New Telonics foot pedal - FP-100

Michael Brewer · From: Carrollton, Texas

I have just received my new foot pedal and it has surpassed all my expectations so far. After all these years of scratchy pots and broken string this is a new "state-of-the-art" unit that makes all other pedals obsolete. There are no moving parts other than the foot platform. By pressing a button you can select from 5 different tapers. Drag and tension are asjustable in seconds. There is adjustable input/output impedance.

I reach my normal playing volume with my amp settings at half what I use with my Goodrich.

My favorite of the tapers is the "Emmons" setting.

The pedal comes in either a high or low profile.

Most of us have never heard all of the signal that the guitar puts out. I was truly amazed at the clean fullbodied tone I am getting.

I'll report on this again next week after the gig at "Paula Sue's Diner" in Balch Springs, TX on Tuesday night (7-9).
_________________
Mike Brewer

Lee Baucum · From: McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier

Is this the pedal being offered by Mullen?

john lemay · From: Ainsworth NE

Mullen will offer it and so will I. It was first seen at the Dallas show. It's truly remarkable! A major innovation! Go to http://www.john-lemay.com/Telonics_Volume_Pedal.html for specs on it

Brad Sarno · From: St. Louis, MO USA

John, can you explain the basic aspects of the sensor technology inside that pedal?

Thanks,
Brad

James Mayer · Posted 16 Jul 2009 9:12 pm

Only $795? I'll take two of 'em.

john lemay · From: Ainsworth NE

The Telonics pedal is $489 and the LeMay preamp is $795.

john lemay · From: Ainsworth NE

Brad, the technical data can be found at http://www.john-lemay.com/Telonics_Volume_Pedal.html

James Mayer · Posted 17 Jul 2009 10:42 am

Pete Burak · From: Portland, OR USA

I'd like to try one.
Smile

pb

john lemay · From: Ainsworth NE

Pete check your PM's.

Bob Lawrence · From: Beaver Bank, Nova Scotia, Canada

Mike,

Great that you like the new pedal. It sure has some interesing features. I just printed the PDF to have a closer look at the specs.

Bob

Larry Weaver · From: Asheville, North Carolina, USA

Any plan to offer this also as an expression pedal for use with midi controlled units such as the Fractal AxeFx? I could see a lot of possibility there. One of my major complaints about using expression pedals is that they don't have the traditional feel that we are all used to as steel players.

Dave Beaty · From: Mesa, Arizona, USA

"Any plan to offer this also as an expression pedal for use with midi controlled units such as the Fractal AxeFx? I could see a lot of possibility there. One of my major complaints about using expression pedals is that they don't have the traditional feel that we are all used to as steel players.”

That is a great question as well as an astute observation.

The developmental path for this line of pedals includes your application, and Fractal is one of many companies with whom we are working to assure technically accurate expression interfaces. The patent work on this pedal includes both single and multiple axis expression control, simultaneous with volume control (using multiple selectable tapers for both the expression and volume presets), followed by user-definable tapers for all functions (among other things) via the USB interface. If you (and any other interested Forum readers) would like to participate in the testing portion of the development program, please shoot me an email at your convenience.

As you have perceived, this is truly an exciting and innovative approach to multi-faceted musical expression control. To top it off (for those applications where tradition “feel” is not a factor), these capabilities are also tied in to the optional TMRS miniature remote sensor that renders the actual moveable pedal mechanism unnecessary.

These initial versions being introduced and customized in association with various innovators in the steel field, are necessary to establish a firm baseline for the follow-on developmental work.

Larry, you obviously have the insight to foresee the incredible possibilities of this system, thanks for the great question.

Larry Weaver · From: Asheville, North Carolina, USA

Oh man, oh man, this is VERY exciting!!!!

Dave, thanks for the post. This is truly what I hoped would be the case. I recently bought the Axe-Fx and it's already drastically changed my world. The Axe is an absolutely amazing unit, and while I don't find the learning curve all that steep, (I've owned Pods, Boss GTs, TC Electronics stuff, Lexicon stuff etc., and the Axe is crazy intuitive in comparison to any of those...) I am finding that for the steel player, there will be plenty of additional considerations. Loads of thinking outside of the norm in order to make this work right. Your pedal will GREATLY enhance the experience of using this type of device with the steel. I'm THRILLED that you have the foresight to work with an outfit like Fractal in order to maintain a seamless and accurate interface. Having the ability to use this for a volume pedal, wah, pitch effects, etc., etc, AND to be able to change the taper and feel appropriately? Fantastic!!

I'll certainly be shooting you over an email tonight. I'd LOVE to be in on any phases of development possible.

Thanks again Dave!

Michael Brewer, thanks too for the original post.

LarryW

James Mayer · Posted 19 Jul 2009 10:54 pm

By "multiple axis", do you mean there will be a swivel x-axis similar to the volume/tone pedals?

Dave Beaty · From: Mesa, Arizona, USA

“I recently bought the Axe-Fx and it's already drastically changed my world. -----Having the ability to use this for a volume pedal, wah, pitch effects, etc., etc, AND to be able to change the taper and feel appropriately? Fantastic”

Larry,
Fractal continues to be great to work with. Based on their latest data received today, it appears that we will be able to control two expression inputs simultaneously with our own taper presets - when the Axe is programmed properly and when we add additional circuitry to our end of the system to take advantage of our multi-axis capability (the pedal portion of the present system is currently designed for only a single axis.)

“By "multiple axis", do you mean there will be a swivel x-axis similar to the volume/tone pedals?”

James,
The type of axis control we are talking about here might most conveniently be called ROLL, PITCH and YAW , as well as g-force acceleration in each of the three planes of movement - in aircraft terms. The patent work on our control system utilizes all these characteristics. This first model (in the form of what is being called a “volume pedal”) is designed to use only the PITCH axis, but Larry’s application will include others as well. The present TMRS remote sensor, which is an option for the present “pedals” is a great way to get a feel for how this works and provides a revolutionary way to control the characteristics of an audio source. If you or anyone else is interested in taking a closer look at how a miniature remote sensor works, please shoot me an email and I will email you a short .PDF doc which has a good explanation of its use with detailed photos. As you will discover, as various aspects of the technology is introduced over the next few months, we are really talking about a multi-axis audio control system of which the present “pedal” is the first iteration.

First and foremost, it is designed to provide the pristine, clean tone which has always been available from the instrument, but which most artists have “never been able to achieve” (their own words, not mine) until now. This is coupled with the highest headroom ever available in such a portable device. You will never hear this unit distort with any pickup made today. It will make us better players, because it is so clean and it provides so much string separation without “muddiness”, that every thing we don’t mean to do is right out there up front, along with everything we did mean to do! When it is played clean, it is a wonderful thing (similar to Mr. Brewer’s report at the start of this thread.) We hear many, many such reports from people who do not post on the forum and it makes all the effort worthwhile.

Secondarily, we found very good pots to be virtually impossible to have produced by modern manufacturers (and believe me, we tried many times, with many manufacturers and we spent thousands of dollars on a LOT of minimum orders in an effort to try to get good pots. The latest firm to tell us they “give up” and are “unable to produce” what we consider to be a good pot was PEC in Canada (I can send you some of their failures if you need a so-so pot, we are not interested in so-so anything). (Our specification was equivalent to the tried-and-true Allen-Bradley Type J, - and we did not even specify a cost limit.)
So we developed a new non-potentiometer-based technology to control the volume in a “pedal” form that most players are familiar with, and found that by employing some of the technology we had developed previously for scientific research, it was technically feasible to generate and store the tapers of all the popular volume pedals and pots which folks have become accustomed to over the last 50 years. We then tested, carefully measured and recorded the performance of hundreds of pots, then considered the tapers of all the electronic/”light” pedals that have been produced to date. We selected what we found to be the five most popular tapers and installed them in memory such that the user can simply select the old Allen Bradley taper or any others he or she wishes in order to achieve the “feel” they are accustomed to. We left other switch positions unassigned so that we can install other special tapers later using the “pedal’s” USB port (with the exception that position zero (0) is a special programming position that lets the user turn the blue pedal board light on or off and control other reserved functions). Once we decided to replace the functions of the old “pedal”, we were forced to confront the ability to “slip the pot shaft in the string” (electronically) to achieve a realistic MINIMUM OFF adjustment for those who "like to let some sound through when the pedal is all the way back”, and also for those who “like to play up on the front of their pedal”. On a pot pedal, when you move the pot on the string, you have not only changed the minimum off point, but you often have also inadvertently created a mechanical stop which limits the travel of the pedal! This abrupt stop occurs when the wiper of the pot reaches the end-of-travel mechanical stop within the pot. I don’t have to tell you that such stops are far from robust, they were never designed to be rammed into with someone’s foot! Under this condition of pot adjustment, you now have less pedal throw (therefore less resolution for your control range). Effectively, you now have only a portion of the pot’s available taper to work with. On previous electronic pedals, changing the minimum off adjustment similarly affects the taper in various ways. We found that this could make the pedal “feel different” in terms of volume change versus pedal throw after a sizable minimum off adjustment.
After months of work, we ended up with a very realistic methodology that allows the user to adjust minimum off, and have the internal circuitry not only sense when adjustment is completed, but store the minimum OFF adjustment for each individual taper, and restores that adjustment along with each taper instantly each time it is selected. It does this in a way that allows full pedal throw without changing the “feel” of the chosen taper.

In subsequent months we applied the same sort of study and resolution process to every other aspect of the system and pedal device, including material and fabrication approaches which are normally only utilized in the manufacture of high quality precision firearms in order to assure maximal MTBF and reliability numbers for the pedal structure.

Please let me know if there is topic associated with this development program that you find of interest and I will be pleased to provide any information you need. We consider this very much a joint effort within the extended steel guitar family and we are wide open to suggestions and your personal insights.
Thanks,
Dave

Just a note to others reading this thread. We knew there would be interest in the initial version of the system, but we weren’t at all prepared for the number of people who actually wanted the units immediately. As a result, we are currently back-logged 7-10 days. Our Mesa Arizona laboratories are sizable, and are capable of large scale production while maintaining quality control. Accordingly, we are taking steps to ramp up production and will be increasing production of units by a factor of five, (5X) within ten days from now. We are prepared to further increase production as the need arises.

David Pinkston · From: Hendersonville, Tennessee, USA

The Axe-FX is amazing. I used it in the studio and sent the tracks to a producer and he called to ask what kind of amp I used. Sounded great. I did use a Sarno Freeloader on the steel in front of it though.

Jim Palenscar · From: Oceanside, Calif, USA

I was fortunate enough to be able to evaluate this pedal a short time ago and was simply blown away by everything that has been said and that I found to be true about them. I ordered one and told a number of prominent players about them. Sad to say that I only had it available for about 1 hour and the first person in the shop that saw it bought it so I'm now waiting for my next shipment (I ordered more than one this time Smile

. I cannot say enough good things about this pedal and Dave Beaty.

john widgren · From: Wilton CT

I got my FP-100 this afternoon. I admit that I've always been partial to my passive VPs with NOS Allen Bradleys (I have a secret stash), and was a skeptic. I've tried them all and have always gone back to passive. I hate extra power cords. Well, I knew in about 15 seconds of playing the unit that this was something different. I've been playing it all afternoon, and I'm pretty knocked out. It has all of the familiar feel of my old AB's but smoother, quieter, and it sounds like the AB at half volume (good) throughout the taper with no tone change. The highs are very sweet and creamy, and there is no muddiness or mush. Very consistent. The impedance matching capability is a great feature.

Okay,it's expensive, (some ought not to grouse about that so much) but I feel strongly that it's well worth every penny. It is of the absolute highest quality, and in the long run, a great value.

Kudos to Dave Beaty at Telonics for giving the Steel world something of real value.

john widgren · From: Wilton CT

Well day two, and the dew is still on the rose. The more I play it, the more I like it. I have some friends coming over on Friday, and we will be checking it out with a variety of set ups:

Zum Hybrid
Mullen G2
67 PP
Franklin

SMS pre into Furlong powered cab
Modded Nashville 400
Twin Reverb w/1501 PV
Acoustic Image Focus
Evans HV pre into Stewart power w Lexicon

Should be fun!

john lemay · From: Ainsworth NE

Telonics link corrected

bump TTT

john widgren · From: Wilton CT

PS: Any NY tri state, or metro area players who wish to give the unit a try can contact me for a test ride. widcj@hotmail.com

Jim Palenscar · From: Oceanside, Calif, USA

I cannot keep them in the shop for more than 2 days before they just flat disappear. Smile

Rich Peterson · From: Moorhead, MN

"Multi-Axis?" I've been thinking of something on that line for a couple of years. That will be exciting.

I think the remote sensor might be handy. You could control volume by tilting your head, and use both feet on the pedals.

Dave Beaty · From: Mesa, Arizona, USA

That's exactly right Rich, by placing the tiny remote sensor on your head, or elbow, etc., you no longer need to use your foot on the pedal at all. In fact, the pedal need not be under the steel at all! It can be 'anywhere' on the floor. It is indeed a very strange feeling to have a free pedal foot, but it opens a host of opportunities! Let your imagination run wild.

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