Disaster Area Designs | DPC-5 | Gen3 | MIDI Programmable Bypass Switcher

DPC-5 Gen3 Programmable Bypass Switcher with MIDI

The DPC-5 is a compact MIDI controller and loop switcher. It’s designed to control a mix of MIDI and non-MIDI pedals in your rig, allowing you to craft presets that you can engage instantly when you need them. A single tap on your DPC-5 can turn up to five non-MIDI pedals on or off, send tap tempo to a delay or other device, change the channel on your amplifier, and switch programs on up to four MIDI devices. That’s a lot of power in a small footprint!

Want even more control? Add the optional side roller to send expression data to any or all of your connected MIDI devices!

Managing a pedalboard filled with a mix of MIDI and non-MIDI devices can be challenging, but the DPC-5 is designed to make it simple.

If you have one MIDI device, the DPC-5 Gen3 can simplify selecting programs, send it expression or tap tempo, or even keep it locked in to a MIDI clock.  We can also control the loop recorder / looper on several popular devices such as the Strymon Timeline, Eventide H9, and Line 6 M9 / M13.   Unlike the DMC-3XL and DMC-4 Gen3, the looper mode doesn’t occupy one of the device slots, so you can still get full control even with the looper mode enabled.

As helpful as the DPC-5 Gen3 is for single device users, it really shines when used with multiple pedals.  Instead of scrolling around on each device to select a program for your next song, the DMC can send simultaneous commands to all of your pedals to select the exact patches you want with a single tap!  Using our Preset Mode, changing sounds on all of your MIDI pedals is as easy as changing the channel on your TV remote.  The DPC-5Gen3 can control up to four separate devices.

And by adding our new Clock Mode, we’ve taken pedalboard control to a new level!  You can select your tempo by BPM, or tap in a new tempo any time.  The DPC-5 Gen3 allows for a global tempo that you can tap in at any time, or preset tempos that change along with your MIDI programs.  You can even configure the MultiJack to send taps to your non-MIDI devices with tap tempo inputs.

• Compact size – 10" x 2.6" x 2" excluding switch caps and jacks.
• No special power supply required – uses less than 120mA, 9V from a Pedal Power 2 or similar.
• 5 footswitches for preset selection or manual effects loop control.
• 128 presets accessible by foot, arranged in banks of three or four
• Full MIDI control of presets and effects loops
• 5 effects loops with a custom-designed switching matrix
• MIDI mode controls up to four MIDI devices
• Always-on tuner out with tuner mute, or use the tuner in your MIDI devices
• Bright blue LED display with user-definable brightness work in any situation from an orchestra pit to full sun.
• Bypassable buffer on Loop 1 for compatibility with impedance-sensitive devices like fuzz, vibe, wah, more.
• Optional Side Roller sends expression control data to connected MIDI devices, configurable separately from Expression Port or MultiJack
• USB connector for MIDI connection, also acts as USB-MIDI HOST (requires gHOST Adapter)
• Isolated TRS switching jack for amplifier control or tap tempo
• Built-in MIDI clock sends tempo to your devices, saved per-preset or globally

Wiring up your rig with a loop switcher like the DPC-5 Gen3 is a bit different than a traditional setup.  Instead of connecting the output of your first pedal to the input of your second pedal, you have to connect each pedal in your chain to its own loop on the DPC-5 Gen3.  You’ll need two cables per pedal that you want to connect, so that means ten cables to connect five pedals to the DPC-5.  We recommend our EVO Solderless cable kits due the tight spacing on the jack panel, but George L’s and Lava solderless plugs also work.  If you prefer to use soldered plugs, we recommend Switchcraft 280 short-handle straight plugs.

You’ll also need one MIDI cable for each device you want to connect to the DPC-5 Gen3.  MIDI is a communication protocol, and a single MIDI cable is capable of sending data to up to 16 different places on separate MIDI channels.  If you want to connect multiple MIDI devices together, you can generally hook the output of the first device (like the DPC) into the input of the second device, then the output of the second device runs into the input of the third device and so on.

• Size: 10” x 2.6” x 2” (250mm x 66mm x 51mm)
• 5-pin MIDI output (use MIDI-Y Cable for MIDI input)
• MultiJack functions as tap tempo output, expression pedal input, MIDI output
• Expression port functions as expression pedal input or remote footswitch input
• USB port for firmware update or USB-MIDI, USB HOST requires gHOST Adapter
• Controls up to four MIDI devices
• Bypassable input buffer on Loop 1
• Power: 9V DC, 100mA or less
• Blue LED display with user-definable brightness
• 5 bypass loops
• Isolated TRS ouptut for amp switching or tap tempo
• MIDI Clock and tap source
• Soft-touch footswitches
• Preset, Foot, Looper, Clock, and MIDI modes