COOL GEAR ALERT: RJM Mastermind PBC

The holy grail for pedal fans is to have an all-in-one controller that gives them the same flexibility as a rack system. And can control their amp channel switching. And control MIDI devices at the same time. Well guess what: RJM Music’s new Mastermind PBC does for pedalboards what its Effect Gizmo, Mastermind, Y-not, Mini Line Mixer and Switch Gizmo devices do for rack systems, and added a tuner and a PC/Mac Editor as well!

Click here to buy guitar pedals on eBay.

The Mastermind PBC ships this month, and if you’re going to NAMM you can check it out at Booth 5298 (shared with Fuchs Audio). I can’t wait to see it in person! Here’s the press release. 

RJM MUSIC BRINGS THE POWER OF A RACK SWITCHING SYSTEM TO THE PEDALBOARD

VISTA, Calif. – RJM Music Technology Inc., announces the Mastermind PBC, an all-in-one MIDI controller and loop switching system for the pedalboard.

The design of the Mastermind PBC began about 5 years ago when Ron Menelli, engineer and founder of RJM Music, started hearing from his customers that they needed a switching solution designed for pedalboards. All of the work RJM Music had done in the past was intended for rack based guitar effect systems, but many customers wanted a pedalboard that they could bring to smaller gigs and fly dates. However, they weren’t willing to give up the power and flexibility that their rack systems gave them.

“It was clear that, if we were going to make a pedalboard switcher, it would have to be as good as our rack gear. But, it also had to pack as much functionality as possible in a small space,” said Menelli.

The end result combines a 10 loop true-bypass audio switcher, a line mixer, an A/B/Y switch, an amplifier controller, a tuner and a MIDI controller in one unit. The Mastermind PBC is fully programmable – a single button press on the PBC can activate audio loops, control amp channel switching, select which amps are active and send multiple MIDI commands. This greatly reduces the “tap dance” that owners of large pedalboards know all too well.

Features of the Mastermind PBC include:

• Ten true bypass audio loops, the last four of which are stereo capable (using TRS jacks) and can be switched between series and parallel routing on a per-preset basis.
• The two outputs can be used as left and right outputs for a stereo signal, or as A and B outputs to A/B switch a mono signal between two amps
• The B output has a switchable isolation transformer and a programmable phase switch
• Three audio buffers, each of which can be enabled or disabled individually by pressing an button or as part of a preset
• Click Stopper noise reduction circuit, which can be switched between two positions
• 11 buttons, each with a multi-color LED indicator
• Easy to read LCD display that can display preset and song names, plus other status
• Built in tuner
• MIDI input & output connections, powered by the MIDI “brain” of our Mastermind GT MIDI controller
• USB device port for connection to a PC or Mac. This allows the Mastermind PBC to send MIDI commands to a computer
• USB host port for use with a USB flash drive. Back up and restore settings to a flash drive, and also use a flash drive to perform firmware upgrades
• Two 1/4-inch TRS jacks that provide four function switches. These can be used to control the channel switching and other features on an amplifier
• Expression pedal input that can be programmed to generate MIDI messages
• External switch input allows two more user-configurable switches to be added
• Mac and PC editor software allows for faster and more comprehensive editing

The Mastermind PBC is expected to start shipping in January 2015, with a price of $999 in the USA. Preorders are being taken on the RJM Music website.

RJM Music will be showing the Mastermind PBC at the 2015 NAMM Show in Hall B, Booth 5298.

More information can be found at www.rjmmusic.com/pbc

RJM Music Technology is well known among dedicated guitar aficionados for their high-quality electronic devices created specifically for guitarists and electronic musicians, including the Mastermind GT, Amp Gizmo, Effect Gizmo, Rack Gizmo and Mastermind. RJM users include a genre-busting range of accomplished guitarists including John Petrucci, Billie Joe Armstrong, Joe Don Rooney, Vivian Campbell, Joe Perry, and Alex Lifeson