SooperLooper CCx10, for Behringer FCB1010 & others

1 SooperLooper CCx10, for Behringer FCB1010 & others

Pedal	CC	What it does
1	15	Mute current loop (stop recording if needed) → advance to next loop → arm it for recording
2	16	Solo-trigger loop 2: mute loops 3–5, trigger loop 2
3	17	Solo-trigger loop 3: mute loops 2, 4, 5, trigger loop 3
4	18	Solo-trigger loop 4: mute loops 2, 3, 5, trigger loop 4
5	19	Solo-trigger loop 5: mute loops 2, 3, 4, trigger loop 5
6	20	Advance to the next loop (selection only — nothing is muted or triggered)
7	21	Mute the currently selected loop
8	22	Start/stop recording on the currently selected loop
9	23	Soft reset: stop all recording, mute everything, reselect loop 1, re-sync. Recorded audio is kept.
10	24	Start/stop recording — mapped directly in Zynthian to Record Loop 1 (not managed through the ctrldev driver)

This drivers has been originally designed for the Behringer FCB1010, but it can be used with any MIDI controller sending the right MIDI CC as described in the table below.

Each pedal of the FCB1010 is mapped to CC and SooperLooper as described in the next table. Note that you MUST configure your FCB1010 to send triggers with the specified CC numbers. It won't work with FCB's factory assignments, as they are "frankly daft". Of course, you could configure any other MIDI controller to send the same CC numbers and use it instead, so to some extend, this driver is not exclusive for the FCB1010, although it's been designed with it in mind.

This driver implements a specific, but quite common yet, workflow specially tailored to play Jazz Standards, although it probably suits other genres too. It works like this:

• Loop 1 is always treated as the timing reference — everything else quantizes to it. I tap in a rhythm, usually with conga drums on my keyboard’s drum pads. I then let that rhythm play out while setting the quantize loop for all remaining loops.

• I then use Pedal 1 to record verse and chorus sections as separate loops. Each loop is quantized, so I just need to remember to hit “Pedal 1” near the end of the verse to tell SooperLooper to begin recording the next loop. For example, when I’m ready to record the verse, I hit pedal 1 and SooperLooper begins recording Loop 2 on the next beat. When I’m ready to do the chorus, I hit pedal 1 again. SooperLooper finishes recording Loop 2, mutes Loop 2, then begins recording Loop 3 on the next beat, and so on.

• Sometimes, I will record a verse and then end the recording by hitting Pedal 8, causing that loop to continue playing from the beginning. This allows me to repeat the verse and then only start recording the next loop when I need to play the second ending that goes to the chorus (this is a very common jazz pattern).

• Once I have recorded my loops, I then click one of the “solo” pedals to begin soloing over the chord changes. In most jazz standards, I go back to the first verse which is on Loop 2, so I click “Pedal 2”. I then click the remaining pedals to go through the rest of the song structure. By triggering each loop, I can have sections of different lengths (again, another thing you’ll commonly find in jazz standards). Everything is quantized to the rhythm track, so moving from loop to loop is all seamless.

The upshot is that this driver allows me to lay down my backing bass and chord track at the beginning of the song, then play this throughout while doing the melody and solos. I think it will work for just about any jazz standard without having to adjust the default 43 second loop length, since four loops (loops 2-5) covers a lot. I can do all of this in real time because each action is done by just one pedal. It’s intuitive because I just hit the pedal assigned to the verse or chorus I want to play and it triggers from the start exactly on the quantized beat.

1.1 Configure the Behringer FCB1010

Here’s how to configure the FCB1010, assuming starting from FCB1010’s factory default:

* Select the pedal you want to program (e.g., 1).
* Long press the Down button (2-3 seconds) to put the pedal in programming mode.
* Short press the Up button.
* By default, “1” is lit, indicating that the pedal is sending a program change. We need it to send a control change (“6”).
* Long press “1” (program change) until it is unlit.
* Long press “6” (control change) until it is lit.
* Short press “6” to program the control change. “6” will start blinking.
* Press Up.
* Enter the CC number you want to set for the pedal. For example, in this ctrldev, I map Pedal 1 to CC 15. Numbers are entered by clicking the pedal numbers in order (e.g., “1” and “5”). The numbers will appear in the LED screen.
* Press Up.
* Enter the value you want to send for the CC. I enter “127” for every control (e.g., “1”, “2”, “7”).
* Press Up. “6” stops blinking and is solidly lit. The pedal is now programmed.
* Long press Down to exit programming mode.
* Repeat 1-13 for each pedal (e.g., Pedal 2 = CC 16, etc.).

I’ve uploaded a demo song (“Night and Day”) that I recorded using my Zynthian setup with this ctrldev driver:



It was recorded live. I hit the record button on the Zynthian to start and stop the recording. Nothing in there was layered on tracks.

Here’s how I progressed through the song structure with the pedals on the FCB1010:

   10: start recording bongos
   10: stop recording bongos
   1: start verse 1
   8: repeat verse 1 (first ending)
   1: stop verse 1, start second ending of verse 1 into chorus
   2: start verse 1
   3: start 2nd ending and chorus
   2-3: continue going back and forth between these for the whole song structure.
   1: record a coda as a new track at the end
   8: repeat coda so I can solo over it.
   9: end song

This will be a real game changer for me to be able to do solo gigs as well as playing with just one other instrument or vocalist. Hopefully this is helpful to others.