Arghh!!! Expression Pedals!*%@#!

[JoeB63]

I've been using a Roland EV-5 expression pedal with my Kemper. It works fine, but it's so light that it tends to move about the stage during gigs, so I set out to get a heavier pedal.....

Bought a Mission Engineering Kemper-version expression pedal. Problem with that pedal, is that when you go toe down, you touch the top of the switch, which make a thud/click sound. Then, the switch itself doesn't have click when you "flip" it (unlike a standard wah switch), so there's no tactile feedback to let you know you flipped the switch. And since the Kemper has "turn of wah on stop" capability, the switch isn't particularly needed. Regardless, the thud/click noise makes this pedal unusable (I know I could remove the switch if I'm not using it, but....). So,

I bought a Dunlop Volume (x) volume/expression pedal. Nice, but, the pedal travel is a bit too long, and it freakin' squeaks!

Better ideas?

 

[partytrain]

Moog. Heavy, not a long throw, no switch, cheap....

 

[MKB]

Moog. Heavy, not a long throw, no switch, cheap....

+1 on this. I just got a pair of them for my Kemper ($35 each new on ebay) and like them very much. Big, heavy, they look tough, and Moog makes very high quality gear. The travel is just right, and it stays in place when you take your foot off of it. The only issue you might have with them is they are greater in height than most pedals, but I didn't find this to be an issue.

 

[LPBlue]

FWIW, I have an EV-5 pedal as well with a roll of pennies tucked inside right at the front of it...fits perfectly and is held in place by the interior castng of the pedal with no interference, movement or rattles. There is a lot more room inside there and as soon as I can come up with some scrap lead I will add that to the bottom plate as well. The pennies help but more is better in this case. Maybe some screw-on rubber feet to replace the pads at the corners would be good too.

J.R.

 

[JiveTurkey]

I have my EV5 velcro'd to the top of my power supply on my board. Still not sold on whether I have it sounding good in my Amplifire rig. I will know more when I can actually play some songs at practice that include a wah. One thing I will give the Helix, without any hesitation; is a huge thumbs up for including a built in expression pedal.

 

[JoeB63]

FWIW, I have an EV-5 pedal as well with a roll of pennies tucked inside right at the front of it...fits perfectly and is held in place by the interior castng of the pedal with no interference, movement or rattles. There is a lot more room inside there and as soon as I can come up with some scrap lead I will add that to the bottom plate as well. The pennies help but more is better in this case. Maybe some screw-on rubber feet to replace the pads at the corners would be good too.

J.R.

Brilliant. I was wondering if there was a way to weigh it down. And you added 50 cents to its street value!!

 

[JoeB63]

Moog. Heavy, not a long throw, no switch, cheap....

I was wondering if they were any good. Saw it on Sweetwater's site, but they are out of stock.

 

[JoeB63]

I carefully sprayed some silicon spray on the squeaky part of the Dunlop Volume (x). That killed the squeak.

Ironically, several years ago, I had a broken Crybaby which I converted to an expression pedal, with the toe-switch also acting as a on/off switch via one of the jacks (basically the same design as the Mission Engineering Kemper pedal), but I had a really hard time getting the Radio Shack pot to stay in place in the housing, and rather than finding a better pot, I just stopped working on it, and eventually threw it out. I figured out to do that myself. Nowadays, there's lots of on-line tutorials on how to do that, and lots of (non-Radio Shack) places to buy good pots. I wish I still had that housing - I'd fix it up and save some money. Oh well.

 

[splatt]

Brilliant. I was wondering if there was a way to weigh it down. And you added 50 cents to its street value!!

if it's secure, you don't need weight:
just tape it to the floor? works for me.
2 pieces of real duct-tape, each w/full side-to-side coverage & folded (on the bottom of the pedal): one vertically orientated, the other horizontally orientated.

 

[phazersonstun]

If the stages you're playing are carpeted, slap some velcro on that puppy.

 

[Astronaut FX]

For synths I use a Moog.

For guitar I use Ernie Ball volume pedals with a TRS y-cable.

 

[FlyingsCool]

Might want to consider a BOSS FV-500H... Really flexible, "built like a tank",
Love mine... I'm not alone
https://www.thegearpage.net/board/i...-use-a-boss-fv-500-expression-for-wah.1189583

 

[Pietro]

Anytime you hear the squeak... the simple solution is that your volume needs to be turned up. A lot.

 

[JoeB63]

Anytime you hear the squeak... the simple solution is that your volume needs to be turned up. A lot.

Unlike most people, I'm trying to save what's left of my hearing, so for rehearsals, we use e-drums and keep the volume really low. Of course, I can easily do rehearsals without using a wah too, so....

But even just fooling around at home, AKA practicing, I don't want to hear a squeak.

 

[Pietro]

Unlike most people, I'm trying to save what's left of my hearing, so for rehearsals, we use e-drums and keep the volume really low. Of course, I can easily do rehearsals without using a wah too, so....

But even just fooling around at home, AKA practicing, I don't want to hear a squeak.

I was funnin'...

 

[dbagchee]

+1 for the Moog EP-3. Found one at my local shop and picked it up. Feels great and no squeak.

 

[gumtown]

I like the Moog EP-3, but I had to modify mine to get the correct range for my Roland gear.

I removed the 100k pot and installed a dual 50k like this

Now I get the perfect range from heel to toe.

 

[lspaulsp]

I just got a Fender EXP-1 for my Mustang V and it suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuxxxxxxx!
$90 POS! They should be ashamed.

 

[flyingheelhook]

Right now, Moog EP-3 seems to be in high demand - backordered on every site I could find that sells them.

 

[Astronaut FX]

Right now, Moog EP-3 seems to be in high demand - backordered on every site I could find that sells them.

Probably because Moog is expending all of their energy in trying to keep up with the demand for the Mother 32. There's been a 90-day wait for those since they launched last fall. But it was sooooo worth the wait. (Sorry for the minor thread derail.)