Goodbye FCB1010. Hello KMI SoftStep.

[Tom@KMI]

Yet still no UK distributor...I feel like they think we're a third world country.

Do want, don't see why I should give customs a wedge of my money that I could be using on doughnuts and silly hats.

Hi Cezband,

Tom@KMI here with a message about distribution:

We are working on finding a receptive distributor in the UK.
In the meantime, we urge you to call your local store to let them know that you're interested in SoftStep.
If you are interested in buying SoftStep without the customs gouging, we suggest that those in the UK order online through one of our European dealers/distributors:
Modular Square
is an online retailer in France that can fulfill orders throughout Europe.
We also have a distributor in the Netherlands, Media Satellite, who may be able to help you out.

hope this helps,
-Tom

I wish you a fortune in doughnuts and silly hats!

[H20nly]

Yet still no UK distributor...I feel like they think we're a third world country.

Do want, don't see why I should give customs a wedge of my money that I could be using on doughnuts and silly hats.

Hi Cezband,

Tom@KMI here with a message about distribution:

We are working on finding a receptive distributor in the UK.
In the meantime, we urge you to call your local store to let them know that you're interested in SoftStep.
If you are interested in buying SoftStep without the customs gouging, we suggest that those in the UK order online through one of our European dealers/distributors:
Modular Square
is an online retailer in France that can fulfill orders throughout Europe.
We also have a distributor in the Netherlands, Media Satellite, who may be able to help you out.

hope this helps,
-Tom

I wish you a fortune in doughnuts and silly hats!

This is good service.

Remember that when your company starts to get larger. This type of personal attention... people like, but not just from the sales side.

[Cezband]

Hi Cezband,

Tom@KMI here with a message about distribution:

We are working on finding a receptive distributor in the UK.
In the meantime, we urge you to call your local store to let them know that you're interested in SoftStep.
If you are interested in buying SoftStep without the customs gouging, we suggest that those in the UK order online through one of our European dealers/distributors:
Modular Square
is an online retailer in France that can fulfill orders throughout Europe.
We also have a distributor in the Netherlands, Media Satellite, who may be able to help you out.

hope this helps,
-Tom

I wish you a fortune in doughnuts and silly hats!

Hi Tom,
Thanks for taking the time to reply, as H2Only says, it reflects really well on you guys and makes me even more eager to give you my money I've already told my local music store about the softstep, musically-minded they were very interested but as they are a small chain store they didn't seem particularly hopeful that they'd be able to get the request up their supply chain.

I've had a look at the Modular Square site in the past, it seems fine enough but I've had some pretty rubbish experiences of ordering from abroad (even within the EU) so I try to avoid it as much as possible.

Rest assured, I will continue to check your site regularly until you've set up a solid UK distributor and once that's done I'll be first in line to get one!

Thanks again for the response, and all the best with the business!

[jimmynitcher]

What I'd like to know is can you wah wah with it?

[LoopStationZebra]

What I'd like to know is can you wah wah with it?

Yes indeed. Each pedal can be programmed for just Y movement, and that can be tied to any filter plugin you might want to use for the wah wah effect.

You can also plug a separate expressional pedal into the softstep for more traditional control. That pedal port can be fully customized just like any of the pads.

[Cezband]

jimmynichter: it's got crazy XY pressure sensitive pads, man...you can Wah the hell out of it...map X and Y to different frequency filter settings, smear your foot all around on it and get some insane stuff. There's a reason I want one so badly I'm sure loops can tell you more because, you know, he's actually got one and won't be talking in pure theory

EDIT: beat me to it

[LoopStationZebra]

Does the pedal lock the setting when you remove your foot or snap back to default value? I use the FCB for volume of my loopers and am wondering about this.

You can program it to do either one. You can also program it to snap back to a different position/setting altogether when you remove your foot. For instance, you have a track with a filter effect and parameters mapped to the XY. If the XY dot location is set to the upper left quadrant to start with, you can press on the pedal and move that XY dot around then, when you release, you can set it to snap to the lower right quadrant.

[LoopStationZebra]

jimmynichter: it's got crazy XY pressure sensitive pads, man...you can Wah the hell out of it...map X and Y to different frequency filter settings, smear your foot all around on it and get some insane stuff. There's a reason I want one so badly I'm sure loops can tell you more because, you know, he's actually got one and won't be talking in pure theory

EDIT: beat me to it

Yeah, the cool thing is that you can really tweak the sensitivity of any pad. If you want to manipulate stuff with barely a touch, that can happen. If you want to set it up so that you really need to apply a lot of pressure in order to get a response, that can happen. I also believe there's a way to have it be more sensitive based on the amount of foot pressure.

I can't emphasize enough the total flexibility you have with this controller. There is, truly, nothing else like it on a controller of any kind - foot or desktop. The fact that you can send up to 6 control messages of varying types and channels at the same time = I know of no other controller that can do that. Hell, iPad controllers don't even offer that kind of flexible routing - and they easily could!

I've got one scene of pads set up to record my Stick audio and MIDI signals (via the Sonuus G2M unit) at the same time. Press a pad and:
1. An audio clip starts recording on one track.
2. A MIDI clip starts recording on another - capturing the Alchemy patch that is being triggered by my Stick.
3. An audio clip of the MIDI track also starts recording. In this way I can go back and manipulate the original MIDI clip, while still having a 'pure' audio version.
4. FX device is turned on in the first track.
5. Dummy clip is fired up to affect the MIDI clip.
6. Send volume is increased on my main Stick input track.

etc etc.

[jimmynitcher]

Blimey thanks - sounds good.

I wonder how much cheaper UK dist will make it?

[Erus]

WHAT?? This thing is EXACTLY what I've been looking for (though I didn't even know these features were possible, so I didn't know I was looking for this. But I was.)

The price doesn't seem outrageous for what it does - but it's still $100 out of my price range. Whyyy can't there be a mini version, with just one or two of those button/joystick/knobs? Make an $80 SoftStep, and I see this quickly becoming an industry standard (assuming it performs as well for others as it does for LSZ - I'm still not convinced the button/joystick/knobs are far enough apart).

*want want want want want* Gonna have to sell more of my stuff if I want this bad enough. Wonder how much a kidney goes for...

[rabouille]

I had the pleasure to meet the friendly Mckillien Softstep team @ Frankfurt Messe, they madee me a demo, and honestly, I can say this product is wonderful, and I'll personally buy one very soon.

[LoopStationZebra]

The keys aren't far enough apart, really. Been using it exclusively now for weeks on end, and you do have to take a second to aim.

Don't let that be a dealbreaker, though. Weigh that minor design fault against the zillion other things that allows the SoftStep to blow away everything else.

[stringtapper]

The keys aren't far enough apart, really. Been using it exclusively now for weeks on end, and you do have to take a second to aim.

Don't let that be a dealbreaker, though. Weigh that minor design fault against the zillion other things that allows the SoftStep to blow away everything else.

What kind of size are we talking about here? Is my size 12/6'2"/250lb. frame going to crush this thing the first time I have to look down at my left hand while simultaneously attempting to sweep a filter with my toe?

[Tone Deft]

can you see your toes?

/hides

[stringtapper]

can you see your toes?

/hides

Yes bitch I can see my toes.

It's only a beer gut.

And not even an impressive one at that.