389:, which meant that it could only play one note at a time. Even if the player presses two pedals simultaneously, such as a C and a G, only one note sounds. Given that bass pedals are typically used to play deep-pitched basslines, some models had a "low note priority" circuit. With this circuit, if the player pressed two or more pedals, the unit would only sound the lowest pitched note. A 1970s unit might have a choice of several imitated instruments, such as organ bass, string bass (with more decay), or tuba. Some units had a rolling dial, once again foot-operated, to control the volume. A 1970s unit might have a single output: a 1/4 jack. A unit from this era might have only one visual indicator: a power on LED. Since the bass pedals are on the ground, there is a risk that the player might accidentally press on one of the buttons and change the sound. To reduce this risk, some bass pedals have plastic covers over some of the buttons or U-shaped "switch guard" protectors near some buttons.
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363:. Whereas an electronic piano's sustain pedal is a momentary, non-latching switch depressed to provide sustain, and then released to end the sustained note, a bass pedal unit's electronic sustain is a latching switch, which, when clicked on automatically sustains all notes for a fixed, short period after the pedal is released. The benefit of the bass pedal's sustain button is that it facilitates legato, sostenuto basslines in slow ballads. Some units with sustain also had a rolling dial to enable the setting of the automatic sustain length.
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686:-style performer to perform chords with a single foot-press. Additionally, MIDI pedals can be used with a keyboard workstation or an arranger keyboard to trigger different parts of sequenced song arrangements. For example, a performer could use the pedals to trigger the chorus, verse, and solo sections of a sequenced song. Another musical use of MIDI pedals would be to have each pedal linked to a different drum sound, such as a bass drum, snare, and cymbals; this would permit the performance of rudimentary
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641:, which do not perform any tone generation themselves. These pedalboards have to be connected to a MIDI-compatible computer, electronic keyboard or rack-mounted synthesizer to produce musical tones. Despite the fact that these pedalboards can control any kind of MIDI device, and can therefore produce a virtually unlimited range of musical pitches (and other sounds), ranging from a high-pitched melody to percussion sounds, they are still often referred to as "
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larger number of students to practice. Some churches use MIDI pedalboards to trigger digitally sampled sounds for the low register of the pipe organ. This has led to some controversy, because this mixes digitally sampled, electronically amplified sounds with the wind-driven pipe sound of the rest of the pipe organ; some purists argue that this is inappropriate, or that the sound or tonal quality of the digital bass voices are unsuitable.
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long as the developers of both devices have the same understanding about the semantic meaning of all the MIDI messages the sending device emits. This agreement can come either because both follow the official MIDI standard specifications, or else in the case of any non-standard functionality, because the message meanings are directly agreed upon by the two manufacturers.
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656:, Studiologic (formerly known as Fatar), and R. W. Designs, mostly sell keyboards with 13-note keyboards (C to C, one octave), 17-note (C to E, an octave and a third) keyboards, or 25-note keyboards (C to C, two octaves). Pedalboards with less than a 32-note range are often used by jazz, rock, or popular music performers.
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Such non-musical applications of the MIDI 1.0 protocol (sometimes over MIDI-DIN, sometimes using other transports) are possible because of its general-purpose nature. Any device built with a standard MIDI Out connector should in theory be able to control any other device with a MIDI In port, just as
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by
Hammond, Farfisa, and other manufacturers included short, 13-note bass pedals attached to the base of the chassis. In the 1970s, electronic organ makers were aware that musicians wanted organs that could be taken to gigs at bars and festivals, so organs were made more portable. To make organs more
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Once organ companies were making portable organs, some manufacturers began building bass pedals that could function separately from the organ console. These afforded the player great portability, and flexibility in combining them with other instruments and electronic equipment. A 1970s-era musician
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setting could sound more than one pitch at a time. Even though contrabass instruments are less likely to be used to play chords (three or more notes sounded together) than their higher-pitched cousins (as deep-pitched chords can sound unclear and "muddy"), a contrabass instrument like a bass pedal
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In the art music and church music context, MIDI pedalboards and digitally sampled or synthesized pipe organ instruments are used either as practice instruments or as performance instruments. Some universities and churches use MIDI pedalboards and digital organs as practice instruments, to allow a
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All bass pedal units consist of foot-operated pedals mounted in a chassis that sits on the floor. The chassis has buttons on top, also designed to be operated with the feet, which enable the performer to change the sound. Typical buttons include a 16' and 8' button to give a contrabass or bass
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portable, they were changed from being housed in heavy wooden consoles with an integrated amplifier and speaker and bass pedals (the home organ approach) to being made as a main keyboard, a detachable stand, and detachable bass pedals. The organist was expected to plug the organ into a
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Some bass pedals designed to be used with electronic organs have a MIDI merge feature, so that one or more keyboards can have their MIDI outs plugged into the bass pedal, and then the bass pedal merges the MIDI messages and sends them, via the bass pedal's MIDI out, to the organ
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standard pedalboard). Bass pedals with larger ranges are less common, but do exist, such as 17 notes (C to E), 20 notes (C to G), and 25 notes (C to C two octaves higher). As well, bass pedals usually have shorter pedals than those on a church pipe organ's pedalboard.
336:(the keyboards played with the hands), by performers of other instruments (e.g., electric bass or electric guitar), or by themselves. Bass pedal units usually have a smaller range (13 notes) than a church pipe organ's pedal keyboard (32 notes for an
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A 1990s or later unit might have a 1/4 jack output and one or more 5-pin MIDI jacks (e.g., MIDI out or thru). Some 1990s or later units have alphanumeric LED displays and/or small LEDs to provide information to the player about the settings.
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range, which, in organ terminology is the 16′ stop. Some bass pedals have an 8′ stop (an octave higher) which can be used by itself or combined with the 16' stop. Bass pedals are used by keyboard players as an adjunct to their full-range
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To perform
Baroque church music repertoire (e.g., J.S. Bach), a 30-note keyboard (C to F, two octaves and a fourth) is needed. A smaller number of manufacturers, such as Classic Organworks, sell a MIDI controller in full-sized 32-note
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While bass pedals are usually used to perform basslines, MIDI-equipped pedals can be used for a range of other purposes. The different pedals can be assigned to perform different chords, which allows a
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A 1970s Crumar bass pedalboard for organ. This is a standalone unit with an internal bass synthesizer. The foot-controlled buttons are for sustain (applied to every note), 16' (sub-bass), and 8' (bass)
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shows the more portable type of combo organs made in the 1970s. This organ has bass pedals in a separate chassis. Eventually, these types of bass pedals were designed and sold as standalone units.
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stuck. The Taurus I and II models are no longer in production, but they are prized as vintage instruments. In 2010, Moog introduced a new model, the Taurus III, in a limited run of 1000 units.
457:. This function might be needed if a keyboardist had two MIDI controller keyboards, and the bass pedals, and wants the MIDI messages from all three controllers to be sent to the sound module.
507:
with a standalone bass pedal could use it under an organ for one set, put it under an electric piano for a second set, then pull it out and use it while playing guitar for a third set.
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would play in a standing position, meaning that they could only use one foot at a time to play, rather than play sitting down with both feet, as organists traditionally had. However,
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and speaker. Even if the total weight of a split-apart organ was the same, portability was improved, because the individual components were lighter than an entire home console organ.
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of Led
Zeppelin used bass pedals while sitting down at a keyboard. Bass guitarists frequently used Taurus pedals to hold down sustained, low-pitched
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sound. Some models may have a sustain button; despite the name, it is used differently from an electronic piano's
445:, which is a treadle-style potentiometer for controlling the volume; buttons to turn on or change the speed of a
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Some 1990s and later bass pedals gave the player the option of selecting a monophonic or polyphonic setting. The
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to produce musical tones. Some 2010s-era bass pedals have both an onboard synth module and a MIDI output.
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while performing high-register melodic lines or percussive parts on the bass guitar. In 1983,
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620:" used the Taurus for its bass parts. A Taurus also appears in the song's music video, with
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with a range of one or more octaves. The earliest bass pedals from the 1970s consisted of a
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This article is about pedal-operated keyboards. For pedal-operated bass drums, see
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so that their sound can be heard. Since the 1990s, bass pedals are usually
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for centuries, and since the 1930s, electromechanical organs such as the
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organs have features that operate the upper manual keyboards, such as an
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308:, which have to be connected to a MIDI-compatible computer, electronic
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A MIDI-equipped pedalboard can also be used for non-musical purposes:
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A few of the bass pedals designed to be used with electronic or
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packaged together as a unit. The bass pedals are plugged into a
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that can be used to perform virtually all organ repertoire.
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The Taurus III (2010-2012) offered more features, including
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Bass pedals serve the same function as the pedalboard on a
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Since the 1990s, most electronic pedalboards have been
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537:. Despite these efforts, most players used them for
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might sound pleasing, especially at an 8' register.
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624:using his hands, rather than his feet, to play it.
728:computer networking, as demonstrated by the early
648:Current manufacturers of these products, such as
744:animation parameter control, as demonstrated by
109:but its sources remain unclear because it lacks
34:. For electronic effects for electric bass, see
526:An early and popular bass pedal device was the
490:often included pedalboards. In the 1960s, home
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8:
1117:Electric and electronic keyboard instruments
482:Pedalboards have been a standard feature on
184:introducing citations to additional sources
75:Learn how and when to remove these messages
826:
812:
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792:http://www.retrosound.de/jenpedalbass.htm
269:An EKO K1 bass pedalboard from the 1970s.
253:Learn how and when to remove this message
140:Learn how and when to remove this message
530:. Moog called this instrument a "Pedal
174:Relevant discussion may be found on the
401:(two-notes sounded together), such as
600:used bass pedals. Often, the group's
397:unit can still effectively play some
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780:http://www.retrosound.de/taurus.html
385:A 1970s-era bass pedal is typically
327:, and usually produce sounds in the
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56:This article has multiple issues.
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720:recording system synchronization
167:relies largely or entirely on a
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32:Bass drum § Bass drum pedal
27:Foot-operated musical instrument
64:or discuss these issues on the
1:
702:stage lighting in a rock club
633:Jazz, rock, and popular music
278:electronic musical instrument
338:American Guild of Organists
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741:animatronic figure control
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660:Baroque and church music
95:This article includes a
724:audio processor control
578:Van der Graaf Generator
124:more precise citations.
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1081:Low-frequency effects
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280:with a foot-operated
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849:Acoustic bass guitar
730:first-person shooter
618:I Don't Care Anymore
501:instrument amplifier
373:in concert in 2007:
180:improve this article
904:Contrabass trombone
797:2020-07-12 at the
785:2012-02-04 at the
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290:analog synthesizer
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97:list of references
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854:Bass (voice type)
429:Organ bass pedals
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16:(Redirected from
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884:Bass synthesizer
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698:theatre lighting
639:MIDI controllers
590:alternative rock
568:groups (such as
562:progressive rock
439:expression pedal
334:manual keyboards
306:MIDI controllers
292:tone generation
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628:1990s and 2000s
606:John Paul Jones
592:groups such as
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403:perfect fifths
375:Daryl Stuermer
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325:electric organ
298:bass amplifier
282:pedal keyboard
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178:. Please help
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195:"Bass pedals"
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191:Find sources:
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169:single source
165:This article
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1069:reproduction
1058:Walking bass
1018:Figured bass
981:Bass effects
962:Performance/
944:Washtub bass
873:
835:Bass (sound)
751:
746:Apple Motion
733:
711:sound design
692:
684:one man band
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647:
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614:Phil Collins
610:pedal points
582:Led Zeppelin
559:
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455:sound module
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314:synth module
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116:Please help
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58:Please help
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36:bass effects
1038:Lament bass
986:Bass chorus
909:Double bass
874:Bass pedals
869:Bass guitar
842:Instruments
643:bass pedals
543:bass pedals
532:Synthesizer
528:Moog Taurus
522:(1976-1981)
520:Moog Taurus
484:pipe organs
476:combo organ
474:This Sisme
443:swell pedal
419:major tenth
415:minor tenth
379:Moog Taurus
310:synthesizer
274:Bass pedals
122:introducing
1028:Partimento
677:Other uses
667:AGO layout
598:The Police
435:clonewheel
394:polyphonic
387:monophonic
321:pipe organ
286:pedalboard
206:newspapers
61:improve it
18:Bass pedal
1091:Subwoofer
1048:Slap bass
1033:Jazz bass
998:Bass note
991:Fuzz bass
976:Bass clef
919:Guitarrón
914:Euphonium
864:Bass drum
735:MIDI Maze
622:Mo Foster
566:hard rock
554:fuzz bass
539:basslines
499:or other
302:PA system
294:circuitry
236:July 2013
176:talk page
130:July 2013
67:talk page
1111:Category
1086:Sub-bass
1053:Walkdown
1043:Ostinato
1003:Bassline
964:notation
929:Octobass
795:Archived
783:Archived
757:See also
688:drum kit
616:' song "
560:Several
345:Elements
894:Bassoon
690:parts.
650:Hammond
574:Genesis
466:Origins
461:History
411:octaves
371:Genesis
276:are an
220:scholar
118:improve
1096:Woofer
1013:Burden
738:, 1987
716:VJ-ing
654:Roland
588:) and
409:, and
354:stops.
323:or an
222:
215:
208:
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193:
1067:Sound
732:game
399:dyads
227:JSTOR
213:books
103:, or
939:Tuba
596:and
586:Rush
584:and
564:and
329:bass
288:and
199:news
645:".
570:Yes
441:or
417:or
300:or
182:by
1113::
748:v2
652:,
594:U2
580:,
576:,
572:,
405:,
107:,
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70:.
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820:t
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