External Footswitch

[jjuba]

Is there any way to change the current snapshot that is selected using an external footswitch? It seems like you can assign the external footswitch to any effect parameter but I can't see how to set it to step through snapshots.

[NBell]

Hi jjuba, 

 

You can certainly change snapshots using external footswtiches. 

 

Enter Global Settings by pressing Page left/right > Press knob 6 labeled Global Settings > Select Switches/Pedals > Turn knob 1 to FS 7/8 > Turn knob 2 to SNAP up/down.

 

After performing the steps above, you can use an external two button footswitch to toggle through snapshots.

[jjuba]

Thanks, that got me to where my single pedal Boss FS-5U works to increase the the Snapshot number. Almost just what I wanted.

 

If anyone knows of a 2 switch pedal with buttons like the BOSS units but does not require a 9-volt battery (which as far I can tell the Boss FS-6U requires a battery) please let me know. I am looking but only finding the small button switches in very small casings. I prefer something with bigger pedals and bigger casing.

[voxman55]

On 5/26/2022 at 1:08 AM, jjuba said:

Thanks, that got me to where my single pedal Boss FS-5U works to increase the the Snapshot number. Almost just what I wanted.

 

If anyone knows of a 2 switch pedal with buttons like the BOSS units but does not require a 9-volt battery (which as far I can tell the Boss FS-6U requires a battery) please let me know. I am looking but only finding the small button switches in very small casings. I prefer something with bigger pedals and bigger casing.

The FS6U only requires a battery to see the led's; no battery is required to function as a non latching pedal. 

 

I use 2 x Bespeco VM20 non latching switches that slot together, clone of the Boss FS5U, with metal casing, but less than half the price of the Boss:

 https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipPP5Z0WQrVrxIoEha07lYkyXkH0GntledLO42nt

[jjuba]

On 5/26/2022 at 10:35 AM, voxman55 said:

The FS6U only requires a battery to see the led's; no battery is required to function as a non latching pedal. 

 

I use 2 x Bespeco VM20 non latching switches that slot together, clone of the Boss FS5U, with metal casing, but less than half the price of the Boss:

 https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipPP5Z0WQrVrxIoEha07lYkyXkH0GntledLO42nt

 

Not sure that is available in the USA. I see a few on Reverb but the price of 2, with shipping, would be more expensive than the Boss FS-7 I ordered new online. 

 

The FS-5U does work but can be a bit like herding cats maybe since it is a single switch pedal. I think the issue is a single pedal hooked up with a TRS cable. It will switch Snapshots like I want but then when I press it twice and then try to switch banks using the Up and Down switches on the POD Go it goes to Snapshot changes rather than Bank changes. Then you need to press something to get it back to bank changes which I haven't fully figured out yet (probably has to do with pressing the FS-5U one more time, IDK). I will give it a try with just a normal cable (not TRS) and see if that works....

 

Nope just checked with a regular cable (not TRS) and it does the same thing. The Up and Down switches on the Pod Go act as a bank switch until I press the FS-5U once. That will switch to the next Snapshot but then if I want to change banks after that the Down switch on the Pod GO now changes Snapshots even though it is set to BANKS. If I press the FS-5U a second time before using the Down switch on the POD Go then the Down switch will access the banks. Maybe I have something setup wrong in the settings, IDK. Hopefully the dual switch arriving tomorrow (with luck) will solve the weird behavior.

[NBell]

My favorite is the Mission TT-2:

 

https://missionengineering.com/shop-2/products/accessories/tt2/

 

 

[voxman55]

On 5/26/2022 at 9:27 PM, NBell said:

My favorite is the Mission TT-2:

 

https://missionengineering.com/shop-2/products/accessories/tt2/

 

 

 

Many folk like the smaller 2 button pedals because they are compact and relatively inexpensive, and for home use these are fine. Personally though, for gigging, I prefer the Boss or Bespeco clone pedals for several valid reasons.

 

1. The pedal switch is smooth and silent with no click

2. On a dimly lit stage they are a bigger target

3. My 2 Bespeco VM20s slotted together give good spacing between the footswitches whereas I find the switches on small 2 button footswitches too close together, even for my small size 7 feet, and

4. The flatter Boss/Bespeco pedals are more stable; unless mounted on a pedal board some folk have found that some 2 button types can be wobbly when you step on them which can be off putting at a gig. 

 

But whatever works for you, of course.

[jjuba]

On 5/26/2022 at 10:35 AM, voxman55 said:

The FS6U only requires a battery to see the led's; no battery is required to function as a non latching pedal. 

 

I use 2 x Bespeco VM20 non latching switches that slot together, clone of the Boss FS5U, with metal casing, but less than half the price of the Boss:

 https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipPP5Z0WQrVrxIoEha07lYkyXkH0GntledLO42nt

 

I don't see a FS-6U available only the FS-6 which I am sad to report DOES require batteries to operate. I'm a bit bummed about that one but will suffer through until it becomes an issue (hopefully at a practice rather than a gig). I had ordered the FS-7 through Amazon, which was my understanding that it does not require a battery but please don't quote me on that or take it as gospel I really don't know, but Amazon was very late on delivery. I cancelled the purchase but they delivered it anyways and I had to go through a whole process to get them to take it back.

 

I can see myself switching to another pedal or pedals in the not so distant future. The need for a battery is a real killer for me.

 

On 5/28/2022 at 3:15 AM, voxman55 said:

 

Many folk like the smaller 2 button pedals because they are compact and relatively inexpensive, and for home use these are fine. Personally though, for gigging, I prefer the Boss or Bespeco clone pedals for several valid reasons.

 

1. The pedal switch is smooth and silent with no click

2. On a dimly lit stage they are a bigger target

3. My 2 Bespeco VM20s slotted together give good spacing between the footswitches whereas I find the switches on small 2 button footswitches too close together, even for my small size 7 feet, and

4. The flatter Boss/Bespeco pedals are more stable; unless mounted on a pedal board some folk have found that some 2 button types can be wobbly when you step on them which can be off putting at a gig. 

 

But whatever works for you, of course.

 

I'm with you. I like the bigger pedals, separation and weight. I have size 12's and am singing while playing which makes it challenging hitting the right button at times. I want to be engaged with my singing/guitar playing not searching for which pedal to press.

[voxman55]

On 6/3/2022 at 1:22 AM, jjuba said:

 

I don't see a FS-6U available only the FS-6 which I am sad to report DOES require batteries to operate. I'm a bit bummed about that one but will suffer through until it becomes an issue (hopefully at a practice rather than a gig). I had ordered the FS-7 through Amazon, which was my understanding that it does not require a battery but please don't quote me on that or take it as gospel I really don't know, but Amazon was very late on delivery. I cancelled the purchase but they delivered it anyways and I had to go through a whole process to get them to take it back.

 

I can see myself switching to another pedal or pedals in the not so distant future. The need for a battery is a real killer for me.

 

I'm with you. I like the bigger pedals, separation and weight. I have size 12's and am singing while playing which makes it challenging hitting the right button at times. I want to be engaged with my singing/guitar playing not searching for which pedal to press.

 

Sorry, the 'U' was a typo. 

 

• The Boss FS-5U (u=unlatching, i.e. momentary) is the Boss equivalent of my Bespeco VM20 and neither of these need batteries (they have no LED display either). 
• The FS7 is powered by an external mains power-supply that you have to buy separately.  However, when used in unlatching ('momentary') mode (which is what you need with Pod Go) you do NOT need to power the FS7 (i.e. you only need a PSU if you are using latching mode and/or want to see the LEDs lit). 
• Re the FS6 I had thought it was similar to the FS7 re power requirements, but having looked at the spec I think you're right in that it does need a battery to function in any mode, which is a bit of a nuisance as you need to remember to disconnect it when not in use or you'll drain the battery.   

 

If you're not fussed re LED's and want the bigger foot-switches, it's difficult to beat 2 x interlocked VM20's (or 2xFS5U's but these are double the cost, at least in the UK)

 

 

 

[jjuba]

On 6/2/2022 at 10:13 PM, voxman55 said:

If you're not fussed re LED's and want the bigger foot-switches, it's difficult to beat 2 x interlocked VM20's (or 2xFS5U's but these are double the cost, at least in the UK)

 

I didn't have a TRS to TRS cable here at home, left it at the practice spot, so hooked up the FS-6 via a TRS Male to dual Mono Female connectors using regular instrument cable. Worked well once I got the polarity switches set correctly but then of course I would need to keep stocked on batteries, get a battery tester and would have to remember to unplug it when at home or else risk draining the battery unnecessarily. I could probably fool the drummer into being my battery tester using his tongue 15 or 72 times but eventually he might get wise to it and not be my tester anymore.

 

This led me to trying the single FS-5U hooked up to one of the 1/4" Mono Female connectors. It didn't work at first but then started working once I switched the polarity switch to the left (as you are looking down on the FS-5U). I had some brief moments where it was acting funny after switching polarities a couple of times to test the differences but I rebooted the POD Go (after setting the polarity switch to the left) and now it works like I expect. As long as I don't breath on it or accidently toggle the polarity I think it will work. Just need to label which female connector is the correct one to attach it to... which turns out to be (just) the Tip female connector not the Ring.... there is a good joke in there somewhere.

 

I may just stick with the 1 x FS-5U to avoid the battery issue and because I like the idea of always only needing to hit 1 pedal, with the pedal always in the exact same location, to advance to the next setting (snapshot) I need. That is how I was doing it with my Kemper and it worked well for me. Now if I can just get used to the toe press Wah which I need a lot of practice on. With the Kemper I have a bunch of options for when the Wah will disengage and I found the bypass at heel worked best for me.

 

Now that the Up/Down toggle pedals on the POD Go are working like I expect  (always switch banks rather than sometimes jumping to snapshots) I found I can also get back to the original snapshot of any patch by pressing the button of the same patch I am already on. That could be useful if I have a song where I need to quickly go from the 2nd or 3rd snapshot back to the original.

 

 

[jjuba]

So I ended up getting to keep the FS-7 but could not get it to work correctly. Tried both polarity positions, plugged in with a AC Adapter, without the AC adapter and every setting I could think to adjust on the POD Go. End result for everything I tried seems to be it takes 3 presses to change the direction of the snapshot. Once you get it to change the Snapshot number the first time then subsequent presses of the same button will keep moving the snapshot but if you want to change directions you need to press the other button 3 times to change the first time and once more for every change thereafter. Unusable in that state for me.

 

I am going to have to decide between the single pedal FS-5U and dual pedal FS-6. I think the FS-5U is going to win out due to the need for a battery on the FS-6. Already had a few hours last night where I forgot to disconnect it so it was sucking on the battery for a few hours. At home I could easily see that happening overnight.