RD-700NX Volume pedal

[snowbird122]

I'm using a Yamaha FC7 volume pedal with my 700NX. When I change the volume using the pedal, it changes the volume of every layer in the live set to match the level of the pedal. This destroys the balance of the 4 layers as it makes them all the same volume!

I want it to change the master volume and leave the volume balance of the 4 layers intact. Is there any way to do this? If not, do you all use the master volume fader on the keyboard to adjust volume while playing? Very frustrating.

[howardS]

There is no way to have an expression pedal adjust the master volume. What you are currently doing is adjusting the volume set out in Layer Edit and, as you have seen, it sets them all to the same volume. I know that's not your desired response. What you need is an external volume pedal like the one guitarists use. I think this Boss pedal should work. You plug your output into it and then reduces the volume. I don't think it can raise the volume but I have not tried it myself.

As an aside, are you using an adapter on the FC7 to get it to work with the RD?

[snowbird122]

Thanks for the response. I fear that you are correct. I've poured through the manual and can't find a way to do this. I'm really surprised something so simple can't be done with the keyboard. Unfortunately, I'm using the XLR outputs to send straight to the PA, so the pedal you linked to won't work. I'll have to find one that has dual XLR inputs and outputs.

The FC7 pedal works without an adapter, but it doesn't send the full range of 0-127 to the keyboard. It's more like 31-127, and the range is not smooth. When I connected this adapter, it was a perfect 0-127 and a very smooth curve across the full range of the pedal.

http://music.ashbysolutions.com/misc.htm

[howardS]

Oh, I have the adapter for my FC7. Actually, I have 2 of these pedals and prefer them to the Roland/Boss pedals as they have a much longer throw. I asked though as you didn't mention the adapter so I wondered if I no longer needed the adapter. Let me know if you find a solution.

Howard

[dalemmi]

Snowbird, you are right in so far as it is not possible to finetune the influence of the expression pedal on different parts of a layer and fade in and out the layer sound as a whole without changing the relative volumes of the parts.
But I still find it handy to route the expression to selected layers and let the others unchanged. For example I use it to fade in and out individual parts of layer sounds. I connect the pedal to FC2 socket and select Menu/2. Control//FC2: CC007. Then in the LAYER EDIT menu I check or uncheck the layers I want to influence or leave unchanged.

I have been using the Roland EV-5 expression pedal for almost two decades on my Piano-Strings or Organ layer-sounds and I am quite happy with it. You can set the influence of the expression pedal by a potentiometer at the side of the pedal from 0-127 down to 126-127. This gives me some flexibility in determining the amount of change by the pedal - but of course this is nothing compared to the totally flexible modulation options in a synthesizer (like my faithful old XP-50...).

[snowbird122]

Roland technical support has weighed in on this.

"The volume settings are only able to affect all of the parts equally - there is not a 'master volume' setting for this. You could use an external volume pedal such as our FV-500L which would connect to the main outputs (L&R) and then to your speaker system to accomplish this type of control. "

[howardS]

Hey, snowbird122, I really think that is related to how MIDI is handled in these keyboards. All the keyboards I have looked at treat CC07 volume the same. There is no MIDI parameter for master volume....yet!

[snowbird122]

Thank you very much for your replies. I guess using the analog pedal is the only way to accomplish what I need. I play in a cover band and I spend a lot of time building splits and layers and the volume pedal really destroys the balance that I work so hard to achieve within my live sets. No worries, now that I know what I'm up against, I can cope :)

Thank you again for your help.

[howardS]

Great. Good luck with it.

[nmatkows]

I'm using a Yamaha FC7 volume pedal with my 700NX. When I change the volume using the pedal, it changes the volume of every layer in the live set to match the level of the pedal. This destroys the balance of the 4 layers as it makes them all the same volume!

I want it to change the master volume and leave the volume balance of the 4 layers intact. Is there any way to do this? If not, do you all use the master volume fader on the keyboard to adjust volume while playing? Very frustrating.

You should assign "CC11 Expression" to your FC pedal instead of "CC07 Volume"
(Yes, it is a 8-years old tread, but it can still be useful)