MIDI Foot Control Help

SubQ · Post by **SubQ** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 6:36 pm

thanks, m., and keep us posted.

i'll try to extract some juice of my old pod and fb4... if works, i'll be so glad I didn't sell it...
back to the dusty manual, unless Losman teach the way

losman69 · Post by **losman69** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 3:39 am

sub Q,

I'm not sure how old my pod is i got in the late 90's when they first came out though.

I also upbraded to the pod 2.0 chip so its an original unit with the 2.0 brains.

as far as the fb4 goes, i gues it will work if it has an effects mode like the full blown fb1

losman69 · Post by **losman69** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 3:43 am

i dont think the fbv4 will work but i could be wrong as i am a midi retard.

it seems to do what the bottom row of buttons does on the fb1

I goued it sould be programed to do it though. sounds like a scince project for a midi guru to me.

SubQ · Post by **SubQ** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 3:55 pm

yeah, isn't a pity...
still researching for a non overkill method or gear to do my my live looping. all I need is 4 buttons, maybe 2, maybe 1 - arm and disarm tracks, letting the foxes with the traditional track-scene manipulation.

my setup is already too heavy for one fcb.

thanks for the answers, i'll keep on looking for it.

best
sub

mbenigni · Post by **mbenigni** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 4:53 pm

SubQ, you asked me to keep you posted on this:

http://gamingmouse.com/weapon.php?pid=30

so here is my public service announcement. Short version, I think it would be (nearly) perfect for your needs.

Long version, I think its a really useful tool for anyone using software with keyboard shortcuts. (The pedal itself is highly programmable, so the shortcuts needn't even be mappable, actually.) For Live it's a no-brainer.

Pros: it works, it's cheap, it's portable. All very important for me.

Cons: docs and software look like they're coming from a startup company. Minimal instructions and the program on the CD actually didn't work - but the download from the website cleared that right up. cabling is a little funky and doesn't look especially durable, but it's not like it's carrying audio so... There is no motion or physical feedback when you press a switch (they're membrane switches) so you'll need to be able to use your ears or eyes on the screen to know when you've pressed a button. (This could be a little bit difficult for record arm. I'm using the switches to change between channels for guitar switching, for example.)

I just ordered 2 more, one as a backup for my music rig, and one to slow down the onset of tendonitis at work, where I use a lot of Ctl-C and Ctl-V to move code around. I looked for something like this years ago, and the closest thing was several hundred dollars. I like $69 better.

At this price, I might even try tearing one apart and modding it - getting the cables where they belong and maybe replacing the switches with mechanical ones.

SubQ · Post by **SubQ** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 7:00 pm

Thanks M.

I guess I can handle the Cons...

Questions: It sends Midi, or do I have to use third part conversion oftware, like Rejoice?
Usb powered, I guess?
Seems a nice choice... lemme know hoe you're doing with yours.
cheers

Machinate · Post by **Machinate** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 7:11 pm

mbenigni wrote:SubQ, you asked me to keep you posted on this:

http://gamingmouse.com/weapon.php?pid=30
[...] At this price, I might even try tearing one apart and modding it - getting the cables where they belong and maybe replacing the switches with mechanical ones.

I'd go with one of these for hacking:
http://www.ultimarc.com/ipacve.html
Half price, screw terminals, bring-your-own-cables-and-switches, and free delivery. Gotta love that.

SubQ,
you wouldn't need to convert anything to midi, as it just outputs key presses, which are already fully assignable in Ableton Live.

SubQ · Post by **SubQ** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 7:23 pm

Sorry Machinate, I saw your post about this in the past, but I guess i'm too dumb to figure it out. How exactly would this do the job? Plugin' a midi foot pedal on it, or any foot switch can be assembled for sending keystrokes via USB?
cheers

mbenigni · Post by **mbenigni** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 7:24 pm

I'd go with one of these for hacking:
http://www.ultimarc.com/ipacve.html
Half price, screw terminals, bring-your-own-cables-and-switches, and free delivery. Gotta love that.

Sweet, thanks for the heads up on that! I'll probably have to add one of these to my pile of projects shortly. For now, "Add to Favorites" will have to do. I wonder if I should cancel one of my backup orders on the FragPedal.

SubQ, yes bus-powered, and no need for MIDI translation, as Machinete said, just straight keyboard messages. This has proven MUCH faster than the Digitech pedal I just bought translated through Bomes, so the Digitech just became a $120 failed experiment.

That's just the nature of this hobby, I guess; there's a lot of scrap parts in my wake.

As for my own progress w/ the FragPedal - I gave it it's first serious workout at band practice last night, and I loved it. It's very sensitive and switching is fast. I only worry that you'll have a hard time w/ recording applications without any tactile feedback. On the other hand, at $69 I expect you'll find some use for it to justify the cost.

Machinate · Post by **Machinate** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 7:31 pm

SubQ wrote:Sorry Machinate, I saw your post about this in the past, but I guess i'm too dumb to figure it out.

Hey, no worries - at first this can all seem a bit daunting, for sure!

SubQ wrote:How exactly would this do the job? Plugin' a midi foot pedal on it, or any foot switch can be assembled for sending keystrokes via USB?
cheers

It basically works like a "stripped" usb keyboard. That little bit of circuitry has a usb port and screw terminals.

So you have:
[computer]<-usb cable-[ultimarc gizmo]<-regular wire-[button]

so once the usb connection to the computer has been made, anything that completes a circuit can be wired to the unit - a button, a sustain pedal with the plug removed, even two cable ends touching each other, hotwire-style. So basically anything can be connected, yeah?

I hope that helps a bit. I think it's a fun way to start hacking with electronics with instant gratification.

SubQ · Post by **SubQ** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 7:51 pm

Oh Lord, now I can only think about someway to hotwire that into my Bass Pod's FBV4 foot controller, and USB it to my notebook...

First thing to do, open the unit to see if I can wire the four foot buttons and assemble the IPAC into it.

thanks again

Machinate · Post by **Machinate** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 7:54 pm

SubQ wrote:Oh Lord, now I can only think about someway to hotwire that into my Bass Pod's FBV4 foot controller, and USB it to my notebook...

First thing to do, open the unit to see if I can wire the four foot buttons and assemble the IPAC into it.

haha - gutsy! You should be able to do this without cutting any wires or breaking existing functionality, fyi.

SubQ · Post by **SubQ** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 9:12 pm

Machinate, your are my candidate.

mbenigni · Post by **mbenigni** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 9:39 pm

First thing to do, open the unit to see if I can wire the four foot buttons and assemble the IPAC into it.

I was thinking the exact same thing!

SubQ · Post by **SubQ** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 1:39 pm

that's the beauty of this forum...
I would never reach this solution - and many others - without the insight of many people here. Kinda compensates the wasted time reading useless stuff and so.

I just ordered one. Let's wait and see.