Mark VII footswitch issue: anyone else?

[Trubador25]

So the first thing I must say in my first thread post here is that I absolutely LOVE my Mark VII Head. I have it running through a pair of Tone Tubby Purple Haze alnicos that are in a very nicely built Friedman 2-12 cab and it sounds fantastic!!! This honestly is the nicest Boogie I have played through and I have had quite a few over the last couple decades. And of all the Marks I have owned I have never gotten one where I absolutely loved all three channels. I would never use the second rhythm channels and chose instead to just use like a TS9 with the rhy 1 clean channel, if I needed some gritty chords or slightly dirty sound. But with the VII I am doing the opposite and using my amp channels way more and my OD pedals a lot less. And I use the second channel more than anything now as it reacts great to my playing and my volume / tone knobs and also sounds really good for lead work with a tube screamer running into it.
However, the only issue that I am having is with the footswitch. I’ll look down while playing and the whole thing will be flashing like the cable came loose or something. I’ll check thinking I may have stepped on it, but nothing is loose or disconnected. It just randomly happens while I’m playing and seems to be getting more frequent. anyone else having this issue? Idk if it’s something with the cable or something in the switch box itself. It’s not a major issue but definitely can be a hindrance mid-set.

 

[mace]

My VII has never had that issue, so maybe there is something funky with your cable? Another potential issue is if the cable plug was stepped on near the footswitch. This can put strain on the jack. So, maybe check out the connections on the jack in the footswitch? I’ve had a Mark V cable/jack go bad after being stepped on. Had to get a new cable as it messed up the plug (the ground tab broke loose or something like that).

 

[rarebitusa]

My VII has never had that issue, so maybe there is something funky with your cable? Another potential issue is if the cable plug was stepped on near the footswitch. This can put strain on the jack. So, maybe check out the connections on the jack in the footswitch? I’ve had a Mark V cable/jack go bad after being stepped on. Had to get a new cable as it messed up the plug (the ground tab broke loose or something like that).

Yep my V cable/jack is on the blink as well. In my case it's the jack on the footswitch that's flaky and no doubt from being stepped on.

 

[Trubador25]

Thank you guys so much for the replies. I think it is exactly what you're saying. The way I have the controller set in front of my main board I think I'm hitting the cable with my foot a little when I turn on/off certain pedals and it has finally caused an issue. Wish I could get a 90 degree end on the cable so I could route it up between some pedals and out the side of the board instead just straight out off the foot switch. I know those cables aren't necessarily cheap either. I'll have to call Boogie or maybe have someone look and see if it's just the cable or if the jack is messed up too. Thanks again guys!

Had to throw an edit on here to because im sitting here remembering how much I used beat the crap out of my old Mark IV controllers and never had an issue. But I think that cable came off the top of the controller so it didn't get stepped on ever. And If Im remembering correctly the cable was also fixed to the controller and unplugged only from the back of the amp. I remember rolling the cable up somewhat crudely and then dangling the controller and letting it spin out all the wraps, lol. And it always worked like a champ!

 

[mace]

Not sure about the VII but a generic, cheap amazon cable with the correct Pin count could work. I bought one for the V when the original got stepped on (this was Mesa’s advice to me, save some money on a cheap third party cable since it doesn’t affect tone).

 

[bandit2013]

Read the Mark VII manual, page 35 as this addresses a cable test and fault modes. Further on there is a method how to perform factory reset to the midi controller and memory for the presets on page 39. Sounds like you found the missing bug. I copied the text on Page 35 for easy reference.

To use the MARK VII Footswitch, connect the 7-Pin DIN cable to the MESA FTSW jack on the Rear Panel, making sure to line the pins up correctly. Do NOT force the cable into the jack! When the pins are aligned, it will fit easily, though snugly, into the jack. Connect the other end of the 7-Pin DIN cable to the similar jack on the MARK VII Footswitch; the STORE LED and all of the Footswitch LEDs should turn on briefly, then at least one Footswitch LED should remain on. If not, unplug the cable and try connecting it again, making sure the pins are properly aligned.

Check the MARK VII Footswitch connection as well to be sure the cable is seated all the way home there also. When a button on the Footswitch is pressed, the STORE LED will flash once, indicating a button has been pressed.

NOTE: Do not use the MARK VII Footswitch and a MIDI foot controller at the same time. Choose one or the other to control your amplifier, and DO NOT CONNECT THE JACK that corresponds to the switching method YOU DO NOT INTEND TO USE.

BUILT-IN CABLE CHECK FEATURE: The Footswitch has a built-in cable check feature which is activated when the MIDI CHANNEL SELECT SWITCH is set to Channel #1 (position ‘0’). So, if the Footswitch cable is damaged at any time, or there’s a communications failure with the MARK VII, all of the Footswitch LEDs will blink steadily, assuming it is still receiving power from the MARK VII, of course.

CONTROLLING MULTIPLE MARK VIIS: Controlling multiple MARK VIIs with one Footswitch is easily accomplished by connecting the Footswitch to the MESA FTSW jack on one MARK VII and connecting the MIDI THRU/OUT from this MARK VII to the MIDI INPUT on a second MARK VII. For a third MARK VII, connect the MIDI THRU/OUT from the second MARK VII to the MIDI INPUT on the third MARK VII, and so on. When controlling multiple MARK VIIs, only the MARK VII with the Footswitch connected to it should be set to MIDI Channel #1; all of the other MARK VIIs should be set to another (any) MIDI Channel. Additionally, the Front and any rear panel toggle and/or rotary switches should be set to their center / off / FTSW position (for no other reason than to minimize any confusion).

EMERGENCY FAILSAFE FOR A LOST FTSW CABLE: If the supplied 7-pin DIN Footswitch cable is lost, a temporary (for emergencies only) solution is to use a standard MIDI cable, which must have all 5-pins connected as per the MIDI specification. The Footswitch LEDs will blink five times when it is first connected to the MARK VII, indicating there’s a cable issue, and the LEDs will remain off, but the buttons will still operate normally, allowing the Channels and other on/off functions to be selected.