The Disaster Area DMC 4-B is a MIDI pedal controller made by Disaster Area Designs, built to let a guitarist switch and program MIDI-equipped effects from the floor. It was announced as newly released in June 2013, alongside the larger DMC-7, and the two were described as the big brothers of the company's DMC-3 and DMC-6 controllers1.
What it does
The DMC 4-B sends MIDI commands to effects units, so preset changes and tempo control happen at your feet instead of reaching over the board. Two features set it apart within the DMC range as reported at launch1:
- The DMC section carries an additional dedicated tap footswitch, giving tap tempo its own switch rather than sharing one with preset selection1.
- A TRS Insert input can turn a passive volume pedal into a buffered pedal, which places a buffer ahead of the pedal's electronics1.
"The TRS Insert input can turn your passive volume pedal into a buffered pedal."
For a player running MIDI-capable delay, reverb or multi-effects units, a controller like this replaces tapping out program changes on the units themselves. The tap footswitch matters where tempo-synced effects are in play, and the buffered volume pedal insert means a passive volume pedal in the chain does not have to load down the guitar signal on its own1.
Videos
Ryan Pickrel
Sources (1)
- Disaster Area Midi Pedal Controllers DMC 4-B And DMC 7, Delicious Audio, 2013-06-12
