Automated Program Changes. Amazing stuff !!

    I am a very lazy guy and not really high tech driven. Today I decided to take a plunge into MIDI and to automate all the program changes with my computer, Quad Capture and ACID PRO7 DAW.


    I play a gig over a backing track already controlled in live by my laptop. This is very easy in fact. I connected my Quad capture MIDI OUT to the Kemper MIDI IN.


    Now during concerts, I only use my WAH and VOLUME PEDAL. All the program changes are programmed to the millisecond I want. I don't feel like Fred Astaire with my pedalboard anymore and I can focus 100% to what I play.


    The lazy guy I am is happy :D


    Anyone uses this feature ?


    I am also lazy, but don't know what you're taking about? All the program changes are programmed to the millisecond I want - kinda magic. Like when backing track changes then MIDI triggers KEMPER to change rig?

    Yep, I've done a couple of gigs and lots of rehearsals like this now and I'm never going back to those Fred Astaire days. :D


    My band has no keyboard player so we play with pre-recorded synths (the drummer gets a clicktrack in his headphones and keeps us all in sync). Of course we still like to jam and improvise "off the clock", but for finished songs it works very well. Automating all those program changes allows us to concentrate on our playing, interact with the audience and enjoy the gig. I think deep down every guitarist yearns for this -- I know I did for years and really felt liberated when we got it working.

    Quote from Robrecht

    Yep, I've done a couple of gigs and lots of rehearsals like this now and I'm never going back to those Fred Astaire days. :D


    My band has no keyboard player so we play with pre-recorded synths (the drummer gets a clicktrack in his headphones and keeps us all in sync). Of course we still like to jam and improvise "off the clock", but for finished songs it works very well. Automating all those program changes allows us to concentrate on our playing, interact with the audience and enjoy the gig. I think deep down every guitarist yearns for this -- I know I did for years and really felt liberated when we got it working.


    How do you do it? You have like 10 songs (mp3) loaded 1 after another in DAW and after cursor reaches end of song1 DAW triggers performance change? Rocket science for me.

    Quote from skoczy

    How do you do it? You have like 10 songs (mp3) loaded 1 after another in DAW and after cursor reaches end of song1 DAW triggers performance change? Rocket science for me.

    It's rocket science because you don know how to do it:)
    Robrecht post a nice thread about this : Kemper midi automation thread

    Quote from DamianGreda

    It's rocket science because you don know how to do it:)
    Robrecht post a nice thread about this : Kemper midi automation thread


    Quote from Robrecht

    You'd need to add a midi track in your DAW, route it to your Kemper (audio interface Midi Out to Kemper midi In) and program the relevant PC or CC messages at the correct locations. The way to do that differs for every DAW though.


    I started a thread a while ago with some general observations and tips:
    Kemper midi automation thread
    Edit -- lol, ninja'd for my own link by @DamianGreda. :D


    Thanks folks for the link - so I have to buy 70'ish MIDI cable now :P


    I need just 1 MIDI cable to go DAW -> Kemper? No need for bidirectional transmition here?

    Exactly, only DAW -> Kemper. I was experimenting with MIDI programming once while I had a MIDI cable going in the other direction as well, and for some reason it confused the hell out of my Kemper. All the LEDs went crazy like I'd just won the jackpot. :)

    My band do this with our 2 kempers. Its great.


    We also have footswitchs connected. Currently FCB1010's. Because they also require midi cables, we have to use "midi merger" boxes, to enable the KPA's to receive input from both the footswitch and the laptop.


    One day soon we hope to get hold of the official KPA footswitch and do away with the midi merger boxes, as they're currently a worrying point of failure. (They are powered via midi, which has to be our footswitchs. So if the FCB1010's lose power, no switching at all!)

    Quote from Casper777

    That sounds nice!


    But what would happened if the drummer screws up and is 1 measure ahead?!
    Wouldn't this be a big mess?!


    Find a new drummer ;)


    That's always a potential issue. Its much less of a mess for guitar changes and more of a one for anything on the backing track though. Backing vocals behind by a beat is a much bigger mess than your guitar patch coming in a beat late or early.


    We've played a lot of gigs with click tracks and never had this happen. If there was ever an issue (for us), our drummer has the power to stop the click track mid song, without stopping the song, it just means theres no backing and no automatic changes.


    If you're going to implement this kind of setup and your drummer is not accustomed to playing with a click track, you'll want to allow for plenty of time for them to get used to this. A lot of drummers today are just so used to playing to a click that its easy for them.

    Theres plenty of live vids on YT if anyone fancies seeing it happen. Though you can't see our feet you'll have to trust me! ;)


    External Content youtu.be
    Content embedded from external sources will not be displayed without your consent.
    Through the activation of external content, you agree that personal data may be transferred to third party platforms. We have provided more information on this in our privacy policy.


    In this example you can hear the backing track (the strings) and our guitar patchs changing between clean/dirty on the beat. You can hear how our drummer is forced to keep the beat on the hats while there should just be a single guitar, as the song must remain in time with the track at all times. Always think about stuff like this, make sure your drummer is ALWAYS firmly in charge of the beat!


    Same song and venue, different gig!


    External Content www.youtube.com
    Content embedded from external sources will not be displayed without your consent.
    Through the activation of external content, you agree that personal data may be transferred to third party platforms. We have provided more information on this in our privacy policy.

    I'd love to have a setup like this only thing stopping us is we don't play by a set list plus only a quarter of our set is click tracks. Only once have we had an issue with our click tracks and that was in the early days before we all went IEM's and our drummers crap, cheap headphones fell out lol We just stopped the track and carried on playing the song, I don't think anyone noticed ;)


    If this is helpful, I am not using ACID PRO :) Why have you chosen ACID PRO over any other DAW for MIDI control?

    Quote from skoczy

    If this is helpful, I am not using ACID PRO :) Why have you chosen ACID PRO over any other DAW for MIDI control?


    Hi Skoczy,I use Acid Pro because I am used to it, but I don't think it is better than another DAW. I love it because I find it very intuitive and convenient to modify my Backing tracks, changing the tempo while keeping the same pitch, ...