Triggering Sounds with your Foot

AtomicPunk · #1 02-09-2010, 01:57 AM

Anyone know a good method to trigger keyboard sounds with your feet ala Geddy? My band is a 3 piece and singer and we're getting into keyboard land, and don't want to add someone. Therefore, it falls on the bass player! Geddy can do it, YOU do it!

So I am hoping to find something that will store the sounds as well as allow me to trigger a sample by stepping on the appropriate pad. Can hold a sample of at least a minute. We can record the part into it and just play it at the show. (Just keys, which I will play, no Milli Vanilli stuff here!) Hopefully will store the sounds inside the unit instead of making me bring another outboard bit of gear to every gig.

Anything like that around? Suggestions and tips would be MOST appreciated! THANKS!

gnasher1993 · #2 02-09-2010, 03:27 AM

I think you're probably looking for a sampler and a midi preset changer footpedal.

Happynoj · #3 02-09-2010, 05:40 AM

My first thought was a laptop running Max/MSP and a midi footswitch, e.g. Behringer FCB1010. If you don't want any extra gear, I don't know what to suggest.

AtomicPunk · #4 02-09-2010, 07:18 AM

If it can't be done with one thing, that's fine. A footswitch that stores the samples, I was thinking like a drum trigger pad that they hit with a stick, I hit a button with my foot, same effect. I am looking for info and seeing what my options are. So any thoughts are welcome!

cheapbasslovin · #5 02-09-2010, 07:42 AM

I think a Boss RC-20 will store a bunch of pre-recorded loops that you can start and stop at your leisure. It would require some pretty tight timing to make work in the middle of a song, though.

Digitech's Jamman may be able to do this also.

bass.bert · #6 02-09-2010, 08:18 AM

i used my rc-2 for firing up some fx sounds.
you can store up to 11 samples (loop or one shot), the maximum length of all together is about 15 minutes.
it has an aux-in, so you can record them from any source in realtime.
it's possible to adjust the tempo of the samples while playing by an additional footswitch without loosing the correct pitch. of course the sound quality will suffer slightly then, but it's ok for live usage...
and it is not that big, just the standart boss size.
i think digitech makes some smaller loopers also. but i don't know anything about them.
if you need some advanced features like multiple tracks and midi, take a look at the rc-50.

him666 · #7 02-09-2010, 08:28 AM

Roland PK-5

MrGotBass · #8 02-09-2010, 08:45 AM

Tell the singer to play his own damn keyboard

**Bryan R. Tyler** · #9 02-09-2010, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AtomicPunk

If it can't be done with one thing, that's fine. A footswitch that stores the samples, I was thinking like a drum trigger pad that they hit with a stick, I hit a button with my foot, same effect. I am looking for info and seeing what my options are. So any thoughts are welcome!

Drum triggers need to be hooked into a sound module as well (almost always by MIDI). You'll need a MIDI foot controller capable of sending note on/off messages if you want to play keyboard parts in addition to triggering preset samples. I don't know of any one-piece MIDI controllers with onboard sample storage or onboard sound modules other than the big Moog Taurus-type machines. Cheapest bet would be the Behringer MIDI controller going into a used sound module (and out to an amp of course).

rakirksey · #10 02-09-2010, 09:34 AM

My band is in a similar scenario and we actually are looking to add another player. To date though, I have been doing bass and keyboards either separately or simultaneously if required. When I play them both at the same time I just hit hard with my left hand and play the keys with the right.

The PK-5 is another option which was already mentioned to play with your feet with whatever the sound module is that you choose.

The one thing with samples is that you're definitely going to need to also have your drummer on a click track and possibly use some sort of MIDI clock to keep everything in sync. You definitely start to notice time drifts that happen live a bit more when something with an exact tempo is playing with you.

ga_edwards · #11 02-09-2010, 09:52 AM

There's a bunch of hardware units that could do it, in round-a-bout ways. Taurus pedals hooked up to synth and a sampler. Boss RC-20 (can this trigger midi synths too?). Even the Zoom B9.1ut can do the job to a certain extent.

But the best example by far that I've seen is a singer/beatboxer who goes by the name of Kid Beyond. He uses a laptop running Ableton Live and a midi foot controller (prob much like the Behringer unit). He records live loops on different Ableton tracks and triggers them with his feet. You should in theory be able to send midi note messages too. In fact I'm positive a setup such as this could work for you.

Search youtube for a couple of vids of him (I would for you, but youtube is banned at work!). His performance of Portishead's Wandering Star is incredible.

AtomicPunk · #12 02-09-2010, 10:14 PM

Thanks for the input, guys!
The samples I am thinking are intros or a keyboard hook or maybe a string backdrop during certain songs.
And I will check out Kid Beyond!

Came across this while looking up the other items....this looks like the thing I'm thinking about!
http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/p...ion?sku=151044

**Bryan R. Tyler** · #13 02-09-2010, 10:32 PM

That will work fine for storing/replaying samples (as many loopers will). You won't be able to play live keyboard parts that were not pre-recorded (as Geddy does) though. Re-reading your original post now makes me think that that wasn't really an important thing for you though anyways

The Lurker · #14 02-10-2010, 10:21 AM

I once saw a cover band use an iPod taped to a mic stand and run into the PA for just this purpose. Were it up to me, though, I'd go with something more.... robust.

**Bryan R. Tyler** · #15 02-10-2010, 10:39 AM

A Zune maybe?

AtomicPunk · #16 02-14-2010, 11:31 PM

No, I do not want to play live keyboard parts

I'm looking to MINIMIZE the amount of crap I have to bring to the gig, not make it worse

fightthepower · #17 02-15-2010, 02:46 AM

Ableton live + FCB1010 works great for me. Having the sample rig and drummer synced up to the same clock is ideal, but if you're not hard-synced-- I'd probably try setting the samples to 'One shot' at a predetermined length, and retrigger it on the 'One' every <x> number of bars, so that it doesn't stay on a loop and get further and further off-time with each loop; good timing and re-triggerring more often (if it is a sample that needs to loop for a while) might help keep things lined up in a free-looping+drummer setup.. with Ableton and the FCB, you could have two dedicated loops for each sample-- one that just loops and one that runs out after a few bars, for instance.

You can also set one of the footswitches for tap tempo, and in Ableton you can change the tempo on the fly without changing pitch, to account from drummer-drift. The RC-50 and other loopers can not do this, they all pitch shift and warble in my experience. An MPC + footcontroller should do the trick, and not require a computer at the gig... lots of options!

James Judson · #18 02-15-2010, 03:00 AM

Roland PK-5 or PK-7 is ideal. Much like the bass pedals on an organ and you can change patches or octaves etc. by foot control. You will need a synth or sampler to control. There is a guy on ebay that makes these types of controllers out of organ bass pedals. Fatar also made foot controllers in the 80's. Fatar still makes foot controllers but they are under a different name now.

grovest · #19 02-15-2010, 12:25 PM

It's something I've thought about, too.

My first suggestion is the singer should play some keys. Second suggestion is you should bring on board a keyboard player. Third suggestion is either a Moog Taurus or a midi 'pedal bass' controller plus your choice of synth source- could be on a laptop or could be a DSI Tetra or any number of neat boxes.

If you have even relatively complex, in time, prerecorded loops, and a live drummer, you'll end up spending way too much time organizing the performance around those loops. And it will be something that could fail very obviously (to the audience). You want to keep your life simple, right?

ThunderStik · #20 02-15-2010, 03:09 PM

Yeah im in this pickle also. Im not against getting something like the PK-5, I just dont know the lingo.

We have a Roland KB but its kind of old, still has some decent sounds though. But what I donk know is,

1) Do I have to have the KB? Can I just get a rackmount module to control with the Roland?

2) If I choose to play the keys, can I use our KB as a controlle/trigger to operate a rack module that has much newer/better sounds?

3) Can I use our current KB to operate the rack module and the Roland at the same? Well not at the same time, but can I have them both hooked up so if I need to do Keys I can, otherwise I can use the Roland Foot controller.

Did I make any damn since?