The Tech 21 MIDI Mouse is a compact MIDI foot controller in a familiar stomp box format, built in a sturdy cast aluminum box with high quality switches. Tech 21 describes it as the only MIDI foot controller available that's battery operable, which makes it a straightforward way to change programs on MIDI-equipped gear without a wall supply or a large pedalboard controller1. It belongs to the wider family of MIDI pedals and sits alongside its cousin, the Tech 21 MIDI Moose2.
Controls and modes
The MIDI Mouse has three footswitches. Up and Down locate your program, either one at a time or by speed-scrolling, and there are no banks to select, so you scroll straight to program locations. A third footswitch toggles between Search mode to locate programs and Active mode to send the program number to the MIDI output1.
In practice that means two presses of the same switch do two different jobs: you find the patch in Search mode, then the pedal sends it in Active mode. Tech 21 sums up the layout as player-friendly in a familiar stomp box format1.
Power options
Power is flexible, and the battery option is the headline feature:
- Phantom power operable via the MIDI cable
- Optional DC power supply, Tech 21 Model #DC4-A
- 9V alkaline battery (not included)1
The 9V alkaline battery is not included with the pedal, and the DC4-A power supply is an optional extra rather than a supplied accessory1.
MIDI Mouse and MIDI Moose
The MIDI Moose is the MIDI Mouse's close relative. Tech 21 introduces it as a battery-operated MIDI controller and says, "Like its MIDI Mouse cousin, the MIDI Moose is also battery operable"2. Both are compact foot controllers from the same maker, and the Moose page is archived on Tech 21's site2. Tech 21 also makes the MIDI Mongoose, another controller in the family4.
Price
Guitar Player's Art Thompson listed the MIDI Mouse at $109 in an October 2020 review3.
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Questions
Can the MIDI Mouse be powered through the MIDI cable?
Yes. Tech 21 says the MIDI Mouse is phantom power operable via the MIDI cable, so a device at the other end that supplies phantom power over MIDI can run it without a separate supply. If your setup does not provide phantom power, the pedal can also run on a 9V alkaline battery (not included) or on the optional Tech 21 DC4-A DC power supply.
How many programs can the MIDI Mouse send?
The MIDI Mouse can access 128 patches on any of 16 selectable MIDI channels. You reach them with the Up and Down footswitches, one program at a time or by speed-scrolling, and there are no banks to select first.
What is the difference between Search mode and Active mode?
The third footswitch toggles between the two modes. In Search mode you locate the program you want, scrolling with the Up and Down switches. In Active mode the MIDI Mouse sends that program number to the MIDI output, so the connected device changes to the patch you found.
What is the MIDI Mouse's relationship to the MIDI Moose?
The MIDI Moose is a related Tech 21 controller that the maker describes as the MIDI Mouse's cousin. Like the MIDI Mouse, the MIDI Moose is also battery operable, and both are compact battery-operated MIDI controllers from the same maker.
Sources (4)
- Tech 21 MIDI Mouse product page, Tech 21 NYC, May 4, 2019
- Tech 21 MIDI Moose archive page, Tech 21 NYC, June 23, 2019
- Tech 21 SansAmp PSA-20 review, Guitar Player, October 20, 2020
- Tech 21 MIDI Mongoose, Tonebox
