Great video. This was VERY helpful. Thank you!

Not only comprehensive, but understandable to me who knew zippity-do-dah about the subject so I know what to ask before buying. Thank you!

So helpful- thank you. I’m buying my first expression pedal and was mystified by why wah pedals, volume pedals and expression pedals were all sold as separate devices despite seeming to do the same thing. All clear now. 😄

Many many many many thanks ‼️‼️‼️‼️

Thanks so much for taking time to explain this 😎

Excellent explanation!

Excellent video! Very helpful. Thanks!

finally a comprehensive explanation!

BRILIANT !!!

Excellent

Thank you so much

even I can understand it now...☺ thanx

can i use a electro harmonix slammi pedal as an input to the ehx pitchfork + . i plug my guitar to the normal input to the pitchfork and there is no input to my EHX slammi pedal . ...

@JamesLebihan

3 жыл бұрын

you cannot generally use wah or whammy pedals as expression pedals. To connect to the expression input on the Pitchfork you need a dedicated expression pedal such as the Mission EP-1

Great stuff James, thanks for this. I have a question though about what's going on behind the TRS socket in the device I want to control. My electronic drum pad has a few trigger inputs and one expression pedal input. Are there big hardware differences in the two different connectors (behind the plug hole as such) or could they all technically be trigger and expression inputs? As in, is what defines them as either trigger or expression just a software question? Thanks in advance!

@JamesLebihan

3 жыл бұрын

in a digital device like a drum machine, they are usually connected to pins on a micro controller. Software interprets the state change on the pin and then does something such as turn something on/off or set a value. Switches and triggers are usually digital pins that can read discrete high/low values only. Expression pedals are connected to analog pins that can read variable values so the software can interpret the position of the pedal. Analog pins can be used for pedals or switches, but digital pins can be used for switches only. The software is also different. The code to read if a switch or button is in an on or off state, is different to the code to read the position of a continuous controller such as an expression pedal or knob. It's possible to have a system that can support both continuous and discreet controllers on the same jack, but it must be designed to do that. The pins it is connected to must support analog reads, and the code must be able to support both switches and pedals. This is why, if a device can do this, there is usually some setup you have to do to tell it if a switch or pedal is connected so that it can run the appropriate code.

@tobiasmiorin

3 жыл бұрын

@@JamesLebihan Amazing James! Thank you so much for the quick and detailed reply! I owe you a beer! This is for a new product design so it would be possible to design them for both. I want to give the device 10 inputs and leave it up to the user how many of these should be triggers or expression pedals. There will be a software where the user defines them. Thank you!

@JamesLebihan

3 жыл бұрын

@@tobiasmiorin No problem. My other business does contract design and manufacture of electronics products such as this, so if you need help let me know. james.lebihan@soundspeed.io

Hey James, is the 5V terminal the ring or the sleeve? I got that the wiper is usually the tip.

@JamesLebihan

4 жыл бұрын

on TRS expression pedals the sleeve is usually the ground and connected to one end of the potentiometer. The input is normally on the ring and connected to the other end of the potentiometer. The output is on the wiper (the middle of the pot), but this is sometimes reversed depending on the manufacturer of the expression controlled device.

*Hey James. Would it be possible to mod/use my Boss EV50H to function as dual expression pedal for my Strymon El Capistan + Boss PH3 somehow?*

@JamesLebihan

2 жыл бұрын

Dual might be tricky as you'll likely have to replace the potentiometer and you would have to find one that would work with the mechanism. There's some info on expression pedal wiring at themissionspace.com/all-about-expression-pedals/

Can you convert midi send into an expression port of a device?

@JamesLebihan

2 жыл бұрын

you can confer expression to MIDI with a converter from Midisolutions. MIDI to expression is an odd one. I don't know of anything. If you just want to control multiple expression ports from a single pedal then you can use the Mission Expressionator

Dear James, thank you so much for this video! This is hands-down the best, most comprehensive and professional continuous control pedals video out there! You touched upon possible difficulties of using a volume pedal as an expression pedal, for all of the mentioned reasons (electrical change scale vs physical travel, log vs linear etc). I wonder if (under some weired circumstances) one could use an expression pedal as a normal volume pedal in a signal chain? I am looking at a particular pedal, called Mooer ExpLine (www.mooeraudio.com/?product/201703218579.html). This one has two TRS connectors with tip or ring wired to the wiper, making it seem a rather universal expression pedal. But moreover, since it does not have a hard-wired cable, and uses a TRS socket instead, I wonder if I could hack it (if needed) into a volume pedal by using a plain TRS to dual TS insert cable, by plugging one of the TS into my last pedal on the board and the other - into the PA input. Would it work that way? Thanks, and sorry if this is an utterly stupid question :)

@JamesLebihan

6 жыл бұрын

It would sort of work, but if the Mooer expression out is linear taper, which most true expression pedals are, the taper will be wrong. The volume would seem to come on very quickly, at the first movement of the pedal, and then the rest of the movement would seem to do nothing. Depending on how far you want to go with your hacking, you could use a taper resistor to try and compensate for this. www.geofex.com/article_folders/potsecrets/potscret.htm

@stanislavvartanyan9430

6 жыл бұрын

James Lebihan, thank you for the reply. I have no idea what the output taper is, guess I'll have to try to find out :) I will certainly not do too much hacking other than using the insert cable trick. Mooer do have a proper volume pedal, the LeveLine, but it is a powered pedal. Would it make it totally unusable as an exp pedal?

@TheBaconWizard

5 жыл бұрын

@@stanislavvartanyan9430 If you watch the video you will learn.

:)