Hi Tom
I was helping a forum member get his guitar setup together in C3. He asked a question about backing chord progressions thru pedal switches, which I started work on a few months ago. I had several bindings I couldn’t wrap my head around. So, I asked Dave Dore’ for some help, and, naturally, his genius came thru.
I’ve been testing and modifying for the last 2 weeks. I expect to release a modified rack, maybe this week, to the forum. It does involve another chord vst (free), it will be predetermined chords, but a possibility of 12 different chords available to 1 rack. You could also have multiple racks.
I will be able to change chord progressions from any chosen VSTi by activating one switch. Example: in song 1, verse progression is C-Am7-C-Am7-G-F-C. I will be able to play that progression by using one footswitch (or other switch). This enables me to have a backing chord while playing guitar, or keyboard, or whatever…maybe tambourine, lol.
A state change could activate a chorus progression, or key change. There is a lot of improvisation in most of the bands I play in, so in a solo section, I may have a repeating progression, such as: Cm7-F/C (over and over). In that case, the switch would keep repeating the two chords.
It boils down to this:
Many will say “It’s easier to do backing tracks, or click tracks triggering the chords”, and it is, if I were in that type of band.
I am not, so I do not use backing tracks, arpeggiators, or click tracks. I am not knocking those that do. Everything is played live, by interactive musicians…old school (apparently a dying art). Tempos can vary, solos extend or shorten, verses may be repeated. Therefore, I trigger chords with a footswitch, just like playing them on a keyboard… I determine when to switch them.
Whew !! Was that enough expansion?