I've actually had some real-life experience with the M-Vave/Cuvave Chocolate MIDI controller. One of the options in the configuration app is to select between configuring the 1/4" jack for an expression pedal input or as a TRS MIDI output. So I made up a TRS-to-DIN cable out of an old 3.5mm stereo jack lead and an ancient DIN plug.
- MIDI_DIN.jpg (53.71 KiB) Viewed 89 times
- chocolate_trs.jpg (266.81 KiB) Viewed 89 times
What I'm using it for at the moment with the Line 6 M9 is to simultaneously select two switches. For example, the top middle and top right switches if pressed simultaneously turn the tuner on but using the Chocolate I can turn those two effects on e.g. distortion and octave without complication. That's what I'm doing with the left-hand two Chocolate switches. The right-hand two are set up to clear down the middle switches and select either top right or bottom right (distortion or boost).
- scarlet_red_pedalboard.jpg (233.95 KiB) Viewed 89 times
The other thing I'm looking to do is use it with the Behringer FCB1010 MIDI controller. The FCB1010 can't be programmed to send complex commands such as SysEx without the 3rd party UNO2 firmware*; the Chocolate can. By setting the FCB1010 mode to pass MIDI through, I can connect the Chocolate to FCB1010 MIDI in and pass its commands through, giving me more flexibility.
I've also bought the Chocolate Plus (£22.56 delivered from Ali Express), which allows you to use Advanced Custom Mode 2 in banks (on the original Advanced Custom Mode you're limited to the four buttons). However, the options in ACM2 are limited to "Short Step" and "Long Step"; the first sends a list of MIDI commands when you step on a button; the second sends a list of MIDI commands after a second delay when you step on a button - I suppose.
Another big improvement is that you can export and import configurations
The Chocolate Plus TRS connector is 3.5mm so it's handy that I decided to go with a 3.5mm TRS cable and a 3.5mm-to-6.35mm stereo adaptor for the Chocolate. It also has a USB host capability but I don't have a use for that at the moment.
*The UNO2 chip does not ship to UK because it's not worth the developer getting VAT registered - thank you Brexit!
