Topic by PaulC

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Topic: Roland a800 pro and half damper pedal

Hi everyone... first post and probably a simple question: I am thinking of upgrading my Yamaha CSX1 keyboard that I currently use to play Pianoteq in my DAW (Cubase) to a Roland a800 pro as the Roland has a aftertouch.

I am interested in the half damping opiton that Pianoteq offers but the roland manual says nothing about this. Is it simply a case that I can put a half damping pedal into the expresion socket of this keyboard? I'm have very little experience with Midi etc so I need a little bit of an idiots guide.

I did wonder whther I could get a half damping pedal that could simple plug into my DAW via USB on the DAW as a work around. Some forums I've read says the keybourd has to offer a half damper compatibility on the sustain pedal. Some say the hald demping pedal is an expression pedal with spring return.

Help please  )

Reply by thono2007

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Re: Roland a800 pro and half damper pedal

Hi,

I think you can use the Roland DP-10 Damper Pedal with the A-800 pro. This has a half damed option (needs to be switched on at the leda itself!) which works fine with Pianoteq. I'm using this pedal with my Roland RD-64.

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Reply by ChrisM

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Re: Roland a800 pro and half damper pedal

From what I can see in the manual, the a800 has a hold pedal jack and an expression pedal jack. There's no mention of half-damper functionality however.

A Roland continuous damper (e.g. RPU-3) might work in the expression pedal jack. I have one that works with the expression pedal inputs on my Kurzweil keyboard.

Note that different continuous pedals and expression pedals can have different polarity wiring and impedances such that they are not always compatible with different keyboards.

You might consider Midi Expression Interfaces for use with a continuous damper pedal. 

http://midiexpression.com/

Reply by PaulC

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Re: Roland a800 pro and half damper pedal

ChrisM wrote:

From what I can see in the manual, the a800 has a hold pedal jack and an expression pedal jack. There's no mention of half-damper functionality however.

A Roland continuous damper (e.g. RPU-3) might work in the expression pedal jack. I have one that works with the expression pedal inputs on my Kurzweil keyboard.

Note that different continuous pedals and expression pedals can have different polarity wiring and impedances such that they are not always compatible with different keyboards.

You might consider Midi Expression Interfaces for use with a continuous damper pedal. 

http://midiexpression.com/

Thanks Chris. You highlighted the fact that I've read before and a fact that confused me somewhat. Some websites say the damper pedal is an expression pedal with a spring so it should work in the expression socket. But like yourself I thought the keyboard had to accept a half damper pedal? I have no experience with expression pedals into keyboards, although I know about their existence ( I'm a guitarist). This made me wonder whether half damping pedal was a new terminology for a spring expression pedal.

Perhaps one route would be to buy the  Roland keyboard and plug the half damper pedal directly into the DAW using the midi expression socket? Seems a little convoluted? I'm sure my setup is not unique. Any more advice from any other users would be appreciated.

DAW + CUBASE + PIANOTEQ VST + ROLAND A800PRO + DP10 PEDAL = Piano sound with variable damping?

Reply by chickedog

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Re: Roland a800 pro and half damper pedal

Hi,

I'm using Roland A-49 which is a smaller version of A-800PRO with a DP-10 pedal connected to the Hold input and a Roland EV-5 expression pedal connected to the Expression input.
I can confirm that DP-10 works with variable damping in Pianoteq.
I have not used A-800PRO - so I can't be 100% sure - but I believe it will work too. It's only different in the number of keys and knobs.

Reply by ChrisM

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Re: Roland a800 pro and half damper pedal

Perhaps if you are planning to buy the a800 anyhow, you can also buy the DP-10 and try it in the hold and expression jacks. If it work as a continuous damper in one or the other, great. If not, perhaps you can use it as on/off, return it to the store or get the Midi Expression convertor (if you don't mind spending the extra cash).

There are some Q&A's about the DP-10 here:

http://www.roland.com/support/article/?...mp;p=DP-10

Reply by gpiazzi

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Re: Roland a800 pro and half damper pedal

It works. I've just connected an RPU-3 to the P2 (expression) input of my A-800 Pro, set it to output CC64, and I have half pedaling on Pianoteq. I'm sure it can be done with a DP-10 as well.

But i would suggest to avoid the A-800 Pro for piano sounds: it has the worst action among all the synth action keyboards I own (Nord Electro 4 SW73, Yamaha MOXF6, Roland A-37), as long as velocity response is involved, and aftertouch response is poor (YMMV). If you need all those knobs, sliders and pads, try investigating about the Arturia Keylab 61.

Reply by PaulC

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Re: Roland a800 pro and half damper pedal

I have to say a big thank you to all of you who have kindly taken time to help me with your advice and knowledge.

I've also been researching the Arturia Keylab 61 as suggested by gpiazzi. This looks like an interesting keyboard. So would this work with a DP10 to give half damping of the PTQ in cubase? I suspect it might but gpiazzi can you confirm? Your comments on the A800 make me worry that perhaps its not the right solution and the Arturia give me access to old school analogue synths as a bonus.

Last edited by PaulC (12-10-2014 10:47)

Reply by gpiazzi

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Re: Roland a800 pro and half damper pedal

I don't know. Most keyboards let you set the countinuous controller output to CC64 or any other CC number, I would be surprised if the Arturia couldn't. Check the product manual. What I mean is: half damper is a very piano-specific feature; if you feel the need for that, you should use an 88-key hammer action keyboard in the first place. I bought an A-800 because I already had an 88-key, but I needed a second keyboard with nine sliders for playing organ, and it worked fine. (BTW, Arturia makes an 88 with aftertouch)
If you're forced to use a 61-key as your only keyboard, just try before you buy. Make sure it lets you control velocity at least as well as your old Yamaha.