Disaster Area Designs MIDI Box 4.2

The Disaster Area Designs MIDI Box 4.2 is a MIDI format converter. It takes standard 5-pin DIN MIDI from your controller and converts it to the various 1/4 inch TRS formats used by modern pedals, so one controller can talk to Strymon, Chase Bliss, Meris, Boss and other MIDI-equipped pedals without a pile of adapter cables¹. Four independent control ports each feed one device, and each port is configured with DIP switches on the face of the unit, on the fly, with no computer or editor needed¹. It lists from $69.99².

One thing it does not do: it is not a switcher. Disaster Area Designs states plainly that it "does not perform channel switching or contact closure for non-MIDI devices. It cannot change channels on your amplifier with 1/4" switching jacks"¹. It passes MIDI data in the format your pedals understand, nothing more. As the maker puts it for the MIDI Box line, "The MIDIBox is a data converter only, and won't magically make your controller work with these devices"³.

The four output modes

Each of the four control ports can be set to one of four output modes, selected with the DIP switches on the face of the unit¹. The mode determines which part of the TRS jack carries the MIDI signal, which is what makes one box work with so many different pedal makers.

The Tip and Ring Active mode is worth a closer look for players running more than four TRS devices: it splits each port into two independent MIDI outputs, one on the tip and one on the ring, using Disaster Area's TRS Insert Cable. The maker notes this mode is not shown on the enclosure, so you set it by putting the TH and RH switches OFF and the R and T switches ON¹.

A status LED on the unit lights blue when powered and blinks red when MIDI data arrives. Constant high-speed data such as MIDI Clock may keep the LED violet¹.

Device compatibility

The maker's compatibility notes cover the major TRS MIDI pedal families:

• Chase Bliss Audio: all current pedals, TRS cable, port set to Ring Active. Warped Vinyl Mk1 supports MIDI clock only¹.
• Boss: all 200-series pedals with 1/8 inch MIDI jacks, TRS/stereo cable, port set to TRS MIDI TYPE A¹.
• Cooper FX: all MIDI-compatible pedals, TRS/stereo cable, port set to TRS MIDI TYPE A¹.
• Strymon, Alexander, Meris, Empress, Bondi: Tip Active¹.

For Boss 200-series pedals specifically, Disaster Area Designs' supported device list adds that MIDI over 1/8 inch can use the 5P-TRS PRO cable or MultiJack⁴.

Power

The MIDI Box 4.2 has a status LED that lights blue when the pedal is powered and blinks red when MIDI data is received; constant high-speed MIDI data such as MIDI Clock may cause the LED to remain violet¹.

Ports, chaining and size

On the side of the box are 5-pin MIDI input and thru ports¹. The Thru is a dedicated hardware pass-through that repeats any MIDI data received, so you can feed further MIDI devices from it. You can also chain multiple MIDI Box 4 units by linking the MIDI Thru of the first box to the MIDI In of the next, and so on¹.

The enclosure measures 4.4 in x 2.38 in x 1.06 in (112 mm x 60 mm x 27 mm)¹, a compact footprint that fits a pedalboard without eating much real estate.

MIDI Box 4.2 vs MIDI Box ONE

Disaster Area Designs also makes the MIDI Box ONE, a smaller single-output version of the same idea. It too converts 5-pin DIN MIDI to 1/4 inch formats, but with one output instead of four, and it is configured with DIP switches on the underside rather than the face³.

The ONE is also listed as not compatible with Jackson Audio, Swindler Effects or Cooper FX devices, where the MIDI Box 4.2 works³. For players with several TRS MIDI pedals, or any Boss 200-series gear, the 4.2 is the one that covers them.

A comparable converter exists in the Morningstar MIDI Box, which Morningstar Engineering specifies at 9 to 12V DC center negative, minimum 20mA⁵.

Questions