MIDI Foot Controllers

Question

Level 1

8 points

MIDI Foot Controllers

I'm looking to get a MIDI foot controller for use primarily with Mainstage (but also logic in general).

My requirements are:-

•1 or 2 expression pedals that can be assigned to any CC (inc. volume)
•3 or more switches - 2 that I can assign to patch up/down to go through the Mainstage patches; and 1+ for turning things like effects on/off, turning on/off an additional sound etc.
•Compact size
•Ideally (but not a deal-breaker) battery-powered

Can anyone help?

Thanks,

Mark

Macbook Pro, Mac OS X (10.5.1)

Posted on Jan 12, 2008 2:09 PM

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Answer 1

Jan 20, 2008 8:11 PM in response to MarkW19

I take it you've looked at the Behringer FCB1010? It's not all that small (about 2ft wide) and definitely not battery-powered, but it's very powerful and quite affordable. I'm just starting to play with it and it seems a natural fit to MainStage.

Victor.

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Answer 2

MarkW19 Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 21, 2008 3:12 AM in response to VicDiesel

Thanks for the reply.

I've seen the FCB - can you set any of the pedals to anything you want, ie patch up, patch down, specific layer toggled on/off, specific layer reverb on/off, etc? Do you just press the pedal you want to assign, then Mainstage does the rest?

It looks powerful, but too big really (I only need about 4 of the 10 pedals!).

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Answer 3

Jan 21, 2008 11:08 AM in response to MarkW19

I've just begun playing with it, but so far I'm letting the FCB send midi notes, and MainStage can map those to all sorts of events. Just try it out: make a button and set it so that it respond to note on/off. Then click on Parameter Mapping and see what all you can do with that.

The FCB can also send program changes and controllers, and you can map the expression pedals to anything. It's really cool.

Victor.

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Answer 4

MarkW19 Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 21, 2008 11:21 AM in response to VicDiesel

It does look good, its just a bit too big! I may give it a go though.

Can you map 2 pedals on the bottom row to single patch up, and single patch down?

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Answer 5

Jan 21, 2008 11:39 AM in response to MarkW19

Yep, just tried it: patch up and down is simple. I triggered them from a midi note send on the 1010.

Victor.

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Answer 6

MarkW19 Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 21, 2008 12:06 PM in response to VicDiesel

Cool, thanks for your help.

Can you choose any pedal (bottom and top row) for patch up/down? What about the bank up/down pedals on the FCB, I guess they can't be used?

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Answer 7

Jan 21, 2008 5:40 PM in response to MarkW19

Yes, I think all 10 pedals can send midi notes, and MainStage is good at remapping those.

The bank up/down pedals don't seem to transmit anything. You need them to select presets on the 1010.

Victor.

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Answer 8

Mar 18, 2008 11:28 AM in response to MarkW19

This looks promising! Showing at MESSE 2008. http://www.eowave.com/downloads/pdf/pedals.pdf

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Answer 9

Durero

Level 1

4 points

Apr 19, 2008 3:08 AM in response to digitalsweater

Holy smokes! Thanks for posting that digitalsweater - that's exactly what I've been looking for!

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Answer 10

Jun 18, 2008 12:02 AM in response to Durero

I recommend skipping the whole midi thing altogether if you can afford it... wireless keystrokes via your feet:

http://www.x-tempozone.com/

The thing about it is it's so easy to set up and switch around it's unbelievable. Best money I every spent.

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Answer 11

magnatar

Level 1

135 points

Jun 18, 2008 9:30 AM in response to stringfling

stringfling wrote:
I recommend skipping the whole midi thing altogether if you can afford it... wireless keystrokes via your feet:

http://www.x-tempozone.com/

The thing about it is it's so easy to set up and switch around it's unbelievable. Best money I every spent.

Prefer 'wired'. Expense for a keyboard for your foot 🙂, @ $199 I might try one thou.

Add one thing to furture wish list

- allow applications ( logic, ProTools) to sync/download and store pre-set channel settings. Take unit and insert inline with musical instrument. Custom song/set/concert settings in a small box.

or

Use iphone as system and download the channels to it, a cool iRock 🙂

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Answer 12

Densbel

Level 1

0 points

Jun 29, 2008 7:45 AM in response to MarkW19

Hello,

I am using a wind midi controller AKAI ewi4000S with mainstage. I find a lot of fun experimenting with it, but I would like to have some kind of a USB pedal to switch between the patterns of mainstage. Could you please advice something not very expensive?

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Answer 13

Jun 29, 2008 2:53 PM in response to digitalsweater

That footswitch interface doo-dad looks ideal...compact and hopefully affordable. Its not on the market yet, though. Like Mark, I am looking for something compact that approaches Behringer functionality but without the huge footprint. Also, the POK wireless keyboard thing recommended in this thread is priced for high-end studios, plus the demo videos were so cheesy I had to brush my teeth after watching.

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