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Chapter 2: Playing the A6
68 ANDROMEDA A6 REFERENCE MANUAL
Pedals and Footswitches
Its seems as if anything plugged into an instrument that you step on is called a pedal.
Well, not exactly. There are actually two types of “foot-actuated controllers” in the
context of an electronic instrument. Although it’s politically correct to called them
“pedals” generically, one is accurately called a switch, and one is accurately called a
pedal. We’ll define both of them:
A foot switch is a momentary device – it is a spring-loaded switch that operates by
“pressing and releasing” for
ON (press: foot down) or OFF (release: foot off) signals.
The A6 uses footswitches with a 2-conductor 1/4” connector and are plugged into
the
SWITCH and SUSTAIN functions of the A6.
A foot pedal is a potentiometer device – the pedal mechanically operates an internal
knob (technically known as a potentiometer) giving you “more” or “less” rather than
“on” or “off” like a switch. These pedals are often referred to as “rocker pedals”. The
A6 uses a footpedal with a 2-conductor 1/4” connector typically used for volume
and modulation and is connected to the
PEDAL/CV jack.
The diagram below shows what the right kind of connector looks if you want to
purchase a pedal or switch.
Footswitch and pedal functions are defined (set up) in the PEDAL page of GLOBAL
mode. This set of parameters in the A6 are particularly interesting (and useful) as
they permit you to reverse a pedal’s action or make its MIDI function different from
its local function. For example, a rocker-type pedal that is used as a volume pedal on
the A6 can be sending modulation messages out MIDI at the same time. For details
on the
PEDAL parameters, see page 50.