External Expression pedals

[BoneToner]

Hey everyone,

 

I'm just wondering what external expression pedals you guys are using with your helix. I've been eyeing the mission engineering ones, and hope to have 3 expression pedals, including the one on the helix itself. Would the EP1-L6 work for this or do I have to use the SP1-L6H?

Also once all three expression pedals are attached do the toe press functions basically become on/off switches for the effect?

 

Thanks in advanced!

[DarrellM5]

I'm using the EP1-L6 with no problems.

[PeterHamm]

Using the original Mission L6 pedal (without toe switch), Ernie Ball VP Jr., and an old old Korg EXP2 (using the audio output, not the EXP function)

 

All 3 work pretty well. I will get the Mission with the toe switch for my rack soon and retire the Korg.

[PeterHamm]

Oh, and you do NOT need the Mission pedal with the toe switch for the floor version, ONLY for the rack. Save the money and get the normal Line 6 version.

 

And, on a budget, Line 6's own EXP is cheap and works, but if you're hard on things, it's probably not as rugged as the Mission.

[jaminjimlp]

Pretty much any expression pedal will need modification except for the Line 6 versions they only use sleeve and tip where most expression pedals use tip ring sleeve if you do a search on here for expression pedals you will find several that I had replied to showing how to rewire different versions of mission pedals

[billlorentzen]

I have to say, the L6 pedal is cheap but is not a pro piece. It's inaccurate in its sweep and at the back position it does not send consistent data, and it's flimsy. I wish I had bought a Mission.

[sulkbooth]

Anyone tried Mission G66 Custom?

[BoneToner]

If there is no toe switch on the expression pedal does this mean the effect must always be on? I would really like to be able to have the expression pedals react similarly to a regular wah that is push on/off is that possible? I don't mind paying the extra for the mission engineering as they look good and sturdy

[PeterHamm]

If there is no toe switch on the expression pedal does this mean the effect must always be on? I would really like to be able to have the expression pedals react similarly to a regular wah that is push on/off is that possible? I don't mind paying the extra for the mission engineering as they look good and sturdy

 

You can only add an external EXP with a toe switch to the Rack version of Helix, and the only one that exists is the Mission Engineering one.

 

If you have a Helix floor, the EXP already has a toe switch. You have to lean pretty hard on it to activate it though. You might have missed it.

[duncann]

If there is no toe switch on the expression pedal does this mean the effect must always be on? I would really like to be able to have the expression pedals react similarly to a regular wah that is push on/off is that possible? I don't mind paying the extra for the mission engineering as they look good and sturdy

 

The mission pedals are like little toy tanks.

 

For the floor unit, you can plug an external pedal in either exp2 or exp3. If you use exp2, the onboard pedal becomes exp1 only, so the pedal switch won't do anything. If you use exp3, the onboard pedal remains as an exp1/exp2 toggle.

 

For a wah, you could assign the wah block to a footswitch to toggle it on or off. Maybe that's kind of cumbersome though.

 

Another way is to assign both the mix and position to one of the expression controllers, for a wah, with the mix min value being around 30-45 and max 100 or maybe less. This makes it so that the wah is always on, but when the pedal is in the heel position, the wah sounds like it is off. I guess this would be a workaround to what you really want, which is something like an auto-engage wah.

[BoneToner]

You can only add an external EXP with a toe switch to the Rack version of Helix, and the only one that exists is the Mission Engineering one.

If you have a Helix floor, the EXP already has a toe switch. You have to lean pretty hard on it to activate it though. You might have missed it.

Oh I was aware I just wanted to know if external expressions could also use footswitchable on/off. Thanks though

 

The mission pedals are like little toy tanks.

 

For a wah, you could assign the wah block to a footswitch to toggle it on or off. Maybe that's kind of cumbersome though

That does sound cumbersome you'd think that they would have thought of that during design. Maybe they'll make a midi expression or something in the future. I was hoping to have a wah on/off switchable, the digitech whammy on/off switchable, and then an amp with two different settings or a blend between two amps

[jmillion]

Chiming in with a bit of a question - My Dunlop Jr Volume pedal works for the most part, but I've been noticing that the sweep will initially be perfect with a full 100% to 0% but will periodically only go up to 91% or so. If I unplug and replug the pedal (with a normal TS cable) it behaves again for a while, but not consistently. This is fine for Wahs and Univibe Mod Speed, but for the Whammy Pedal it can be a jarring half-step short on the way up. So, if I rock the pedal all the way forward with the Max set to 12 steps, it'll only make it up 11.

 

Is this my cable, pedal or patch? Or, should I just use the built in pedal for pitch things?

 

Thanks in advance.

[vmoncebaiz]

Oh I was aware I just wanted to know if external expressions could also use footswitchable on/off. Thanks though

 

 

That does sound cumbersome you'd think that they would have thought of that during design. Maybe they'll make a midi expression or something in the future. I was hoping to have a wah on/off switchable, the digitech whammy on/off switchable, and then an amp with two different settings or a blend between two amps

You can assign the toe switch of the Mission Pedal (SP1-L6) the same as you can assign any FS on Helix.  Its obviously the way to go for wah and whammy effects.  But its also pretty cool to assign delay/verb and a small level boost to the toe swich.  You click your wah on and it gives you all your lead effects at once.

 

 

You can only add an external EXP with a toe switch to the Rack version of Helix, and the only one that exists is the Mission Engineering one.

 

If you have a Helix floor, the EXP already has a toe switch. You have to lean pretty hard on it to activate it though. You might have missed it.

In their manual, Mission says you can adjust how hard or easy it is to activate the toe switch by adding/removing washers.  It does seem hard to press while I'm seated, but standing it feels pretty good to me.  So I haven't tried to adjust it yet.

[vmoncebaiz]

I also meant to mention that if any one is using the Mission SP1-L6 with the toe switch, you might find these cables useful.  You have to run one cable to the toe switch jack and one cable to the exp jack on Helix Control.

 

http://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=601460

 

They have a 10 ft version too if you need more room to wah

[ricstudioc]

I've been using the L6's with no complaints/problems - nah, they ain't built like a '56 Bel Aire, but they get the job done.

 

I've been thinking that L6 has missed a trick by not releasing a "sidecar" with 2 more exp pedals - I love the feel and throw of the onboard, and c'mon, it would look awesome!

[MonkeyXT]

+1 on the side-car idea - a similar expansion for the rack would be most welcome, including a toe-switch pedal, plus one or two regular expression pedals.

The mission units are very nice - as above, very tank-like.

I've already been planning to make that part of my control area into a 'side-car' type thing (thanks for the term - I'll be calling whatever I come up with that as a nickname now =])

 

I intend on easing up the action of the toe-switch - new from the box it seems a bit hefty to push for my personal liking.

 

With my FBV Shortboards I've been using the EXP1 units along-side them *knock on wood* still going strong. Not as rugged as the Mission Engineering offerings, but quite a bit less expensive, and quite a bit lighter to carry about...