CaptainUnderpant Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 Can somebody recommend a good volume pedal to work with Brainspawn Forte. I would think that it would be something that would attached to my computer via USB. Ideally I would like it if I could program the pedal to operate from 80 to 127 so that I have more control over subtle volume changes, rather than from 0 to 127 where it gets to difficult to control volume accurately. Any suggestions? Might THIS - CLICK be a good solution to be able to use my Yamaha FC7 volume pedal? Yamaha S90XS, Studiologic VMk-161 Organ Small/powerful (i7, 32GB, M.2 SSD) PC controlled by 10" Touch Screen Cantabile, Ravenscroft 275, Keyscape, OPX-II, Omnisphere 2, VB3, Chris Hein Horns, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markay Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 An alternative is to route the pedal via your controller. Most controllers support both volume and expression. Most hosts allow re-assignment of CC's, for example CC7 (volume) to CC11 (expression) and should cater for scaling of input value to output value and set the min and max range. I would be surprised if Forte doesn't also support this functionality. Some VSTs such as VB3 allow you set the expression min and max value meaning that any value received that is less than the set min, e.g. 74, is treated as 74. You may need to vary this patch by patch, In my experience VB3 responds differently to a synth sawtooth lead. A misguided plumber attempting to entertain | MainStage 3 | Axiom 61 2nd Gen | Pianoteq | B5 | XK3c | EV ZLX 12P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tusker Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 You might want to clonk this thread. I love to recommend my Logidy UMI3 for you but I can't. It works perfectly with an EV-5, but not with my FC7 since I haven't got the FC7 workaround. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgoo Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 An alternative is to route the pedal via your controller. Most controllers support both volume and expression. Most hosts allow re-assignment of CC's.... This. Forte can reroute any controller to any CC # & route that to anything in your Forte rack. It can also limit the CC value range. Custom Music, Audio Post Production, Location Audio www.gmma.biz https://www.facebook.com/gmmamusic/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Golly Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 I would think that it would be something that would attached to my computer via USB. Sorry, but I have to ask, why would you think this? Why would you not just plug a pedal into your keyboard that's sending the note data to Forte? The only thing I can imagine is that your controller only has a sustain pedal input (in which case, providing this information would be helpful so we don't just assume you're unfamiliar with basic keyboard & MIDI behaviour). Sorry, I had to ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainUnderpant Posted November 6, 2014 Author Share Posted November 6, 2014 I would think that it would be something that would attached to my computer via USB. Sorry, but I have to ask, why would you think this? Why would you not just plug a pedal into your keyboard that's sending the note data to Forte? The only thing I can imagine is that your controller only has a sustain pedal input (in which case, providing this information would be helpful so we don't just assume you're unfamiliar with basic keyboard & MIDI behaviour). Sorry, I had to ask. Very reasonable questions. My controller is my Yamaha S90XS, which is the only board I am using. The sound from the Yamaha is fed into a Focusrite 2i4, effectively mixing Forte's VST's with the Yamaha board sounds. This way I can play Yamaha sounds out of the board by turning up the Yamaha volume and turning off Brainspawn Forte. Unfortunately then I can't be using the Yamaha to deliver sound levels to Forte, as it isn't set up this way. I am sure I could configure the Yamaha to send this data (maybe by turning local control off?), but then I would give up the ability to fall back on the Yamaha internal sounds. Certainly if I were to use a controller only board then what you are suggesting might make sense. I noticed when I hooked up my Behringer FCB1010 foot board that the volume of Brainspawn Forte was controllable by this Foot board. This foot board is just too big for my liking. So I was assuming USB'ing into the computer to control Forte directly was the way to go. Yamaha S90XS, Studiologic VMk-161 Organ Small/powerful (i7, 32GB, M.2 SSD) PC controlled by 10" Touch Screen Cantabile, Ravenscroft 275, Keyscape, OPX-II, Omnisphere 2, VB3, Chris Hein Horns, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainUnderpant Posted November 6, 2014 Author Share Posted November 6, 2014 You might want to clonk this thread. I love to recommend my Logidy UMI3 for you but I can't. It works perfectly with an EV-5, but not with my FC7 since I haven't got the FC7 workaround. Thanks will do! Yamaha S90XS, Studiologic VMk-161 Organ Small/powerful (i7, 32GB, M.2 SSD) PC controlled by 10" Touch Screen Cantabile, Ravenscroft 275, Keyscape, OPX-II, Omnisphere 2, VB3, Chris Hein Horns, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tusker Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 So I was assuming USB'ing into the computer to control Forte directly was the way to go. Actually it isn't, in this case. And that's a good thing My controller is my Yamaha S90XS, which is the only board I am using. The sound from the Yamaha is fed into a Focusrite 2i4, effectively mixing Forte's VST's with the Yamaha board sounds. This way I can play Yamaha sounds out of the board by turning up the Yamaha volume and turning off Brainspawn Forte. Unfortunately then I can't be using the Yamaha to deliver sound levels to Forte, as it isn't set up this way. I am sure I could configure the Yamaha to send this data (maybe by turning local control off?), but then I would give up the ability to fall back on the Yamaha internal sounds. Your Yamaha is a professional level board with not one but two foot controller inputs. The direct-to-computer USB pedal solutions are for people who are using keyboards like the Casio PX5S and Roland RD64 which don't have foot controller inputs. Use your FC7 with your FC1 and FC2 inputs. I plug my my FC7 into the FC2 port of my S90ES, which is sending a midi cc controller other than 7 and 11 to both my Yamaha and my computer. (I forget which cc at the moment and that particular rig is at a practice space.) Then I program the sounds (in the Yamaha and the computer) to do whatever they need to based on that input: raise or lower volume (e.g. crossfade), open the filter, etc. Sven and Mcgoo were right to ask you about your hardware. As Markay mentioned, Brainspawn will process the pedal information to your needs. You have everything you need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgoo Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 ....I am sure I could configure the Yamaha to send this data (maybe by turning local control off?), but then I would give up the ability to fall back on the Yamaha internal sounds. I use Forte to send local on / off messages to my SV-1 on a per scene basis. I could do the easy alternative (push the front panel local on / off button on the SV-1), but I like hitting a single stroke to call up a setup that changes EVERYTHING. Methinks If you're not using Forte this way, you're missing out on its power. Custom Music, Audio Post Production, Location Audio www.gmma.biz https://www.facebook.com/gmmamusic/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainUnderpant Posted November 7, 2014 Author Share Posted November 7, 2014 So I was assuming USB'ing into the computer to control Forte directly was the way to go. Actually it isn't, in this case. And that's a good thing My controller is my Yamaha S90XS, which is the only board I am using. The sound from the Yamaha is fed into a Focusrite 2i4, effectively mixing Forte's VST's with the Yamaha board sounds. This way I can play Yamaha sounds out of the board by turning up the Yamaha volume and turning off Brainspawn Forte. Unfortunately then I can't be using the Yamaha to deliver sound levels to Forte, as it isn't set up this way. I am sure I could configure the Yamaha to send this data (maybe by turning local control off?), but then I would give up the ability to fall back on the Yamaha internal sounds. Your Yamaha is a professional level board with not one but two foot controller inputs. The direct-to-computer USB pedal solutions are for people who are using keyboards like the Casio PX5S and Roland RD64 which don't have foot controller inputs. Use your FC7 with your FC1 and FC2 inputs. I plug my my FC7 into the FC2 port of my S90ES, which is sending a midi cc controller other than 7 and 11 to both my Yamaha and my computer. (I forget which cc at the moment and that particular rig is at a practice space.) Then I program the sounds (in the Yamaha and the computer) to do whatever they need to based on that input: raise or lower volume (e.g. crossfade), open the filter, etc. Sven and Mcgoo were right to ask you about your hardware. As Markay mentioned, Brainspawn will process the pedal information to your needs. You have everything you need. Tusker - You are absolutely correct! I plugged the FC7 volume pedal into the Yamaha, changed the setting to 7 and presto. Now the INDIVIDUAL INSTRUMENTS are controlled in Forte. Here is my questions... Which is Best Practice. To use the Volume Pedal to control each instrument or is it better to (Somehow?) set up the volume pedal to control Forte's Master bus. I say somehow, because I am not sure how to do this. And certainly as a down and dirty fix this would be easier. But I guess maybe there is more value in using the volume pedal to control each instrument, as there would then be more control. Should I just be biting the bullet so to speak and use the volume pedal to control each instrument? Yamaha S90XS, Studiologic VMk-161 Organ Small/powerful (i7, 32GB, M.2 SSD) PC controlled by 10" Touch Screen Cantabile, Ravenscroft 275, Keyscape, OPX-II, Omnisphere 2, VB3, Chris Hein Horns, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgoo Posted November 8, 2014 Share Posted November 8, 2014 Which is Best Practice. To use the Volume Pedal to control each instrument or is it better to (Somehow?) set up the volume pedal to control Forte's Master bus. The function of the pedal is most useful IMHO as something you assign as needed per scene. For example, in one scene you might have a layer with a piano & a pad, with the pedal assigned to only control the volume of the pad, so you can bring it in & out. In another scene, you might have the pedal control filter cutoff for a lead sound. In another, you could have it control a cross fade between two sounds (turning one sound's volume up while turning the other one down). etc, etc, etc... I have a Nanokontrol that I setup as a control surface for Forte. The sliders control instrument volumes, the knobs control bus volumes & the buttons send patch changes. Nice little controller for $59. Custom Music, Audio Post Production, Location Audio www.gmma.biz https://www.facebook.com/gmmamusic/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashville.Guru Posted November 8, 2014 Share Posted November 8, 2014 ^ Good advice here. - Guru This is really what MIDI was originally about encouraging cooperation between companies that make the world a more creative place." - Dave Smith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tusker Posted November 8, 2014 Share Posted November 8, 2014 Exactly. What Mcgoo said. An expression pedal is a gestural controller. Use it for expressions in performance. By contrast, use knobs and sliders to program/adjust brainspawn before performance. Having a knob/ slider for each timbre's volume is alway's a relief. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainUnderpant Posted November 8, 2014 Author Share Posted November 8, 2014 Thank you everyone. This clarifies the situation and adds many possible uses of the volume pedal that I hadn't considered. Yamaha S90XS, Studiologic VMk-161 Organ Small/powerful (i7, 32GB, M.2 SSD) PC controlled by 10" Touch Screen Cantabile, Ravenscroft 275, Keyscape, OPX-II, Omnisphere 2, VB3, Chris Hein Horns, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.