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Cheaper FC-7 ?!


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I am absolutely sure this has been mentioned, but I'm p*ssed because Sweetwater doesn't do Europe anymore and thought maybe some one from the top of their head should be able to inform me if there's a nice, ok FC7 volume pedal clone, because honestly I find it a bit expensive at 70+ euros, and yet I don't feel like fiddling about adapting some cheap guitar pedal for the purpose of sound dynamics control.

 

It's probably importation taxes that are killing these prices.

 

T.

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I use a no longer available Roland EV-7 which comes very close to matching the long throw of the FC-7, but even if you find a used one they are fairly expensive. The other long throw pedal is the Crumar EXP-3 but that is also fairly expensive. If I needed a long throw pedal the one I would take a serious look at is the studiologic pedal which appears to me to have the long throw I'm looking for and is reasonably priced.

 

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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

 

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I've been using a Behringer FCV-100 for years with no problem. Mechanically a knockoff of the FC-7 - at least for numerous parts which look like they just made a mold from the FC-7. Big advantage is no attached cable (which is the weak point of the Yamaha pedal).

 

- Jimbo

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In looking at various pictures, some of these pedals look like they swing back further, which would be better suited for sitting players. While standing, your range of foot motion is much smaller. AFAIK, the FC7 is the only pedal I know of that has some degree of adjustability of the physical sweep range.

 

My strong advice: get the longest extended warranty available! The warranties are based on the price of a unit, so in this case it'll be pretty cheap. I have THREE FC-7 pedals not working! And a number of sustain pedals on the blink.

> Anyone inclined to fix things, I would gladly exchange 1 of my 3 FC-7 pedals if someone would fix the other 2. I did fix one of the FC-7s, putting in a different cable, but it soon went out on me as well. I live in SF for now, in July I'm moving down to the San Diego area.

Numa Piano X73 /// Kawai ES920 /// Casio CT-X5000 /// Yamaha EW425

Yamaha Melodica and Alto Recorder

QSC K8.2 // JBL Eon One Compact // Soundcore Motion Boom Plus 

Win10 laptop i7 8GB // iPad Pro 9.7" 32GB

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The Behringer FCV100 is cheap in the states, $28 at SW

Behringer FCV100

It needs a battery or power from an adapter (which is not included). AFAIK, none of the others do. It's also one of the few that has both Expression (CC control) as well as Volume control (Stereo or dual mono).

 

Here is an online review,

"It Does Eventually Break

I've used these pedals for almost five years, and typically run them between 12-20 hours per week. There is no better pedal out there! They use a potentiometer that controls an amplifier circuit rather than just a simply putting a potentiometer in line with the input and output. The result is incredibly smooth action and ZERO noise. I've spent as much as $100.00 on pedals that are nowhere near this sound quality.

 

The only bad news...the pot eventually wears out and you get uneven response.

 

They are not economically repairable. Nonetheless, I am perfectly happy to use one for about 2 years and replace it at the sales price of around $30.00. A typical user should easily get 5 years use. This is a great buy for casual musicians as well as professionals."

 

So, sounds like he's using it as a volume pedal, and not an expression pedal. I had a Roland EV-5?, used it as a volume pedal between the keyboard and speakers. It was not fun or smooth to use at all.

Numa Piano X73 /// Kawai ES920 /// Casio CT-X5000 /// Yamaha EW425

Yamaha Melodica and Alto Recorder

QSC K8.2 // JBL Eon One Compact // Soundcore Motion Boom Plus 

Win10 laptop i7 8GB // iPad Pro 9.7" 32GB

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The Behringer blurbs & docs say it does volume and CV. Is a CV input and an expression pedal input on a synth the same thing?

Yes. Volume and Expression however are not the same.

 

This pedal has 2 mono in jacks and 2 mono out jacks (or use both for stereo). So you could take the outs from your keyboard into this pedal, and then take the outs from the pedal to a speaker.

 

Otherwise, you can plug it into the Expression pedal or sweep pedal input on your keyboard, and assign whatever parameter or CCs you want to control. Not sure what CV means, probably control voltage, but I thought that was for controlling analog synths.

Numa Piano X73 /// Kawai ES920 /// Casio CT-X5000 /// Yamaha EW425

Yamaha Melodica and Alto Recorder

QSC K8.2 // JBL Eon One Compact // Soundcore Motion Boom Plus 

Win10 laptop i7 8GB // iPad Pro 9.7" 32GB

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Behringer FCV100 does not require the battery if a TRS cable is used with Output 2 and the switch is on CV. It is a wonderfully versatile pedal.

It works quite well with MODX to control expression or the Super Knob, but Yamaha"s FC7 still feels better (more smooth?) to me.

I did notice that the FCV100 didn"t quite go to max with the Super Knob after a time; then realized the top plate had bent slightly from my not so svelte self standing on it for several shows. I"ve had two FC7"s fail over the years (one I could repair), but never had one bend out of shape like the Behringer did. I was able to bend it back to get full range again, but just a note to those that stand and those that may have a carefully crafted pear-shaped physique such as mine.

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Brenner,

Thanks for the clarification. I assumed no battery needed for Expression pedal control, makes sense, but good to have it clarified.

 

I'm ordering one today. After 3 broken FC-7s, I'd prefer to have one with a detachable TRS cable for Expression control. And having a smooth stereo Volume pedal is a nice perk, my Roland EV-5? was close to unusable.

Numa Piano X73 /// Kawai ES920 /// Casio CT-X5000 /// Yamaha EW425

Yamaha Melodica and Alto Recorder

QSC K8.2 // JBL Eon One Compact // Soundcore Motion Boom Plus 

Win10 laptop i7 8GB // iPad Pro 9.7" 32GB

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I was looking for an expression pedal that would work with my PC3, but I'd always used FC7s (in fact, I've never had mine fail in five years). I do like a long throw as I do a lot of layered fade-ins and that kind of thing live. I ended up going with a Moog EP3. It has roughly half of the travel of an FC7, but it was enough for me and I'm happy with it. If you have a chance, set your FC7 to about halfway up, and see if you can live with that amount of travel. If so, go with an EP3.

 

I considered the Behringer but I thought it needed batteries for everything, including expression.

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

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"It Does Eventually Break [...]

They are not economically repairable. Nonetheless, I am perfectly happy to use one for about 2 years and replace it at the sales price of around $30.00. A typical user should easily get 5 years use. This is a great buy for casual musicians as well as professionals."

 

Another thought, why not buy any pedal that works for several years instead of re-buying every two years and adding to the ever-mounting pile of Western consumers' trash?

(I know that's not your quote there, Randelph.)

It's not a clone, it's a Suzuki.
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@ Morizzle,

Yeah, considering how much he uses it, for many people that would be a 5-7 year useage before failure. And he uses it for the volume pedal, which uses a potentiometer. To use it for Expression there is no pot to wear out

 

@ MMM,

I've had my THREE FC-7s for varying periods of time, none of them used all that much. The oldest is perhaps 10 years old. Compared to people who use their FC-7s a lot, I've got maybe a years time on any of these three. So it hasn't been reliable in my experience. I don't abuse my pedals any more than the next guy, loosely wrapping the cord around the pedal for packing purposes.

Numa Piano X73 /// Kawai ES920 /// Casio CT-X5000 /// Yamaha EW425

Yamaha Melodica and Alto Recorder

QSC K8.2 // JBL Eon One Compact // Soundcore Motion Boom Plus 

Win10 laptop i7 8GB // iPad Pro 9.7" 32GB

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Theo,

Cheaper? How about build it yourself?

Numa Piano X73 /// Kawai ES920 /// Casio CT-X5000 /// Yamaha EW425

Yamaha Melodica and Alto Recorder

QSC K8.2 // JBL Eon One Compact // Soundcore Motion Boom Plus 

Win10 laptop i7 8GB // iPad Pro 9.7" 32GB

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From a review on GC's website:

"Ive been using the FC-7's since 1999 when I bought a used PSR-7000. I eventually moved up to a PSR-9000, Tyros 1 & currently a T3. As I write this I have 4 - yes 4 -broken FC-7's sitting on my shelf. They just don't last & I'm not the handyman type. not worth paying a repair shop to fix -em. They just don't last, plain & simple. Very shabbily made. I'm not buying any more, just working without a volume pedal"

 

The Yamaha user guide has a simple adjustment for sitting versus standing use:

FC7 user manual to adjust for standing or sitting

Numa Piano X73 /// Kawai ES920 /// Casio CT-X5000 /// Yamaha EW425

Yamaha Melodica and Alto Recorder

QSC K8.2 // JBL Eon One Compact // Soundcore Motion Boom Plus 

Win10 laptop i7 8GB // iPad Pro 9.7" 32GB

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Count me as one not drinking the FC7 koolaid. I've owned a few and they've held up the same as the plastic guys â iow, they last a while then they're done, or need some kind of repair. I look at an expression pedal as a maintenance item on a key rig, like an oil change â you need a new one every few thousand miles. But reliability is not what shapes my opinion of it â I've had to repair my M-Audio EXP too. For me it's two things â first, the taper, which is strange; most of the action seems to happen in the first 3rd of the pedal's travel, and I'm pretty sure it's not a log taper pot in there. Secondly, at full "volume" my foot is at a >90 degree angle and that's much less comfortable, even awkward â whether I sit or stand. And I am aware of and have messed with the adjustment to change the angle although I never really get the chance on a fly-in gig (I should probably say got the change, ha ha). Thanks to forumite Barry I have the Ashby adapter and have used it many times on these dates when I'm supplied with an FC7 for my Roland A800.

 

Anyway, I will once again put in a word for my plastic M-Audio EXP, a Roland EV5 clone at half the price. Yes the cable failed after a few years. I wired my own, tied a knot inside the pedal as a strain relief, and used a rubber grommet and a few layers of heat shrink tubing to make the repair and it's been fine the last few years. I'm sure it'll go south someday.

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For me it's two things â first, the taper, which is strange; most of the action seems to happen in the first 3rd of the pedal's travel, and I'm pretty sure it's not a log taper pot in there.

FC-7 has a 50k ohm log pot. EV-5 and M-Audio use a 10K linear pot. Some boards don't like that mismatched resistance. I know Nords let you select expression pedal type to compensate for different resistances or polarities, but not sure about other brands. I'm guessing Roland and Yamaha don't offer that functionality in their boards since they want you to buy their respective pedals.

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I am in the FC-7 camp, myself. I prefer being able to adjust the pedal angle at >90 degrees at "full volume", even when sitting. They have definitely failed on me, and I can mostly blame that on not handling the cable carefully when packing up - that goes for sustain pedals as well. Cheapest solution is to buy a 15' Hosa TRS cable, cut it in half and then you have two replacement cables. Of course you have to spend the time soldering them in.
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As a few have remarked on other threads, the sensing circuit for a controller on a midi keyboard is a voltage divider, which makes the actual value of the pot less important. It's about the taper â and I can't see the logic in using a log taper pot to control midi values of 0 to 127. But - if you're used to that and it works for ya, then that's the bottom line. Not my tempo though.
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We always end up diverting the expression pedal discussions because someone will eventually bring up that they don't get a smooth 0-127 response from min to max on the pedal. Some discuss that the volume goes from 0 to 90% in the first inch of travel and others discuss the opposite, i.e. the volume change occurs in the last inch of travel. Then we discuss whether the pedal is the correct polarity, I'll call it Roland vs. Yamaha configuration, wired to the ring or to the tip. If backwards for your keyboard the "Ashby adapter" will correct the wiring issue. Others then report that with or without the Ashby adapter (wiring reversal) they still don't get a smooth 0-127 from heel to toe. This would indicate that the issue is a linear vs. logarithmic pot in the expression pedal. The link below describes how they react during pedal depression.

 

link

 

If you own a Kurzweil this can be somewhat adjusted. If you had an expression pedal and it was log rather than linear but you wanted it to act linear there is a curve control that can be implemented that would offset the log and make the response of the pedal depression to respond more like a linear pot.

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

 

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