The Utility is in The Chip

The Utility is in The Chip

I read a review addressing the difficulty in programming this controller, and while the reviewer is correct, there are 3rd party chips out there such as the UnO chip and the EurekaProm, which make the pedal more useful. I use my FCB1010 with the Adrenalinn III and originally installed the UnO chip when I bought it. When the EurekaProm came out, I bought that and the difference was instantaneous. I did not have to do any external programming for the pedal; it was just plug and play. The EurekaProm is designed to optimize the FCB1010 to work with other units besides the Adrenalinn III, but my experience is only with that box. The FCB1010 with the EurekaProm installed allowed me to make maximum use of the Adrenalinn III, especially in a live situation, I can do tap tempo (for synced effects) right from the board, and the expression pedals can be configured to control whatever you need. I set most patches to have one pedal control volume and the other pedal control whatever parameter (delay volume, wah, etc.) I need from that patch. I can also turn off effects such as delay and compression, or turn on amp boost right from the FCB1010 in real time. When I compared the price of the FCB1010 with the Roland FC300, even adding in the price of the EurekaProm, you’re less than half the price of the Roland pedal. While the Roland pedal is easier to program, I say, why program when you can just plug in a chip and be on your way? If you’re the least bit squeamish about installing the chip yourself, rest assured I have close to zero tech skills and I was able to install both the UnO and the EurekaProm chips without killing the chips or the FCB1010 pedal, so if I can do it, so can you.

Sweet controller

This controller works perfectly (easy to program). I use it to select/control the presets of a Mesa Boogie TriAxis and TC Electronic G-Major... Stereo sounds, effects loop, with no ground effects. Only a Boss TU-2 beside it. The expression pedal and volume pedal feel nice, although they don't feel strong, as if they would last forever. I will give this controller five years, and for the price, who are we kidding? It serves its purpose well.

Firmware issues solved with iFCB software

My primary motivation for purchasing the fcb1010 was the need to control Amplitube. Amp simulations have become my primary guitar platform, and using a mouse to adjust stompboxes is simply counterintuitive.

I had researched the problems concerning fcb's limitations with such products, but decided to try my luck anyway. The general consensus is quite correct... by itself, the fcb1010 is a virtually useless controller for Amplitube, and a cumbersome "riverdance" for any other application. Fortunately, there is a third party software called iFCB which solves a host of complaints if using a MAC. (There is also a PC program from a different developer, but I have not used it.)

Not only will it give you a straight forward interface in which to program the controller, but it also solves the stompbox problem in Amplitube which demands 2 CC values to operate properly. The only limitation with this fix is that you can only control up to 5 pedals. This wasn't a problem for me, but might be for some.

I was happy I didn't have to install a chip and void my warranty. I still had to purchase this privilege, but even after the 20 bucks for the software, the fcb1010 is still the best bargin for what I needed.

It's built like a tank and has a ton of flexibility, making it useful for virtually any situation where you need to control something by midi. I'm still finding uses for it.

musician

This is very complicated, not very user friendly to program. Would not recommend it!