Do-it-yourself Moog bass pedals?

[Engine207]

I just took apart my mother-in-law's old organ and harvested these nifty foot pedals:


And connection cables:


I'd like to know if there's any way to convert these to a MIDI controller that could be hooked up to my MacBook Pro so I can basically run them as bass pedals. I can build a nice little enclosure, cover it with Tolex and run it like a poor-man's Moog.

Then I can play Xanadu and La Villa Strangiato!

Would they need any external controls or just a proper cable interface to the Mac? Any comments or experiences are appreciated!

[Taylor Livingston]

The absolute cheapest and simplest way would be to buy a Nanokey:

http://www.korg.com/nanoseries

Desolder the Korg's onboard tactile switches, and wire in the contacts from your pedals. This is still quite a project, but this way you don't need to build a MIDI encoder or USB interface - it's all built into the nanokey. I believe the Nanokey is actually velocity-sensitive, which means it has 2 contacts per key - this will be an obstruction you'll need to deal with as you get deeper into the project.

If your software that you're using for sounds allows you to use a regular computer keyboard as a HID device to play notes, that would be even better, because you could avoid having to deal with the 2-contacts-per-key situation. Again, just replace the key contacts with your pedal contacts and you're good to go.

[ehque]

There's this company that sells the circuit boards, if i remember.

They also sell momentary switches and complete pedal keyboards (which resemble arcade controllers) but for the life of me i cannot remember the name of the company.

[Taylor Livingston]

But those circuit boards create a real analog synth, not a MIDI controller, so you would only be able to have that one sound and it wouldn't interface with a computer. That's not necessarily bad - plenty of people would probably say that's better - but it is very different and depending on what the OP wants to use it for, may not work as well.

[Engine207]

Thanks for the replies, fellas!

I really just want to be able to lay down some sustained bass notes while I play a melodic line. I don't want to sacrifice covering those frequencies and chord changes when I step up a bit.

I'm not looking for a box of tricks that make space sounds...just something that gives me a low B bass tone, and maybe a kickswitch that lets me bump up an octave if I want.

[ric stave]

http://www.basyn.com/

They make whole units, or just sell a kit to turn triggers or pedals into a midi controller.

[Engine207]

Originally Posted by ric stave

http://www.basyn.com/

They make whole units, or just sell a kit to turn triggers or pedals into a midi controller.

Thanks Ric!!! Did you hear those .wav clips?

Rush's Tom Sawyer
Yes's And You And I

This looks like just the ticket!


I just sent them an email to see how my pedalboard can be connected to this cool little device. Then I'd guess I need to run a midi-to-USB cable to my Mac, then my Mac to the second input on Marshall stack.

Unless there's more to it than that, I bet I'm under $100!!

[fdask]

Sweet! I've been gassin over the Moog Taurus lately... with such a steep price though I've had my eyes peeled for organs I can gut on Craigslist for the pedals.

Let us know how this project turns out!

[idoru]

Originally Posted by Engine207

I just sent them an email to see how my pedalboard can be connected to this cool little device.

Unless there's more to it than that, I bet I'm under $100!!

Strip out all the wiring, as it's probably pretty old and has some unnecessary connections (if it's anything like the old one I used). All you need is a single ground lead, connecting all of the pedals, and a hot lead from another contact that connects when the pedal is stepped on. Run those leads back to the MIDI-peds socket and you're away.

I'm in the middle of a lot of projects, but one of them is a re-housing & re-wiring of my bass pedals. I had it set up so the pedals jumpered to a DX-21's lowest octave (via a socket I hacked into the back), but decided I didn't want to have to lug a keyboard around as well! Ordered the MIDI peds kit, got some sheet steel to make a control panel & got some momentary stomp switches to replace the ones on the circuit board.

I'll be in it for well under AUS $150, including the bass pedals (free), MIDIpeds kit (~$70 shipped), stomp switches (~$8) sheet steel (~ $10 for this project) and the nicest piece of Tassie Oak I could find in the local Bunnings (~$25).

c-

[Engine207]

Originally Posted by idoru

Run those leads back to the MIDI-peds socket and you're away.

Originally Posted by idoru

jumpered to a DX-21's lowest octave (via a socket I hacked into the back)

Originally Posted by idoru

got some momentary stomp switches to replace the ones on the circuit board.

I'm guessing I'll need to get some detailed instructions. I'm no smarter than your average hose-dragger. Good at following directions, but not much on electronics know-how.

[ehque]

Originally Posted by ehque

There's this company that sells the circuit boards, if i remember.

They also sell momentary switches and complete pedal keyboards (which resemble arcade controllers) but for the life of me i cannot remember the name of the company.

Originally Posted by ric stave

http://www.basyn.com/

That's the exact company i was thinking of.

[Engine207]

Then there's this, that I dug up on YouTube and the associated that.

Dude's name sounds real familiar and there's a a member here by that name, so I'm gonna see about chatting with him...

[OrangeSun]

Theres a website out there where a guy detailed how he did this with a casio keyboard that did midi and some organ pedals...lemme google it

[OrangeSun]

http://twocargar.com/MIDI_Pedals/

video about this style project

[DavidMP]

You can get MIDI stuff here.
http://www.largonet.net/midiboutique...s/products.htm
I MIDI-fied a full organ with their products and can say they are well made and service is good.

If you want a synthesizer kit Doepfer has a good reputation
http://www.doepfer.de/DIY_Synth_e.htm

Cheers

[Engine207]

Originally Posted by Engine207

Then there's this, that I dug up on YouTube and the associated that.

Dude's name sounds real familiar and there's a a member here by that name, so I'm gonna see about chatting with him...

=

Originally Posted by OrangeSun

http://twocargar.com/MIDI_Pedals/ video about this style project

[anechoic]

One thing that might be worth noting here. It seems a lot of people get the idea that they need the organ style pedals for this sort of thing. I think it may be because we're all used to seeing the Moog Taurus or MIDI controllers like the Roland PK-5. But remember that, being derived from an organ component, they were more or less designed to be played sitting down.

I've built a couple of DIY units using the MIDIpeds boards from ebay. The first used a set of old organ pedals, which worked, but were big and cumbersome. The second one I built used heavy duty momentary switches mounted in a small angled cabinet. I found that version much easier to play standing up, and far less hassle to lug around.

Incidentally, if anyone near Shirley, MA wants a set of organ pedals for free (no MIDI electronics, though), PM me. I have two sets I want out of my basement.

[Valerus]

I'm excited to see the progress of this project!

[DerHoggz]

We have an old Hammond my mom wants to get rid of, ideas...

[Gashaponcito]

does anyone know if they floor keyboard of an old yamaha organ would work?