• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Sturdy Aftermarket CV Pedal

#3
I have an Maudio EXP, Roland EV, and Moog EP-1, and find them all to be of low quality and sturdyness. The maudio has the least precise/loosest sweep, and the Maudio and Roland's trimmers both trim from the lower limit of the sweep (from the heel), and can not trim voltage in the way the EP-2 does unfortunately. If you're looking for any kind of upgrade, stay far away from the Roland EV and Maudio EXP, imo.

The discontinued Alesis F2 has a nice feel and construction... except for the internal sweep mechanism which seems to be the weak link (mine gave out). Other than that, I don't really have any good suggestions, other than the MP201 on the extravagant side.
 
#4
I feel your pain...I've been trying to find a really solid pedal to control cutoff on my mf101 for a long time. I sweep cutoff constantly, and the longest an ep2 has lasted me has been a couple months. Not to mention its held together with a piece of string.

I recently purchased the boss volume/expression pedal (fv500) which needed to be modded in order to work with the mf101. I sent it to Mike putnam from pztronics. He thought it would be an easy fix but it ended up being more complicated than he had thought. Moog really has a weird way of doing things.

Anyway, the pedal is working pretty well now ( It's not quite the same sweep as you will get from an ep2, but its pretty close ), and at least I know it will last for a long time (if you haven't seen the fv500 its basically a cinder block). Only thing is the pedal is $100 new, plus the cost of modding/shipping. But for me it was worth it because I can't replace the ep2's every 3 months.
 
#5
i used to use the m-audio one as well, but got frustrated with the sweep. what i did was to modify the ernie ball vp jr volume pedal ala toneczar.

I took a standard 100k pot and slapped the phenolic wafer on the EB pot. the irritating thing about the EB pots is that the shaft is extra long because it accommodates the string retainer. i wonder who the OEM in Malaysia is...so I can order a bulk of them.
 
#6
I can back up what others have said about the M-Audio - P.O.S.

EP2s work well but are not very well built. Much better than EP1 however.

I think the reason they are inexpensive is that they wanted a price point that would enable regular users to have more than one pedal. I have the MP-201 but alas do not have much time yet with it - it is designed mostly for controlling alot more than a single pedal - but I can say if they had a single exp pedal based on that design it would be a hit. Beautifully smooth action.

Here's an alternative nobody mentioned - Morley Optical Pedals. They don't appear to make an exp pedal, but my brother who is a pro-audio modder uses them as project chassis. Built like a tank, and opto-electric so no scratchy pots to wear out. If I were you I'd try to find an old chassis on ebay or buy a volume pedal and have it modded. The old ones are cool because they're CHROME.

perfect:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Morley-Slimline...Accessories?hash=item27b02b4f87#ht_500wt_1052

Give it a shot someone?

Monk
 
As an eBay Associate, TalkBass may earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
#9
The pot value doesn't really matter much in most CV situations, since voltage is divided the same by any voltage divider. The pot value only effects the amount of current sent to the CV input, which in most cases is not critical. 250k should work just fine.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back