Behringer FCB1010 MIDI Foot Controller

Kind of a learning curve. But very awesome stuff. Watch some YouTube videos and get a manager program to program it with. I love this unit.

I tried to save a few dollars by purchasing a used fcb1010 and regretted it. Something was obviously broken inside the case of the unit (could hear something that sounded like a tic tac rolling around inside it) and there was a missing screw on the back panel. Indicators that someone had opened it up and messed around with the hardware. Needless to say, the controller didn't work at all. Not sure how something like this was sold to me, but GearNuts made it right! The refund/return process was quick and easy, and I decided to take another chance by ordering a new (non-used) fcb1010. I'm so glad I did! This midi controller works flawlessly! I'm very happy with the new unit!

This does take a few moments to learn how to use. Unfortunately, there is VERY little documentation that teaches you how to use this packed with the board. It can definitely be found online though!If you are a guitar player, you likely won't need to learn about EVERY option this pedalboard has available. Most likely, you'll program 2 or 3 buttons for clean, rhythm, lead, a few pedal options (i.e.-overdrive, compression, chorus, etc.), then of course the wah, and perhaps the volume rocker. I feel the buttons could be just slightly easier to press. If not wearing shoes, the buttons may find their way in-between your socked feet/toes, yielding no button pressed. It does require the use of a somewhat rigid AC power cable (included) that could be a bit longer and not as rigid.VERY COOL.. two buttons can be used to increment-step my virtual tuning up and down with my Neural DSP plug-in. E standard, can easily be B standard with five simple button presses!Rocker pedals are fairly smooth and have a good sweep range. You WILL NEED a midi-to-USB cable for this if wishing to plug into a PC to control your plug-in(s). Price is actually not unreasonable for this type of product.MY biggest gripe... Wah and volume on the right need to be able to be swappable to the left.. or, provide an option with it on the left.

I had read the reviews and knew what I was getting in to when I purchased this controller: it was going to be a crash course in MIDI programming and difficult for a beginner. Also, that this board is inexpensive, comparably, for all of the features you get.What I didn't know is that the stock firmware works just fine for my application, which is Ableton Live 9 and multiple guitar VST's. I ordered this board here, on 8-31-2015, I received the new model with stock FCB1010 Firmware version 2.5.1e, as confirmed by the free PC utility, FCBEditor.I spent a lot of time looking at the UnO and Eureka eproms. I may still get one of those at some point but, for now I've been able to get Guitar Rig 5 and Overloud TH2 working perfectly, with stock FCB firmware, Ableton Live 9 and with a Scarlett Focusrite 6i6 controller.Here is a must have utility for PC users: this free utility will allow you to program your FCB1010 without all of the pedal pushing on the board itself:http://host.mtnsys.com:81/faq-fcb/PCEditorBeta.htm - If that link is not working, search for - PC Editor FCB1010. It is pointless to try and program the FCB1010 from the pedals, when this utility gets it done much easier and faster. I use this with Windows 7 x64 and can't speak for other OS's.It's good to have two MIDI cables, in/out, for programming. Buy two if you have none, as the FCB1010 doesn't come with any.If you can't get the FCB1010 working with your VST's in Ableton:1. Insert a blank MIDI track2. Set the input of the MIDI track to the MIDI receiver for your FCB1010 - in my case Scarlett Focusrite 6i63. Set the output of the MIDI track to the separate audio track that contains the guitar VST you want to pass MIDI control to - in my case Guitar Rig 54. Set the MIDI track to IN - not Auto or OFF5. Make sure the track that contains your VST audio track is armed/record lit up on track - Guitar Rig 5 track, record button lit6. Tap dance your way through 100 amps - 10 banks*10 presetsThere are multiple youtube videos that will help you figure out assigning the expression pedals.CC# 7 for volume and CC#11 for wah is pretty standard.I'm not going to say this was an easy task, it took me 15+ hours to get things right, mostly because of old and outdated info and software out there on the web, but this was a very rewarding experience. I learned a lot that can be applied in many different ways.There are also a lot of useful mods out there, like powering the FCB1010 over the same MIDI cable, so you can have just one cable running to this board. And some more:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8m0v3Rr6f4UIf you like a challenge and the satisfaction of being able to control any part of your VST's or DAW with your feet, you need the FCB1010.