Jump to content


Please note: You can easily log in to MPN using your Facebook account!

Moog EP-3 Expression Pedal opinions/for Kurzweil PC3?


Recommended Posts

Hi everyone,

 

I"m searching for a good not-super-expensive expression pedal to use with my Kurzweil PC3. My FC7, as noted many times on this forum, doesn"t necessarily work the best with this board. I read all the threads on different resistance values per pedal model and the like already.

 

The Moog EP-3 looks like it would be a decent pedal, but I"m not seeing a lot of reviews from keyboardists in general. Anyone who"s used one, what have you liked/disliked? And does anyone know if it would work correctly with the PC3? Polarity-wise it"s switchable so I"m not worried about that, but there"s been a lot of discussion about different pot resistance values and the like with the PC3. I would like to have a full-range of values with a smooth curve, especially since the throw looks like it"s shorter than the FC7. The Kurzweil CC1 pedal is a possibility too but I"ve not seen one really positive review.

 

 

So...anybody have any comments on the EP-3 in general, or using it with Kurzweil gear?

 

 

Thanks!

Yamaha: Motif XF8, MODX7, YS200, CVP-305, CLP-130, YPG-235, PSR-295, PSS-470 | Roland: Fantom 7, JV-1000

Kurzweil: PC3-76, PC4 (88) | Hammond: SK Pro 73 | Korg: Triton LE 76, N1R, X5DR | Emu: Proteus/1 | Casio: CT-370 | Novation: Launchkey 37 MK3 | Technics: WSA1R

Former: Emu Proformance Plus & Mo'Phatt, Korg Krome 61, Roland Fantom XR & JV-1010, Yamaha MX61, Behringer CAT

Assorted electric & acoustic guitars and electric basses | Roland TD-17 KVX | Alesis SamplePad Pro | Assorted organs, accordions, other instruments

Link to comment
Share on other sites



  • Replies 26
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Where is that foot pedal database document located?

 

 

This one? Pedal Summary Ver 3

Yamaha: Motif XF8, MODX7, YS200, CVP-305, CLP-130, YPG-235, PSR-295, PSS-470 | Roland: Fantom 7, JV-1000

Kurzweil: PC3-76, PC4 (88) | Hammond: SK Pro 73 | Korg: Triton LE 76, N1R, X5DR | Emu: Proteus/1 | Casio: CT-370 | Novation: Launchkey 37 MK3 | Technics: WSA1R

Former: Emu Proformance Plus & Mo'Phatt, Korg Krome 61, Roland Fantom XR & JV-1010, Yamaha MX61, Behringer CAT

Assorted electric & acoustic guitars and electric basses | Roland TD-17 KVX | Alesis SamplePad Pro | Assorted organs, accordions, other instruments

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi! I use a moog p3 in my roland jp80 and in my nord electro through midi. It works fine and smooth and it looks like solid enough, actually, it is my fav expression pedal. The only issue that i,ve found in this pesal is his highness, it,s a tall pedal.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just bought one. The FC7 works ok with pretty much anything but mine is old and it's got an odd spot where it's too little or too much, and I always felt it had too much throw. The EP, I figured, would play nice with the One and I was happy to discover that it did, and built far better than I thought it would be. It is a short throw but smooth throughout and enough resistance that it's not floppy under your foot. Unfortunately I can't say how it'll work with the Kurz, just that it's a nice pedal for the money.

9 Moog things, 3 Roland things, 2 Hammond things and a computer with stuff on it

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I happen to like the EP-3 bout the first one I had went bad within 18 months - started to spit out erratic values. Luckily got it replaced out of warranty and the replacement has been going well for 2-3 years now. It"s better than the Boss EV-5 I also use as it doesn"t have the same amount of dead travel at the top and bottom. You can get to to use all is physical range.

 

One negative is the adjustable knob on the side of the pedal can get bumped easily. Good job for a piece of gaffa..

Paul Najar

Jaminajar music production

www.jaminajar.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Think it's really that difficult for manufacturers to agree on a standard, so that any pedal can be used with any keyboard?

 

Nope - at least if we"re talking about the typical expression pedal. All they need to do is include a polarity switch.

 

And design the mechanical throw to match the linear pot variation from minimum to maximum. In almost every case the resistance 10K, 25K, 50K, 100K doesn"t matter. But few people seem to acknowledge or remember

 

TELEMMGLPICT000222301717_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqO6QpIblidqHYceykOFBymEDlT6p8TPuWfOauUen7XeM.jpeg

 

Resistance is futile.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not a fan of short throw pedals. A long throw pedal that I have had success with my PC3 is the Roland EV-7. It has a nice long throw; unfortunately they are discontinued and pricey. Look for used ones on Ebay; even used expect to pay $90. another one which is also expensive is the Crumar organ pedal. Both pedals are the 10K resistance that the PC3 is looking for and both are long throw; both are also fairly large pedals as well, but both do the job nicely. It's a trade off, end of the day its your call. I opted to spend a little money in this area and get a pedal I'm comfortable with.

57 Hammond B3; 69 Hammond L100P; 68 Leslie 122; Kurzweil Forte7 & PC3; M-Audio Code 61; Voce V5+; Neo Vent; EV ELX112P; GSI Gemini & Burn

Delaware Dave

Exit93band

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You probably saw this. Back then I used photobucket. The pics still appear but are fuzzy now. I think photobucket wants money now.

 

My opinions still stand. They are fine pedals. I still prefer the longer travel of the FC7 but my pedalcase wouldn"t hold 3 FC7s.

 

 

https://forums.musicplayer.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/2701034/Re_Moog_EP_3_Expression_pedal_

"It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne

 

"A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!!

So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks everyone. I ordered an EP-3 last week. I will let you know what I think of it when it arrives in the next month or so (naturally all shipping is delayed by several weeks from retailers).

Yamaha: Motif XF8, MODX7, YS200, CVP-305, CLP-130, YPG-235, PSR-295, PSS-470 | Roland: Fantom 7, JV-1000

Kurzweil: PC3-76, PC4 (88) | Hammond: SK Pro 73 | Korg: Triton LE 76, N1R, X5DR | Emu: Proteus/1 | Casio: CT-370 | Novation: Launchkey 37 MK3 | Technics: WSA1R

Former: Emu Proformance Plus & Mo'Phatt, Korg Krome 61, Roland Fantom XR & JV-1010, Yamaha MX61, Behringer CAT

Assorted electric & acoustic guitars and electric basses | Roland TD-17 KVX | Alesis SamplePad Pro | Assorted organs, accordions, other instruments

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Should be fine with it. Ive used 2 for the last 2.5 years with my RD2000, FA07,Peak set up. One is volume, one expression, using some y connectors so each pedal goes to both control boards (RD and FA)
Roland RD2000, FA07 (soon to be Fantom7), Legend EXP, Peak, Virus Ti2 Desktop.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had one for a short while. Got rid of it quickly. The build quality was very nice, but for me its short throw made it useless. I'm so used to the Yamaha FC-7, I just didn't warm up to it.

 

This is my experience as well. Perhaps the best one I ever used was a Boss fv500h, but they're 120 bux. Any expression pedal you use on a lot of gigs will fail after a few years. Pound for Pound, the FC7 is the best. 35 bux and a nice long throw, good quality.

Hammond B-2, Leslie 122, Hammond Sk1 73, Korg BX3 2001, Leslie 900, Motion Sound Pro 3, Polytone Taurus Elite, Roland RD300 old one, Roland VK7, Fender Rhodes Mark V with Roland JC90
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had one for a short while. Got rid of it quickly. The build quality was very nice, but for me its short throw made it useless. I'm so used to the Yamaha FC-7, I just didn't warm up to it.

 

This is my experience as well. Perhaps the best one I ever used was a Boss fv500h, but they're 120 bux. Any expression pedal you use on a lot of gigs will fail after a few years. Pound for Pound, the FC7 is the best. 35 bux and a nice long throw, good quality.

 

I"ve been frequently gigging with my FC7 since May 2016 with zero issues so far. Maybe I"ve just had good luck. I use it exclusively for bringing in layered or split patches, which comprise 90% of my setups. My church has one that"s been used since early 2012 and is still functional. It"s a little sticky/binds up sometimes, but it works. Not bad for being eight years old.

Yamaha: Motif XF8, MODX7, YS200, CVP-305, CLP-130, YPG-235, PSR-295, PSS-470 | Roland: Fantom 7, JV-1000

Kurzweil: PC3-76, PC4 (88) | Hammond: SK Pro 73 | Korg: Triton LE 76, N1R, X5DR | Emu: Proteus/1 | Casio: CT-370 | Novation: Launchkey 37 MK3 | Technics: WSA1R

Former: Emu Proformance Plus & Mo'Phatt, Korg Krome 61, Roland Fantom XR & JV-1010, Yamaha MX61, Behringer CAT

Assorted electric & acoustic guitars and electric basses | Roland TD-17 KVX | Alesis SamplePad Pro | Assorted organs, accordions, other instruments

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For expression pedals I'm quit using kurz pedals cause they fail so easily & switched to On Stage KEP100 expression pedals. Got 6 of them from Sweetwater for $25 apiece & been happy ever since.

 

 

Thanks for the heads up. I just got two of them. Be forewarned though if considering it. Read the reviews. They don't register the whole range.

If you're using them for filter/volume/expression and stuff they'd probably be fine as-is. Not so for anything pitch related - it sounds wacked out.

I got one new one, and one that was returned in excellent condition, and they both would only go down to about 30 (out of 127).

 

I knew that going into it and figured I could fix it. There's two pots inside. One adjuster and one that's controlled by the pedal.

The one on the pedal is positioned in place by a tab in the wrong position. I loosened up the nut, cut off a protruding tab on the pot, re-positioned the pot,

and tightened it back down in the new position. They both read through the full range now. The feel and amount of throw are both good for me.

 

Took about an hour to modify both of them. Got the two pedals for about $50 total with a couple dollar rewards points I had to use up.

Other than the pot issue, they seem like they'll hold up fine. They work very smoothly, I don't gig - home use only, and I don't abuse stuff,

so I expect they'll probably outlast me. :laugh:

I'm using one for a mod pedal for a Kurzweil PC4 and the other as an expression pedal for a PC3le.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...
Where is that foot pedal database document located?

 

 

This one? Pedal Summary Ver 3

 

Thanks for this. :) I was thinking about getting a new expression pedal specifically for my Hydrasynth. So this chart will be handy for sure!

 

My Korg EXP-2 works OK with it (after calibration in the keyboard's system setup), but it hits the max value way too soon -- perhaps less than halfway, which isn't ideal for me. Naturally it works much better on all of my Korg synths. I bought this pedal either in 1990 or 1991, gigged it with for years and years, plus home use, and it still works great. Fairly certain I did not pay its current price of $109 for it back then. It was probably closer to $70. But as it is still working perfectly 30 years later, it's definitely a "you-get-what-you-pay-for" scenario. Still using the original orange cable that came with it, too. I open it up once a year to clean it out. Found a moth in it today. Silly place for a moth to go. Really can't complain, but if I were to complain, it does slide around a bit on a floor. I used to duct tape it down during gigs. I might try adding some more rubber pads to the bottom of it to see if that helps. Anyway, just thought I'd share for general FYI.

1218.thumb.jpg.63d57bdf3c69b458965ffe4a5c92c0c5.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

My Korg EXP-2 works OK with it (after calibration in the keyboard's system setup), but it hits the max value way too soon -- perhaps less than halfway, which isn't ideal for me.

 

 

You mentioned recalibrating but did you also try reversing the polarity? From page 86 of the user manual:

 

Knob 6 Exp pedal +, - Set polarity of expression pedal

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

My Korg EXP-2 works OK with it (after calibration in the keyboard's system setup), but it hits the max value way too soon -- perhaps less than halfway, which isn't ideal for me.

 

 

You mentioned recalibrating but did you also try reversing the polarity? From page 86 of the user manual:

 

Knob 6 Exp pedal +, - Set polarity of expression pedal

 

Thanks. I just tried that, and the effect is the same, just reversed as expected. Looking at that pedals spreadsheet, maybe it's a potentiometer thing. Or maybe it's just my pedal. I know I have a Boss expression pedal somewhere, but I can't find it. My brother might have it...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

PC3 needs an expression pedal with a pot that is 10 K and linear. 50K or 500K or whatever doesn't work well, regardless of how it is wired.

Find a wide-throw pedal that you like, change the pot to 10K linear if it is not already.

Howard Grand|Hamm SK1-73|Kurz PC2|PC2X|PC3|PC3X|PC361; QSC K10's

HP DAW|Epi Les Paul & LP 5-str bass|iPad mini2

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

Jim

Link to comment
Share on other sites

PC3 needs an expression pedal with a pot that is 10 K and linear. 50K or 500K or whatever doesn't work well, regardless of how it is wired.

Find a wide-throw pedal that you like, change the pot to 10K linear if it is not already.

 

Read this so many times. And yet my FC-7 works great once I reversed the polarity. Mine is a PC3x.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

My Korg EXP-2 works OK with it (after calibration in the keyboard's system setup), but it hits the max value way too soon -- perhaps less than halfway, which isn't ideal for me.

 

 

You mentioned recalibrating but did you also try reversing the polarity? From page 86 of the user manual:

 

Knob 6 Exp pedal +, - Set polarity of expression pedal

 

Thanks. I just tried that, and the effect is the same, just reversed as expected. Looking at that pedals spreadsheet, maybe it's a potentiometer thing. Or maybe it's just my pedal. I know I have a Boss expression pedal somewhere, but I can't find it. My brother might have it...

 

It sounds like the Hydrasynth isn't actually reversing the polarity ( i.e. internally swapping the tip ring contacts) but rather reversing the converted digital values associated with the presented voltage. I've seen this with other boards but they don't call it "reverse polarity". I also found no specifics regarding pedal interface specs. I recommend trying to reverse the tip and ring contacts. If you need help with this feel free to PM me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

My Korg EXP-2 works OK with it (after calibration in the keyboard's system setup), but it hits the max value way too soon -- perhaps less than halfway, which isn't ideal for me.

 

 

You mentioned recalibrating but did you also try reversing the polarity? From page 86 of the user manual:

 

Knob 6 Exp pedal +, - Set polarity of expression pedal

 

Thanks. I just tried that, and the effect is the same, just reversed as expected. Looking at that pedals spreadsheet, maybe it's a potentiometer thing. Or maybe it's just my pedal. I know I have a Boss expression pedal somewhere, but I can't find it. My brother might have it...

 

It sounds like the Hydrasynth isn't actually reversing the polarity ( i.e. internally swapping the tip ring contacts) but rather reversing the converted digital values associated with the presented voltage. I've seen this with other boards but they don't call it "reverse polarity". I also found no specifics regarding pedal interface specs. I recommend trying to reverse the tip and ring contacts. If you need help with this feel free to PM me.

 

 

I got to try out a Hydrasynth last night. Brought an FC-7 pedal and a polarity (i.e. Tip/Ring) reversing adapter. The pedal works great but only with the adapter. It sweeps through the entire range of values after I ran the pedal calibration function which showed min value of 0 and max of 255 and left no perceptible dead range.

 

 

Any expression pedal with the wiper wired to the tip portion of the TRS connector should work including those made by Roland. The pot resistance makes no difference.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 7 months later...

Realized I never came back to this thread. I've had the EP-3 for nearly a year now and used it extensively with my PC3 and JV-1000 keyboards (and tested it with my Motif XF and Korg Krome). It definitely has a shorter throw than my FC7, but I've gotten used to it. It actually works pretty well, one just has to be more gentle in timing the fade-ins since it has a shorter throw. It's built really nicely. Kind of a heavy-grade plastic. The included TRS cable isn't great as it's super thin and kind of flimsy, but that can always be replaced. It sits higher off the ground than the FC7, so one can't rest their heel on the ground the same way as with an FC7.

 

 

If anyone needs an expression pedal for a Kurz, forget the CC-1 and go get an EP-3! I'm very happy with mine! :keys2:

Yamaha: Motif XF8, MODX7, YS200, CVP-305, CLP-130, YPG-235, PSR-295, PSS-470 | Roland: Fantom 7, JV-1000

Kurzweil: PC3-76, PC4 (88) | Hammond: SK Pro 73 | Korg: Triton LE 76, N1R, X5DR | Emu: Proteus/1 | Casio: CT-370 | Novation: Launchkey 37 MK3 | Technics: WSA1R

Former: Emu Proformance Plus & Mo'Phatt, Korg Krome 61, Roland Fantom XR & JV-1010, Yamaha MX61, Behringer CAT

Assorted electric & acoustic guitars and electric basses | Roland TD-17 KVX | Alesis SamplePad Pro | Assorted organs, accordions, other instruments

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A shorter throw pedal works fine for fade ins and outs; my experience is that it doesn't work well for organ. You need a long throw pedal so that you can deal with the subtleties of playing organ. I use a Roland EV7 which has a similar long throw as the FC7. It provides a smooth 0-127, is 10K (Kurz recommended pot) and because Kurz wired to the Roland spec rather than the Yamaha spec it doesn't need an adapter.

57 Hammond B3; 69 Hammond L100P; 68 Leslie 122; Kurzweil Forte7 & PC3; M-Audio Code 61; Voce V5+; Neo Vent; EV ELX112P; GSI Gemini & Burn

Delaware Dave

Exit93band

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...