send / return or relay section.
I didn't appreciate the strength of the design choice to offer three loops plus a completely separate loop at first, but it turns out to be a brilliant feature I will describe later.
Programming
So how do you program this thing? Well it is a cinch. The unit can work in two modes: CC or Program Change. If you choose, and if your pedal board supports it, you can send CC on/off messages to discreetly open and close loops. Or, you can send program change messages to activate a user-set combination of loops. Let me elaborate.
In CC mode, you can activate any one loop, without altering the state of the other loops. Say you have a fuzz on loop 1- you would route your signal through the fuzz by sending the router a value of 127 (on) to CC 80 (loop one). You want to add a flanger on loop three? Send 127 to CC 82. And to deactivate your fuzz while not altering the other loops' state (i.e.: leaving the flanger active), you would send a value of 0 back to CC 80! This is the most flexible way to use the GRX4, but it is somewhat more complex than program mode, and not all controllers can send CCs.
Here's how program mode works! Let's say you have, in loops 1, 2, 3, and 4, an overdrive, flange, phaser, and whammy. You want to create a "patch 1" that has the flange and whammy active. So, from your foot controller, send 'program change 1' to the GRX4. Now on the router, press the 'edit/store' button until only the second and last lights are illuminated. THAT'S IT! You can power off the GRX4 and your patch is stored in memory- up to 128 patches (program changes) are available.
Application
So is there anything special about the GRX4 that may not be immediately obvious? Well check it out... it's very powerful to have the ability to activate loops momentarily or latched. For instance you could have an octave on loop one that you click to enable a thick or organ song for a particular song (latching), or what if you had an insane screaming fuzz on loop 3 that you could configure as momentary and would only activate while you held down the button of your controller? (not all controllers support CC) And what about the optically isolated loop 4? Certainly, you can bridge the 'out' of one side of the GRX4 to the 'in' of the separate loop, and in effect have a 4 loop router- no problem. But what about something more wild? For instance you could route three effects for your bass, and have one loop for a drum machine or keyboard that you can punch in and out of. Or you could have three loops before your amp, then use the post-eq send / return from your amp to route to loop 4 of the GRX4 and back to the amp! Or how about the relay functions? Have a pedal that takes tap tempo from a footswitch? With the GRX4 you can translate MIDI messages to normally open or closed relays for controlling such a pedal. Or dig this! The GRX 4 could be though of as three loops plus an ABY output switcher: you would use the first three loops for effects and connect the 'out' to loop four's 'in'. Now, use the 'send' as "out A" (or "amp A") and use the 'out' as "out B" (or "amp B"). Now when you enable or disable loop 4, you are selecting the output of the first three loops.
For more information please PM me or refer to the
GRX 4 manual.
