After being outbid on eBay for several Roland offerings, I ended up getting a new Studiologic one-octave pedal board midi controller, which seems rugged enough and has the features I was looking for, and nothing more. (And surprisingly, made in Italy -- not China.)
What it is not: it isn't a substitute for my bass. There's no way I'd be able to get any speed from the thing unless I was sitting down and using both feet simultaneously. I tried balancing on my heels and pushing the pedals with my toes once -- and promptly lost my balance and fell into my rig. If I was playing guitar from a seated position, it would probably serve that function well, but I don't. It is good for popping out 1/4 - 1/8 beat root notes while I am doodling around on my bass, which I was hoping for. Good long pedal tones are awesome, too. The pedals are touch sensitive. I'm also finding the device useful in triggering synthesized pad effects and other sounds. All experimental.
Perhaps the most use I may get out of it is in providing some background accompaniment for when the guitartist goes out on lead. I've found software that will let me assign a chord (maj., min, 7th, dim., aug., whatever . . .) to each pedal key, that I can tap in time to simulate a keyboard, strings, etc. Since my main band is a three piece, that's probably where I'll be using it most -- eventually. I have a lot more learning to do with the thing.
When I first got this and started messing with it, I wasn't sure I'd be keeping it, because I was frustrated with what it was doing. The documentation is sparse. But once I got some useful software to run with it, the possibilities became apparent. It's really a DIY endeavor.
