Topic by Compuphonic

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Topic: Sustain pedal question

Hi guys,

I've just been playing around with the demo version 3, and I'm really impressed. You've certainly created a very playable instrument!'

I haven't however been able to get the sustain pedal to work properly. I only have a simple on/off switch which puts out a value of 64 when on. Even though the sustain pedal range is from 0 to 1, I'm not getting the pedal to go fully down when on - I only get a half-sustain. Pressing the pedal on the interface with the mouse functions correctly though. This happens in both stand-alone and as an instrument in Logic 8.

Any ideas what might be causing this?

Thanks,
Tom

Reply by Cellomangler

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Re: Sustain pedal question

It would help to know the make and model of your keyboard/controller.
There are several workarounds if there is a problem with your controller.  Maybe your keyboard supports progressive sustain and you should be using a pedal that outputs accordingly ?  (3 conductor -tip, ring, sleeve connector)  Gotta know more....

"Downing a fifth results in diminished capacity."

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Reply by Compuphonic

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Re: Sustain pedal question

Hi,
I'm just testing at the moment with the Prophet 08, so I think the sustain pedal input only excepts an on/off switch. It works fine with other plugins.
But you're right, I need to find a controller/pedal with progressive sustain - it looks like a great feature.
Cheers,
Tom

Reply by Cellomangler

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Re: Sustain pedal question

You should be able to use the expression pedal input on the Prophet with a progressive sustain pedal like the Yamaha FC3.

"Downing a fifth results in diminished capacity."

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Reply by Compuphonic

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Re: Sustain pedal question

I'm certainly planning on getting the FC3 pedal soon.

I sort of got things working by swapping the range value from "0 to 1" to "1 to 0" and then changing the foot-switch polarity. The sustain pedal depresses fully now, but only goes 3/4 of the way up!

Reply by Compuphonic

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Re: Sustain pedal question

The problem seems to be with the Prophet as it only puts out a value of 64 when the pedal is pressed. This is not enough to even trigger EW Play!

My Trinity puts out a value of 127, which kind of makes sense. Looks like I'll have to get a proper controller keyboard, but at least I can test Pianoteq properly now.

Reply by EvilDragon

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Re: Sustain pedal question

I think this has to do with pedal resistance (kOhms)... some manufacturers use different input resistance, so the same pedal triggers different MIDI values when the voltage is converted.

MIDI OX should help you to remap the output values.

Hard work and guts!

Reply by ReBased

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Re: Sustain pedal question

Rather than reverse polarity on both, try changing the PT range to 0-0.5.

Reply by Compuphonic

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Re: Sustain pedal question

Thanks for the MIDI OX tip - unfortunately it only seems to run on Windows. I've just heard that Dave Smith is changing the output value from 64 to 127 in the next OS update, so that will fix the problem.
I'll have to make sure my next controller keyboard excepts a pedal with variable resistance.

Cheers,
Tom