Buttons and Pages

One of the most important features of the Mastermind is the ability to redefine buttons. Each button can be configured for function, color and name, as well as quite a few other settings.

Button Types

There are many button types available, but they can be broken down into a few categories:

Preset and Bank Buttons

Preset buttons, as the name might suggest, load a preset when they're pressed. There are 4 to 6 preset buttons defined on a device by default, but there are 768 presets available. To allow the buttons to access all of the available presets, Bank Up and Bank Down buttons are used. The preset buttons will access presets starting at number 1 on power up. When you press Bank Up, the preset numbers shift so that the next group of presets is accessible. Each press of Bank Up with shift the preset numbers up again, and each press of Bank Down will shift the preset numbers down.

When you're selecting banks, the bank number will be displayed in the main display, and it will cycle through the names of all presets in the current bank, lighting the appropriate preset button. (On the Mastermind GT, the preset names will be displayed over each preset button and the LCDs over the preset buttons will flash). This allows you to preview the presets in the bank without needing to select a preset. The Mastermind will wait for you to select a preset before continuing. You can either stay in bank selection and continue to use the Bank Up and Bank Down buttons to move through the banks, or you can press a preset button to load that preset.

Example: A Mastermind PBC/10 has five preset buttons. When you power it up, the preset buttons select presets 1-5. Pressing Bank Up will shift the preset buttons to access presets 6-10. Pressing Bank Up again will shift the preset buttons to access presets 11-15. Pressing the second preset button at this time will select preset 12.

IA Buttons

Instant Access ("IA") buttons are multi-purpose buttons that perform a list of actions when pressed. These actions can send MIDI messages, turn on audio loops in the PBC, and many other functions. Typically, these buttons are used to perform small changes in a system. For example, turning on a loop on a switcher, or turning on an individual effect on a multi-effect processor.

IA buttons can be programmed to automatically turn on or off for any preset, which makes it easy to set up pre-programmed combinations of effects.

Other Buttons

The other button types perform a wide variety of functions, including calling up certain menus, switching button pages and turning on IA Mode. A complete list of button types can be found in the Button Edit Page section.

For more information on preset, bank and IA buttons, see Mastering the Mastermind Episode 3, MIDI Controller Basics

Button Pages

The Mastermind is not limited to the number of physical buttons the device actually has. Buttons are arranged in 16 button pages, and each page can have completely different settings for each button. There are Page Up and Page Down button types that allow you to switch between these button pages. On the Mastermind GT, there is also a Page Menu button type that lets you choose a button page from a list.

Each preset can be programmed to automatically recall a specific button page. You can, for example, use this feature to switch between a button page that controls your effects and another page that has controls for your looper, depending on which controls you need in each preset.

Also, each preset can have a local button page. This is an additional button page that's only available when you're using a specific preset. When using a local page, the local page takes the place of button page 16. Each preset can have its own local button page if desired.

For more information on button pages, see Mastering the Mastermind Episode 4, Using Button Pages

Global Buttons

Any button can be set to be Global, which means that the button appears on every button page. Changing a global button's settings on one page will change its settings on every page, including local button pages.

Button Groups

Buttons can be assigned to one of twelve Groups. In a group, only one button is allowed to be on at a time. Pressing a button in the group turns that button on and also turns off any other buttons in the group. This feature can be useful for selecting presets on a device, channels on an amp, or anywhere else where you're selecting one item out of a small group.

In the Globals Tab, there are some settings that affect how each group works:

Send Off Messages - When this is checked, a button that is turned off as a result of pressing another button will send its messages. When this is not checked, only the button that's actually being pressed will send its messages.

Allow All Buttons Off - When this is checked, pressing the currently selected button a second time will turn the button off. The button will always send its off messages, regardless of the Send Off Messages setting. When this setting is not checked, pressing the currently selected button will keep the button on, and the button will send its on messages again.

Group Actions - You can assign up to 20 actions to a group. If one button in the group is on, and you press it again to turn that button off, that's considered an "off" event, and it will run the actions. Conversely, if no buttons in the group are on and you press a button to turn it on, that's considered an "on" event, and it will run the actions. Using Group Actions requires that Allow All Buttons Off is turned on for the group.

For more information on button groups, see Mastering the Mastermind Episode 9, Groups