roland EV5 expression pedal

[Groundy]

Hi, has anyone got a Roland EV5
Expression pedal used with BR800,
Are they any good...

Alex

[Blooby]

I don't know how road-worthy they are. but they do the job. I used to use one for the wah on my BR-1600 and am planning to use it with a Line 6 M9 if I ever get to sit down with them. If you get one and it's acting wonky, make sure to futz with the dial on the side of the pedal.

Good luck.

Blooby

[64Guitars]

I have an EV-5 and, like Blooby said, it does the job. My only complaints are that it's quite expensive compared to some other expression pedals (currently $119 at Sweetwater) and it's made of plastic. It seems pretty sturdy and well built, but I'd still have preferred metal construction like my cry baby wah wah pedal.

The Electro-Harmonix Next Step expression pedal looks interesting. It has no moving parts to break or wear out and instead of a potentiometer or optical sensor to control the voltage, it uses an accelerometer to sense the pedal's position and translate it to the corresponding voltage. Pretty cool idea! Although it's not cheap, it's less expensive than the EV-5 (currently $95.90 at Sweetwater). There's also an optional cradle for it which can be used to mount it on a pedalboard or stop it from sliding around the floor. One potential drawback of the EHX pedal is that you can't take your foot off it without changing the setting. With a conventional expression pedal like the EV-5, you could set it to say 2/3 of its travel then remove your foot and the pedal will remain at that setting.

http://www.ehx.com/products/expression-pedal


If you're looking for an inexpensive alternative to the EV-5, check out these:

M-Audio EX-P Expression Pedal  $29.00
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PedalExp

Behringer FCV100 Dual-Mode Expression Pedal  $29.99
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/FCV100

Behringer FC600 Heavy-duty Volume and Expression Controller  $59.99
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/FC600

The Behringer FC600 looks like a pretty good value. Not only does it feature a die-cast aluminum body, but it also doubles as an ordinary volume pedal for your guitar. And it's half the price of the plastic EV-5!

[Groundy]

Cheers Blooby and 64,
I will check the others out, the only reason I decided on a EV5 was the BR800 manual mentions it,
probably sales talk when it says, any other pedal could damage the 800.
once again thanks guys I will check these out....



Alex

[Groundy]

I can't believe the difference in prices in the UK, The FC600 is around £90, and the EV5 about £58,
having looked at them both The FC600 does look a lot sturdier,


Alex

[Oldrottenhead]

I was in a music store not long after I got my br800. I was looking for a pedal to use for looping on the br800. Store had one for £25 it was generic ,no brand, but I believe it could also be used as an expression pedal. Not sure if it was in "Kenny's music" or " guitar guitar" both in Glasgow city centre.

[Groundy]

Cheers James, I suppose it would probably do the same job, I also wanted it to use as a volume pedal..


Alex

[64Guitars]

I also wanted it to use as a volume pedal..

There are two ways that an expression pedal could be used to control volume, depending on the type of pedal. Most expression pedals, such as the EV-5, have only one connector which you connect to the "FOOT SW/EXP PEDAL" jack on the back of the BR-800. If you're using the Wah effect or the Pitch Shifter effect and you set the effect's Type parameter to PEDAL, then the expression pedal will control that effect just like a conventional wah pedal or pitch shifter pedal. If the Type is not set to PEDAL, then the expression pedal will control the volume. Although the manual isn't too clear, I believe that if you use the expression pedal with any other effects (ie; other than wah or pitch shift) the expression pedal will control the volume since there are no other parameters in those effects that it can control.

But a few pedals such as the Behringer FC600 have, in addition to the expression pedal connector, two standard audio connectors for Input and Output. This lets you use it as a conventional volume pedal by connecting your electric guitar to the input and an amp or whatever to the output. You don't even need to be connected to the BR-800 at all. So, pedals like the FC600 are really two pedals in one. They can be used as an expression pedal like the EV-5 to control effects or volume in your BR-800, or they can be used as a conventional volume pedal without the BR-800. Pedals like the EV-5 cannot be used as a conventional volume pedal since they lack Input and Output jacks.

Another pedal that doubles as a conventional volume pedal is the Boss FV-500H, which is also recommended in the BR-800 manual. Like the Behringer FC600, the Boss FV-500H features a die-cast aluminum body and it has jacks for Input, Output, and Expression. You can get it for £79 at guitarguitar.

http://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/pedals_s_detail.asp?stock=09010710282829

https://www.boss.info/global/products/fv-500h_500l/

I can't believe the difference in prices in the UK, The FC600 is around £90, and the EV5 about £58,
having looked at them both The FC600 does look a lot sturdier,

I don't know why the FC600 is so much more expensive over there. But you can get it for a bit less than £90 if you shop around. It's £82.99 at Maplin, £79.90 at Rimmers in Lancashire, and £76.58 at armcoshop in Oxfordshire.

Maybe if you print out the armcoshop page and take it in to your local music shop, they might match the price or sweeten the deal by throwing in a cable or something? Then again, the Boss FV-500H looks like it would be just as good as the Behringer and it has the advantage that it's recommended by Boss for the BR-800 (though, in reality, that probably doesn't mean much). And you're probably nearer to a guitarguitar store than any of the others I mentioned, so it might be easiest to get the Boss FV-500H there for £79.

[64Guitars]

I just had a quick look for a better price on the Boss FV-500H and £79 seems to be what nearly everyone is asking. Although, I did find it for £69 at Millennium Music. It wouldn't hurt to print out that page and take it in to guitarguitar to see if they'll match the price or sweeten the deal.

If Red Dog Music in Edinburgh is closer to you, they're also advertising the FV-500H for £79.

http://www.reddogmusic.co.uk/catalog/product/017766/boss-fv500h

I couldn't find a Price Match policy on the guitarguitar site (though it's still worth asking them), but I did find one on the Red Dog Music site:

http://www.reddogmusic.co.uk/info/price-promise/

[Groundy]

Cheers 64, you have been very helpful,
thank you for the time you have taken on this,
I think the FV500H seems to be the one for the job..

Best Regards       Alex