Gordius Little Giant - aka the most awesome midi board

    I was replying to another thread, but I realized I like this product so much that I own Xavier (the inventor) some free publicity :D
    Some guy said, in the "best midi board" thread:

    Quote from newsound

    I'm using gordius LG, fantastic!

    So am I, and I am extremely happy with it!
    In fact, I understand only partially the requests for a KPA specific midi board: sure, integration would be immediate and brainless, but the Gordius Little Giant is the ultimate midi controller, should you add more devices or change rig, you can always make the Gordius work with everything exactly the way you want.
    I'll give you a for instance that I find remarkable: I use Ableton Live for looping, so I set a bank in my Gordius that works as follows.


    Switches 1 to 4 (lower row) are, respectively, Record, Play, Stop and Tempo.
    If I push record while nothing is playing, it counts to 4 and then starts recording.


    If I push record while playing back, it starts at the next bar.
    If I push record while recording, it jumps to the next free track at the beginning of the next bar.
    Play works as expected (while recording stops recording and starts playback, in other modes it just starts or continues playing back).
    Stop works normally, but if I keep it pushed for a second it undoes my last track.
    Tempo can be used to tap tempo, or - if kept pressed for a second or so - to mute/unmute click.
    Switches 5 to 8 (upper row) represent tracks 1 to 4.
    Their leds are lit up if the track has been recorded already, and the currently selected one blinks slowly. I can select the track by pressing the corresponding switch, and if I keep it pushed for a second I can put that track in solo mode. When Ableton is recording, the selected track's led blinks faster.
    Finally, the expression pedal allows me to control some parameters depending on the last pressed button: if I just selected a track, I can use it to adjust its volume, if I just pushed the tempo switch I can adjust the click's volume, if I just pushed record/play/stop I can adjust the master volume.


    I don't know about you, but I find this awesome :D
    PS: due to some limitations of Ableton, I do need to map some midi messages to key presses in my pc, but seriously 95% of the above I could implement myself with the LG alone.

    +1


    I use a Gordius LG2 to control the KPA via 2way-com (so everything is synced), as well as a Gibson Echoplex looper (via 4 momentary switches connected to the Gordius).
    Not the easiest system to setup, but once it's going, the versatility is amazing.

    True, it's not the easiest to set up, and that can be a bit intimidating.
    But coding is not so hard, it is a bit like explaining what you have in mind, in words that a machine can understand. As long as you know what you want to obtain, you should be fine (but ok, I am a computer scientist, I am biased)

    Hi, i have any Problems with Kemper and LG, with Banks and Performance Mode . I miss the Namens in the Display . Gordius left any midiparameter from kemper, i have Talk with him.
    In my opinien is the best Way to work without Banks in Performence
    for kemper. Is Not possible to confirm Performence Mode, but i miss this Feature
    Do You have any other idea or newest Information? I am very happy for any answer.


    One Quentin again: 2-Way midi with kemper, which cable or Jacks did you use. Kemper has only in/out.


    Thanks
    (Sorry for my bad english )

    Hi Tocry,


    to be honest I still haven't taken the time to plug in the Gordius and the Kemper together, so I can't really answer your questions yet. I know Xavier implemented support for the kemper, but I don't know to which extent.
    Regarding the connections in and out of the kemper, well you can use two midi cables of course, or go for some solution like described here:


    Gordius Little Giant - Two way communication & power in one cable


    I think some day I'll give it a shot myself!
    Cheers

    Quote from benvdd

    +1


    I use a Gordius LG2 to control the KPA via 2way-com (so everything is synced), as well as a Gibson Echoplex looper (via 4 momentary switches connected to the Gordius).
    Not the easiest system to setup, but once it's going, the versatility is amazing.


    Hi - I am considering the LG2... can you please give me the dimensions and weight of it? I can't seem to find this info anywhere.
    Thanks! :thumbup:

    Gary ô¿ô

    Quote from prsgary

    Hi - I am considering the LG2... can you please give me the dimensions and weight of it? I can't seem to find this info anywhere.
    Thanks!


    Hi


    From the Appendix A of the Little Giant user manual:


    LG2


    Size: 340mm x 165mm x 70-100mm (L x W x H)


    13.4” x 6.5” x 2.8-3.85” (L x W x H)


    Weight: 2.25 kg


    5.0 Lbs


    Power: 9V DC or AC, 500mA minimum


    connector: 2.1mm x 5.5mm (positive center or negative center)


    Footswitches: 10 preset switches


    1 Up switch


    1 Down switch


    Switch 9 can be used as DirectBank1 switch


    Switch 10 can be used as DirectBank2 switch




    LGX2


    Size: 550mm x 165mm x 70-100mm (L x W x H)


    21.65” x 6.5” x 2.8-3.85” (L x W x H)


    Weight: 3.0 kg


    6.6 Lbs


    Power: 9V DC or AC, 500mA minimum


    connector: 2.1mm x 5.5mm (positive center or negative center)


    Footswitches: 13 preset switches


    1 DirectBank1 switch


    1 DirectBank2 switch


    1 Up switch


    1 Down switch




    LGM2


    Size: 200mm x 80mm x 40-75mm (L x W x H)


    7.9” x 3.15” x 1.6-3.0” (L x W x H)


    Weight: 0.7 kg


    1.6 Lbs


    Power: 9V DC or AC, 350mA minimum


    connector: 2.1mm x 5.5mm (positive center or negative center)


    Footswitches: none

    Quote from prsgary

    Thanks loads for those specs!! In your opinion, do you feel this is worth it versus the ... proposed/upcoming... KFC?

    If I can chime in, I see it this way:
    - the KFC (if it ever comes out, of course :P ) will be kind of brilliant, because of being optimized for the KPA.
    - the LG, however, will work with everything, always, and the way you want it. If I get bored of the KPA, the LG will work with my next thing. If you have a particular interface in mind, you can code it yourself, as I described with the looper thing in the original post. That's what keeps my KFC gas down :P

    Quote from prsgary

    Thanks loads for those specs!! In your opinion, do you feel this is worth it versus the ... proposed/upcoming... KFC?


    Difficult to answer without being able to really evaluate the KFC.
    The KFC will be no generic controller but will be optimized for the profiler.
    I have decided to check its specs when it comes out and make a decision, but I'm pretty sure that I will most likely buy it immediately.

    Quote from Laimon

    If I can chime in, I see it this way:
    - the KFC (if it ever comes out, of course :P ) will be kind of brilliant, because of being optimized for the KPA.
    - the LG, however, will work with everything, always, and the way you want it. If I get bored of the KPA, the LG will work with my next thing. If you have a particular interface in mind, you can code it yourself, as I described with the looper thing in the original post. That's what keeps my KFC gas down :P

    I agree that this is the most rational choice, but... As I sold all my pedals (just kept a timeline in the loop) I think the KFC will be the perfect companion for my KPA. Everything that will be implement in the KPA will reflect in the KFC so easily. The day I will sell the Kemper (will I do That??? ?( ) I will of course sell the KFC as well. I accept this fact.