FV500H expression with pedalboard

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Pepe
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Re: FV500H expression with pedalboard

Post by Pepe » Tue Aug 23, 2022 6:09 am

Hello, steviebone, it is highly uncommon to have such bad vibes in this forum. Please stop that tone immediately!
Steviebone wrote:
Tue Aug 23, 2022 5:03 am
What is the max volume on a stomppedal? In other words, what knob am I setting on the pedal? Is this whatever parameter the expression pedal is supposed to be controlling?

For example, lets say I want to control rate... am I setting the minimum and maximum range of the pedal by turning the rate up as high as I want it to go, depress the treadle all the way, then move to heel and set the minimum? I'll try that... doesn't make any sense though. So what happens when you touch the knob later?
Your assumption is correct. If used as a volume expression pedal for keyboards and synthesizers (via a TRS cable), the knob on the side is to define the amount of volume in the minimum position. If you only want to decrease the overall volume a bit, turn it towards the MAX position, if you need the sound to vanish completely, turn it to the MIN position.

This does also work with BOSS pedals with an expression pedal input, like the old FT-2, the PH-3 or the RT-20, etc., where it has no effect on the volume. Also many synthesizers have an assignable pedal input where this expression pedal can for example control the filter cutoff.
Steviebone wrote:
Tue Aug 23, 2022 5:03 am
"depress and set the volume of the connected instrument" is non-sensical because there is no 'instrument' connected and I'm not setting volume.
This is because this pedal was mainly designed to be used with keyboards and synthesizers. These are the 'instruments' the manual is referring to. In the global settings of those instruments you can often define the range of expression pedals so they can work with pedals of different brands (for example Roland expression pedals have a range from 0 kOhm to 10 kOhm, while a KORG EXP-2 goes to 50 kOhm). So the synthesizer is then correctly calibrated for the minimum and maximum values of the used expression pedal.

But some pedals like the BOSS DD-7 have enhanced functions for an expression jack where this calibration that Old_Iron quoted is quite relevant as well (read the DD-7 manual in that case).

To sum it up:
  • You want to use the FV-500H pedals as expression pedals for your BOSS pedals.
  • The excerpt of the FV-500H manual (that Old_Iron quoted) says: "The FV-500H is similar in design to the Roland EV-5 Expression Pedal and therefore can be connected to the EXP PEDAL (EV-5) jack on Roland BOSS products."
  • If the expression pedals don't come with TRS (stereo) cables, you need to purchase them separately to make the expression function work.
  • Some digital BOSS pedals have enhanced expression pedal functions, so you need to read the parts of those manuals that explain it.
  • If you use pedals with basic expression pedal function like the FT-2 or PS-3 you simply need to plug the FV-500H with a TRS-cable into the EXP jack (you can simply adjust the "Minimum Volume" knob to your desire in this case).
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BearBoy
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Re: FV500H expression with pedalboard

Post by BearBoy » Tue Aug 23, 2022 7:35 am

Like Pepe says, it's probably best to check what (if anything) the manuals for the pedals you want to control state re setting them up with an expression pedal. e.g. the manual for the Boss DD-7 has detailed instructions on to to configure it to work with one:

DD-7 Expression - Copy.jpg
DD-7 Expression - Copy.jpg (138.2 KiB) Viewed 1274 times

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Old_Iron
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Re: FV500H expression with pedalboard

Post by Old_Iron » Tue Aug 23, 2022 12:36 pm

Thank you Pepe and BearBoy for the support.

To me it looked like there was a communication problem in between the FV500H and the other pedals, therefore I was trying to eliminate problems with the basic procedures (stereo patch cables and calibration/trimming) to isolate any other possible explanation.

The next point would be to check any particularity those non Boss pedals could require to proper function with the FV500H, as you guys pointed out.

But he is focused in the impedance and didn't know how to "translate" the calibration/trimming of the expression pedal from the exemple in the user's manual to the effect pedal function he wants to control.

Steviebone
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Re: FV500H expression with pedalboard

Post by Steviebone » Thu Aug 25, 2022 1:40 pm

The ring/tip was indeed the issue. For these pedals to work with pretty much anything other than a BOSS pedal you will need a tip/ring crossover cable.

Steviebone
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Re: FV500H expression with pedalboard

Post by Steviebone » Thu Aug 25, 2022 9:25 pm

This turned out to be as wiring incompatibility. Boss pedals are apparently wired in reverse of most other expression pedal inputs. You must flip the tip/ring... u need a TRS crossover cable (sometimes called a polarity adapter although no actual power is involved and the ground [sleeve] is left unchanged)

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