Having full control over your equipment is essential, both for creative work and for good stage performance. Is there any guitarist who has not had the feeling that he cannot fully exploit the possibilities of his effects? Expression pedal here, tap tempo there, delay on, chorus off and you only have two feet of which you need at least one to stand on. We need more control! We need automation! And MIDI is our tool!
I’m an engineer and embedded software developer and I am fascinated by MIDI. A simple protocol, still in use in its first version from 1982. With the advent of complex MIDI control systems for pedalboards, I came into contact with it as a guitarist. The potential was immediately clear to me. What amazes me is the still low prevalence in effects devices. Sure, the flagship delay from well-known manufacturers can no longer afford to come without MIDI. But what use is the 2-channel preamp in my MIDI or looper setup if I still have to switch channels by hand (or foot).
I’ll give you severyl tools: The first is called the Imp (accompanied by its big brother, the Goblin), named after the creatures in iconographers from Terry Pratchett’s novels. It’s the little creature who sits in the effects device and switches it on or off for us, changes the channel, or hits the tap tempo. In reality it is a small MIDI-controlled electronics, just the size of a 9V block, that can handle almost any circumstance. The second is the Garbage Collector. It controls effects to which external switches can be connected, e.g. delays with an external tap tempo switch. It also can be an MIDI controlled expression pedal, to control effects with expression inputs. All devices have configurable MIDI channels and understand MIDI clock. Finally, released in 2023, is the Hydra, a line of MIDI loop switcher with some unique features.
Oscillator Devices is when know-how from the world of embedded systems meets a technically savvy musician. All of my products are thought up, developed and built by hand by me with high quality components.