Small midi footswitch?

Posted by: drewcadaver

Small midi footswitch? - 11/13/14 08:32 AM

Hey guys,

I'm looking for something to use to control my patches etc with the 11R, I had an FCB1010 before, but it was far too big with far too many buttons for what I needed.

Does anyone know of an affordable 4 button + expression pedal type device that I could use to control my patches live?

At the moment, I'm just using a boss FS-6 for flicking up/down through patches, but it's not ideal and means I can't use the built in wah etc.

Any suggestions would be great.
Posted by: drewcadaver

Re: Small midi footswitch? - 11/13/14 08:53 AM

I've seen this, which sends it's midi commands via usb. I was thinking it might be possible to use a USB/Midi adapter and connect it to the 11R that way, but I don't wanna sink cash into it if it won't work.

http://uk.line6.com/footcontrollers/fbvexpressmkii.html
Posted by: DonaldR

Re: Small midi footswitch? - 11/13/14 01:24 PM

I though about it many moons ago but will not work as it needs to be connected to a usb host (computer). It might work connecting to your computer and sending midi messages to your 11R but not without a computer in the middle.
Posted by: Marc C.

Re: Small midi footswitch? - 11/13/14 07:00 PM

Here's one that a colleague of mine uses:
Rolls Midi Buddy - silly name but it works well.

Here's another...
Midi Moose

...and another...
Midi Mate



...and if you can still find one of these - they're built like tanks - mine still works and it's well over 25 years old.
Posted by: Markus

Re: Small midi footswitch? - 11/14/14 12:20 AM

The good folks from Logidy also have a very tiny one available:
http://logidy.com/?pid=1

And I can very highly recommend the KMI Softstep: thin like an italian pizza, powerful like a swiss army knife, expensive like a german schnitzel, roadproof like an american navy seal.
http://www.keithmcmillen.com/softstep/tour
Posted by: Marc C.

Re: Small midi footswitch? - 11/14/14 06:48 AM

The KMI SoftStep is what I've used for a couple of years, now. It's great, but it requires the use of the companion Midi Expander to convert the USB signal to standard 5 pin Midi.
Posted by: Rushian

Re: Small midi footswitch? - 11/14/14 07:53 AM

This is as simple as it gets!

Musicans Friend
Posted by: mojah

Re: Small midi footswitch? - 11/16/14 07:06 AM

Affordable plus expression pedal.. Only the fcb1010 unfortunately. Plenty of options for a lot more $$$.
Posted by: drewcadaver

Re: Small midi footswitch? - 11/26/14 04:55 AM

I don't mind spending a bit of cash for the right device mojah. Can you make any suggestions as to where I should be looking?

Thanks for the suggestions everyone else, but I'm looking for something with an expression pedal built in, rather than just a simple midi footswitch to change patches - the fs-6 works fine for changing patches. I just want to be able to use the in built wah etc.
Posted by: Markus

Re: Small midi footswitch? - 11/26/14 05:06 AM

The KMI Softstep does that. All pads are programmable as either preset switches or control pedals. While the feeling of a big expression pedal may be different, the portability of the Softstep plus the "you can program everything"-feature make it unique.
Posted by: Marc C.

Re: Small midi footswitch? - 11/26/14 08:05 AM

Markus is correct. I don't use a wah effect often, but when I do it's controlled by pressure on one of the pads. And should you prefer it, you can always plug an expression pedal into the SoftStep.