Members TechEverlasting Posted July 12, 2007 Members Share Posted July 12, 2007 I'm wondering if anyone else finds this as annoying as I do. I've been looking at various keyboard controllers from M Audio and CME, and they all have dozens of knobs and sliders but only two inputs for footswitches or control pedals. I have no use for any keyboard controller that has less than three footswitch jacks, because I need to dedicate one footswitch as a "patch advance" while still having volume and sustain pedals. Additional footswitches could be used to turn Leslie off or on for B3 simulators, to activate layers in patches, to open up filters and dozens of other functions. Kurzweil was way ahead of the curve on this with the PC-88 (two continuous, four footswitch jacks) but in order to get even a third footswitch jack these days I have to pay for a Roland RD700SX or a Yamaha S90ES. Are there others I'm missing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TheJesus Posted July 12, 2007 Members Share Posted July 12, 2007 The Fusion has 3 jacks, the Motif XS has 4 or 5, not sure. There are alot out there with more than 2, I'm just not aware of all the names off the top of my head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bdub Posted July 12, 2007 Members Share Posted July 12, 2007 I agree. 3 should be standard. My Roland Fantom (original model) has 3 and the S90ES has 4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pogo97 Posted July 12, 2007 Members Share Posted July 12, 2007 At risk of being a broken record on this, an alternate solution is the CME GPP3 which has three pedals (one continuous, two on/off) and TS/TRS, MIDI, and USB output--so you can use it and leave the pedal jacks open for something else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Daft Punk Posted July 12, 2007 Members Share Posted July 12, 2007 Or you can get something like a behringer FCB1010, or the new roland copy's of it. Midi controlled footswitches, 2 exp pedals and 8 buttons i believe for switching patches, activating certain effects, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrcpro Posted July 12, 2007 Members Share Posted July 12, 2007 My most versatile controller is that Roland XP-80 that I picked up for $400 last fall. It's got five controller out jacks with four assignable. Two default to prog-up and prog-down (hey... if you go up you gotta go back down right?). But I'm really using this XP-80 more and more because of it's quality keyboard and easy program change sends form it's front panel. There's a 10 key as well as dedicated program change buttons, so you can do either. All these things seem to be lacking in current controllers optimized for computer software. You might want to think about picking up a used XP-80. For what you want out of a controller, it's perfect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Prog Posted July 12, 2007 Members Share Posted July 12, 2007 I agree. The current computer peripherals aren't really meant for players. Outfitting keyboards for Live useage was at it's peak in the late 80s / early 90s. Ensoniqs had a lot of options. I have meet many keyboard "players" that can't even use a volume pedal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 80zclubkid Posted July 16, 2007 Members Share Posted July 16, 2007 I agree with you 100 %...4-5 jacks would be perfect... My Roland XP-80 has 4 assignable & 1 hold pedal jacks... I set pedals 1-4 (Up prog- down prog- tap tempo-start/stop)...The 5th jack is used with expression/damper pedal for hold/sustain... All pedals slide around floor, so i duck tape them to floor...& lablel with marker pen the parameters for each pedal... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members swardle Posted July 16, 2007 Members Share Posted July 16, 2007 I'd rather see more elaborate all-in-one MIDI foot controller systems, something that would also catch on as an industry standard. I personally don't like a bunch of spaghetti under my feet. Imagine something that had all of your sustain, volume, expression, triggers for program change inc/dec, any MIDI message send/receive, supported by Ableton/Reason or your choice of DAW in one convenient sturdy but length-expandable (adjustable to spacing preferences) type of case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members idiotboy Posted July 16, 2007 Members Share Posted July 16, 2007 I almost popped for this thing, on eBay, the other day, for precisely the reasons being discussed here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members swardle Posted July 16, 2007 Members Share Posted July 16, 2007 I almost popped for this thing, on eBay, the other day, for precisely the reasons being discussed here. Still, no sustain pedal. I've never understood that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Daft Punk Posted July 16, 2007 Members Share Posted July 16, 2007 Still, no sustain pedal. I've never understood that. It's geared towards guitarists, not necessarily keyboardists. Guitarists, if they used a hold pedal, would be the boss unlatching single pedal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Roald Posted July 16, 2007 Members Share Posted July 16, 2007 watch out...the sustain pedal is the UNlatched Boss...which is a great solid piece of kit, get one! latched: HIT! on-on-on-on-on-HIT!-off-off-off-off-offunlatched HIT=on-off-off-off-off-off-HIT=on-off-off-off-off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TechEverlasting Posted July 16, 2007 Author Members Share Posted July 16, 2007 Another good way to add an additonal footswitch is the pedal controller from MIDI solutions in Canada. http://www.midisolutions.com/prodfsw.htm I used one to add an additional volume pedal to a Roland RD 700SX for a project and it worked flawlessly. I still think it's absurd that a controlling keyboard that has dozens of switches and knobs only has two pedal inputs. Apparently none of the people who design these things ever play with both hands at the same time. I had a look at the $4,000 + Open Labs keyboard systems yesterday, and what do you know? Only two f*cking pedal jacks! I'm going to go bang my head against the wall a bit more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Daft Punk Posted July 16, 2007 Members Share Posted July 16, 2007 watch out...the sustain pedal is the UNlatched Boss...which is a great solid piece of kit, get one!latched: HIT! on-on-on-on-on-HIT!-off-off-off-off-offunlatched HIT=on-off-off-off-off-off-HIT=on-off-off-off-off oops, sorry, thats what i meant to say. Thanks for correcting me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Daft Punk Posted July 16, 2007 Members Share Posted July 16, 2007 Just found out Oberheim's MC-3000 has EIGHT controller jacks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gus Lozada Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 Or you can get something like a behringer FCB1010, or the new roland copy's of it. ... there must be something horribly wrong somewhere on that statement... Roland copying Behringer... ... time to kiss your loved ones and say "bye bye" ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Daft Punk Posted July 16, 2007 Members Share Posted July 16, 2007 ... there must be something horribly wrong somewhere on that statement... Roland copying Behringer... ... time to kiss your loved ones and say "bye bye" ? Didn't know what else to call it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Daft Punk Posted July 16, 2007 Members Share Posted July 16, 2007 ... there must be something horribly wrong somewhere on that statement... Roland copying Behringer... ... time to kiss your loved ones and say "bye bye" ? After further research, i've deduced that roland not only copied the behringer, but actually split it in two. Half the pedals and all the buttons with a horrible display All the pedals with half the buttons, display is better. ALL THE PEDALS/BUTTONS/DISPLAY!!! Also half the price of the roland models. Given, the rollies are probably built like tanks, but the FCB1010 looks slimmer and more portable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Daft Punk Posted July 19, 2007 Members Share Posted July 19, 2007 Bump for my comparisons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Umbra Posted July 19, 2007 Members Share Posted July 19, 2007 I have meet many keyboard "players" that can't even use a volume pedal.That is what velocity sensitivity is for. Or the volume knob. I think any more than 3 pedal jacks is pointless. I'd rather have 2 and a breath input. The bigger problem is having the necessary modulation routings to make use of the pedals. Nothing pisses me off more than wanting to control something and not being able to ..... yes you roland v-synth and your crappy control of COSM! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Daft Punk Posted July 19, 2007 Members Share Posted July 19, 2007 That is what velocity sensitivity is for. Or the volume knob. It never ceases to amaze me how people forget how their playing style can affect the dynamics of the music and the notes. I don't use a volume pedal when I play Keyboard or Guitar, although I may plan to integrate one into my keyboard playing in the form of the behringer fcb1010. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Prog Posted July 19, 2007 Members Share Posted July 19, 2007 That is what velocity sensitivity is for. Or the volume knob. Velocity sensitivity is not used for Hammonds and the like. Nor was it ever used for Mellotrons and Minimoogs and ARPs, etc. Volume pedals were originally called Expression pedals. They are for expression. Extremely useful for strings, as one example. For piano emulations, a volume pedal is rarely used. For music with expression, it is used a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TechEverlasting Posted July 19, 2007 Author Members Share Posted July 19, 2007 I think any more than 3 pedal jacks is pointless. Would you agree that less than three jacks is ridiculous? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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