Important Audio Gear Nobody Talks About

[@RickyTinez]

WHOA. almost snapped my neck when i heard my name! Thanks for the shoutout Benn! Much love. That Mini patch bay looks pretty damn awesome.

[@dudfaz]

Hey Ricky, if you wanna cover the Minibay (V2) on your channel, hit me up and I'll send you one over ;)

[@coconutlust470]

I've learned so much from both Benn and yourself. Always nice to see my synth dads giving each other shout-outs.

[@offthewallsk818]

The multiple pedal supply actually has regulators on each output. It’s not truly isolated but it’s better than a daisy chain

[@LongJ0hn]

As a scrub tier hobbyist who needs to learn mixing, I still enjoy these yearly videos even though I have no use for gear. I would LOVE a vst version of this video though, especially with you streaming new/upcoming vst stuff regularly now!

[@mjhobo5520]

MRCC! why is the first time I’ve ever seen this mentioned! Thanks Ben!

[@Phadddy]

Gosh, every part of this video makes me love working inside the box even more!

[@omnesilere]

but... KNOBS!

[@matt_phistopheles]

That MIDI system looks really interesting. I'll definitely look into that. My personal #1 forgotten studio gem is my old trusty cable tester. There are quite a few out there to buy but things like this are also pretty easy to build yourself with some basic electronic skills.

[@BlasphemousButler]

The MRCC was a game changer for me and the guys who make it couldn't be nicer.

[@dudfaz]

Hey Benn, thanks very much for mentioning the Minibay in your vid! Much appreciated :)

[@trickfall8752]

That stereo switcher is a little of my price range, but man that is a brilliant idea and the desktop patch bay is a great idea as well. One other thing to look out for when buying a pedal power supply is to make sure it can supply enough power for any higher current pedals you have. You will mostly need this for digital pedals.

[@22neohenry]

Thanks a ton for the Conductive Labs MRCC tip. I have a iConductivity mioXM and I could never get 100% functionality out of it. The USB hosting never worked quite right and the software for it is super clunky sometimes. If only the smaller 880 had a couple USB host ports but I guess I'll spring for the big brother.

[@ebk72]

Awesome! We share all of these regular "problems" but I never pinned them down like this and a few of your solutions/tools I was not aware of. Exactly what a gear nerd needs, next to money 😁👍 subscribed. Thank you for your work and insights.

[@rekall76]

got myself a voodoo lab pedal power 3 plus as a result of this video's mention of their iso-5 unit... it's Great. powers my whole darn current live soundscape/improv rig. clean and noise-free.

[@jasongravely7217]

Your channel is so good Benn. I really appreciate your experince/wisdom over time and humor. You nail it every time.

[@benschulz9140]

Honestly, even though I probably won't buy any of this stuff, it's really informative and relaxing to just watch his videos.

[@dreamstaticsounds]

Ooh, that MRCC might just be exactly what I've been looking for.

[@cecilkeebler4254]

I supported this in their Indiegogo campaign, but given that my instruments are either boxed or scattered about the house due to my laziness of getting a dedicated corner set up as a "studio" I still haven't really taken this for a proper spin yet. It has lots of interesting ins and outs and any combo in between.

[@g3cd]

The MRCC has all MIDI connectors on the TOP which would cause total cable mayhem on my studio desk, which is why I bought the Mio XL. The setup (on my Mac) was more or less painless, it just works and comes in a near 1U rack format with tons of connectors ON THE BACK where they belong. I wanted to buy the Kenton Interchanger as it doesn't need an app for configuration, but it has less USB ports, it has been delayed for over 2 years and is now announced for next spring.

[@ScottsSynthStuff]

I went with the iConnectivity mioXL instead. Very similar functionality, plus it can route MIDI over Ethernet (RTP) which is lovely.

[@ndguardian]

I've actually had the MRCC on my list for a while. I don't even have a particularly complicated synth rig, but there have been so many times where I'm like "well now I want to have both these things control these but now I need additional inputs going to this multi-thru box" and other situations like that, that I just feel like the MRCC is a necessity.

[@janzabram]

You might also consider a MOTU MIDI Express/ExpressXT. It doesn't have all the same front-panal controls, but it's a tidy rack mount MIDI interface and it works flawlessly with multiple instruments.

[@shifteleven]

If this video taught me anything is that I don't know how to EQ.

[@KordTaylor]

These are the kinds of videos that make me love your channel Mr. Benn!

[@jakykong]

maaan I have bought 3 DF Audio Minibays so far, they're freaking amazing. Everything in my studio -- modular, polysynths, mixers, recorders, laptop, stringed instruments, everything -- is routed through them. It's opened up a fantastic levels of creativity in how I route things around (and, as a result, of using pedals in all sorts of interesting ways.)

[@Pteraptera]

5:27 Listening for the 12th time. Hope you release this piece.

[@Pteraptera]

Or maybe it is already out there and I missed it?

[@Personalnadir]

The most important audio gear is the friends we made along the way and that DF Audio Minibay might become my new best friend. Have hit capacity on my Bored Patchulator and for all its convenience and stereo-ness it can be tough to parse. Looking forward to trying that Empress EQ too

[@leftmono1016]

I use a MOTU Midi Express XT as a standalone 8 in 8 out merge box. Mine’s got the old printer interface so it was really cheap. Doesn’t need connecting to a computer, just select ‘merge all’ and job done 😀

[@ooktar]

I gotta give another Shout out to Voodoo Labs. I have a Pedal Power Mondo that suddenly had some problems with some of the outputs. I had bought it almost 6 years prior and it was the middle of the Pandemic so I didn't think Voodoo Labs would help me out but to their credit they still honored the warranty and I had it back within 3 weeks after I sent it. Those guys are class acts.

[@astropolia]

Great list! It really got me curious for the EQ pedal. However... even though the Minibay is much cheaper I would go for the Erica Synth Matrix Mixer. The most flexible mixer/patchbay solution I have ever had.

[@kevteop]

Cioks PSUs are really great too, especially if you have lots of digital pedals with high current requirements. That midi filter looks great by the way. I have an iconnectivity hub which has been a real boon, but I don't think it can do what that does...

[@EnriquePage91]

I just wanted to say that while gear is amazing, it’s funny you use a midi filter to filter off midi you can literally straight up filter from iOS lmao. Now, I’m not 100% obnoxious though - I could really use an actual hardware filter too - so like I understand your point entirely anyway… But realistically, an iPad is sometimes a ton to work with already. Been doing my midi filtering even dynamically (programming “procedural” music) and the iPad is my favorite tool for all that stuff. Anyway, great video as always!

[@LWmusik]

damn, those di-boxes would save me a lot of headaches as a live audio engineer for sure

[@_OopsieDaisies]

I wish I was cool/creative/interesting enough to need that MRCC. Also I think I need that Australian one knob job. Also this is the first video of yours I've seen and I'm excited to see more :)

[@ManCalledMif]

Thanks Benn. Just got me a strymon zuma power supply. Should be useful for the four strymon pedals I have and maybe other centre positive gear.

[@superlynx98]

Thanks for highlighting these, Benn Jordan Peterson! :D

[@kioarthurdane]

MidiFlow on iOS does a lot of the filtering and mapping functions like that awesome all-in-one midi interface for those people who don't need hardware and/or USB or Bluetooth is good enough.

[@krazywabbit]

Thanks for this. I’ve read of later there is no support for this app and many have experienced crashes. Forums to ask for help are locked. Are you still using this app? What’s been your experience?

[@kioarthurdane]

@@krazywabbit idk, yeah, it works for me just fine. You might also look into another midi routing app like AUM.

[@krazywabbit]

@@kioarthurdane thanks. Big user of AUM.

[@DavidDiMuzio]

Cool list! Thanks for sharing 😁

[@Drinkyoghurt]

The pedal power supply tip is so important. As a guitarist I quickly found out that daisy chaining is absolutely terrible. Luckily Thomann has a "cheap" 10 output isolated AC power supply called the Harley Benton Powerplant ISO-10AC Pro. It has 10 outputs, 4 of which can be switched between 9V-12V-18V and a USB output as well. It's 110 euros, but compared to other brands that's dirt cheap and it's definitely cheaper than buying 10 wall warts.

[@someoneelse1534]

If you want an electron microscope, i’d recommend getting an SEM rather than TEM. They’re much more practical for a home studio.

[@nickcoyne4949]

I've had an MRCC for a while, just wish the screen was bigger, or that it had a web interface.

[@lee_at_sea]

Tbh MRCC doesn't do the very first thing I need a midi device to do. Reference-counted-merging. (Admittedly I need it both for workflow and because no commercial midi device does it, so I built one a few years ago that does. Now covered in my studio.) Reference counting notes in merging allows single note-offs to *not* end notes that had multiple note-ons. Rather, the count of notes must hit 0 for it to stop. This is important in many cases. A simple example is playing by hand merged into a stream with an arpeggiator or sequencer. Without reference counting, the arp/seq will *end your held notes* if it coincides with them. With reference counting it does what you'd expect. No commercial device does it. If you want to do it for all channels, all notes, it does take a certain (small but not insignificant for a MCU) amount of memory, so they can't easily add it in most cases either. I asked a few places if they could add it before building mine. Generally can't.

[@phantom_spaceman]

Walrus Audio Phoenix is a great option if you need an isolated power brick for large pedal collections. it has 12 and 18v options and plenty 300mah outs for digital delays and reverbs. Still fairly affordable too 👍

[@doctorauxiliary]

thanks for this, benn!! for isolated pedal power, there's a one-person operation, here in the US, out of ohio, called sweetfoot pedals. he hand makes isolated pedal power supplies to your requested specs--say, for instance, if you have some really power hungry pedals & such. he will make you power cables at your requested lengths. he will even put whatever image you send him on the enclosure. a 10 output supply cost me less than the 5 output voodoo lab jammy. & he's a really nice guy, from what I can tell. he even made me some cables to power korg volcas from the same supply. sweetfoot pedals. I highly recommend!! (& no, I'm not him. & no, I don't know him personally. I'm just a legitimately satisfied customer who likes promoting small, independent businesses. true story.)

[@RicardoGarfalo]

really unique gear and prospective. thank you did not know some of this gear existed! : D

[@nexuzeb79]

Interesting about the power supply for the pedals there.. Since I'm somewhat new to powering my pedals correctly and wanted to reduce noise/static I've been using 1 Spot for my pedals, any experience or advice on these, they seem to work nicely but I wouldn't want to destroy my pedals... I'm only using four separate pedals though, BOSS OS-2, BOSS BD-2, RAT distortion and Mooer Black Secret, all for my Acid wannabe boxes..

[@nexuzeb79]

1 Spot from Truetone that is...

[@Doit4mojo]

wondering this too

[@harveytherobot]

Super helpful. Didn’t even know about the power supply issue. Thanks, Benn.

[@iamgates7679]

Man, this is great - more content like this - love learning about shit I’d never know to search for :)

[@jtechnuts]

+1 for the Voodoo Iso 5. But, as others have pointed out, it isn't rated for the more power hungry digital pedals like the plethora (600mA)

[@helicoid9415]

A powered USB hub + usb extension cable is great for synths with USB MIDI. I use one from RSH Tech to MIDI sequence my Korg, Novation, and Waldorf synths in my DAW. And I'm going to try out sending PC messages to them to quickly call up their presets remotely.

[@Eleth]

Ohhhh dear, really useful and GAS inducing nonetheless, but yes I was wondering why I always got noise from my pedals and I do have one of those blocks from a reputable company, and yes, I’ve just done a test to isolate the pedal and voila! Thanks!!!

[@Terrible_Peril]

Can’t Fugue Machine send individual play heads to different sources natively? Either way, HOLY SHIT the MRCC looks amazing.

[@OrionGarcia]

How dare you say the sk-5 is the worst synth 😂😂 its responsible for an entire genre of music called champeta, from the caribbean coast of colombia. Also a lot of sonideros used it for the sampling, that and the vt1. I digress. Fun vid as always

[@treyhudson73]

Dang! Perfect Circuit is out there hustlin'. I love their Novation Circuit packs!

[@joelkulesha8284]

These videos (and the melda/phaseplant videos) are my favorites of yours. Not that the others aren't good. Just I like these a lot.

[@kelownatechkid]

Awesome choices, great video. For me, its the deq2496. Probably the most reliable and versatile/useful behringer 'thing' I own. The BBE282 'maximizer' is also a secret weapon haha

[@mvsr990]

I've got three Cioks DC7s for pedal power - 9-18v range on each output, enough juice to power an OTO Bam or Bim, nice form factor.

[@mrblablablabla]

LOVE mine. It's a total beast of a unit. I can hook up my most power hungry digital pedals and the 40% load LED doesn't even come on. And it all sounds perfectly pristine.

[@seanp2k617]

Eventide makes a few power supplies that are rebranded Cioks models, sometimes they can be found on sale too. Keep an eye out this Black Friday if you’re in the market :)

[@hazmatforhumanity7318]

I am always learning something valuable from your videos. I've been using that True Tone 1 spot with daisy chains for my pedals for a few months now and I definitely want to get one of those voodoo labs power supplies.

[@Terrible_Peril]

I’m all about the Cioks DC7. I like it better than the vooodoolabs stuff because it’s got the whole expandable system and includes usb a on the main (dc7) unit as well as usb c on the smaller (cioks4) expansion. I keep them wired under my Holeyboard so I can essentially break half my rig off and let someone else play through it with fairly minimal effort.

[@TheFlowersOfNaivety]

Benn Jordan is John Hamm with brains

[@jat5am]

waiting for the bastl looper review, thanks.

[@steubens7]

dang, wish you mentioned the electron microscope before, like 7 months ago someone i knew was trying to shift theirs to someone who could use it

[@YomYestreen]

Is the Empress EQ pedal demo published as its own video? I searched your videos, Benn, but couldn't find it.

[@isaacanthonydj4124]

iConnectivity also have great midi/audio routing devices, i have the audio4 and it's great!

[@nicxshaw]

Dude, you're like Andrew Huberman for musicians. Well spoken, funny and helpful. Cheers. ❤

[@SolopsistSocionaut]

love love love the bastl midi looper

[@falazarte]

Benn, you can make a doorbell sound like an orchestra..

[@therealliveguy]

I just got that new Empress EQ and I don’t know why but I like the JHS Colorbox better. I just hate that the Colorbox takes up so much space. Trade off, I guess.

[@mickeybreezy]

So you're telling me my Ernie Ball Spark isn't really isolated? I bought it because the daisy chain wires are so damn noisy and it fixed the problem so I suppose it's doing what I bought it for. That is interesting to know though.

[@treyhudson73]

MRCC is "MIDI CITY"

[@masterofreality230]

I have the original Empress, I am going to have to check out the new one.

[@edwardfletcher7790]

Nice Casio SK-5 ! It really needs modding 👍😆

[@TheKaptainKernow]

There is one (and as far as I know only one) cheap actually isolated pedal power supply. It's the Power Plant Jr by Harley Benton. Must be the Jr, as for some reason the bigger one isn't properly isolated?!?! I have a bunch of these, from when they were £25 on Thomman, so I can have pedals everywhere. They work perfectly for a cheap solution, though you will need something fancier for all your power-hungry/odd voltage/ac-sourced pedals

[@JoelLinus]

5:25 I want a song of that

[@mikefisher84]

Great video! Love the Ronroco cameo (thats how I discovered your Flashbulb channel 8 years ago :) I have one too. Any tips on getting it to sound as nice as yours does?

[@ansonstiles]

That EQ is a vibe. Might be time to dust off the banjo

[@32herz]

Art Tube MP FTW!

[@skipper6528]

What do you do for a living sir? I want to do whatever it is that you do your videos are very inspiring I also speak to Hainbach and he's a gentleman He's given me many tips Anything you could share with me would be fantastic Godspeed

[@2JohJoh2]

About the MRCC : can you filter lowest / highest midi note ? Elaborate on that : can you use it to make multiple monophonic synths into one big poly ?

[@joewaid]

I learned two things today - that my broken Empress EQ pedal is probably worth fixing, and that I probably broke it by plugging it into my OneSpot power supply

[@awilsonator]

9:09 I have a Palomino 'Outlaw' which has DC and promises four 'fully-isolated outputs' - everything I read about it was good. Now wondering if it's a potential problem..

[@justintonation9726]

What are your thoughts about the Cloks DC7 or Cloks SOL isolated power supplies? They both run on AC power. They come with expander kits which seem cool and have indicators of how much power is being used.

[@justintonation9726]

Hey Benn, I love your videos. You have interesting concepts and you’re definitely not the average shill reviewer outlining features, not showing anything good, bad or otherwise. I was curious which Beyer Dynamic DT-770 Pro headphones you have, the 32 ohm, 80 ohm, or 250 ohm? I have the 250 ohms running from a MOTU Ultralite-mk5 vía balanced mono TRS into an Aphex Headpod 4 and no matter what I do, there’s always a little bit of background noise. I’ve even muted all my inputs. I recently bought a Digitakt and considering a Polyend Play and the output impedance on these are terrible, so much so I’m considering buying a pair of 32 or 80 ohms. Thoughts?

[@gitarman666]

Patch bay but all 1/4”?? Hey I surmise I can sum some of my audio sometimes? I got the new Voodoo 3+ cost as much as one of my new UA FX stomps, good chit

[@halfpastsevenakaiosh]

Do you know any place where you can get the SS-6 currently? I am desperately trying to find it. Its the perfect solution for me!

[@MadelnMachines]

Does MMRC do anything to help with midi latency on notes sent from the DAW to external synths or stable clocking / sync to external hardware sequencers?

[@Flop-Bop]

I literally threw my amazon, daisy chain 9V power cable directly into the trash and i’ve had it for maybe a week. Thank you Benn

[@gobblegobble831]

Music production tips from Negan Smith!

[@michaeloravecz5752]

Around 5:41 to 5:50 you're playing what looks like an electronic upright bass (double bass). What actually are you playing???? Is it an Ibanez 4-string Upright Fretless Electric Bass? What bow?

[@KordTaylor]

Does MRC have an app for iOS or Mac for all the setup kind of like the IConnectivity stuff does? Also I have to che k that Empress EQ. I think that my kid’s vibrato / chorus is an Empress and it sound amazing.

[@ConductiveLabs]

There is no app for configuring MRCC, and that is largely the point of it. It does not require a PC for configuration.

[@HoosierGuy]

I love my MRCC! That SS-6 Stereo Input Switcher looks awesome, but that price! Thank you for the video, well done!

[@Doit4mojo]

10:23 wait what i use a Voodoo Labs Pedal Power x8 and it doesn’t have a AC adapter is it just daisy chaining my signal???

[@jnhutchinson]

Love this and love Lambient AI even more. :)

[@ZonymaUnltd.]

Hey Benn , if I’m using an iOS synth app as a sound library for midi controller, would an MRCC 880 be the way to go?

[@5kMagic]

So wait, is The GigRig power supply system truly isolated?? I’m talking about the Generator, the Distributor, and the Isolator modules.

[@ageshero]

Just sayin, using and still use donner isolated powersupply, happily, and also older than that a pig hog daisy chain. Also, sometimes noise is great lol. Get nasty with it

[@Judasz696]

Can i use bastl instruments midi looper just like erm multi clock or midronome for syncing daw with external gear by audio signal? Can it be done?

[@bryandraughn9830]

Excellent!

[@pindebraende]

Mr Jordan's eyebrow is getting wilder!

[@WaveRiderMusic]

No, but the perkons video gave me serious GAS :)

[@SteveCournane]

You are good! Subscribed

[@gabesudholt]

Excellent

[@JUStheMC]

Could you compare the empress para eq pedal to the jhs colour box v2 ? These seem kinda similar to me personally.

[@decaystar]

The Franklin Audio SS-6 link is out-dated.

[@artificiusintelligence4996]

Digg it, nice and super usefull.

[@ringtangting]

Don't you dare bash the MIDI Solutions quadra thru. (That CL thing sounds great, though)

[@i_make_sounds]

That EQ... Goodness gracious that EQ.

[@seazenbones6945]

I feel a little bloated. There’s only one way to fix it.

[@almightytreegod]

It becomes expensive GAS if I want them all and I’m broke af. Lol… nonetheless, thanks!