may be OT....Sonic Cell foot control solution

[bradsmithpiano]

I am a keyboard player, with the following setup:

Roland FP7 stage piano / main controller
Roland Sonic Cell module for live performance mostly
Yamaha MU-80 synth module


I have used a Roland A90 as my main MIDI controller, and since upgrading to Roland FP7 stage piano...did some experimenting to capture the functionality of the A90 without carrying the whole heavy keyboard around......since I have a full piano restoration workshop, I decided to cut up the A90 and just use the 'guts' with EV5 pedals.......I know, stop laughing!!
I removed the keyboard, and cut off the ends of the case so that it would fit into a custom road case I built for the FP7.

This worked GREAT for awhile, as I hooked up three Roland EV5 pedals and two foot switches to fully take
advantage of the A90 zone capability and onboard sounds, in conjunction with my other synths above. Very cool...I could control many sounds with my feet.

However.....my home surgery has put the A90 into a vulnerable state, and after a few road gigs, it bounced around
and the power supply had a few solder connections which began to fail intermittently.

SO.......
I think I have found my solution in the Roland FC-300
Although I won't have the zoning capability I had with the A90, I can recreate that within the Sonic Cell.

I would rather invest in a MIDI foot controller solution than try to revive the A90, as it is now an older piece of gear, and after my surgery on it, I'm afraid to get too dependent on it, even if I got it repaired.

Am I on the right track?
It appears that the FC-300 will do what I need, which is to have foot control over various layers of sound within my keyboard rig. I want to be able to fade in sounds, and assign effects to pedals within saved 'patches', for example chorus for my electric pianos.......rotary effects for my organs.....portamento and modulation on demand, etc.

I think I can do all the sound zoning within the Sonic Cell, although I avoided it because I had the A90 happening.

HELP!
I'm just a jazz pianist trying to cope with the modern world.
I appreciate any insight you have.
THANKS

Brad Smith
www.SmithPiano.com

[RobJuno]

If you'd been in the UK I'd have bought the A90 from you... before you mangled it! lol
I really would love a serious master keyboard controller. I have a juno-G, Edirol PRC80, yamahaa TG500 and many sft synths. I'd love a longer keyboard with better keybed and aftertouch... but would rather spend, say, £700 on something like the A90 from Roland, than £300 for one of the many cheap efforts that stole the market. It seems there's no such thing now, it's either a stage piano (with inadequate control features) or a top model top of the range synth. I'm a bedroom studio musician, I don't need another synth not-of-my-choosing, just a serious master keyboard.