radiophonic Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 I think this will work, but I'm interested if anyone else has tried it. I think I can use the two channels of a low impedance volume pedal to act as both a volume pedal and an expression pedal, switching between functions using a BOSS LS2. I need to buy a new FV 30L anyway - I stupidly bought the 'H' version and I'm getting some bass cut with a buffered input. My only doubt is whether 25K is too low to work as an expression pedal. The Strymon manual suggests 'at least 25K' so I'm a bit hopeful. Opinions appreciated. Description: A passive volume pedal (Boss FV 30L) with stereo I/O. Stereo L I/O used in one loop of an LS2 to control the volume input to a delay pedal. Stereo I/O in the other loop of an LS2 used with a TRS cable to control the expression input on another pedal. I've got my eye on a PS5 Super Shifter / PS6 Harmonist type pedal. Layout Below: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 Looks like it should work, as long as the volume pedal is passive (a buffer would interfere with expression operation I reckon). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiophonic Posted November 22, 2017 Author Share Posted November 22, 2017 Definitely passive. Just a lower impedance pot than what I have now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 20 minutes ago, radiophonic said: ... I've got my eye on a PS5 Super Shifter / PS6 Harmonist type pedal. I'd recommend also checking the EHX Pitchfork as an alternative to the PS6 Harmonist - they both seem to cover quite a lot of similar ground. The PS6 is a very versatile pedal but I found it had quite considerable latency 'warble' and this was the key reason for me moving it on. I heard the Pitchfork recently and was quite impressed with it and I'm probably going to get one for my board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiophonic Posted November 22, 2017 Author Share Posted November 22, 2017 Actually, I suspect that neither of them will do what I want! What I'm thinking of is hitting a note and getting delayed harmony notes, so I can build up harmonised rhtythmic patterns. It doesn't look like these do the delay part. I've seen Julie Slick do it on Eventide stuff and sort of assumed that since the PS6 was derived from the old PS2, the delay function would be retailed. No mention in the manual though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 I think some of the Zoom pedals have pitch-shifted delays in them - cheaper than going the Eventide route for sure. Otherwise it would mean running the pitch shifter in front of the delay... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiophonic Posted November 22, 2017 Author Share Posted November 22, 2017 Just now, dannybuoy said: I think some of the Zoom pedals have pitch-shifted delays in them - cheaper than going the Eventide route for sure. Otherwise it would mean running the pitch shifter in front of the delay... It's possible I haven't thought this through, but I was imagining delaying the harmonised notes (a harmonised delay cascade following a simple unaffected root note pattern). I suppose running a delay at unity blend into a harmoniser would do the same thing although I'd get the clean note delayed too, which I don't want and my proposed switching set-up wouldn't work doing this either. I'm pretty sure the Julie Slick demo used a Pitchfactor but I was hoping to keep the footprint down more than anything. The old PS2 would do this though right? Just less flexible with the harmonies? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 No delay on the Boss PS6. If I was recommending a versatile and good quality combination that was also reasonable value for money it would be EHX Pitchfork + Zoom MS-60B (for delay, but also perfectly decent for tremolo, tuner, chorus and possibly also for compression / noise gate). Filters, octave and overdrive I personally would have dedicated pedals for, rather than using a cheaper multifx such as the MS-60B. Voila! You have my gigging mini board - all powered by a Ciocks DC5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 (edited) Both the PS-2 and PS-3, and some of the Zoom models, have some kind of funky pitch delay where each repeat steps up through the scale - which is something you wouldn't be able to do with a standard delay + pitch shifter combination unless you started experimenting with feedback loops! Edited November 22, 2017 by dannybuoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiophonic Posted November 22, 2017 Author Share Posted November 22, 2017 What I'm after is a trail of user definable intervals (3rd 5th for example), delayed but no delay on the original signal. I'm pretty sure the Timefactor does this but it's just too big and extravagant and I wouldn't use a lot of it's functionality. Its just a pity the Harmonist doesn't have a few hundred ms of delay built in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 Zoom FX lists: https://www.zoom-na.com/sites/default/files/products/downloads/pdfs/E_MS-60B_FX-list_v2.pdf https://www.zoom.co.jp/sites/default/files/products/downloads/pdfs/E_MS-70CDR_FX-list_v2.pdf Both have a simple pitch delay, but also the ICE delay copied from the Strymon Timeline: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiophonic Posted November 23, 2017 Author Share Posted November 23, 2017 I've watched a couple of pitchfork demos and it looks pretty good. It seems like the fucntionality overlaps the PS-6 but that they aren't quite the same but PS-6 bass demos are thin on the ground though (and I don't need to see yet another classic rock dude being thin lizzy all by himself) so it's hard to evaluate tone and tracking. I've had a few problems with EXH switch noise too, and with a pedal like this quiet switching is pretty vital. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted November 23, 2017 Share Posted November 23, 2017 1 hour ago, radiophonic said: I've watched a couple of pitchfork demos and it looks pretty good. It seems like the fucntionality overlaps the PS-6 but that they aren't quite the same but PS-6 bass demos are thin on the ground though (and I don't need to see yet another classic rock dude being thin lizzy all by himself) so it's hard to evaluate tone and tracking. I've had a few problems with EXH switch noise too, and with a pedal like this quiet switching is pretty vital. Having had the PS-6 I think it's ok for tone (but its digital and not analogue so won't be as 'warm' or authentic). But it was let down by not being able to track particularly low by digital pedal standards before glitching or track particularly quickly (and hence latency warble). I heard a Pitchfork 'in the flesh' a few days back and was impressed with it on both counts, particularly the lack of latency warble. Can't comment on the quiet switching for you, though. @1976fenderhead can you jump in here please as I know you've got and are a big fan of the EHX Pitchfork? I sold my PS-6 a while back (to a professional guitarist as it happens, so no feelings of guilt in moving that one on!) and am planning on getting a Pitchfork, so let's see if it proves to be as much better than the PS-6, as I hope it will be! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiophonic Posted November 23, 2017 Author Share Posted November 23, 2017 Ok - the low-end tracking is interesting. The bass demos I've seen have concentrated on > 12 fret solo type stuff... perhaps for good reason!? In the pitch glide mode, I've seen a demo using realistic low end on the PS-5 and that seemed to track ok, but the playing was slow paced (it was the Pedals and Effects Tera Melos bass board one). I'm pretty anti EHX on build quality grounds and with a pedal that relies on a lot of switching in and out, I'd be concerned about longevity, whereas Boss are just tanks and those switched last forever. I''ve had a quick look at the DigiTech Ricochet too - but that is really limited to the portamento function and doesn't take an expression pedal, but does have some cool asymmetric glide-rate control options. Hopefully others can pitch in about the EHX though. I'd like to be wrong about them - they do some cool wacky pedals and seem to be prepared to keep it weird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1976fenderhead Posted November 23, 2017 Share Posted November 23, 2017 3 hours ago, Al Krow said: Having had the PS-6 I think it's ok for tone (but its digital and not analogue so won't be as 'warm' or authentic). But it was let down by not being able to track particularly low by digital pedal standards before glitching or track particularly quickly (and hence latency warble). I heard a Pitchfork 'in the flesh' a few days back and was impressed with it on both counts, particularly the lack of latency warble. Can't comment on the quiet switching for you, though. @1976fenderhead can you jump in here please as I know you've got and are a big fan of the EHX Pitchfork? I sold my PS-6 a while back (to a professional guitarist as it happens, so no feelings of guilt in moving that one on!) and am planning on getting a Pitchfork, so let's see if it proves to be as much better than the PS-6, as I hope it will be! I haven't noticed any switch noise on mine. For the record, I've had the Nano POG, the PS6 and the Pitchfork. The Pitchfork (which is on my board) wipes the floor with the other two in terms of tracking and warble IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiophonic Posted November 23, 2017 Author Share Posted November 23, 2017 I've only had EHX gain pedals, but I found the switches quite noisy. The Soul Food (in particular) clunks in TB mode. Gain may be a special case though and I know plenty of people use POGs without complaint. Just my experience and enough to make me wary of dropping 140 quid! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted November 23, 2017 Share Posted November 23, 2017 1 hour ago, radiophonic said: I've only had EHX gain pedals, but I found the switches quite noisy. The Soul Food (in particular) clunks in TB mode. Gain may be a special case though and I know plenty of people use POGs without complaint. Just my experience and enough to make me wary of dropping 140 quid! Yup, I think drive / gain pedals have a reputation for being the most noisy generally. However, if you're getting one new then e.g. Gear4Music have a 30 day 'no quibble' return period, I believe, so plenty of time to check it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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