RJM Music Technology Inc., has announced the Mastermind LT: a low cost, yet very capable MIDI foot controller.

Ron Menelli, founder and engineer of RJM Music’s products said, “We wanted to do a more affordable product that still had the flexibility and power of our Mastermind GT. Many top acts are using the Mastermind GT on tour such as: John Petrucci (Dream Theater), Fall Out Boy, Beck, Metallica, Muse, Nine Inch Nails and many more. By introducing a lower cost model, we can get much of the same capabilities in the hands of a lot more customers.”

The trick was to reduce the cost substantially without compromising quality. Building the Mastermind LT with a single LCD and a multi-color LED over every button made it possible to reduce both the cost and size. The core of the unit – the processor, memory and USB interfaces remains the same as those on RJM’s more expensive products.

The small size and full feature set make the Mastermind LT well-suited for many applications. The LT can be used on a pedalboard to control MIDI capable pedals such as those made by Eventide and Strymon, enabling simultaneous preset changes on multiple pedals with a single button press. The Mastermind LT also works well with music apps – you can connect it directly to a computer’s USB port, which will provide power to the LT. The LT will appear as a MIDI device in the system and can be used to send commands to programs such as Ableton Live, Logic and MainStage.

Other notable features of the Mastermind LT include:

• Sixteen user-configurable button pages allow you to change the function of your buttons on the fly. For example, with a button tap, you can switch between a page that select presets on your devices, another page that turns effects on and off in a multi-effect unit, and a third page that controls a phrase looper, synth or DAW
• Free editor software for PC and Mac, which unlocks the full capabilities of the Mastermind LT and allows you to perform more advanced editing tasks
• An expression pedal input that can generate MIDI continuous controller messages to control parameters on your MIDI devices
• An external switch input that allows you to connect two more user-configurable footswitches to the Mastermind LT
• A function switch output that can control channel switching on many amplifiers, or control pedals that have a ¼-inch external switch input
• A USB host port for connecting a flash drive, which can be used to save and restore settings without the need for a computer

The Mastermind LT is shipping now, with a street price of $399 in the USA.

For more information please visit the RJM Music web site at rjmmusic.com/products/mastermind-lt