Matthews Effects The Futurist

The Futurist is a compact MIDI controller pedal from Matthews Effects, designed to sit on a pedalboard and command anything with a MIDI input. Rather than shaping your guitar tone itself, it sends MIDI messages: program changes to switch patches on your effects, tempo messages to sync delays, Control Change from an expression pedal, or any other MIDI message a device understands. Matthews Effects describes it as "a unique, compact MIDI controller pedal that pioneers a better way of experiencing MIDI."¹

It launched in May 2021 at a list price of $229.99, after first being teased at NAMM 2020, with four footswitches, an LCD screen and several ways to connect: 3.5mm, traditional five-pin and USB.² As of late October 2026 the maker's product page lists it as sold out.¹

Footswitches, jacks and message triggers

The pedal carries four footswitches, each of which activates one of the current bank's four patches. The footswitches double as navigational buttons when you are inside menus, and banks can be scrolled through by holding down the first switch.²

Each footswitch can also be programmed to a specific function rather than a patch: Matthews Effects lets you assign any switch as a preset, tap, bank up, bank down, preset up or preset down.⁴

Beyond the four built-in switches, three additional footswitches can be added through the control jack, expanding the pedal from 4 switches to 7. Matthews Effects sells an External 3 Switch unit as a companion for exactly this, and describes the switches as built to last against the abuse of the road.¹⁴

The real flexibility is in how messages are triggered. The Futurist supports six trigger types per action: Press, Release, Long Press, Long Release, Toggle On and Toggle Off.⁴ That means a single switch can fire different MIDI messages depending on how you use it: a quick press could send one message, a long press another, and a toggle pair could turn something on and off.

MIDI connections and clock

The Futurist can send any kind of MIDI message, which Matthews Effects says gives you control of anything that has MIDI.¹ Delicious Audio notes it can send patch, tempo, expression and other messages to up to 16 devices.³

Connections come in three forms:

• 3.5mm TRS MIDI in/out, which connect directly to devices using TRS MIDI and work with adapters for 1/4 inch MIDI connections¹
• Traditional five-pin, which can be configured as either an input or an output using an internal dipswitch²
• Micro USB, which sends and receives MIDI, powers the Futurist, manages presets and updates firmware³

For tempo-based gear, the Futurist handles MIDI clock in both directions: it can generate its own MIDI clock or pass along MIDI clock from an outside source.¹ Clock settings can be stored per patch, alongside the patch's other settings.³

Presets and messages

The Futurist holds 210 total presets, organized into 30 banks of 7.¹ Guitar.com's coverage confirms the 210 patch slots and explains the layout: each footswitch activates one of the current bank's four patches, with banks scrolled by holding the first switch.²

Each preset can send a total of 16 MIDI messages, on any MIDI channel.⁴ Delicious Audio adds that patches also carry patch specific Expression, Utility Jack and MIDI Clock settings, so those behaviors change with the patch rather than being locked globally.³

Power: 9V, 50mA

The Futurist runs at 9V with a 50mA current draw.¹ Its micro USB connection can also power the unit, in addition to carrying MIDI, managing presets and updating firmware.³

The Matthews Effects Editor software

The Futurist launched alongside Matthews Effects' own Editor software, a free computer application for the pedal.³ Guitar.com describes what it covers: creating, editing and organizing patches, as well as creating presets for MIDI control messages.²

The software handles several jobs:

• Editing patches and global settings³
• Creating custom messages³
• Sharing patches³
• Updating the Futurist's firmware¹

Its standout feature is what Guitar.com calls the "Smart Editor Wizard." You select the brand and product you want to control, choose the action you need the MIDI controller to perform, and the software sets the patch to use the required MIDI message automatically.² For a player who does not know what message a given pedal expects, the wizard fills that in for you.

Where it came from

Matthews Effects first teased the Futurist at NAMM 2020, and launched it in May 2021 at $229.99.² Delicious Audio covered it at launch as "an all-in-one MIDI control center," pairing the hardware with the Editor software.³ As of October 2026 the maker's product page lists the pedal as sold out.¹

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