Bass Pedal (Taurus, Roland, MIDI, etc) Club?

[OysteinosaurusG]

Thank you so much, Flux!! That's really helpful!

I'll post some more pictures soon. I began working on the housing today. I think it'll turn out all right when it's assembled.

[howardcano]

Originally Posted by OysteinosaurusG

I'm planning to use as much of the donor organ as possible. My only problem so far is that they apparently used some kind of super glue in the 70s. I'm reluctant to beat it apart with my rubber mallet. any suggestions?

I used a hammer! Wear safety glasses. Make sure you first remove any screws holding the pieces together. Then use a piece of scrap wood between the hammer and the desired piece of wood so you don't dent the desired piece. Whack liberally.

Those are some beautiful wooden pedals!

[Flux Jetson]

Originally Posted by OysteinosaurusG

Thank you so much, Flux!! That's really helpful!

I'll post some more pictures soon. I began working on the housing today. I think it'll turn out all right when it's assembled.

You are very welcome. I like helping the humans.

[HollowBassman]

A lot of good ideas in this thread!

I had wanted to buy a Roland Pk-5 for years but couldn't bring myself to spend the money. After some reading online I decided to build a set and it didn't turn out too bad(from 10' away or blurry cellphone pic).

I thought I would post it here and maybe inspire someone else to build a set. If I had to build it again I would attach the pedals differently and not use spray paint, but it works okay. It has a Roland SonicCell for a brain and a Highly Liquid Midi CPU makes it work.

[Flux Jetson]

Nice ~look~ to it. Function is the key word here. Looks like you've done well. If it works for you, then it's a win .. and that is the end of it right there.

[hieronymous]

I never saw this club before - I have two setups for your consideration:

I got interested in Moog synths about ten years ago, first picked up a Micromoog, then a Rogue (later sold), then a Little Phatty. My first experiment with using them as bass pedal synths was with the Rogue - I didn't have bass pedals though, so I would trigger notes with my picking hand in between phrases:

http://soundcloud.com/hieronymous-seven/taurus-vi

Then I finally picked up a set of Roland PK-5 pedals and MIDI'd them to my Little Phatty:

http://youtu.be/_vAXvWy_2bI

Some of the comments are interesting - there are a few people that are mad that I'm not playing an actual Taurus setup, but I never said that I was...

Here's another PK-5/LP track:

http://soundcloud.com/hieronymous-seven/terminous

Then I finally got the mighty Taurus 3 as an early-adopter. These are a couple of my favorite tracks with it:

http://soundcloud.com/hieronymous-seven/nova-aldo

http://soundcloud.com/hieronymous-seven/kha-tess-part-3-8-part-4-1

I'm not really doing anything special with them, but I have found that they really allowed me to do stuff that I had always imagined doing, especially in a bass-drums duo.

[Flux Jetson]

hieronymous ..... Totally ..... Bad ...... Ass!!!!!!!!!!!

You do exactly the same type of stuff my wife and I do. You've done a killa job there. Totally my kinda jams, I just LOVE that sortof stuff. Great taste in sonic choices, just love it all. Super cool. I love that 70's style of open jam like that. Ethereal, "soundtrack-ish", just bitchen dude!

I'll quit now because I'll just keep going on and on.

ALSO: Keep truckin man, who cares what those Yoo Toob monkeys say. Most of them are know-it-all smartassed 14 years olds anyhow. As well as the numerous losers living in their parent's basements that hide behind monikers and monitors as they boldly and bravely talk giant smack. Rock on, mang!

[OysteinosaurusG]

Progress report:

[MPU]

Looks like my setup will change. I have a buyer for my Sonosaur analog synth module. I'm going to mount the Basyn midi-adaptor back to my pedals and buy a Minitaur.

[hieronymous]

Originally Posted by Flux Jetson

hieronymous ..... Totally ..... Bad ...... Ass!!!!!!!!!!!

You do exactly the same type of stuff my wife and I do. You've done a killa job there. Totally my kinda jams, I just LOVE that sortof stuff. Great taste in sonic choices, just love it all. Super cool. I love that 70's style of open jam like that. Ethereal, "soundtrack-ish", just bitchen dude!

I'll quit now because I'll just keep going on and on.

ALSO: Keep truckin man, who cares what those Yoo Toob monkeys say. Most of them are know-it-all smartassed 14 years olds anyhow. As well as the numerous losers living in their parent's basements that hide behind monikers and monitors as they boldly and bravely talk giant smack. Rock on, mang!

Thanks! My drummer is a big part of these tracks - he is so musical, and totally at home with rock, funk, jazz, and most importantly, improv! I think all the tracks I posted are improvisation - Taurus VI & Taurus 4001 have a bit of form, but the others just emerged spontaneously. The bass pedals have really allowed our improvisations to grow in different directions than before.

I went back and dug through this thread - I really like the pictures of your modular! In 2002 I discovered that I could own and play a synth and it changed my life as much as the bass pedals would a little later. Have you ever heard Zombi? They are also a bass/drum duo that use lots of synths - including what sounds like classic Taurus I. Here's one of my favorites:

http://youtu.be/RtYvI1KQRss

[twocargar]

howardcano (#0)
twocargar (#1)
scatbass (#2)
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Bjazzman (#4)
Rugbass(#5)
rtav (#6)
Bassman316 (#7)
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wyrtti (#14)
73jbass (#15)
MPU (#16)
goatghost (#17)
taurus1 (#18 )
Engine207 (#19)
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HollowBassman (#44)
hieronymous (#45)
OysteinosaurusG (#46)

[Engine207]

Originally Posted by twocargar

That's just awesome...

[howardcano]

Originally Posted by HollowBassman

I thought I would post it here and maybe inspire someone else to build a set. If I had to build it again I would attach the pedals differently and not use spray paint, but it works okay. It has a Roland SonicCell for a brain and a Highly Liquid Midi CPU makes it work.

Those are beautiful! Are they scratch-built, or "re-purposed" from a different instrument?

[howardcano]

Originally Posted by OysteinosaurusG

Progress report:

VERY nicely done!!!

[HollowBassman]

Originally Posted by howardcano

Those are beautiful! Are they scratch-built, or "re-purposed" from a different instrument?

Thank you! It is scratch-built; the keys are 1" square dowels and the rest I cut out of poplar boards from Home Depot.

I originally bought an old organ with plans of cutting it up, but after playing on it for a few hours I decided to keep it.

[howardcano]

Originally Posted by HollowBassman

Thank you! It is scratch-built; the keys are 1" square dowels and the rest I cut out of poplar boards from Home Depot.

Can you post any photos of the pedal construction, particularly how the pedals are supported, hinged, and sprung, along with details on the switches? I'm sure there are plenty of us that would love to see this.

[HollowBassman]

Originally Posted by howardcano

Can you post any photos of the pedal construction, particularly how the pedals are supported, hinged, and sprung, along with details on the switches? I'm sure there are plenty of us that would love to see this.

I don't have any pictures of the early stages of it, but I have one taken right after soldering all the wires and one from the first time I powered it up(excuse the mess, I was excited to see if it worked and knocked some papers onto the floor).






I took one of the pedals off and tried to draw and label how they attach. If I had to do it again I would probably use a "u" shaped bracket with a rod going thru the key horizontally for the pivot point.




The springs are from a Delta faucet spring and seat pack. The switches are SPST N.O. momentary pushbuttons.

[howardcano]

Originally Posted by HollowBassman

The springs are from a Delta faucet spring and seat pack.

Now THAT is innovation!

[RAMUSIC]

Kudos sir! A truely beautiful build!

[Flux Jetson]

That's how it's done, kids. Imagination, patience, skill, and Home Depot. This is THE "no excuses" DIY build.

Well done, indeed well done.