Low range Volume Expression in FCB1010.....how can I adjust????

  • Well, first of all, I've calibrated both expression pedals in the FCB1010, and thu the Wah seems to work perfectly, the volume pedal has a very low range action...I mean if you have it pressed (full toe) to full volume and go slowly pushing to heel, there is a big volume decrease in the let's say 10% first range and then, when you are halfway to heel, volume goes to 0, and the last range of the expression does nothing, volume is already at 0 less than halfway volume expression range, so I can't control volume in the Volume Expression, only the first 20% of the expression pedal range seems to work.


    How can I adjust the volume range associated tomthe expression pedal in the FCB1010?????

    Proud Kemper+Axe FX II user.....yes, you can hook'em together, they WON'T explode.

  • Don't think that this is the problem. I also have my pedal configured
    correctly, range set to -5 and pedal calibrated. The tuner mode at heal
    down works fine but the the volume curve is not very usable. For the
    first two third of the way there is basically now volume increase at
    all, than for last third it very quickly increases so the difference
    between low volume and full on volume is just some very few degrees of
    pedal movement. I don't use the volume pedal a lot so this didn't bother
    my that much, but it would be more usable if you had a more linear
    volume increase over the pedal range.

  • Totally agree with TKustom, the volume curve is not very usable, should be more linear.


    And Bagatell...thanks for the nice words, you're quite near to Almeria, so you're welcome to my studio and play some guitars from my collection (thu a lot are gone and a lot have come).

    Proud Kemper+Axe FX II user.....yes, you can hook'em together, they WON'T explode.

  • Same problem with an Ernie Ball volume pedal. :(

    A volume pedal has a different curve than an expression pedal. If you connect an Ernie Ball volume pedal directly to the Profiler instead of an expression pedal the response is suboptimal by design.

  • A volume pedal has a different curve than an expression pedal. If you connect an Ernie Ball volume pedal directly to the Profiler instead of an expression pedal the response is suboptimal by design.

    I have tested quite a few volume pedals and expression pedals and I can't agree to this. IMHO there are only minor differences between them, they are all more or less "suboptimal by design" which means: coarse, inert and insensitive.


    The best way to solve all these issues with varying pedal-sensitivity is to offer custum curves in the KPA software. Until then the only solution for players with higher demands on the performance and ergonomics of a volume pedal is to hook a good, analog volume pedal into the effects loop of the KPA.


    BUT the OP is describing a dead spot of more than 50% of the pedal. Even a really bad expression pedal should deliver better. I don't know the FCB1010 but there seems to be some other problem too.

    www.audiosemantics.de
    I have been away for quite a while. A few years ago I sold my KPA and since then played my own small tube amp with a Bad Cat Unleash. Now I am back because the DI-profile that I made from my amp sounds very much convincing to me.

  • I have tested quite a few volume pedals and expression pedals and I can't agree to this. IMHO there are only minor differences between them, they are all more or less "suboptimal by design" which means: coarse, inert and insensitive.


    The best way to solve all these issues with varying pedal-sensitivity is to offer custum curves in the KPA software. Until then the only solution for players with higher demands on the performance and ergonomics of a volume pedal is to hook a good, analog volume pedal into the effects loop of the KPA.


    BUT the OP is describing a dead spot of more than 50% of the pedal. Even a really bad expression pedal should deliver better. I don't know the FCB1010 but there seems to be some other problem too.


    + 1 :thumbup:
    I have tried using an easy expression cable that has great results with the Nova System making a volume pedal act like an expression cable. Makes no difference .
    Its not suboptimal at all. Its total crap. ?(
    I have to say one thing though. Its great for fast volume swell runs since there is so little range. :rolleyes:

  • I agree. The volume pedals for swells are unusable.
    It's all or nothing. Not enough play. It is good for faster gating fx but you can use a tremolo for that.
    Should have settings/presets for the volume curve.

  • Is there a 'screen' somewhere on the KPA that will show the values returned from the expression pedal?


    I have similar results with my FCB1010 and I'd love to see if it really transmits the full 0-127 range...

  • Is there a 'screen' somewhere on the KPA that will show the values returned from the expression pedal?

    It's somewhere in the System Menue, where you also can calibrate the pedals. I don't have my KPA here right now so I looked it up in the Manual and (as often) only find a big mess: on Page 20 it says "You can monitor the changing swell value of the pedal on soft knobs 2 and 4." but it does not bother to mention where in the numerous submenues of the unit this is hidden. Who knows what they were drinking when they wrote that manual.

    www.audiosemantics.de
    I have been away for quite a while. A few years ago I sold my KPA and since then played my own small tube amp with a Bad Cat Unleash. Now I am back because the DI-profile that I made from my amp sounds very much convincing to me.

  • I have tested quite a few volume pedals and expression pedals and I can't agree to this. IMHO there are only minor differences between them, they are all more or less "suboptimal by design" which means: coarse, inert and insensitive.


    The best way to solve all these issues with varying pedal-sensitivity is to offer custum curves in the KPA software. Until then the only solution for players with higher demands on the performance and ergonomics of a volume pedal is to hook a good, analog volume pedal into the effects loop of the KPA.


    I have checked the option to use Volume Pedals recently.
    Their curve differs very strongly from regular expression pedals. The reason is simple: volume pedals use logarithmic pots, while expression pedals use linear pots.
    The difference is so big, that finding a controllable generic curve to appropriately adapt volume pedals to expression function is virually impossible.
    Even worse: in the lowest levels the logarithmic pot will give such little volume change to the AD converter (that converts the position to a digital midi-like value), that a proper conversion to the digital world will fail.
    The better the volume pedal, the more logarithmic the pot, the more problems with conversion.


    The solution is not complicated:
    Makers of volume pedals should modify their design: just use a linear pot (47k) instead of a logarithmic pot.
    No further electronics necessary. Cheap!
    A stereo volume pedal could be turned into a mono volume pedal and expression pedal at the same time. The Boss FV-500 is such design.
    But obviously the other makers of these nice pedals don't have digital players on the radar.
    Call them!

  • Problems with inertia and dead spots have nothing to do with lin or log pots – they appear in volume pedals as well as in dedicated expression pedals. I tried to convince Keith Hilton to build an expression pedal but I failed. I still do cherish hopes that KEMPER will produce a pedal that is as musical and well done as the KPA is.


    Hilton's curve seems to be neither lin nor log. It is a very musically designed colour gradient between the LED and LDR. This makes the producer independent from the components you can find on the market. You don't have to buy any pots with certain caracteristics, because you produce your own gradient that exactly fits your needs.


    Custom curves in the receiving unit would admittedly not solve the problem of inertia either. But they would help a bit with other problems such like dead spots and reactivity.


    I have the Boss FV-500 here. It is incredibly inert! And after three months it started to produce really irregular bumps in the middle of the curve. They can be cured with contact spray for a while but then always reappear again after two more weeks of use.


    But obviously the other makers of these nice pedals don't have digital players on the radar.

    Sigh!
    That's ecactly the problem! :(

    www.audiosemantics.de
    I have been away for quite a while. A few years ago I sold my KPA and since then played my own small tube amp with a Bad Cat Unleash. Now I am back because the DI-profile that I made from my amp sounds very much convincing to me.

    Edited 3 times, last by fretboardminer ().

  • Custom curves in the receiving unit would admittedly not solve the problem of inertia either. But they would help a bit with other problems such like dead spots and reactivity.


    Dead spots cannot be cured by custom curves. When a pedal does not change its value during a certain swell and angle, no curve can catch up.


    Do you get the bumps on your FV 500, when used as an expression pedal with the profiler?


    Btw: I have a Yamaha FC-7 I used it as a musician, now for tests. I used it for about 20 years, but it runs flawlessly today.



    but it does not bother to mention where in the numerous submenues of the unit this is hidden. Who knows what they were drinking when they wrote that manual.


    It might help if we stopped adding features and parameters by firmware updates. Then we could fix the page numbers and sync it with the manual forever.
    Even adding your custom curves would shift some of the submenu positions :)

    Edited 4 times, last by ckemper ().

  • Do you get the bumps on your FV 500, when used as an expression pedal with the profiler?

    Yes, EXP controlling the volume at post MOD. 1) Sudden bumps in the middle of the pedal curve. Plus: 2) a very unmusical, sudden start of the fade in, which means it does not come in smoothly but stumbles in quite suddenly. (No, no zero point problem: heel-down is zero)
    1) can be cured with contact spray, 2) can't, it is always there.


    Btw: I have a Yamaha FC-7 I used it as a musician, now for tests. I used it for about 20 years, but it runs flawlessly today.

    Your should try a HILTON pedal just to know what a flawless pedal is. There is no other with such a low inertia. (Maybe the optical GOODRICH. I don't have it but it should be mentioned.)


    It might help if we stopped adding features and parameters by firmware updates. Then we could fix the page numbers and sync it with the manual forever.

    On page 21 the Reference Manual says:"At the minimum position, the pedal performs the swell from zero level, just as you would expect from an analog volume pedal. When you turn “Volume Pedal Range” to the left half, the volume pedal turns from an attenuation pedal into a booster pedal."


    I reported this typo a few weeks ago and got no response what so ever.


    Even adding your custom curves would shift some of the submenu positions :)

    I don't see it as "my custom curves". In recent time majorities are starting to shift. There are more and more other players having problems with the feel and response of expression pedals.

    www.audiosemantics.de
    I have been away for quite a while. A few years ago I sold my KPA and since then played my own small tube amp with a Bad Cat Unleash. Now I am back because the DI-profile that I made from my amp sounds very much convincing to me.

  • Yes, EXP controlling the volume at post MOD. 1) Sudden bumps in the middle of the pedal curve. Plus: 2) a very unmusical, sudden start of the fade in, which means it does not come in smoothly but stumbles in quite suddenly. (No, no zero point problem: heel-down is zero)
    1) can be cured with contact spray, 2) can't, it is always there.


    When you are on firmware 2.x you get a maximum smooth curve. Individual and abrupt jumps from expression pedals cannot be cured by generic curves.


    Your should try a HILTON pedal just to know what a flawless pedal is. There is no other with such a low inertia. (Maybe the optical GOODRICH. I don't have it but it should be mentioned.)


    Thanks for teaching me that I might not know what a flawless pedal is :)


    On page 21 the Reference Manual says:"At the minimum position, the pedal performs the swell from zero level, just as you would expect from an analog volume pedal. When you turn “Volume Pedal Range” to the left half, the volume pedal turns from an attenuation pedal into a booster pedal."
    I reported this typo a few weeks ago and got no response what so ever.


    We are aware that you have been dissatisfied with the responce time of our support, not just this time.
    I have posted a comment in the other thread.
    Let me say thank you for your help!


    don't see it as "my custom curves". In recent time majorities are starting to shift. There are more and more other players having problems with the feel and response of expression pedals.


    Unfortunately this problem has to be solved on part of the expression pedals. It cannot be compensated for without major implications in the receiving unit.