Boss ES-8 ES-5 Thoughts

[BurningSkies]

Do you have 2 chorus pedals or you are able to route the ES-5 to go through an effect more than once? You say you do volume > chorus > other stuff > chorus. Typo, 2 pedals, or ES-5 is even cooler than imagined?



For the Lava soldered, straight ends were not a problem, you just prefer the right angles from a construction standpoint? I went with G&H stubby straights as they are fairly small and with the ES-8 there is not a lot of room to be dealing with right angled plugs unless you want wires bending up and over in every spot.

Lastly, which MIDI cables did you settle on and did you try the disaster area ones?


Sorry for all the questions/discussion but I'm knee deep in setup. Just waiting on my final cabling to arrive and then wiring it up and building my initial patches (hopefully) this weekend.

Typo on my behalf...only one placement per loop. So should have been volume > other stuff > chorus vs. volume > chorus > other stuff. Sorry about that. I do have additional interesting chorus pedals...just no room to put them on the board.

The Lava right angle connectors actually seem to clamp the cable in better than the straight ones. The straight ones allow the outer cable sleeve to slide a bit, and you can see the braided inner shield/negative when fully assembled. It's probably not an actual issue in performance so far, but gives me pause to see that gap and bit of copper.

The first cables I got were the Disaster Area ones. They're awesomely overbuilt...but I found they just didn't work that well size-wise given pedal-board tightness. You can indeed twist and turn them as advertized, I just couldn't find a way to make that work on the constructs of my board and spacing. Most pedals have tight connector layout and it's hard to use most right angle cables without blocking something you need, otherwise you also get awkward vertical placement of the cables. I still have one of them installed (you can see it entering the side of the Dr. Scientist Atmosphere).

My next try was the Warwick branded 'Rockboard' Midi cable, but they too blocked needed connections. Right now I have mostly cheap Hosa straight cables, but will be trying a set of the Control One right angle cables. I think that since the cable is so thin on those I may be able to work with them.

 

[BurningSkies]

Do you have 2 chorus pedals or you are able to route the ES-5 to go through an effect more than once? You say you do volume > chorus > other stuff > chorus. Typo, 2 pedals, or ES-5 is even cooler than imagined?

For the Lava soldered, straight ends were not a problem, you just prefer the right angles from a construction standpoint? I went with G&H stubby straights as they are fairly small and with the ES-8 there is not a lot of room to be dealing with right angled plugs unless you want wires bending up and over in every spot.

Lastly, which MIDI cables did you settle on and did you try the disaster area ones?

Sorry for all the questions/discussion but I'm knee deep in setup. Just waiting on my final cabling to arrive and then wiring it up and building my initial patches (hopefully) this weekend.

My board setup was across a few days. I did the pedal and power layout first. Then the next night I built and ran the audio cables, Lava on one end and Squareplug on the other. I recycled most of my cables by snipping the SquarePlugs off of one end and using the Lavas, then I cleaned the removed SP's and used them to build new lava/sp patches. I spent most of a Sunday doing the 'software' setup. I returned the ES-5 to factory settings (I bought it used), then I updated the firmware. I downloaded and used the editor software and built patches and fussed about with the Midi a bit. For some reason my Roland Um-One only wants the ES-5 on channel one, but for reasons I wanted my Future Impact on channel one for the Disaster Area unit. So I was programming the ES-5 as MIDI channel 1 then once I'm done I switch it to a channel that the DMC-3XL ignores.

Both units were pretty quick to set up once you do some initial figuring and work as planned. I love the DMC-3XL for turning on/off the 3 midi pedals and ratcheting through their patches. Super easy...middle switch selects the pedal (up to 4 pedals), hold it momentarily to turn that pedal on/off, then use the right and left to scroll up or down. Even though I could set up presets with the unit, I can do that with the ES-5 as well or better.

It took a little more time to figure out some of the control commands, especially for the Future Impact. They're not super well documented in the manual. I wanted to make sure that I could hit my ES-5's 'clean' patch and have it turn off any/all the Midi pedals that might be on. I also have all the other ES-5 patches designed to bypass the midi pedals that are not being used for that patch. That way if I've been goofing with a MIDI pedal independent of the ES-5 it shuts that pedal down for whichever patch I go to.

 

[Basshappi]

Wish me luck.
Got an ES-8 a short time ago and am now beginning from square one.
At first I am going to use it to run a full Source Audio board (2 HUBs) in place of the SA Soleman. I have several EXP pedals, TT buttons, etc. that will get incorporated as I go.
I will add other FX units into the system as I get further up the learning curve.

I run a wet/dry rig and have just recently built a new amp system using the Sansamp GED-2112 and an RBI at the front end, so I am really looking forward to getting this all dialed in before I hit the studio in June.

 

[BurningSkies]

D
For the Lava soldered, straight ends were not a problem, you just prefer the right angles from a construction standpoint? I went with G&H stubby straights as they are fairly small and with the ES-8 there is not a lot of room to be dealing with right angled plugs unless you want wires bending up and over in every spot.

Lastly, which MIDI cables did you settle on and did you try the disaster area ones?

Sorry for all the questions/discussion but I'm knee deep in setup. Just waiting on my final cabling to arrive and then wiring it up and building my initial patches (hopefully) this weekend.

Update for you. I ordered in a set of the One Control MIDI cables from Sweetwater and they came last week when I was out on tour. I did get a chance to install them this morning though and they're winners.

First cables I tried:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
^^^These were awkward to use although really well built. You can twist the connectors in whatever direction but I found that on my board often the only positioning that worked was 'up' and that's not great.

Second I tried:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
These decidedly didn't work. The right angle blocked different jack/ports on every pedal I tried them on.

Third I defaulted to:
https://www.guitarcenter.com/product-detail-page?productId=site51500000000011706
These cheap-4ss cables because I could purchase locally and they had the shortest connector barrels. Not ideal but workable if you've got a board with space between pedal rows.

Now...The One Control cables...these WILL work. due to positioning the cable flips either up or down. Luckily the cable itself is narrow gauge, so even pointed down it can feed left or right really easily. The flipping is super easy, two screws bend cable to the other side and put cap and screws back. The barrels of the connectors are short and they DO give you more space to work with.

Details:

 

[cosmicevan]

very much appreciate the update @BurningSkies

Transitioning to an ES-8 is definitely the most amount of work I've done in a short amount of time without getting paid for it.

whole lotta measuring and prep work...

then these annoying little stubby guys. Little tricky to solder but I got the hang of it by the 20th cable.

and flat on the pedal side...

test em before committing the shrink wrap

and a finished product...

​

Ultimately got me here. Next step is wiring up the power, then MIDI, then patch creation.

Apparently, taking away my ability to bleep and bloop is very motivational to me to get it back.​

 

[BurningSkies]

very much appreciate the update @BurningSkies

Transitioning to an ES-8 is definitely the most amount of work I've done in a short amount of time without getting paid for it.

whole lotta measuring and prep work...


then these annoying little stubby guys. Little tricky to solder but I got the hang of it by the 20th cable.

Apparently, taking away my ability to bleep and bloop is very motivational to me to get it back.​

This picture has me concerned. Did you realize that the stripped leads are too long and re-do these before final assembly? Those cable clamps should be tightened around the thick un-cut rubber cable exterior for mechanical/stress relief.

Other than that, yeah, making cables is a pain, definitely.

 

[cosmicevan]

This picture has me concerned. Did you realize that the stripped leads are too long and re-do these before final assembly? Those cable clamps should be tightened around the thick un-cut rubber cable exterior for mechanical/stress relief.

Other than that, yeah, making cables is a pain, definitely.

Those were in progress pictures. I had never made the stubby jacks before so wanted to test them before clamping those prongs down. Rest assured they are all clamped down...can't screw down the outer housing without clamping them down.

Some of the longer leads I redid, others I just left...they aren't perfect, it was my first go with these. I actually made them a bit longer than I was supposed to so I would have a bit of extra room to work (just in case)...I also made the cables a few inches longer than I need. If I have issues I'll re-do them, but I need a break from the soldering iron and really want to get up and running sooner than later. Once plugged in they won't be touched at all - there is no stress on the cables going into the ES-8, but yeah...if I was hitting the road, I'd have to re-do more than I did but for now, my playing is at home and at my buddies place so not worried. Selections on the board are also not 100% permanently locked down so some more experimentation there. Once I settle on something that feels a little bit more permanent and get into the groove with the ES-8 and my patches, I'll probably trim down a bunch of the cables from the stubby end and make em a tighter fit on the board without as much cable strung under the board and definitely with the shorter leads on the connectors.

 

[cosmicevan]

Wired up for power and everything worked as expected except for 3 of the 8 loops on the ES-8 which are going mute when I click em. I probably plugged the in's into the outs or something...troubleshooting tomorrow. It feels slow close ...

 

[Basshappi]

That is a glorious rig!

 

[BurningSkies]

Wired up for power and everything worked as expected except for 3 of the 8 loops on the ES-8 which are going mute when I click em. I probably plugged the in's into the outs or something...troubleshooting tomorrow. It feels slow close ...

I'd definitely check the ins/outs first, if not there possibly in the interface? Did you reset it to factory and upgrade the firmware when you got it? It could be that whoever messed with the settings and they were adjusted down or out for some reason.

You must be playing bigger stages than me...That's a lot of real-estate.

 

[cosmicevan]

I'd definitely check the ins/outs first, if not there possibly in the interface? Did you reset it to factory and upgrade the firmware when you got it? It could be that whoever messed with the settings and they were adjusted down or out for some reason.

You must be playing bigger stages than me...That's a lot of real-estate.

I often plug ins/outs backwards on those little enclosure buggers that don't say what is what, so probably did the same here...tonight I'll trouble shoot (hopefully). I did not do factory reset and upgrade yet...was hoping to get everything up an working and then wipe it out and start building my patches. I mostly am just missing being able to have all my gadgets when I play and want to be up and running...I don't mind the tap dancing, I don't know any different so happy to use the ES-8 as a loop selector in manual mode for the time being until I plan out patches that make sense.

It IS a LOT of real estate. The thought is that only the big board would gig with me (if/when that starts happening again). I like pedals though and am not a fan of putting them in a drawer so I set everything up. The way it is right now is just for home playing...not gonna bring more than the big board out to jam. If I get my act together enough that I can start gigging solo, I'll need the main board and the other board...but it'll be JUST me so even a small stage should be workable - I may parse out the looping stuff onto it's own tiny dedicated board...time and need will dictate that, but bass/music is a hobby and a passion for me. While I enjoy playing live, I'm not chasing the rockstar dream anymore...I wouldn't mind if the music I make that interests me gets out there and starts interesting others, but I prefer music not being a revenue stream.

 

[JimboP]

Wired up for power and everything worked as expected except for 3 of the 8 loops on the ES-8 which are going mute when I click em. I probably plugged the in's into the outs or something...troubleshooting tomorrow. It feels slow close ...

Formidable noise factory right there

 

[cosmicevan]

And all 8 loops produce sound!!!! Need to reset it and integrate the volume loop.

Many new and weird sounds were made tonight. I HIGHLY recommend loopers w the particle v2 and mothership2. I have finally achieved my dream of being asked if I am playing video games from the sounds created by my bass!!!



I've said too much...back to the warp zone...

 

[cosmicevan]

Anyone know how to assign the mute button to toggle the volume loop on/off in the signal chain? I'm using the volume loop for an effect and would love to be able to toggle it on/off in manual mode. At the moment, I turn it on and off through patches, but I like using manual mode as well.

 

[Elliot Pike]

Hey Guys, sorry to bump an older thread......I have the EA-5 and love it!! But I’m having zero luck getting the exp in/ Ctrl out to work with my iron ether xerograph?
I can have it so the exp pedal changes the BPM and the numbers rise and fall, I am starting to think that the ES-5 doesn’t support the type of exp control I’m looking for.

 

[BurningSkies]

Hey Guys, sorry to bump an older thread......I have the EA-5 and love it!! But I’m having zero luck getting the exp in/ Ctrl out to work with my iron ether xerograph?
I can have it so the exp pedal changes the BPM and the numbers rise and fall, I am starting to think that the ES-5 doesn’t support the type of exp control I’m looking for.
View attachment 3521014

The CTRL/EXP is for MIDI control IIRC. It doesn't work with pedals that are looking for a traditional expression signal. I'd have to check and see if it even works with CV pedals, but I think its only MIDI CTRL/EXP.

 

[radiophonic]

The CTRL/EXP is for MIDI control IIRC. It doesn't work with pedals that are looking for a traditional expression signal. I'd have to check and see if it even works with CV pedals, but I think its only MIDI CTRL/EXP.

This is correct. I got tripped up the same way. If you look in the manual, it is there, but they don't exactly advertise and its a non-obvious omission IMO.

 

[Elliot Pike]

This is correct. I got tripped up the same way. If you look in the manual, it is there, but they don't exactly advertise and its a non-obvious omission IMO.

Thanks for the response guys!! I can use the my expression pedal direct so all is not lost!!

 

[BurningSkies]

Thanks for the response guys!! I can use the my expression pedal direct so all is not lost!!

That's what I do with my ES/Xerograph setup. I actually got a couple really high quality 90 degree TRS connectors and used some bright yellow XLR cable and built one that is the perfect fit for my expression up against the right side of my board.

 

[cosmicevan]

The CTRL/EXP is for MIDI control IIRC. It doesn't work with pedals that are looking for a traditional expression signal. I'd have to check and see if it even works with CV pedals, but I think its only MIDI CTRL/EXP.

Oh wow, didnt realize this. I am striggling getting MIDI sweeps to go from my SA Reflex Controller through ES MIDI In/Out t . Future impact, using the exp jacks could be the ticket!!!!