Having a preset available, recalling it at will, and playing with a favorite sound is great. But what if I told you that it's possible to recall 128 presets on your RIDGE overdrive or MOHO fuzz using a MIDI controller ? That might make you dizzy but more importantly, it puts within reach all the sounds necessary for expressing your music.

 

“128 PRESETS ? Gotta save them all !”

Hello everyone, Anthony here. Welcome to the second post of our series aimed at better understanding the RIDGE and MOHO. Today, we will see how to manage the presets of your pedal via a MIDI controller. We'll explore how to program and recall more presets using the MIDI capabilities of the RIDGE and MOHO. Finally, we'll look at some examples of presets and their application in real situations.

If you're not sure what I'm talking about, I advise you to take 5 minutes and read the previous article dedicated to the internal preset function to understand the basics.

It's normal for a musician to need several sounds and to juggle between them during a show or at home for his pleasure. By adding a MIDI controller, you can easily recall all these sounds necessary for your music and simplify these sound changes.

 

Connect your MIDI controller to your Kernom pedal

The RIDGE and the MOHO, being respectively a MIDI overdrive pedal and a MIDI fuzz pedal, allow you to save and recall much more than just one preset. You can save and use up to 128 presets by using Program Changes when pairing your RIDGE or MOHO with a MIDI controller. To do this, follow the procedure below :

• Connect your MIDI controller to your RIDGE or your MOHO with a MIDI cable mini jack TRS type A via the MIDI in input. 
• Make sure you are not in PRESET mode (PRESET LED off) and hold down the ON/OFF switch. Its LED should blink slowly in blue. 
• Send the desired Program Change (PC 1 to 128, PC 0 corresponding to the onboard preset) to recall your preset; the ON/OFF LED should blink rapidly in blue. 
• Your preset is saved, and you can now recall it at any time. 
• Exit the procedure by holding down the ON/OFF switch.

You can repeat this procedure as many times as necessary to save all your presets.

 

Modify your preset  in no-time !

You can of course adjust the settings of these presets. Recall the preset with the assigned Program Change and turn the knobs corresponding to the parameters you want to modify. The LEDs will start flashing purple to guide you, just like when modifying the onboard preset. Once you are satisfied, hold down the ON/OFF switch for 2 seconds to save your settings on the same Program Change number.

Thanks to the MIDI functions of your pedal, you now have the tools at your disposal to create all the imaginable sounds. A super lead sound with the RIDGE ? Saved. A devastating fuzz sound with the MOHO ? Saved. The 84 presets for next Saturday’s show with that obscure progressive rock band ? Saved too. This solution is flexible and can really adapt to you and your pedal usage.

In my case, for example, I had set up my RIDGE with a Fractal FM3. I had on one side my amp simulations on the FM3 and 5 presets saved on my RIDGE that cover all my needs : a clean boost, two crunch sounds with little gain, a crunch sound with a lot of gain, and a last preset to boost my amp during solos. The Fractal allowed me to control the RIDGE and recall my presets using Program Changes. I could switch between my different sounds depending on the songs played.

 

What would a good article on presets be without some examples, right ? 

As usual, I'm going to share with you two presets that I particularly like.

The first preset with the RIDGE, the "Strat' screamer". The name speaks for itself. Some gain, a more compressed overdrive with MOOD zone 3, pushed mids... Still in a clean amp, your Stratocaster will scream and assert your authority ! It even seems that this setting could steal the show from your singer... Consider yourself warned !

 

The second preset with the MOHO and by far the angriest, I call it the "Angry octaver". It is designed with MOOD zone 3. ELECTRICITY is set to add an octave down to your sound. The PRE TONE and POST TONE are adjusted to give body, the VOLUME is dialed back, and FUZZ is pushed slightly. Make no mistake, this preset transforms your sound into a ferocious monster. "Huge", "massive", "chaotic" are adjectives that fit it perfectly

 

128 presets, 128 reasons to sound like yourself

These presets are just a fraction of what you can do with the RIDGE overdrive and the MOHO fuzz. Suffice it to say that with 128 presets accessible through MIDI functions, you are prepared for any situation !

In conclusion, the RIDGE overdrive and the MOHO fuzz allow you to save an incredible range of sounds. You can opt for simple use with only the onboard preset, or a more complete setup with the help of a MIDI controller. Whatever your way of using these pedals, you are sure to always have at your disposal THE sound that suits you. I hope this article along with the illustrated examples will inspire you and make you want to play for hours ! Feel free to share your favorite presets with us ! In the next article, we’ll delve into the RIDGE’s PRE TONE. See you soon !