foot controllers

reubanks · Post by **reubanks** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 4:23 am

I'm planning on buying Live 6. I was curious about which foot controller boards people prefer to use with Live.

Thank you...

EARLGREY · Post by **EARLGREY** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 9:04 am

Lots of info on the subject....
I suggest you use the 'search'-button....
FWIW the behringer FCB seems to be the most popular around here...

regards

zsazsa · Post by **zsazsa** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 11:00 am

i'd say the behringer FCB1010 .
It's cheap, sturdy and pretty flexible. 10 switches + 2 pedals.

ashuridesuyo · Post by **ashuridesuyo** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 11:35 am

I'm a Yamaha MFC kid myself. Solid (= heavy) and simple.

dave_house · Post by **dave_house** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 11:51 am

i have an FCB1010 which is a great bit of kit. Only thing is, its very heavy and big! Anyone know of any lighter, smaller pedals? doesnt matter too much if there's fewer switches. Must be capable of sending CC info, not just program change though.

nolus · Post by **nolus** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 12:20 pm

me in another thread wrote:After much deliberation I bought the Yamaha MFC10.

I think it's discontinued but you can still pick them up.

has 10 buttons and 1 expression pedal, you can connect additional footswitches to it and it has an input for a wind controller.

reasons to buy: smaller than the FCB, reasonable price, big illuminated numbers on each switch, well constructed, it's made by Yamaha.

reasons not to buy: like most of these systems it's not really designed as a trigger device but more as a patch selection device for guitar fx etc. it can be configured to trigger clips etc, but the little red light on each button just tells which one you last pressed, they can't be used to indicate the status of some feature in the software - eg so that you can see at a glance which loops are currently active.

personally I think the market is wide open for a pedal board specifically tailored for controlling sequencer functions.

mbenigni · Post by **mbenigni** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 1:06 pm

There is the Digitech Control 8, if you can find one. Here is a link to a product description, but I believe it's been discontinued.

http://www.zzounds.com/item--DGTCONT8

Like the FCB it requires AC power, but it is much smaller and lighter. I bought one just before I started building custom floorboards. I would be willing to sell this if you thought it would meet your needs. I remember it was good in some regards but had a couple of quirks. I'll try to find the original review I posted here and add more details.

mbenigni · Post by **mbenigni** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 1:23 pm

Did some hunting and reminded myself that there is also this option:

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

Sorta different - basically a 4-button QWERTY programmable keyboard add-on. Program it to send any 4 keystrokes, put it on the floor. Only downsides - no tactile feedback, funky cables. (I bought three of them when I was on my floorboard kick LOL. 1 for music, 1 for work, still have one unopened.)

The Digi 8 worked out well except for the following:
"...it only sends Program Change messages (useless as we know) or Continuous Controller messages. In the latter mode, it only sends them in latch mode, so if you want a single footswitch to consistently press an AbeLive button, you are SOL without another bit of middleware. Grr. "

In Live Note on/off messages are king, and I couldn't figure out how to configure the Digi as such... More info on this (though interspersed between stuff that probably won't interest you) here:

http://www.ableton.com/forum/viewtopic. ... c&start=30

reubanks · Post by **reubanks** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 2:26 pm

Thank you all for your informative responses.

Since I tour a great deal, weight might be a factor due to overweight charges. Of course, usability would trump weight concerns.
I'd still appreciate any other input. I would like a controller that would give me access to most of Live's features.

dave_house · Post by **dave_house** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 8:31 am

mbenigni - the control 8 sounds good but the dodgy handling of CC changes puts me off to be honest. The gaming QWERTY thing is interesting but seems a bit pricey for 2 switches, plus i cant find a UK dealer on the net...

So you build your own floorpedals right? how hard/expensive is it to do? My dream would be some kind of mat you could roll up with about 3 or 4 switches and some bank up/down ones (like the FCB1010) but i guess i could make do with something way simpler if its feasible!

mbenigni · Post by **mbenigni** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 1:33 pm

mbenigni - the control 8 sounds good but the dodgy handling of CC changes puts me off to be honest.

Yeah, I agree actually.

The gaming QWERTY thing is interesting but seems a bit pricey for 2 switches, plus i cant find a UK dealer on the net...

Actually it's 4 switches. Each unit is comprised of two pairs connected by a cable, I guess so you can position them ergonomically for each foot. I'd have preferred a single base with 4 switches, but its handy for folding up and sticking in a gig bag, or positioning each pair on either side of a mic stand. The only thing that irks me a bit is the way the cables are positioned.

Let me check and see whether I still have an extra set. If I do, would you be interested in purchasing them?

So you build your own floorpedals right? how hard/expensive is it to do? My dream would be some kind of mat you could roll up with about 3 or 4 switches and some bank up/down ones (like the FCB1010) but i guess i could make do with something way simpler if its feasible!

Custom stuff is not terribly difficult, but is relatively expensive (based on your impression of the GamingMouse price.) For example the circuit I used for this project:

http://www.decrementia.com/Content.asp? ... Floorboard

costs $53:

http://www.ultimarc.com/a-pac1.html

(The good news is it's made in England, so you won't pay a fortune for overseas shipping as I did.)

So figure ~$50 for a circuit, and ~$50 for a used pedal board to gut/convert and/or parts to build from scratch. More if you want to add expression pedals etc. Add in time and headaches and it is arguably not practical, but if you go the Ultimarc route, I can help you with the bits that tripped me up. (Hardware was actually the easy part; finding good software to convert the input to MIDI was the real trick.)

The cool thing is once you get used to the process, you can integrate whatever mechanical bits you prefer. If someday you stumble on that ideal "roll up mat", but it's part of some children's toy at a yard sale, cut it up, reverse engineer it, and connect it to your circuit. Voila!

The upshot is I now have two bus-powered controllers that do exactly what I want, where previously there was nothing on the market that fit the bill. But now that I'm done, you just know Behringer will announce something better for $20 LOL.

dave_house · Post by **dave_house** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 1:40 pm

hmm, maybe the build your own stuff can wait, i know nothing about electronics! sounds like you've built yourself some cool kit though - nice one.

what are the dimensions and weight like for the foot pads? I may be interested in buying one if you have a spare, id have to give it some though. My main concern is that even 4 switches wouldnt really be enough. Also depends on how much you'd want for it of course!

you're in the US right? So there'll be import tax on it too (grrrr!)

mbenigni · Post by **mbenigni** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 2:49 pm

Dimensions: each of those little pads is about 4" x 7", maybe a 1/4 lb each.

Let me see whether I still have the sealed one before we talk about price. If I've got a semi-used one banging around, the price would be less of course... I'll let you know tomorrow morning (US EST.) (At work at the moment.)

BTW, I posted some more info on my latest floorboard, in case anyone is curious:

http://www.decrementia.com/Content.asp? ... rboard%202

Yes, I am a total geek.

mbenigni · Post by **mbenigni** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 1:58 pm

Hey Dave - Ancient history, really embarrassed I let this slip so long, but if you're still interested, I did happen to stumble on a spare GamingMouse footpedal this weekend, still in shrinkwrap. I'll ship it to you for $40 if you still have a need for it. Just let me know.

SubQ · Post by **SubQ** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 8:41 pm

I built my own.

The FCB was too large for what I wanted - 4 loop channels and navigation between browser-session and devices.

http://www.ableton.com/forum/viewtopic. ... controller