Using the Volume Pedal Range to tame a Gain CC control

I'll start by saying that I love the way the Volume Pedal parameters are implemented in the KPA.

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This is a bipolar parameter. In the middle position, the volume pedal has no effect. When you set the range more to the left, you determine the minimum volume at heal-position, while the maximum volume at toe-position stays the same. 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. Now, the heel stays at standard volume, and the toe-swell will give you a volume or gain boost. The maximum boost, at the top position of “Volume Pedal Range”, is +24 dB.

So simple, it's brilliant. No mins and maxes and curvatures to worry about - just turn the knob until it feels right.

So I'd been experimenting with using a potentiometer on my guitar to ride Gain through a set of songs, rather than having to tap dance through a half dozen different profiles and pray the levels matched. I was also using a volume pedal to keep levels under control while doing so. The bass player - who is quite a guitarist in his own right - mentioned that he always wanted someone to "do the math" for him so that one pedal would properly damp volume while increasing gain. I'd set this up a number of times with mixed results, but his choice of words got me thinking: it's not really about "doing the math" so much as "seasoning to taste", i.e. you've got to be able to easily tweak the relationship between volume and gain depending on the amp profile, the master volume etc.

Then I realized how well Kemper's Volume Pedal Range parameter plays into this. I run an Event Processor Plus between a MIDI expression pedal sending CC7 and the KPA. It inverts CC7 from 0-127 to 127-0, and also sends NRPN to adjust Gain. (I'm running f/w 1.1.1; on f/w 1.5 I'll be able to just send the Gain CC instead.) Now the Volume fades as Gain rises - which is by no means an original idea - but with the Vol Pedal Range knob I can tune the amount of attenuation very easily.

Very elegant. I can now use one profile (provided it's a profile that sounds good through a wide range of Gains; right now I'm favoring the Dumble HRM profile) and one expression pedal to play through a really wide variety of material. Thinking less about control schemes = playing the guitar more.

Thanks, Doc.

It occurs to me that you might be able to set this up without any MIDI - or MIDI translation - at all. As I said, I'm still running 1.1.1, but I seem to remember reading that 1.5 lets you map the expression pedal inputs to the new CC's? If this is true of Gain, then you could actually run any old stereo pan pedal, Lefts to Expr1 In, Rights to Expr2 In via insert cables, map these to Gain and Volume, and off you go. Might work a little more smoothly than MIDI, too. The only downside is you use up both pedal inputs.

I have a rehearsal on Saturday and can't risk upgrading myself to death right now, but I'll experiment with this next week.

Thanks, Christoph. I've been meaning to experiment with the Clean and Dist Sense params. I'll add these to my "to do" list.