An expression pedal that rests at the halfway point spring loaded for pitch effects?

R

randombastage

Experienced
I wonder if it can be done with the AxeFx. Zero pitch change while at rest locked in the middle by spring tension with the ability to bend up or down a preset interval.....half step, thirds, fifths, octave,etc. And release to let springs return it to zero....

Anyone think it would be useful or am I just wasting my imagination brain cells. I was watching Jeff Beck working his trem bar subtly the way he does sometimes and thought of this one.
 
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Equally tensioned springs on toe and heel? Setting the expression parameters would be the difficult part
 
I've done that with a PS3 controller's analog stick and Reaper software's joystick-to-MIDI ability. The Axe setup is fairly easy if you know the modifier system. Mid value & slope adjustments would be the main tweaks to account for a resting point being slightly off from 50% or inconsistent return. It's easier to limit range with modifier start & end than with advanced whammy start/stop. The effect of lowering slope won't work properly if you use different start/stop values in adv. whammy mode.

Here's a clip I made testing the PS3 joystick: Y-axis +3/-2 shifts, XY control of wah/ringmod/LFO stuff, some other whammy intervals, XY blending of 4 harmony voices. http://dl.dropbox.com/u/28651/axefx/joystick_midi.mp3
 
I think the mod wheel sounds like a winner to me and I bet it would be even more expressive if you could make it heavy enough to handle foot pressure instead of finger pressure. Then again I could see resting my heel on the ground and using my big toe on a small one like you find on a synth. I think later today when I have time I'll be putting my Novation X-Station 25 on the ground and mapping the wheel to the AxeFx to try it out!
 
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Not a modwheel from a keyboard, but instead the strip version. Matt Bellamy from Muse had this in his guitar a good 6 or 7 years ago to control a whammy via midi. Look up near the pickup selector. It also has a wah probe built in just for good measure.


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A good idea might be to manufacture an expression pedal that has a torsion spring that is adjustable to a different spot. You could have a pedal that springs back to the heel, back to the middle, to the toe, or anywhere in between. The pedal would most likely wobble a little in the center positions without some sort of detent which might feel goofy.
 
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