Mission Expression Pedal Question

WatersDeep

WatersDeep

Inspired
Ok, so I am looking at getting a Mission Expression pedal for Wah and any other effects it might control, however I am not sure which one is the optimal choice. I do not have an MFC, so my intended use is to connect it directly to the AXE FX II. Maybe one day Ill have an MFC, but not anytime soon.

With a direct connection should I be looking at the SP1 or EP1? I noticed the SP1 has two output jacks, however if the AXE FX only has one input jack would I find this not working? Should I go with the EP1 in my scenario?

I am also not sure what the benefit of a SP1-R pedal would be or how that is different.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.
 
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EP1 is an Excellent expression pedal and will be everything you need until you get an MFC. Then you may wish to get more expression pedals, and an SP1 may be a choice. I highly recommend the Red EP1 as they seem to have more Mojo than the other colors.
 
If I added the Spring Load option, would that allow the EP1 to turn off on heel down and back on towards toe direction as an alternative to not having the toggle switch?
 
MusicGenX said:
If I added the Spring Load option, would that allow the EP1 to turn off on heel down and back on towards toe direction as an alternative to not having the toggle switch?
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The spring inside the EP1 will have nothing to do with how it works with the AFX, just how it feels. The spring will not give you any additional "features" or emulate a switch.
 
I got the sp-1 RED :encouragement: works pisser, set it up for auto engage.I don't have the mfc either
 
The EP1 will work great for what you are looking for I highly recommend using the spring loaded one. Basically the way to auto engage works is you go into the settings and you can set at what point the effect engages when you press on the expression pedal. When the pedal is released back into the heel position it disengages based on your settings. I have mine set with a slower setting which gives it a looser feeling as it bypasses the effect. It is very easy to setup and I believe you will love the pedal. The Sp1 switch would be useless with only one jack as you would be using that for the expression pedal and not the jack. The manual explains very detailed on how to set up the pedal or there are some videos you can check out. I wish you the best with your pedal. Do not forget to order a TRS cable for the pedal as you will require one. Mission makes some awesome cables, I recommend picking a couple up from them.
 
The modifier settings is what turns the auto engage off and on. But the spring is nice because if you take your foot off the pedal it will disengage when it returns to the heel position. You can also do dome really cool wah effects by bouncing your foot down and off the pedal. You do not need the SP-1 unless you were to get the MFC-101.
 
With the EP-1, you only have the one output and you'll just connect it and it will work. I have a spring loaded EP-1 configured with auto engage as a Wah and it works great.

The SP-1 has an additional button and a switch selector output. In order to use that you need to connect the second output to something like the MFC as an extra button. So when you press the button, you can program your MFC/Axe to do anything you can with an external button - switch from Volume/Wah or Wah/Wammy, or make a boost button, or engage chorus, whatever you want. Since you won't have anywhere to plug the extra plug without the MFC, you'll just have a button that won't do anything, but it doesn't hurt either if you think that somewhere along the lines you'd get a MFC and think that a button like that would be useful.

There's also an SP-2 that has a button and two expression pedal outputs. So when you press the button, the pedal will switch expression pedal outputs from one plug to the other. You would then need to connect it as two expression pedals in the MFC and you can control two different things. The good thing is that it doesn't take one of your two plugs in the MFC for extra switches and can still have two controls, but you can then only control expression pedal like things. You can't make the button switch on a boost, or anything like that. If you where to connect one of those in back of the Axe Fx, when you press the button the pedal would stop to function as all output would go to the other plug that you have nowhere to connect.

The -R models have a reverse polarity switch, so you can make it go from 100-0 instead of 0-100. This feature is mostly if you have like an old delay or something you want to control and it's hard coded to always go in one direction. With that switch, you can switch direction if you want. This has no relevance in the Axe Fx at all as you can easily program the Axe Fx to work any which you want, and even per preset.

Long answer for - yes, either an EP-1 or SP-1 will work just fine :)
 
One option to the spring-loading, in case you want to use an EP-1 for a volume pedal too...

You can also set the auto engage to come on at, say, 95% and leave the pedal toe-down when not in use. This way, as soon as you step on the pedal and rock it back it is working and if you also set it to control volume in another preset, it will not be at 0 every time you go there. Just an idea. I have an SP-2 that I use for a variety of things with my MFC-101, but being as you are going direct to the Axe Fx, the EP will work fine set like this. Really depends on what you want. Credit to several here for pointing me in that direction several years back, it has worked perfectly for me.
 
Thank you to all for the great and detailed answers. This definitely helps me make a better decision so I can now put some thought into the best path to take. Now I just need to decide which and take the plunge :)
 
As others have mentioned, you won't be able to use the switch in the SP-1 direct into the Axe as you need two pedal inputs. You could use just the pedal out and leave the switch out unconnected if you wanted.

An EP-1 will work just fine. We also sell a self install switch kit that will allow you to 'upgrade' your EP-1 to an SP-1 later if you so decide.

The spring load is useful for auto-engage as it keeps the pedal in heel down ensuring that your effect stays off when not used. You can still use auto-engage with a non spring loaded pedal if required, you just have to be a bit more careful in the setup. If you want to use the pedal as a volume control or in between settings like parked wah or delay repeat control, then it's best not to use the spring load as it will always return the pedal to heel down.

If you haven't already, check out Chris setup video which covers just about everything. Mission SP-1 Pedal with Fractal Audio Axe-FX II and MFC-101 - How-To/Tutorial - 3 different uses - YouTube

Chris uses an MFC-101 in the video, but you can still see how most things would work just with the Axe-Fx. James.
 
I love my mission pedals, but I strongly recommend having the option to not have a spring. Ie buy a regular and if you want spring, add it later. Without a spring, you can cock the wah and leave it at any point where it is set. Great tones that way. With a spring, to get a "cocked way" sound, you'll need to keep your foot very still.
 
I agree, if I only had the one, I would not get a spring loaded model. When you add a MFC and a second or a third EP-1 though, having a spring loaded is very nice. I used to have a spring loaded ChiWahWah before going the Axe Fx route so I'm used to just being able to release the Wah and having it turning itself off.
 
I'd suggest the EP-1X variant. If you don't know what footcontroller you're going to end up with, its ability to reverse polarity might save you some some headaches. For $7 more than an EP-1, it's a relatively inexpensive insurance policy.
 
I'd personally go for the SP-1 even if you're not going to be using the switch at the moment. I have two of them on my board, one of them the switch has never even been connected to the MFC. If one day I want to use it (or in your case, one day if you buy an MFC or whatever other controller with EXP ins) I can hook it up. At least it's there.
 
Patzag said:
I love my mission pedals, but I strongly recommend having the option to not have a spring. Ie buy a regular and if you want spring, add it later. Without a spring, you can cock the wah and leave it at any point where it is set. Great tones that way. With a spring, to get a "cocked way" sound, you'll need to keep your foot very still.
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This has been a great thread for a newbie like me. Especially the suggestion above. I was so enamored with the thought of having a spring loaded pedal that I would've totally missed the whole cocked wah thing, which I find myself doing frequently with my current wah (soon to be sold).
 
The spring option is really a personal thing it depends on your style of playing. Think about how you use your wah to make the decision. Do you leave your wah on without your foot on it? Or do you usually use it with your foot on then turn it off? If you do the second option I would recommend the spring if not maybe you shouldn't get the spring. Another option would be to purchase two EP1s one with the spring and one without. I absolutely love having the spring in mine I like bouncing on the pedal with my foot allot so it works out really well for me. Also when I am using it for a solo I never really leave it on in the middle at all for any great lengths of time so again I love the spring. Some types of music you may want to have your wah on for the whole song in some range of the pedal in that case you wouldn't want the spring. I actually bought three EP1s 2 with springs and one without. I wish you the best of luck which ever way you go!
 
I went ahead and ordered the EP1-X last night on the Mission website. Was thinking with the ability to reverse the polarity I might be able to come up with some additional creative things outside of the Wah. I'm really looking forward.
 
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