MESA ENGINEERING MIDI MATRIX Owner'S Manual Download Page 10

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TRS1 (TO AMP EXT-SW OR FT-SW JACK)

This 1⁄4” TRS jack provides Switching Functions #5 (ring) and #7 (tip), and can

be connected to a 1⁄4” foot-switch jack or external switching jack on a multitude of different amplifiers and products. Either a mono
(tip-sleeve) or stereo (tip-ring-sleeve) cable can be plugged into this jack.

Before using this jack for the first time, refer to the Control-

ling MESA/Boogie Amplifiers & Products section for detailed and important information about the amplifier(s) and product(s) you are
planning to control with the MIDI Matrix™ Amp Controller.

TRS2 (TO AMP EXT-SW OR FT-SW JACK)

This 1⁄4” TRS jack provides Switching Functions #6 (ring) and #8 (tip), and can

Before using this jack for the first time, refer to the Control-

ling MESA/Boogie Amplifiers & Products section for detailed and important information about the amplifier(s) and product(s) you are
planning to control with the MIDI Matrix™ Amp Controller.

!!WARNING!! The sleeve of the two TRS jacks is electrically isolated from all the other jacks, to prevent ground loops when controlling
multiple devices.

Never use a Y-cable or an Insert Cable, to control two different amplifiers or products from a single TRS jack. Doing

so will most certainly lead to a ground loop, resulting in hum/noise, or even worse! It may damage the MIDI Matrix™ Amp Controller,
and/or one, or both of the connected amplifiers and/or products.

CONTROLLING MESA/BOOGIE AMPLIFIERS & PRODUCTS

The initial design objective of the MIDI Matrix™ Amp Controller was to have an all-in-one MIDI controller for MESA/Boogie amplifiers
that have a single DIN or XLR foot-switch jack. After going through the MESA Engineering archives and making a detailed spreadsheet
of every amplifier and product, jack type, and switching requirements, we decided to add a couple of 1⁄4” jacks. The result was a solu-
tion that would actually be capable of controlling every single amplifier or product that MESA/Boogie has ever made. Multiple jacks
also meant that the MIDI Matrix™ Amp Controller would be able to control 2 or 3 amplifiers or products at the same time, depending
on the number and type of jacks, and functions that needed to be switched. The other really big objective for the MIDI Matrix™ Amp
Controller was for it to control every MESA/Boogie amplifier and product, without the need for costly, custom cables/dongles, and
except for handful, we succeeded! Refer to the Cable Type And Cross Reference section for a summary of all the cables utilized by
the MIDI Matrix™ Amp Controller and the MESA/ Boogie amplifier or product that the cables are used to control.

To determine if the MIDI Matrix™ Amp Controller can control the multiple amplifiers and/or products in your arsenal, locate them in
the following table, and look at the “@GLANCE” column. A check-mark indicates the jack and/or Switching Function is required/used
by the amplifier or product, and an “x” indicates that it’s free/available, for use by another amplifier or product. Simply make sure that
none of the amplifiers and/or products use the same jacks and/or Switching Functions, as indicated by a check-mark. Example #1;
a 2-Ch Rectifier and a Nomad 100 can both be controlled at the same time. The Rectifier uses jacks TRS1, TRS2, and Switching
Functions #7 and #8, while the Nomad 100 uses the DIN jack and Switching Functions #1 to #6. Example #2; in cases where two
amps are used in the same rig, but only one is ever played through at a time, as is the case when using a head-switcher or some
ABY’s, it’s even possible to share Switching Functions #5 through #8 between the amps since the DIN and TRS jacks are completely
isolated from one another. As such, a Mark V can be controlled via the DIN jack and either an Electra Dyne, Royal Atlantic, TA30
or 2-Ch Rectifier can be controlled via the TRS jack(s). If the two amps are played through at the same time, it’s common to switch
channels or functions on both of them in sync, which is also made possible by using the shared Switching Functions #5 through #8...

NOTE: MESA/Boogie’s amplifiers and products typically require Normally Open (or N.O.), Latch Switching Functions. The exception
to this rule is Reverb, which sometimes requires a Normally Closed (or N.C.), Latch Switching Function. Any other exceptions to
these rules that have been confirmed at time of printing this User Manual, and are indicated in the following table, but there may still
be some that we’ve missed — simply requiring you to configure N.C. Switching or Momentary Switching, or any other combination.
The only exception is Switching Functions that are linked together by a Mesa Pre-Configuration, can’t have the their switching type
changed. For example, look at the 3-Channel Dual/Triple Rectifier in the table below. Switching Functions #1 to #3 are linked by the
Mesa Pre-Configuration for channel selection, so those three Switching Functions can’t be changed to N.C. or Momentary. But Switch-
ing Functions #4 or #5 and #7, which aren’t linked, can have their switching type changed, if necessary.

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