OT: Footswitch

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Widetrack
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2011/08/18 12:45:33 (permalink)

OT: Footswitch

Does anyone know if there is a "momentary" footswitch (Where it's on as long as you press it and off as soon as you release it) that will connect/disconnect a synth output to/from a PA? I want to play s hardware synth live, and double the sound with another synth selected points. All the momentary pedals I've found are designed like sustain pedals and have just one cable. It seems that to work the way I want, it would need to have an input jack and an output jack, so I could put it between the synth output and the PA input, like a guitar effects pedal. Or is there a simpler way to do this that I'm missing?
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    bitflipper
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    Re:OT: Footswitch 2011/08/18 13:32:36 (permalink)
    Guitarists use routing switchers (like this) to change amplifiers and signal chains on the fly. Fancier ones are basically foot-operated patchbays with unlimited possibilities. But these may be much more functionality than you want.

    Here's one that contains two switches, either or both of which can be configured as momentary-on.

    Personally, I'd probably prefer an expression pedal for the doubled synth so that a) the transition wouldn't be too abrupt, and b) I could adjust the balance on the fly.


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    #2
    Widetrack
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    Re:OT: Footswitch 2011/08/18 13:45:04 (permalink)
    Thanks, Bit. I agree with your comments about a pedal with a continuous motion like a wah-wah. But do these pedals go inline--with input and output jacks--or just plug into a synth's expression jack, which would not--as far as I know--affect volume?
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    Chappel
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    Re:OT: Footswitch 2011/08/18 13:59:00 (permalink)
    You can use any kind of foot controlled A/B switch to do that, though all the ones I've seen were made for guitars and are Mono. The switch has two outputs. Connect one to the PA. Click the switch and you hear the synth through the PA. Click the switch again and you don't (because that output isn't connected to anything). Here's an example of this kind of latching switch, but there are many models to choose from. This is, basically, the same kind of latching device bitflipper posted a link to, and is the cheapest solution. He also posted a link to one that has a momentary switch function and will do exactly what you want. http://www.zzounds.com/item--BEHAB100
    post edited by Chappel - 2011/08/18 14:02:33
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    Widetrack
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    Re:OT: Footswitch 2011/08/18 14:55:27 (permalink)
    Thanks, Chappell. That clarifies things a lot. Not being a guitar player, I only have a vague idea about how these things work. The more I think about it, though, the more I like the idea of a continuous volume pedal. I'm going to see if I can find one that doesn't csot next month's rent.
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    Widetrack
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    Re:OT: Footswitch 2011/08/18 15:24:58 (permalink)
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    bitflipper
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    Re:OT: Footswitch 2011/08/19 12:42:29 (permalink)
    The biggest problem with adapting guitar pedals and effects to keyboard usage is that they are almost always monophonic. It's only recently that stereo stompboxes and pedals have come along for us keyboard players. (I'm having fun with the recently-introduced stereo looper stompbox from Roland, for example.)

    One solution is to use an expression controller instead of a volume pedal. Most hardware synths have an input for an expression controller, which looks and feels like a volume pedal but instead of attenuating the audio signal it varies a control voltage to the synth's internal VCA. This not only solves the problem of stereo, but also avoids the other big problem with volume pedals, which is signal degradation.


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    Widetrack
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    Re:OT: Footswitch 2011/08/19 14:10:54 (permalink)
    You're on the money there, Bit. My bad that I didn't say up front that the synth I want to control is the Yamaha VL70, a box and patches developed specifically to be used with a wind controller (Ewi, Wx5, etc). In part, this means the "expression" you get comes from the wind controller, so there's no expression jack on the synth. Also, this is for live performance, so stereo is not a big issue. Perhaps I should go back to the momentary switch idea, set the VL's volume on the PA and go that route.
    The big impediment now is that, having re-read the websites, I found both units ONLY run on batteries, not good for live perf. Darn. I'm flipflopping like a cheap politician, but I guess it's just the process of sussing out the pros and cons of a plan. Thanks again to all for the input.
    post edited by Widetrack - 2011/08/19 14:12:19
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    bitflipper
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    Re:OT: Footswitch 2011/08/19 14:24:13 (permalink)
    Yeh, by all means avoid anything that only runs on batteries. Murphy's Law dictates that the battery will go dead in the middle of your solo.

    If mono is OK, I'd go with a volume pedal. Next consideration is the type of volume control. The cheaper ones use a potentiometer, which is prone to failure and scratchiness over time. Get an optical pedal like this one from Morley, a highly-regarded brand for many years. This can run off battery or wall-wart power supply.
    post edited by bitflipper - 2011/08/19 14:25:17


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    #9
    Widetrack
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    Re:OT: Footswitch 2011/08/19 14:28:30 (permalink)
    What about tone degradation with the Morely et. al.?
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    bitflipper
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    Re:OT: Footswitch 2011/08/20 11:26:51 (permalink)
    I would not worry about tone degradation with the Morley and pedals of that type. It's basically a foot-operated LA-2A: a photoresistor and an LED, with a variable mask in between and no moving parts in the signal path.

    The only downside is that optical pedals do not have as wide a range of attenuation as potentiometer-based devices, meaning they can't go to complete silence. This should not be a problem in a live-performance situation, though, where -60db is as good as silence.


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    #11
    Cactus Music
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    Re:OT: Footswitch 2011/08/20 23:40:35 (permalink)
    I have an Ernie Ball stereo Volume pedal, It's passive and will work with Keyboards. This one shown has a pan option too. Mine is 20 years old and has never glitched.
     A keyboard player I worked with used 2 of them. One from his Piano and the other from a sound module he used for Organs and Synths. He had a little sub mixer and even ran his vocal mike though it.  He was always on the money in the mix. He could feed you stereo or mono via XLR too. He used the mixers aux to a powered speaker for a monitor. Excellent set up.



    post edited by Cactus Music - 2011/08/20 23:42:46

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    #12
    Widetrack
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    Re:OT: Footswitch 2011/08/29 00:08:06 (permalink)
    That all sounds great. Also solves the problem I recently thought of that a switch would keep the module off all of the time. I would want it ON most of the time and only off on tunes where I wanted to bring it in occasionally with the foot. The pedal, solves that problem elegantly. Thank you everyone.
    #13
    b rock
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    Re:OT: Footswitch 2011/09/04 14:30:47 (permalink)
    Late to the party here, but I'll add some options for those with similar problems.  MIDI Solutions boxes insert inline with your MIDI device, and generally derive their power (with few exceptions) from the MIDI stream itself.  I use the Event Processor Plus as a programmable toolkit for all kinds of problematic MIDI routings.
     
    Simpler solutions (with easier programming) for the narrower applications found this thread might be the Pedal Controller, or the Footswitch Controller.  These boxes are similar to the discontinued Anatek line (specifically here: the Pocket Pedal), but have more versatility built in.  And the programmability doesn't involve setting DIP switches.
    #14
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