Expression pedal easy to click/snap/rest at mid position?

6stringscott

6stringscott

Inspired
I've been using two Dunlop Volume (X) pedals for Wah and other stuff like Volume, Shimmer, Gain, mixing between 2 amps, etc.

I want a pedal that has a tactile click in the middle so I can easily rest there for zero position, and then add up to 6dB on the top side or cut down to zero on the bottom side. My intention is to have it be both a volume pedal to cut out note attacks, and also to goose my loudness a little to adjust band mix on the fly.

I should clarify I'm looking for an expression pedal to tie to external controller, not an in-line analog signal manipulator.

So... are there expression pedals like this with no spring, but a little bump in the middle to stay at exactly midpoint?
 
Never heard of one myself, but could be useful.
  1. Could setup the curve in the Edit Modifier screen to have a large flat spot in the center to make it easier to find the sweet spot?
  2. Could use an expression pedal with a switch in it for the boost?
  3. Could build you own way of adding a detend in the center of the travel of you pedal?
 
You could probably cook up something mechanical to give you a bit of tactile feedback. Mount a springy little bar to the side of the treadle with a little bump or ball on the end that pushes against and slides along the side of the pedal base. Drill a hole or cut a groove in the side of the case at the half way point in the pedals travel where the bar slides to make a sort of detent for the end of the springy bar to notch into. You could probably mount in under the treadle and cut or drill a hole in the base for it as well.
 
I am pretty intuitive with signal processing and software stuff, but I am a borderline idiot when it comes to creating real-world mechanical things. If I get really ambitious at some point I might try your idea mr_fender.

In short term, I think Moke's suggestion might work for me:

Moke said:
  1. Could setup the curve in the Edit Modifier screen to have a large flat spot in the center to make it easier to find the sweet spot
Click to expand...

I'll play around with this and see how it goes. I also have a dedicated IA switch to PEQ4 that I use as a lead boost. The idea of the 0-6dB gain in the pedal is to smooth out volume level discrepancies between my patches and changes in the band dynamics from day to day or song to song.
 
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Yeah changing the slope parameter to make the curve look sort of like a backwards S curve with a horizontal bit in the middle would give you a bit of a dead spot in the center of the sweep. This will also change the taper above and below half way though. Above half would become logarithmic (slower than linear) and below half would become reverse-logarithmic (faster than linear).
 
Because of the limitations in the 'Edit Modifier' curve, it is hard to get a large enough 'sweet spot'. I would use 2 modifiers in a single 'Volume/Pan' block attached to the same pedal.

  • Controls the 'Volume' parameter and acts as a volume/swell pedal that reaches full volume well before the halfway point and stays at full to the end' (might be a bit touchy, I would increase the 'Damp' parameter?)
sweet spot 1.png


  • Controls the 'Level' parameter for the '6 dB Boost', and doesn't start until well after the halfway point, for a larger 'sweet spot'.
sweet spot 2.png
 
in all my years of MI sales and ordering, i've never seen an expression pedal that has a mid-point click/detent. most functions with pedals are from heel down to toe down with nothing interrupting the travel between the two ends.
 
What about a pitch bend wheel for synths (like for ex. this one https://syntaur.com/Items/4608.html)?
Of course it needs a housing...
I once had a boomerang looper ... they have an expression/volume pedal to roll over with your feet, so maybe it's also practical to use a pitch wheel?!

Doepfer has a controller hardware for wheels http://www.doepfer.de/we.htm with an extra flat point in the middle at cc value 64 programmed, but this is only for pitch wheel controller, which is a special midi #CC, that isn't understood by our Fractal gear - please correct me, if I'm wrong and it can be assigned!

I had the idea to use this as up+down whammy, but tried it with a normal pedal first and found the function not as useful, as I thought.
 
1vl said:
Doepfer has a controller hardware for wheels http://www.doepfer.de/we.htm with an extra flat point in the middle at cc value 64 programmed, but this is only for pitch wheel controller, which is a special midi #CC, that isn't understood by our Fractal gear - please correct me, if I'm wrong and it can be assigned!
Click to expand...
You can assign any CC number you like.
 
Rex said:
You can assign any CC number you like.
Click to expand...
in the Axe Fx: yes,
but the doepfer only has the "plateau" around value 64 with the pitch bend controller.

Pitch Bend like Aftertouch are separate messages from MIDI CC 1-127, so I think they can't be used to control the Axe Fx.
Doepfer offers custom programming, so maybe they can program the plateau also to MIDI CC 1-127.

The Plateau is a must, I guess, as electronic values change with temperature and so on, so a mechanical middle-rest doesn't suffice.
 
The Doepfer can also send MIDI CC messages.
 
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