Rocktron All Access

The Rocktron All Access is a MIDI foot controller built for the stage rather than the pedalboard floor. Instead of processing your guitar signal, it sends MIDI commands to rack gear: preamps, effects processors, loop switchers and anything else with a MIDI input. Rocktron positions it as its professional stage controller, and describes it as having been "used on more pro tours than any other" controller¹.

The unit carries 18 metal switches, which Rocktron says give a positive tactile feel and long life, and a large 16 character fluorescent display for custom titles, easy programming and a clear visual on any stage². It evolved from the earlier "Rocktron/Bradshaw" units, the custom controllers associated with rack rigs of the 1980s and 1990s².

Three operating modes

Rocktron says the All Access can be set up to your specs in three operating modes: Bank Mode, Song Mode and Remote Mode².

Bank Mode

Bank Mode holds 120 presets, and each instant switch can be set up global or per preset². The bank layout is configurable three ways²:

The instant switches are what turn the controller into something more like a conventional pedalboard: all 15 access switches can be set up to "instant", operating as a huge instant access "pedal board" for effect on/off control². A player who mostly wants preset changes picks a layout with more presets per bank; a player who wants to toggle individual effects mid song picks one with more instant switches.

Song Mode

Song Mode is built around a setlist rather than a bank grid. It allows up to 150 songs to be stored with 15 presets per song, and the 10 sets allow placement of 50 songs per set². For a gigging player, that means each song gets its own 15 preset slots, so the sounds for a given song sit together instead of being spread across banks.

Remote Mode

Remote Mode is the tightest integration with Rocktron's own rack gear. It automatically programs the footswitch to match Rocktron remote compatible units, with titles and individual switch functions updating on both the rack unit and the controller¹. Rather than manually programming the controller to match a Rocktron rack unit, the two configure each other.

MIDI capability

Each of the 120 presets can include over 36 MIDI commands, transmitted among the 16 MIDI channels, including "toggling" control change commands². The controller also offers MIDI filtering, dump/load, SysEx, and a choice of 0-127 or 1-128 transmit operation². The 0-127 versus 1-128 choice matters because some gear numbers its programs from 0 and some from 1, and a mismatch produces off by one preset changes.

The seven pin MIDI Out jack allows phantom powering from your rack². With a suitable rack unit and cable, power travels down the MIDI connection, so the controller on stage needs no separate supply run out to it.

The All Access LTD

Rocktron also offers the All Access LTD, a limited edition version in black, and states that production will be limited¹. It shares the standard unit's 15.5" wide by 10.5" deep by 3.5" tall dimensions, not including its HEX expression pedal, and the same 9VAC/1500mA power requirement¹. It weighs 18 lbs including the expression pedal, against 10 lbs for the standard All Access²¹.

Where it came from

Rocktron says the All Access "evolved from the earlier 'Rocktron/Bradshaw' units" and calls it "the professional standard"². The Rocktron/Bradshaw controllers were the custom rack rig controllers of an earlier era, and the All Access carries that concept into a production unit. It sits at the top of a line of Rocktron MIDI controllers that includes the MIDI Mate, the MIDI Raider and the MIDI Xchange, and pairs naturally with rack switching gear such as the PatchMate Loop 8. For a wider look at this category, see MIDI pedals.

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