rabalder

I have a Boss FS-5U footswitch I want to use with max.

The idea is to send a signal from max through the footswitch and back into max, and make max respond to audio-input-changes.

Could this maybe damage the footswitch? Idont know how much voltage these things usually handles..

Hello.
I have a Boss FS-5U footswitch I want to use with max.
The idea is to send a signal from max through the footswitch and back into max, and make max respond to audio-input-changes. 

boss-fs-5u-footswitch-to-control-max

The FS-5U is a footswith, so I suppose it has no audio input. It's just a switch built to be plugged into swith/sustain inputs on a MIDI keyboard/controller (or into a guitar PA).

But you could send audio into a volume controller (like the Boss FV-50*) and feed it back to MAx to get a more precise expression pedal than over MIDI.

The FS-5U is a footswith, so I suppose it has no audio input. It's just a switch built to be plugged into swith/sustain inputs on a MIDI keyboard/controller (or into a guitar PA).
But you could send audio into a volume controller (like the Boss FV-50*) and feed it back to MAx to get a more precise expression pedal than over MIDI.

But how does a midi-controller know if a footswitch is being pressed down?

There has to be some sort of current involved wouldn't there?

Or is it short circuiting the connection maybe? I dont know..

Maybe Ill just get a mute-pedal instead. Its just for triggering new presets.

But how does a midi-controller know if a footswitch is being pressed down?
There has to be some sort of current involved wouldn't there?
Or is it short circuiting the connection maybe? I dont know..

Maybe Ill just get a mute-pedal instead. Its just for triggering new presets.
Thanks though..


You can only read the position of the pedal, and use that data to control objects in Max. If you have somewhere to plug in the pedal like the back of a synth you can probably get the midi that way and control a slider connected to something. Or you can use an Arduino to send the data to Max via serial or midi.

Same with a mute pedal, it will send on/off signals 0/1 to max.

0/1 signals is exactly what I need. Ive already made a patch that reads 0/1 from a button on a midi controller, now I just want that button to be on the floor. And since I already have a footswitch I thought that might work the same way as a mute pedal. The footswitch has a TRS connection, so I imagined connecting an insert-cable and send a signal through it. The problem might be that the switch itself isnt made for signals/current above a certain threshhold and might get broken(?).

0/1 signals is exactly what I need. Ive already made a patch that reads 0/1 from a button on a midi controller, now I just want that button to be on the floor. And since I already have a footswitch I thought that might work the same way as a mute pedal. The footswitch has a TRS connection, so I imagined connecting an insert-cable and send a signal through it. The problem might be that the switch itself isnt made for signals/current above a certain threshhold and might get broken(?).
Ill just try and see what happens..


my question is a bit different, but related to FS-5U. Is there a way to generate an audio signal with Max which is similar to what FS-5U pruduces? I'd like to controll the Roland SPD SX through it's footswitch input jack from a software squencer.

Hi,
my question is a bit different, but related to FS-5U. Is there a way to generate an audio signal with Max which is similar to what FS-5U pruduces? I'd like to controll the Roland SPD SX through it's footswitch input jack from a software squencer.

Max will not "simulate a FS-5U" except if you use an Arduino and a relay, which could be done, but...

You might want to talk to your SPD SX through MIDI. I had a quick look at the manual, and it looks like the SPD SX would accept Program Change and Control Change messages. If you want to talk to it from a sequencer, you might not even need Max. Although I would certainly use Max to test the MIDI possibilities.

Max will not "simulate a FS-5U" except if you use an Arduino and a relay, which could be done, but...
You might want to talk to your SPD SX through MIDI. I had a quick look at the manual, and it looks like the SPD SX would accept Program Change and Control Change messages. If you want to talk to it from a sequencer, you might not even need Max. Although I would certainly use Max to test the MIDI possibilities.

Thanks for all the information. In the meanwhile I also checked the manual and the actual unit. And MIDI is definitely an option for CC and PrgChange.

However my experience with hardware synths' arpeggiator or sequencer started by Max through MIDI is that they are a tiny bit always out of sync. This is why I decided to use gen~ to generate a trigger signal that goes to my synth's sync input. This is why I thought it would be a good idea to send the same signal to the SPD SX to start longer backing tracks. I guess this would garantee that everything is perectly in sync.

But recently I also read about 'Scheduler in Overwrite' and the 'Audio Interrupt' options in Max which gives priority to MIDI if I understand it correctly. This way I can just send note messages to start backingtracks. I'll give it a try.

Thanks for all the information. In the meanwhile I also checked the manual and the actual unit. And MIDI is definitely an option for CC and PrgChange.
However my experience with hardware synths' arpeggiator or sequencer started by Max through MIDI is that they are a tiny bit always out of sync. This is why I decided to use gen~ to generate a trigger signal that goes to my synth's sync input. This is why I thought it would be a good idea to send the same signal to the SPD SX to start longer backing tracks. I guess this would garantee that everything is perectly in sync.
But recently I also read about 'Scheduler in Overwrite' and the 'Audio Interrupt' options in Max which gives priority to MIDI if I understand it correctly. This way I can just send note messages to start backingtracks. I'll give it a try.

Boss FS-5U footswitch to control max?