How to Control Zelzah with MIDI

MIDI Connections to Zelzah

To begin using Zelzah with an external MIDI device, connect the MIDI out jack from a pedal, controller, or computer interface to the EXP/MIDI jack on Zelzah. The following devices can be used to send MIDI messages to Zelzah:

Strymon MIDI EXP cable
Strymon Conduit MIDI Hub
Compatible 5-pin MIDI to 1⁄4” MIDI Interface:
- Disaster Area Designs – DPC Gen 3 Series, DMC Gen 3 Series, MIDIBox
- Empress Effects – MIDIbox2
Connect Zelzah via USB to a USB host device (such as a computer) that sends MIDI

Configuring Zelzah to Use 1/4″ TRS MIDI

Set the EXP/MIDI jack to MIDI Mode

Once you have connected Zelzah to a MIDI source, you must set the EXP/MIDI jack to MIDI mode.

Press and hold the ON (4-STAGE) footswitch while connecting power to the pedal.
When the LEDs stop blinking, release the footswitch and turn the SPEED (6-STAGE) knob clockwise until the ON (6-STAGE) LED turns BLUE.
Press either footswitch to store the EXP/MIDI jack assignment.

Set MIDI Channel

Next, you will need to select a MIDI channel to communicate with Zelzah. Zelzah is set to MIDI channel 1 by default.

Press and hold down the ON (4-STAGE) footswitch while connecting the power to the pedal.
When the LEDs stop blinking, release the footswitch and turn the SPEED (4-STAGE) knob to set the MIDI channel. The ON (4-STAGE) LED will change color as the MIDI Channel is changed:
- GREEN – MIDI Channel 1 (default)
- AMBER – MIDI Channel 2
- RED – MIDI Channel 3
- BLUE – MIDI Channels 4-16
  - This setting requires a 1/4″ TRS MIDI connection to set. Once the LED turns BLUE, it will blink until the pedal receives a MIDI Program Change message. Once a MIDI PC message is received, the pedal will be set to the MIDI channel that the message was sent through and the LED will stop blinking.
    - ex. Send a MIDI Program Change message on MIDI Channel 5 to set Zelzah to MIDI Channel 5.
Press the either of the footswitches to store the MIDI channel assignment and begin using Zelzah.
- If selecting MIDI Channel 4-16, Zelzah will automatically save the setting and boot up once a MIDI Program Change message is received.

Set MIDI Output Mode

The MIDI Output mode must be set to determine what kind of MIDI data is sent out by Zelzah. ***NOTE: If you are only sending MIDI data to Zelzah or if you are using the Strymon MIDI EXP cable, the MIDI Output mode must be set to OFF.***

Press and hold down the ON (4-STAGE) footswitch while connecting the pedal to power.
When the LEDs stop blinking, release the footswitch and turn the MIX knob to select what kind of MIDI data is sent from Zelzah to other MIDI devices. The ON (4-STAGE) LED will show the status:
- RED – OFF (default) – No MIDI messages are sent out of Zelzah.
- BLUE – THROUGH – Incoming MIDI messages are sent to the MIDI OUT without any additional MIDI messages generated by Zelzah.
- WHITE – SEND CC, PC, OTHER – MIDI CC PC, and Sysex messages generated by Zelzah.
- GREEN – SEND CC, OTHER – MIDI CC and Sysex messags generated by Zelzah are sent to the MIDI OUT.
- PURPLE – SEND PC, OTHER – MIDI PC messages generated by Zelzah are sent to the MIDI OUT.
- AMBER – SEND OTHER – Sysex messages generated by Zelzah are sent to the MIDI OUT.

MIDI Clock Sync

Once you have configured Zelzah to communicate via MIDI, you can set the pedal to synchronize to incoming MIDI clock.

When Zelzah is sync’d to MIDI clock, the SPEED knobs will each act as a multiplier or divider of the incoming clock tempo. The synchronized SPEED mult/div settings from left to right are:

- x4, x3, x2, x1 (same as incoming clock) at 12 o’clock noon, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4

To set whether Zelzah will respond to incoming MIDI clock:

Press and hold the ON (6-STAGE) footswitch. Once both LEDs flash, release the footswitch.
Turn the SPEED (6-STAGE) knob to sync Zelzah with MIDI clock. Both LEDs will momentarily change color to indicate the current status as the knob is turned.
1. RED – OFF (default) – Zelzah will not respond to MIDI clock.
2. BLUE – ON – Zelzah will respond to MIDI clock.

The MIDI Clock setting is saved per Favorite setting or MIDI preset.

Saving and Recalling Presets on Zelzah with MIDI

Saving Presets via MIDI

***NOTE: Saved Favorite or MIDI presets on Zelzah will store the settings of all the knobs and toggle switches on the pedal as well as the individual bypass states of the 4-Stage and 6-Stage sides of the pedal.***

With the EXP/MIDI jack set to MIDI mode, the currently loaded settings can be saved to any of Zelzah’s 300 preset locations at any time.

To initiate the SAVE process, press and hold the ON (4-STAGE) footswitch. The ON (4-STAGE) LED will start blinking BLUE.
Send a MIDI Program Change message from your connected MIDI device to Zelzah. The LED will stop flashing and Zelzah will save the settings to the preset location that corresponds with the MIDI Program Change message it received.
- To save a preset to the currently loaded preset location, simply press the ON (4-STAGE) footswitch once again while the LED is flashing.

Recalling Presets

To recall presets on Zelzah, send the pedal a MIDI Program Change message on the same MIDI channel the pedal is set to that corresponds to the desired preset you would like to recall.

Zelzah contains 300 preset locations, numbered sequentially from 0-299. Because MIDI Program Change messages have a maximum number of 128 (0-127) the presets are grouped into three MIDI patch banks:

MIDI BANK 0 = PRESETS 0-127
MIDI BANK 1 = PRESETS 128-255
MIDI BANK 2 = PRESETS 256-299

Zelzah always powers up in MIDI Patch Bank 0, so if you plan to stay within the first 127 presets, simply send a standard MIDI Program Change message to load a preset.

If you will be using MIDI Banks 1 and/or 2, it is advisable to send a standard MIDI Bank Change message (MIDI CC# 0 with a value equal to the MIDI Bank#) before each MIDI Program Change.

Selecting bank 0, patch 127 will put Zelzah into Manual mode. In this mode, the pedal will be set to the current knob and switch settings. No preset data can be stored at this preset location.