Softstep?

[PalmWino]

Well, to be fair to them, the guys at Keith McMillen have sent me a replacement after I sent my busted one back, so thanks to them for that. Sadly I'm not very excited about its arrival, as it's brought back all the frustrations too (except for the broken USB socket).
I actually was starting to get quite good results out of a modified Korg Nanokey in the meantime, but I doubt it'd last many gigs being stomped on, however gently!
So...onward & upward....
Dave

[Jengel]

Hey Dave,

I've been working on it for a bit longer than I'd like to admit, and it does feel like it's just got some real flaws. The USB obviously is the weakpoint. Also, the lack of a central pressure sensor is no fun, and the more I play with it, the more I realize that sometimes you do just want a binary switch that makes a real satisfying mechanical click. The main selling point for me was that it could receive OSC, as I'd like to get Mobius talking to it so I can see loop conditions etc as LED states using Max, but as I've posted elsewhere, that has had it's own issues.

Solidarity in SS frustration,
Jesse

[PalmWino]

Hi Jesse
Didn't realise there was anyone else still persevering with one! Yes, it takes a long time to get anything sensible out of it (18 months & counting!); my initial attraction was it's lightweight, versatile & powerful. Then I encoutered the KMI software

I've dabbled with OSC (a long time ago), but never embraced Max, & am now using Bidule to interpret the SS commands. The bidule side of things is beginning to produce results, though I agree about SS being deeply flawed. From the recent posts on their forums it's also been relegated in KMI's priorities it seems.

However, I'm still pursuing it for now, (don't want to shell out another £500 or whatever for an alternative), & I've got it doing stuff on every individual sensor (44 individual functions/scripts/CCs), albeit with a bit of fancy (bare)footwork!

It's far from perfect but it's easy to carry!!!! And the programming keeps me off the streets

Dave

[Jengel]

Hey Dave,

Thanks for the reply. Indeed, scripting can be a pain. You motivated me to give it another shot, and I don't know if you're an ableton guy, but I put together a nice max4live device that interfaces pretty smoothly, and would be a good starting point.

you can find it here:
http://www.maxforlive.com/library/de.../softstep4live

Cheers!
Jesse

[PalmWino]

Hmmm, tidy little screenshot - looks much more usable than KMI's!
I have Ableton Live Lite, & dabbled a little, but didn't take to it. I don't have Max in any form (gave myself eyestrain trying out the 21-day trial some years ago), so it isn't for me. Also, I'm trying to use each individual sensor on my SS, so I get 40 functions (+navpad). It's a bit fiddly, but a very comprehensive way of setting up for improvising with mobius; all I need now is some foot-reduction surgery
Dave

[Tom Swirly]

Very interesting to see the Softstep being discussed here - I'm just starting to use Mobius myself but (as mentioned above) I wrote a softstep driver for Max in Javascript so I know the Softstep pretty well.

I had my first Softstep break on the USB plug - it had a very early, hand-written serial number, they told me they improved that section of it - and they did send me another one which works to this day. The noise is a known issue, and frustrating - I had success with powered USB hub but that's another piece of gear. Another thing might be to turn off the LED background, it's not that helpful once you know the gear.

Weight and size restrictions from traveling around make any other pedal implausible for me anyway, but I'm pretty fond of the softstep.

[soundog]

I only use the SoftStep (for foot controlling while playing guitar) along with a nanokontrol (for volume mixing), controlling Mobius, my guitar effects in MainStage, and all mixing while performing.

The things that brought it home for me were
- add little rubber bumpers on each corner, for better response and tactile feedback (see my details on SoftStep forum for info on this)
- learn to program the darned thing (time investment, but worthwhile)
- turn off the blue lights to prevent noise
- get a good expression pedal for wah and volume, etc

I wouldn't travel with anything else, its so darned light and portable. While I hate the editing software (slow and cumbersome), it does work if you whip it into submission, and I only need it infrequently, to make changes to upload into the pedal.

[Bellows]

Hi Loopites, I now use the SoftStep. I used to use FCB1010. It took awhile for SoftStep to reach even half of its potential (which is plenty for me). As far as the breaking off of the USB input I believe that has been beefed up since the original.A right angle USB connector would go a long way to protecting it even more. Version 1.2 solved a lot of problems for me. I use the SoftStep in standalone mode (meaning that there is not a Softstep program running on my computer)) either with my host(Cantabile) OR with Mobius stand alone. I am using it for LIVE performance. SoftStep is similar to Mobius in that it has an infinite amount of possibilities and you do not need all of them. I find it is the answer to my needs. Unlimited potential leads to unlimited complexity.I pare both of them down to what I need for performance. LooseBruce