So after 15 years of using a Yamaha FC-7 with my Korgs I have not moved fully over to GP and am using an Arturia MK61 mkII and a Studiologic VMK176. Neither of these controllers can support the 50k resistance of the Yamaha Pedal. My issue is that everything I’ve tried so far has a SUPER short throw relative to the FC-7 and thus I feel I have no control.
I’m looking at the Amelia’s Compass pedal (30 degrees of throw) but wanted to see if anyone has any other suggestions for a longer throw 10k pedal?
Yeah, I was pretty happy using my FCB 1010 with my Triton Rack, and still do, but also experimented with an M-Audio EX-P (inexpensive!) and a Boss EV-1-WL. Have to admit I really like the Boss EV-1-WL which has become my go-to pedal for just about everything until I get a rack working where I like to use my Tinybox setup. However, just about anything and everything can be made to work it seems with GP and a good midi router like Conductive Labs MRCC. I think the basic obstacle for many of us is getting faced with a situation we haven’t faced before, then having to find a workaround or other solution. There is a LOT of choice available, and I have more or less drifted into using BOSS/Roland products as they seem to have a huge range of choices, lots of legacy products on the used equipment market, and decent support.
Good luck, I’m sure others in the community will share thier experiences too.
How much are you willing to spend? I use a pedal from Mission Engineering - unfortunately they’re very expensive but they are seriously road worthy - but probably only if you can take the tax deduction if you’re playing professionally.
Maybe you just had to reverse the plug’s polarity?
As far as I remember, a wrong polarity had a similar effect (like the pedal only had a very short response range).
What does the global midi monitor show when you move the pedal from 0-100%
do you get the full value range from 0 to 127?
DHJ: I’d spend the cash on the Mission but according to both guitar players I know, the throw angle is very short. My concern is all the muscle memory of the years of using the FC7.
Schamass: It’s not a polarity issue (GP would solve that) but rather an impedance thing. The FC7 only returns 0-65 CC or 66-127. I cannot get full range. StudioLogic and Arturia both have this issue.
Yeah, I saw that database which is where the 50k vs. 10k ohm thing became clear.
I am pleasantly surprised to hear that the Arturia can be fixed with just a polarity switch. Everything I could find on Arturia’s site seemed to indicate that wasn’t a solution. The 0-65 or 66-127 CC range seemed to point to a mismatch in resistance as well.
Not sure how I’d get into the pot on the FC-7 but I’ll dig there as well.
And yeah, I could relearn, but It feels really short (the Boss). I’d like to find something CLOSE to the same if possible.
Polarity has nothing to do with it. Issue is the pot impedance.
I had already encountered this problem on a volume pedal, and not being a handyman, my son changed the potentiometer in a few minutes and the problem was solved.
On the FC-7, you need to dismantle the pedal’s rotation axle using 10 mm wrenches to remove the foot switch cover, then remove the central screw underneath to take out the plastic block and gain access to the interior.
Which agreed that it’s a pot issue and not a polarity issue. Yet there are numerous posts around where folks seem to have found a solution with polarity (including LMercuri above).
I can second the recommendation for the Mission pedal. I got this model, which has a longer throw and a momentary switch in the toe which can be set to respond as a latching switch in GP, giving you lots of options on how to use it.
I’ve also re-wired a couple of FC-7s for successful use with Keylab MK2 boards. I don’t think it was mentioned but the Moog MF-EP-3 is an option and has a parity switch and sensitivity pot.
Thanks everyone for the feedback. I ended up getting an Amelia’s Compass and so far it’s perfect. I’ll consider a modification to one of my FC-7’s. Tried the mission, too short a throw for my taste.
